Game Week 3- Review

Manchester United chalked up their first win of the season thanks to teen sensation Nani. The Portuguese youngster drove a spectacular long-range effort past Paul Robinson and into the top corner of the Tottenham Hotspur net, aided by a slight deflection off Carlos Tevez. That goal - only United's second of the season - was enough to give the Champions a 1-0 victory over Spurs.

Mark Viduka was on target on his return to the Riverside Stadium as Middlesbrough and Newcastle United played out an eventful 2-2 draw. Charles N'Zogbia opened the scoring for the visitors in the 22nd minute but Mido's second goal in as many games saw Boro back on level terms six minutes later. Viduka must have thought he'd had a dream return to his former club as he scored his first goal for the Magpies 13 minutes from time. But just three minutes later Julio Arca fired home from the edge of the box.

Manchester City's 100 percent start to the season came to a halt at Emirates stadium as they conceded their first goal of the campaign. Kasper Schmeichel's heroics between the posts continued as he saved a penalty from Robin van Persie. But he couldn't keep out Cesc Fabregas' fierce shot ten minutes from time which gave Arsenal a 1-0 victory.

Bolton Wanderers also saw a change of fortunes as they earned their first points of the season. Goals from Gary Speed, Nicolas Anelka and substitute Daniel Braaten secured a 3-0 home victory over Reading.

City's slip-up saw Chelsea take top spot in the Barclays Premier League thanks to a 1-0 victory over Portsmouth at Stamford Bridge. Fresh from scoring for his country midweek, Frank Lampard's fierce shot past England team-mate David James on the half-hour mark saw the Blues snatch all three points.

Sunderland's misfortunes continued as they fell to their second defeat of the campaign. Craig Gordon produced a series of superb saves but could not keep Liverpool at bay for the entire match. And goals from Mohamed Sissoko and Andriy Voronin gave the visitors a deserved 2-0 victory.

Birmingham City won the clash of the promoted sides at Pride Park with a 2-1 triumph over Derby County. Jerome scored both the goals for the blues.Another early goal gave Fulham the lead against Aston Villa. In the fifth minute Clint Dempsey clipped the ball home clinically into the top corner but Villa claimed a deserved equaliser when Ashley Young's cross was deflected into his own goal by Zat Knight on 50 minutes. Chris Baird was then sent off for a second yellow card before Shaun Maloney scored in injury-time to hand Villa a thrilling 2-1 victory.

Two late goals left honours even between West Ham United and Wigan Athletic at Upton Park. Wigan scored when Paul Scharner's well-placed overhead kick found the corner of the net in the 79th minute before Lee Bowyer finished from a tight angle two minutes later to leave it 1-1.

The weekend's other draw came at Goodison where James McFadden scored his first goal of the season to scramble a point for Everton. Roque Santa Cruz's third goal of the season gave Blackburn Rovers a first-half lead before McFadden swept home a Mikel Arteta cross with 12 minutes left to make it 1-1.

Game Week 2- Review

Champions Manchester United continued there torrid start to to the campaign with a loss at derby rivals Manchester City. United now lie 5th from the bottom with their next match against Spurs. For Mancheter City manager Sven Goran Errikson it was a dream start to his time at City having won all the three matches till now, they lie on top of the the Premiership table.
Chelsea and Livepool faced off each other at Anfield. Chelsea come out of the match with a point owed to a controversial penalty awarded to them from which Lampard scored to cancel out Liverpool new boy Fernando Torres goal in the first half.

Blackburn came with a draw against Arsenal due to a glaring Jens Lehhman mistake in goal,his second in as many weeks. Spurs got their seasonof to a start by winning against newly promoted Derby county with Darren Bent playing a key role in the victory. Reading defeated high flying Everton by 1-0 with hunt scoring the only goal in the match. Hammers also got a win under their belt after defeating Birmingham city 0-1. another newly promoted team Sunderland lost to Wigan 3-0. and Boro got a positive result out of their game against Fulham by winning it by 2-1. but the game was marred by a controversial goal line incident in which toe ball had completely crossed the line but the officials didn't give it as a goal.

