Liverpool win the derby and the Toon start to hit form
March 30, 2008
Liverpool managed to pull away from Everton in the league with a win in the Merseyside derby beating Everton. After a first win in three months Newcastle thrashed Spurs at White Hart Lane and Chelsea grabbed a 1-0 win over Boro.
Liverpool 1 – 0 Everton
After losing Cahill for the season Everton had to make a few chances to the side where as Liverpool had to replace Mascherano with Lucas.
The only goal of the game came in the 7th minute. A corner wasn’t cleared properly by Everton and Alonso nicked the ball from Yakubu, Kuyt passed wide to Torres who slide the ball past Howard. Minutes later Lee Carsley could have been sent off for a high tackle on Torres on the edge of the area. Howard Webb who was always going to have a tough time only showed a yellow.
Liverpool went on to have good chances in the half with Bable, Kuyt and Gerrard having good changed, the Liverpool captain hitting the post.
In the second half Everton could have put themselves on level terms, Osman with a near post header put they looked tired and missed Tim Cahill in the attacking third. Gerrard nearly double the lead late on with a drive from the corner of the box, Howard tipped over. Liverpool now hold the double over their neighbors and five points clear in 4th.
Chelsea 1 – 0 Middlesborough
Like the Liverpool game the home side took the lead early on, a deep freekick from the touchline found Carvalho who looped a header from all of 14 yards. The home side only looked like grabbing an second late on with Wright-Phillips slotting wide once and thumping over after nice play from Kalou.
It was the away side that had the best chance, a ball over top started a 50-50 with Cudicini and Alves. The Brazilian took the ball round the Italian keeper and then shot from about 30 yards to the open goal. With Chelsea defender getting back on the line the were relieved to see the ball hit the post. That wasn’t Boro’s only chance with them hitting the bar twice at a corner, Alves and Wheater with the headers.
Tottenham 1 – 1 Newcastle United
The away side had a great opportunity to take the lead when Habib Beye smashed a shot against the bar. Spurs took the lead though Darren Bent his eighth goal of the season. Just before the break Nicky Butt grabbed the away sides first goal of the match sweeping in a shot into the far corner from 20 yards.
The game really kicked off in the second half, a foul on Martins resulted in a free kick on the edge of the area which Geremi fired in with a little help from Viduka who moved from the wall. The third from Owen came from a Martins run from the touch line and a flick from Viduka.
Before the fourth went in for the home side a Berbatov header was saved well on the line. The final goal came from Martin who took the ball round the last Tottenham man and slotted past Robinson. A great result for King Kev and his Newcastle team are starting show a little confidence.
Fulham, City and Wigan win.
March 16, 2008
Fulham gave themselves a lifeline today beating a tired Everton at Craven Cottage 1-0 to go within 2 points of Bolton. A second half header from Brian McBride was enough to separate the sides. Everton looked physically tired from their UEFA Cup exploits on Wednesday when they played 120 minites of footbal.
Fulham still have much to do and will have to transfer the form at home way with 5 of their remaining games being away from Craven Cottage.
It the relegation battle Bolton visited the JJB to play Wigan. It was a terrible start for the home side who went down to ten men when Jason Koumas was sent off for a high tackle on Gary Cahill after 5 minites. The sending off galvanized the home side and the took the lead in the first half thanks to Emilie Hesky. The big forward volleyed in Mario Melchiot’s long-throw.
In the second half Bolton pilled on the pressure with Erik Edman clearing off the line but the home side held on to take all three points and move 12th in the table
At the City of Manchester Stadium Spurs seemed to have had got over their midweek hangover due to going out of the UEFA Cup. Robbie Keane struck in the first half after a mistake from Vedran Corluka let Chimbomda in. To City’s credit they came back in the second half Stephen Ireland directed a shot in to equalize and Nedum Onuoha thumped in a header from a corner.
Keane looks to see out career at Spurs
March 6, 2008
Spurs hitman Robbie Keane has reacted to rumours linking him with a move away from White Hart Lane by stating that he expects to stay at the club for the remainder of his career.
Keane, 27, did have spells at four clubs within three years before moving to Tottenham in 2002 and lifted his first piece of silverwear last month in the Carling Cup.
The former Coventry and Inter Milan striker sealed a new contract with Spurs last summer which runs through to 2012 but he is eager to remain at the Lane for many years after. Keane told the London Evening Standard ” I cant see myself going anywhere or playing for anyone else now…I am happy to stay here for the rest of my career”
There is no doubt that the Irishman will still be on a high following their Carling Cup triumph but there is no reason to suggest that these words are not genuine. Juande Ramos is instilling a belief in Spurs which should see them challenge for more domestic and European honours in the near future and Keane will surely be an integral part of his plans.
