Prem fixtures this weekend

Lemlin

Well done to Arsenal and Liverpool. They've managed to keep the title race going a bit longer.

Good win for Blackburn yesterday. Hopefully the team can beat Watford this week and move towards the top half of the table.

MisterAnarchy

PHB wrote:

First off, what a poor performance from both teams. Arsenal deserved the win, but I felt both teams were really quite poor, and below their relative selves.

Evra was not MOM, he was a good bit at fault for both of the goals. Quite a shocking defensive performance from United, sure they defended well in parts, but those two goals were inexcusable imo.

Scholes was very poor today, really off his game, and the reason why United up front were so limited. Ronaldo and Giggs were ok, but really didn't have anything to do since Scholes couldn't get the balls to them enough. Really suprising from Scholes, credit to Fabregas who hassled him all day.

Rooney had another poor game for United today, the goal really doesn't excuse the sub-par performance for the entire game.
Larsson was ok, but to be honest, I think him up front as a target man isn't something that is ever gona work. Saha really shoulda started, with either Larsson or Rooney partnering him.

All in all, United threw away the lead, and deserved to be beaten after that. Pretty disappointing from United, had a good chance to extend the lead. That said, with Terry still out, and Uniteds fixtures over the next while relatively easy (Watford, Spurs, Charlton, Fulham), the Liverpool game is now gona be quite big.

Yes it was quite a poor match.
Both teams were afraid to concede the first goal and it was cautious stuff,dont think either team had a decent chance in the first 40 mins.
Scholes was under orders to stay back I would think from Ferguson and he was mugged for the first goal,something that is happening him alot lately.
Neville was very poor as well ,when anyone came down his wing,he seemed to spend most of the time running back towards his own goal instead of getting a tackle in.
Rooney was poor again,his touch is off and he seems to just charge at players instead of dribbling properly.
Cant blame Larsson,I thought he played well.
Its time for Ferguson to finally bin the ploy of Rooney on the left wing and giving Giggs a free role.
It just doesnt work against a good team.
On the Sky issue,laughable.
Quotes from the goons today.
'Henry is a genius'
'He is the best player in the World'
'What does he have to do to win World Player of the Year ?'
Bit overboard as always.

mike65

Dang! I wuz cheering on Utd. :eek:

Mike.

gandalf

mike65 wrote:

Dang! I wuz cheering on Utd. :eek:

Mike.

Scrub yourself with a wire brush you dirty boy !!!

Good win for Arsenal, like the games against Liverpool I wasn't expecting us to get anything out of it, especially missing Gilberto.

Any news on Johnstons injury from the earlier match. At the moment half my fantasy football team is injured !!!

MisterAnarchy

Sizzler wrote:

Watford next up for Utd. I don't feel toooo bad all of a sudden

Next 7 matches for Chelsea and Utd
Chelsea
Blackburn (H)
Charlton (A)
Boro (H)
Man City (A)
Portsmouth (A)
Sheff Utd (H)
Watford (A)

Man Utd
Watford (H)
Tottenham (A)
Charlton (H)
Fulham (A)
Liverpool (A)
Bolton (H)
Blackburn (H)

United have alot of tough matches,Chelsea have mostly easy fixtures.
Worrying

SCULLY

The way Cheslea have been playing off late nothing can be taken for granted.
Utd should be out of sight by now but we are still there or there abouts. I personally think the result against Villa will prove to be our downfall as we failed to punish Utds dropping of points v Newcastle. Still a long ways to go yet.... (says he with one eye on Man Utd and the other on the catching pack...)

homerjay2005

MisterAnarchy wrote:

United have alot of tough matches,Chelsea have mostly easy fixtures.
Worrying

yes, but you forgot to mention chelses last 6 games -

home to

bolton
united
everton

away to

arsenal
newcastle
west ham

6 very tough games

_blank_

MisterAnarchy wrote:

Chelsea have mostly easy fixtures.

There are no easy fixtures in the best league in the world.