Results
Saturday 18th August 2007
Portsmouth 3-1 Bolton Wanderers
Fulham 1-2 Middlesbrough
Reading 1-0 Everton
Birmingham City 0-1 West Ham United
Wigan Athletic 3-0 Sunderland
Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 Derby County
Newcastle United 0-0 Aston Villa

Sunday 19th August 2007
Manchester City 1-0 Manchester United
Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Arsenal
Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea

Midweek matches

Manchester United had another disappointing outing as they could only score a 1-1 draw at Fratton Park over Portsmouth. The game marked the first match for Carlos Tevez in Red Devil's colors. The Champions had another set back as Ronaldo was sent off and is likely to miss 3 matches unless United appeal to the card. Chelsea had a tough away game against Reading but they won match 1-2.

Everton upset Spurs with a score 0f 3-1. Spurs ,considered the team that could break into the top 4 in the pre season, have not won a match in the season yet. Another team which is off to an awful start is Bolton Wanderers. They were beaten by Fulham 2-1 and also have not got a single point yet.Man City put in another spirited performance to beat newly promoted Derby 1-0. In a contest between 2 promoted teams Birmingham and Sunderland played out to a 2-2 draw. Last season struggler's Wigan won their match against Boro 1-0.

Results : -

Tuesday 14th August 2007
Tottenham Hotspur 1-3 Everton

Wednesday 15th August 2007
Fulham 2-1 Bolton Wanderers
Portsmouth 1-1 Manchester United
Birmingham City 2-2 Sunderland
Manchester City 1-0 Derby County
Liverpool P-P West Ham United
Blackburn Rovers P-P Aston Villa
Reading 1-2 Chelsea
Wigan Athletic 1-0 Middlesbrough

Week 1 in review

The season got off to an excellent start. The season kicked off at the stadium of light with Sunderland facing spurs and the exciting match ended with the Saints new recruit Chopra getting the only goal just seconds before the final whistle. Saturday was the day of 2 teams who have very high expectations from their supporters. The teams were Man city and Newcastle United both who have new managers. Both played attractive football and got comfortable wins against respectable teams. For big Sam it was return to his old club Bolton after after stepping down at the end of last season. Newly promoted Derby County got a draw in the there first match against Portsmouth. Everton Scored a comfortable victory over Wigan

The defending champions Manchester United had a very disappointing start to their campaign as they could only manage a draw against a very resilient Reading at the Old Trafford. Another bad news for the defending champions was that Wayne Rooney had broken his ankle and will be out for almost 2 months.The other of the top 4 ie Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal but both Chelsea and Arsenal had to wait for there wins as they were taken to the limit by Birmingham and Fulham.

The Results :-

Saturday 11th August 2007

Sunderland 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Derby County 2-2 Portsmouth
Middlesbrough 1-2 Blackburn Rovers
Everton 2-1 Wigan Athletic
West Ham United 0-2 Manchester City
Bolton Wanderers 1-3 Newcastle United
Aston Villa 1-2 Liverpool

Sunday 12th August 2007

Arsenal 2-1 Fulham
Chelsea 3-2 Birmingham City
Manchester United 0-0 Reading

Team to Team Comparision

Arsenal
ARSENAL's days as a serious title contender could be numbered - at least temporarily - after an off-season that has left the most ardent fan feeling uneasy. With the leaving of Henry to Barcalona the team will lag a bit in strike force.

Aston Villa
MANAGER Martin O'Neill will not tolerate another mid-table finish this season, and he will be aiming for direct UEFA Cup qualification as a minimum.

Birmingham City
BIRMINGHAM City is back in the Premier League after just a season in the Championship, but a return to the second tier is the most likely scenario this season unless they get off the blocks as soon as they can.

Blackburn Rovers
BLACKBURN will have no excuses if it struggles to score, with Benni McCarthy, Jason Roberts, Matt Derbyshire, Roque Santa Cruz and Maceo Rigters on the books.This could be a good season for the club.

Bolton Wanderers
SOME pundits believe Bolton Wanderers overachieved by finishing seventh last season, but new manager Sammy Lee is aiming for a top-four spot this season which is only a distant possibility.

Chelsea
Chelsea will define its season as successful only if it regains the title, but one suspects that Manchester United has a psychological edge.Chelsea will certainly give a strong fight and are one of the strong contenders for the title.