Further success could see Ramos look for more accomplished strikers to complete with Europe’s elite, but for the time being Keane can sleep easily in the knowledge that his future is very secure.
Spurs celebrate Cup win by going on the lash
February 26, 2008
After the cup final win on Sunday the Spurs players were allowed a break from their strict diet set by Juande Ramos and proceeded to go on the lash in Essex. It appears that with some of the players not being on the booze for the deserved drink went to their heads and they ended up in a brawl. Ledley King was thrown out of Faces for being too drunk and then it all kicked off.
There are photos of the incident but a video is better with a rap track as the backing track
Premiership Round Up
February 9, 2008
Another great Premiership Saturday, it was good to get back to watching football after the weeks major news of the announcement of the possibility of a 39th game to be played overseas. With the top 3 not playing the concentration was on the battle for 4th place and the battle of the bottom.
Aston Villa 4 – 1 Newcastle
Kevin Keegan is still without a win in his second spell at Newcastle. Micheal Owen had given the away side the lead in the first half. The second half with a few chances Villa came out on top, a deflected Bouma shot, two Carew headers and a Carew penalty sealed the match. Carew was awesome and fully deserves his hattrik
Everton 1 – 0 Reading
Yakubu was left out after coming back late from the African cup of Nations. The first half of the match was pretty quiet at Goodison Park. The addition of James Vaughan at half time helped, and Everton took the lead when a second ball from a corner found Phil Jageilka who looped in a header at the far post. That defeat for Reading and other results meant that the Royals moved into the bottom three for the first time this season.
Sunderland 2 – 0 Wigan
Sunderland recorded their fourth straight home win, and over fellow relegation rivals meant they moved out of the bottom three. Dickson Etuhu back from the African Cup of Nations grabbed a goal just before half time heading in from a free-kick. The Black Cats doubled the lead in the second half, this was after Wigan hit the woodwork twice, a cracking ball from Andy Reid found Daryl Murphy who thumped in a shot of the underside of the bar form all of 25 yards.
Middlesborough 1 – 0 Fulham
Afonso Alves who signed last week for £12 million started the game on the bench, it was another stirker who grabbed the only goal of the game in the frist half, Jeremie Aliadiere slotting in after breaking the offside trap. Alves came on the second half but was unable to make an impact.
Bolton 0 – 1 Portsmouth
The first half saw former Pompy player Matt Taylor miss a sitter, an open goal from all of 3 yards. The only goal came late in the game for the away side Lassana Diarra with his first goal in the Premiership. He did look offside which compounded the misery for the home side who had been the better side and had been denied by an inform David James on numerous occasions, no doubt that James is England’s number 1.
Derby 0 – 3 Tottenham
Well the Rams managed to hang on till the second half but then Spurs class shone. Robbie Keane tabbed in after Roy Carroll saved from Malbranque. The second from Kaboul when Derby couldn’t clear from a corner. The third form the spot for Berbatov after Stubbs handballed.
West Ham 1 – 1 Birmingham
James McFadden grabbed his first goal for Birmingham again West Ham, the Scot equalized from the spot after he was brought down in the box by Lucas Niell. West Ham had taken the lead in the first half, a long throw was flicked on by Cole and Ljungberg stole in at the far post to tap smash in the opener. Lee Bowyer decide to get himself sent off for a lunge on Johnson, bit of a shocker from Mr Battenburg.
Two games tomorrow complete the weekends football, and you don’t better than Liverpool Chelsea and the Manchester derby.
Barclays Premier League
Chelsea v Liverpool, 16:00
Man Utd v Man City, 13:30
Defoe deal becomes permanent
February 5, 2008
Jermain Defoe has made his loan move to Portsmouth permanent.
The striker made a great start to his Pompey career by scoring against Chelsea at the weekend. Now 25, he signed a four-and-a-half-year deal at Fratton Park, just days after agreeing to go on loan at the club.
Redknapp added:
“I honestly could not tell you the exact details but, at five minutes to midnight on Thursday, the two deals were dependent on each other with us getting £9m for Benjani and spending it on Defoe.
“I didn’t want to lose him but, of course, I had to because it is good business to sell a 29-year-old and get in a lad of 25 who is always going to get you goals.”
This would suggest that the Benjani deal does indeed increase to £9m after the 75-appearances clause rather than just over £7m as some reports have suggested.
Gareth Bale(s) out
February 5, 2008
Tottenham won’t have their first choice eleven until at least next season as Gareth Bale has been ruled out with a foot injury.
The Welsh international has been limping around since spraining a ligament against Birmingham in December.