Sizzler

LOL @ Fergie comment that Carrick was MOTM. What game was he watching? Ive yet to see Carrick influence more than 10mins of a game that hes played in for Utd :mad:

sweetie

Mossy Monk wrote:

do people really need to be spoon fed that website every time there is a match on

seems like it. aren't people silly

PHB

It's been a while since a player has been risked on a match, scored the winner, and then gotten an injury from it. Gotta ask yourselves, was the 3 points against United really worth the loss of Van Persie for a couple of months

Thanx 4 The Fish

5 - 6 weeks he is out for and the CL money at the end of the season may well be worth it..

Dave!

Liverpool played much better than Chelsea. Well deserved to win, and some classy goals made it all the better.

Arsenal and Man Utd was a very tight game. A very good match, which I predicted would be 1-1. Unfortunately I mentioned that at 90 mins, which jinxed us and lead to Henry scoring a decent oul goal :mad:

gandalf

PHB wrote:

It's been a while since a player has been risked on a match, scored the winner, and then gotten an injury from it. Gotta ask yourselves, was the 3 points against United really worth the loss of Van Persie for a couple of months

You can't quantify for injuries. Thats why Arsenal have a decent squad as cover.

Also its nice to do the double over United in the League

kinaldo

PHB wrote:

United lost against them earlier in the season because Fergie decided to swap to a crappy 4-5-1, a mistake he won't make again.

PHB wrote:

Same mistake made again by Fergie as last time, playing a 4-5-1, and losing us the game again.

dr.bollocko wrote:

Chelsea and United will come through these away "tests" easily enough I reckon.

I love these comments.

Big Ears

For me Arsenal were the better side and deserved their win .
As for a man of the match for me it was Gael Clichy , he was fantastic today and at times seemed to have Ronaldo in his pocket . Infact United seemed to get very little joy down that right hand side and that was mainly down to him .

He was partially at fault for the goal letting Rooney slip in behind him but he may have been able to do something had the ball not been glanced on by Toure .

Great for a team to be able to sell a player the quality of Ashley Cole and have a replacement as good as Clichy already at the club and at his age he is only bound to improve .

smemon

poor performance from utd today, they needed to go 1-0 down to start playing football..

i remember saying in '99, utd played their best football when they went a goal down.. it's the same today... they just won't attack when they go 1-0 up.

once arsenal got it level, utd immediately pushed on - by that time it was too late. Arsenal then hit them with a second.... too late to react.

despite playing defensively and poorly imo, utd scored one and had 2 or 3 other decent chances (which lehmann did well on).

A more physical utd side, hurt after going 1-0 in the opening 10mins to a dodgy penalty, would have been much healthier for utd imo... rather than going 1-0 mid way through the second half when legs and minds get tired and relaxed and everyone gets behind the ball.

redspider

I thought it was a good game today between The Arse and Man U. Whilst the goals and drama came late, and it was cagey at times, it was a battle of wits and tactics and good football was played.

Man Utd had the upper hand very early on. But Arsenal came into it more and more. However, even with so much posession clear chances were far and few between. Just when you thought that the game was swinging towards Arsenal, Rooney gets on the end of something to score. In the first half he had been positioned wide left, not a good use of him, but for the goal and for most of the game he was back on the right. Evra had a good game and was instrumental in this goal, making a good run and getting the cross in.

The goal put the onus on Arsenal, and they huffed and puffed. At times it looked like they would never get the ball passed through the middle and anytime they went wide and got a cross in there was enough Man Utd bodies to cut things out.

But eventually a goal came. Van Persie's speed played a part in it. I thought Neville was having a good game and was instrumental in keeping Henry quiet for most of the match. Indeed, Henry had to move back from his usual wide left position back close to an attacking midfield inside left position, to collect the ball and pass the ball forward to others. I think Ferdinand could have done better for the goal. Van Der Saar perhaps too although it was point blank.

1-1 would have been a fair result I thought, so for me Arsenal stole the win at the end. The centre backs were beaten for once from a cross at the death (93+ mins) and although the header wasnt perfect it had enough pace on it to beat vd Sar from 7 yards.

Arsenal may have won the game but with Chelsea's loss and the manner of Chelsea's display and their defensive woes, not to mention the disruption in the camp at the management/executive/owner level, I think that its advantage Man Utd. The ladder is now:

57 Man United
56
55
54
53
52
51 Chelsea
50
49
48
47
46 Liverpool
45 Arsenal
44
43
42
41
40 Bolton

Man Utd still have to go away to Liverpool and to Chelsea. Arsenal also have to go to Liverpool. Those three top-4 games may very well play important parts in where teams finish.