Derby County
DERBY County should be aiming for grim survival having gained promotion, through the play-offs, 12 months after finishing third-bottom in the Championship. But they will find the life in premiership a bit tough to handle.

Everton
EVERTON'S unbroken run in the top division - it was last relegated in 1954 - is not under threat. Indeed, most fans fancy a Champions League spot with the team already in Europe this season.

Fulham
FULHAM escaped relegation last season by just one point, and it's going to be more of the same for the Cottagers in this campaign.The manager has been busy making new signings and strengthening the squad.

Liverpool
LIVERPOOL is the club most likely to dethrone Manchester United. And after a 17-year drought, the day cannot come soon enough for Reds fans.The club has been most active in the the transfer market with the new owners backing the manager to make new signings.They will be strong contenders for the title.

Manchester City
DESPITE the signing of Sven-Goran Eriksson as manager, City fans will most likely endure another season in the shadow of Manchester United even though the club has made some good signings and with a new manager would hope to finish in the top half of the table.

Manchester United
THERE'S no prize for predicting that Manchester United will finish there or thereabouts in the title race; nine titles since 1992-1993 says it all.

Middlesbrough
MIDDLESBROUGH finished 12th last season, and the fans should be ecstatic if it can repeat that performance this time round.

Newcastle United
A NEW owner, a new manager and several big signings ... if there's going to be a shock title winner this season, it will most likely be the Magpies. They are in search for a title since 1969.

Portsmouth
PORTSMOUTH is hoping for another fast start to the season as it seeks to improve on last term's efforts with an automatic UEFA Cup place for 2008-2009.

Reading
READING was one of the success stories of last season, finishing eighth, but the Royals are likely to drop back in the field this time.But with Steve Coppell as the manager they will do well

Sunderland
SUNDERLAND is renowned for fluctuating between the top two divisions, but there is a quiet confidence at the club that this season will be different. With Keane at ht helm there is a new confidence in the team that finished top of the Championship league last season.

Tottenham Hotspur
TOTTENHAM Hotspur's highest Premier League finish of fifth last season has some fans dreaming of Champions League football this time next year.they are likely to break into the top four.

West Ham United
THIS season should be one of consolidation for West Ham United, which missed relegation by the skin of its teeth in May.This season they will be more strong and with the manager and the owner trying to bring the club into europe with its strong performance.

Wigan Athletic
HAVING missed the drop last season by a single goal on the last day of the season, the Latics won't find the new campaign any less stressful.They are likely to struggle.

The Season 2007/2008 Begins

Finally the curtains are about to be raised on a brand new season of the English Premier League (or the Barclay's Premier League),one of the most exciting football leagues in the world.
last season Manchester United won the trophy from Chelsae by producing a stunning display of football through out the season.and now they are ready to defend and win it once more.

Most of the the clubs have spent big and have made some new signings and some new and exciting players have come into the league. As all have predicted this season is going to be a very close one as most of the teams are strong and want to impress. none of them wants to be relegated as that would mean a heavy loss of finance.The newly promoted temas-Derby,Sunderland and Birmingham City will definitely want to make an impression.
When the season starts on the 11th of august and as the first game between Sunderland vs Tottenham HotSpurs kicks off it will mark the beginning of a new and exciting 8 months of the Beautiful Game-Football.

Let the Games Begin

Season 2007-2008 in Focus

After American Malcolm Glazer's Manchester United wrested the Premier League title away from Chelsea's Russian owner Roman Abramovich last season, Liverpool's Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. have opened their wallets to bring the trophy down the road to Anfield this season. Gillett, who owns the NHL's Montreal Canadiens, and fellow American partner Hicks bought control of Liverpool last season. They have given manager Rafa Benitez the funds to make 16 new player signings since the Reds finished third last term and lost to AC Milan in the Champions League final.

Benitez has brought in Spanish star Fernando Torres, Dutch international Ryan Babel and Ukraine's Andriy Voronin to join a strike force that already features Dutch star Dirk Kuyt and England's Peter Crouch.Liverpool, which won the Champions League in 2005, is now more determined than ever to win the English league for the first time since 1990 - before the Premier League began.