After removing the cast on Monday, the surgeon ruled Bale out for the rest of this campaign. This gives new signing Gilberto the chance to impress Ramos before the impressive teenager returns to stake his claim to the first-choice left-back position.
Bale has only played 12 times since his expensive move from Southampton in the summer.
winningiseverything Premiership round-up
February 4, 2008
The results are in for the weekends matches, the Premiership finished with for another week.
The big winners this weekend were those at the wrong end of the table really. Fulham, Wigan and Bolton all won their respective games against Villa (2-1), West Ham (1-0) and Reading (2-0) to leave Derby further adrift at the bottom and some worried faces at clubs such as Reading (who are in free-fall), Sunderland and Birmingham.
Arguably anyone up to Tottenham are still in the relegation fight, but with Spurs having an upturn in fortunes and a scoring record the envy of many European contenders they will be fine. After their perhaps surprising 1-1 draw with champions Manchester United they will be looking to move onward and upward toward top-half status.
Newcastle and Middlesbrough played out a dull 1-1 draw as did Derby and Birmingham.
Jermain Defoe will be pleased with his weekends work, as he scored on his debut for Portsmouth against Chelsea to push the London club further behind the leaders.
Speaking of which, Arsenal maintained their excellent form this season with a 3-1 win at Manchester City, with two goals form the superb Adebayor. Wenger just seems to have a knack of selling players when he sees that they are holding up the progression of others. He did it with Viera to allow Fabregas to progress and now he has done it this season, letting Henry go to give Adebayor room to shine. As for Manchester City, they suffered their first home defeat this season and will be hoping that the Benjani deal goes through so that they have a striker that can actually score.
European contenders Blackburn and Everton played out a 0-0 draw at Ewood, but the Toffees will be disappointed that Andy Johnson’s goal in the second half was ruled out by the officials.
Finally, Liverpool recaptured some form as they beat Sunderland 3-0 at home. With their game in hand they may now feel a little more confident for that fourth spot.
Late deals
February 1, 2008
A few late deals from the Premiership last night including a right balls up from the blue half of Manchester.
First off, strugglers Fulham signed some experience for the run-in including former Liverpool forward Jari Litmanen and defender Toni Kallio. Both feature from manager Roy Hodgson’s past, having played for him in the Finnish national side. Litmanen is initially on trial, but arrives on a free anyway, while Kallio joins from Swiss side BSC Young Boys. Stalteri also joins from neighbors Tottenham on loan until the end of the season. I make this 7 signings for Fulham in this window.
Middlesbrough broke their club transfer record signing Brazilian striker Afonso Alves from Dutch club Heerenveen. The fee is thought to be in excess of £10m, with Alves putting his name on the dotted line of a four-and-a-half year deal. He comes with the reputation of being very prolific in front of goal with an especially impressive record at former club Malmo of 45 goals in 38 games. Middlesbrough will be hoping he came recapture that sort of form as they try to avoid relegation.
Everton let defender Alan Stubbs go to Derby for some first team football and then brought in some cover for their impressive defence signing Anthony Gardner on loan from Tottenham for the rest of the season.
Speaking of Tottenham, they completed another defensive signing, with Gilberto signing from Hertha Berlin. The Brazilian left-back joins for £1.9m after medical complications were ironed out yesterday.
And finally to the City/Portsmouth saga. Portsmouth captured Defoe from Spurs for an undisclosed fee with Harry especially happy at the capture. However, the deal may have been pushed through because of the transfer of Benjani to Manchester City thought to have been a done deal, for a figure thought to be around £9m. Complications have been forthcoming with City possibly not putting through the papers for the deal before the deadline thanks to the late appearance of Benjani at the club at around 11.15pm last night. Manager Sven-Goran Eriksson was trying to get the deal complete, or at least find out if it would be, until 1am but the matter remains unresolved.
It’s not all bad news for City though as they completed the capture of Ecuador international striker Felipe Caicedo from FC Basel for a fee thought to be around £5m. Caicedo is 19 and signs a four-and-a-half-year deal at Eastlands. They also signed Filippo Mancini, 17, the son of Inter Milan boss Roberto.
Stay tuned to “winning is everything” for further developments in the Benjani saga.
Defoe & Benjani deals
January 31, 2008
“winning is everything” has heard numerous reports that Portsmouth have agreed a fee for Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe. Defoe, 25, has had limited appearances, mostly from the bench. His contract expires at the end of next season so this seems like the right time for Spurs to sell him to avoid a freebie.
With Defoe not in the England picture, most likely due to inactivity, this seems like a decent move for the former West Ham striker.
This move may pave the way for the possibility of Benjani going off to Man City as rumored with a striking replacement now ready and able. Benjani was having a medical in Manchester earlier today, according to reports.