Earlier this season I was predicting a CMAL finish. With the way things stand, I'm now changing my prediction to MCAL. Man Utd may have lost today, but I think they will put this defeat out of their minds (with the help of Ferguson) and they should go on to win the league. Of course its possible that they will bottle now and start losing 'easy' games, but I would be surprised.

I also think that Ferguson will optimize for the league whereas Chelsea will optimize their squad/team selections for the CL, and these two stances should crystallize the run in.

time will tell ....

Redspider

kinaldo

Man Utd had the chance to practically finish off Chelsea today and with less than ten minutes to go they bottled it, imo.

/ Probably the greatest act of bottling since Keegan in 96

jank

Great match with the great man finishing it off in stopage time.

If only Arsenal were closer to united it would make the next few months very interesting.

United payed the price for going toe to toe with Arsenal and their passing game.

Mossy Monk

delighted with todays result. i think Arsenal have a claim on that 2nd spot

sweetie wrote:

seems like it. aren't people silly

try looking at the thread that is always on the front page of this board. full of links :rolleyes:

jank

Would love if this result ****ed up united's league chalenge.

I feel if chelsea can go ahead in the league table then they will win it.
There are going to be a few twists and turns yet

redspider

I dont think Man Utd either bottled it or paid the price for adopting a passing game. This match was very touch and go and at 83 minutes it could have easily continued in the vein that it was and ended up with a 0-1 scalp to Man U. This was a close game.

By the way, here is an interesting set of tables updated:

Premiership 06/07 - Big Four
Pos 	Team 	 	P 	W 	D 	L 	F 	A 	Pts
1 	Arsenal 	4 	3 	1 	0 	7 	2 	10
2 	Chelsea 	4 	1 	2 	1 	3 	4 	5
3 	Manchester Utd  4 	1 	1 	2 	4 	4 	4
4 	Liverpool 	4 	1 	0 	3 	2 	6 	3

Premiership 05/06 - Big Four
Pos 	Team 	 	P 	W 	D 	L 	F 	A 	Pts
1 	Chelsea 	6 	5 	0 	1 	12 	2 	15
2 	Manchester Utd  6 	3 	2 	1 	4 	3 	11
3 	Arsenal 	6 	1 	1 	4 	2 	7 	4
4 	Liverpool 	6 	1 	1 	4 	3 	9 	4

Premiership 04/05 - Big Four   
Pos 	Team 	 	P 	W 	D 	L 	F 	A 	Pts
1 	Chelsea 	6 	4 	2 	0 	8 	3 	14
2 	Manchester Utd  6 	4 	0 	2 	10 	7 	12
3 	Arsenal 	6 	1 	2 	3 	8 	11 	5
4 	Liverpool 	6 	1 	0 	5 	4 	9 	3

Not pretty reading from a Liverpool perspective!

redspider

smemon

looking at 'the ladder', it only hits home how well off Utd are.

Having just lost to arsenal, they can still afford to lose to chelsea and liverpool and still be top.

Given the fact that chelsea are a mess (by their standards) at the minute, I can't see Utd being challenged.

Utd, unlike Chelsea have a happy, united club (players, manager, board) plus they have the cushion of a 6 point lead.

Today, imo, it would have been over had utd won. They didn't, but i don't think it's a sign of cracks appearing. Given the same chance again, i think they'd have a different approach.

Nalz

Mossy Monk wrote:

delighted with todays result. i think Arsenal have a claim on that 2nd spot:

ha ha

jank wrote:

Would love if this result ****ed up united's league chalenge.

:rolleyes: one for the ignore list. No real need for comments like that.

redspider

One thing I forgot to mention from a Liverpool perspective were the losses of both Bolton and Portsmouth. With the ladder now looking like:

.
.
46 Liverpool
45 Arsenal
44
43
42
41
40 Bolton Wndrs
39
38
37 Portsmouth

a clear gap has opened up between 4th and 5th and given the momentun/form of the teams it looks like that gap is unassailable. Hence, Liverpool and Arsenal look as if they are under no threat not to qualify for the CL.

Just as a reminder that in money terms, qualifying for the CL and getting to the group or indeed the latter stages of it is worth more money than the difference between winning the league and ending up 5th or lower, if you know what I mean. Qualifying for the CL is crucial for any club in england that wants to stay/be big.

Redspider

Nalz

redspider wrote:

Just as a reminder that in money terms, qualifying for the CL and getting to the group or indeed the latter stages of it is worth more money than the difference between winning the league and ending up 5th or lower, if you know what I mean. Qualifying for the CL is crucial for any club in england that wants to stay/be big.

I dont think Arsenal or Liverpool havta worry about being out of the first 4. The 4 big teams will snap up them spots. The question is who'll get 1st n who'll get 3rd.

gandalf

Well I think United have the league but I do think Chelsea look vunerable for 2nd spot at the moment with both Liverpool and Arsenal capable of overhauling them. It really depends on how much longer Terry is out of their team because it is obvious he is the leader of the team.

Jank stop talking rubbish United are top due to merit, I doubt very much they will bottle it. The only team I see bottling it is Chelsea, there are so many issues there at the moment its taking their focus off the league.

Its going to be an interesting run in for 2nd, 3rd & 4th methinks.

redspider

Trilla wrote:

I dont think Arsenal or Liverpool havta worry about being out of the first 4. The 4 big teams will snap up them spots.

Well, Arsenal were certainly worried last season as it was only due to Spur's losing it rather than them winning it that left them with 4th place and a CL berth. That was a major relief what with a new stadium and major debts. And Liverpool had a major scare the season before that, as Everton got 4th and only the CL win and some common sense in Uefa got them back into the CL.

Missing the CL is so important that you can see the effects it has had on clubs like Newcastle, and the Leeds Utd is well documented. Liverpool have also missed qualification which has held them back, bring pipped by Chelsea if I recall, and each miss pegs the club back. That qualification by Chelsea also spurred them on. If they didnt get that, the present may be a lot different and Abramovitch may be the owner of a different club, maybe Arsenal.

The CL is one of the driving forces behind the succes of Man Utd and Arsenal. Liverpool and Chelsea are just recent members. And its something that Liverpool can certainly not take for granted with their potential for inconsistency.

redspider

iregk

Funny the change in people now. Last season apparently John Terry was distinctly average and it was only because Makalele made him look good. Now it appears Chelsea's entire season depends on his return?

Only now seeing how good a player JT really is.

Nalz

I think its more so the fact that Chelsea dont have a CB at all now with Carvalho and Terry out... though Terry is a great defender, despite what critics say and how poor he was in the world cup in Germany

jank

Jank stop talking rubbish United are top due to merit, I doubt very much they will bottle it. The only team I see bottling it is Chelsea, there are so many issues there at the moment its taking their focus off the league.

Of course. The league never lies but there are plenty of games left. If chelsea can stablise the ship and get back to winning ways then they will be a force again.
United have yet to go through a "bad patch" and have been incredably fortunate regarding injuries to key players.

I just have this feeling that there are going to be a few more twists to this title race yet. its anybodys guess who will come out on top!

Nalz

jank wrote:

I just have this feeling that there are going to be a few more twists to this title race yet. its anybodys guess who will come out on top!

yeah well I f**kin hope that Arsena.............ah Im not gonna bother.

True though that United have yet to hit a bad patch, though Chelsea have some horrible last 6 games. If United can win one of those games againt Chelsea or Liverpool the league will go to Old Trafford IMO

PHB

have been incredably fortunate regarding injuries to key players.

Geneally, you are unlucky to get injuries. An injury isn't always going to happen. Scholes is the most important player and he hasn't gotten injured. We havn't been incredibly fortunate, we just havn't been unlucky. Also there was a day when the amount of injuries you got was often related to how well you looked after your body and the training regime you used. Well there is some amount of injuries due to luck, I think how Chelsea deal with their players means that the Terry injury is worse than it might have been.

Managing your squads fitness (including resting key players like Scholes when you don't need them) is an important part of being a manager aswell.