"The squad has improved, the manager has been backed with good money and he's spent it well and now it's time for the players to deliver," captain Steven Gerrard said. "The Premier League, that's the one. That's our main priority."

Glazer, who also owns the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will be out to stop Liverpool and has given Manchester United's veteran Scottish manager Sir Alex Ferguson millions to spend to strengthen an already impressive squad lineup.United has finally acquired Calgary-raised England midfielder Owen Hargreaves from Bayern Munich as well as Portuguese forward Nani and Brazilian Anderson. Argentina striker Carlos Tevez is on his way from West Ham, providing United can cut through red tape.

"The top four have all done a bit of buying and added to their squad," Ferguson said. "Chelsea have a big, strong squad, so you don't expect much change there and both Arsenal and Liverpool were over 20 points behind us last season. They won't want to be 20 points behind us again."

Chelsea, with the biggest spending power of all since Abramovich bought the club three years ago, has been comparatively modest in the transfer market compared with previous years. But the Blues have still brought in Claudio Pizarro from Bayern Munich, Florent Malouda from Lyon and Tal Ben Haim from Bolton.

"Our rivals have strengthened but so have we," Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said. "I don't think it's going to be who spends the most money who wins the league. That has never been the case. It's always been who has the fighting spirit, togetherness and which of the big players had the better season.

"Cristiano Ronaldo had a good season last year and was the main reason United won the league. This year we need two or three important players in attack to come up with the goods and that's what we'll be trying to do."

Arsenal, which is reportedly the target of a possible takeover by American businessman Stan Kroenke, has settled for Brazilian-born Croatian striker Eduardo da Silva after reluctantly selling Thierry Henry to Barcelona.

If the transfer dealings are a guide, Liverpool and Manchester United appear to have the most ambition of the traditional four big contenders, suggesting their rival American owners will be fighting it out for the title next May.

But they are not the only big spenders.

The clubs in the world's richest soccer league now have even more cash to spend thanks to a huge hike in TV revenue, attracting more overseas investment. There could even be a strong and long overdue challenge from Manchester City, which is now owned by former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and managed by former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Eriksson previously led teams to league and cup double triumphs in Sweden, Portugal and Italy. Because he failed to take England past the quarter-finals at two World Cups and a European Championship, however, City fans don't have a huge amount of faith in the Swede. He could be under pressure quickly if the team falls behind early in the title race.

Tottenham has come close to breaking into the top four the past two seasons and would love to do so this year at the expense of bitter north London rival Arsenal, which has finished fourth twice in a row.Tottenham's Martin Jol is well respected as a pragmatic coach who values talented players. He has added England's Darren Bent to a strike force that includes Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane and Jermaine Defoe, and signed rising German star Kevin-Prince Boateng from Hertha Berlin.

Everton finished sixth last season without showing any sign of reaching the elite. Fans of Martin O'Neill's Aston Villa, controlled by Cleveland Browns' owner Randy Lerner, will demand that the team captures at least a UEFA Cup spot by finishing in the top six or seven.

Newcastle is probably the most enigmatic club.With more than 50,000 boisterous fans at every home game, it's hard to explain why the Magpies haven't won the league title since 1927 or any trophy since the European Fairs Cup (now UEFA Cup) in 1969. Sam Allardyce, the tough-talking former Bolton coach, is the new manager and has made many changes to the squad in the hope of a top-six finish.Last season, Newcastle placed 13th of the 20 clubs with England striker Michael Owen sidelined for most of the season. Owen should be back on a regular basis this season.

West Ham, which avoided relegation on the final day of the season, has also been busy in the transfer market. Icelandic owner Lennart Magnusson won't be satisfied with another relegation struggle.Of the three promoted clubs, Roy Keane's Sunderland looks to have the best chance of making an impact. The former Manchester United captain led the Wearsiders to promotion to the top flight in his first season as a manager. He'll now come up against Ferguson, his former boss at United.

Birmingham City's Steve Bruce will be chasing little more than 17th place, which means survival, while Derby County, promoted through the playoffs, is almost certain to struggle.Reading will do well to repeat last season's eighth-place finish, while Portsmouth, Middlesbrough and Blackburn likely will stay in the middle of the pack.Bolton, without Allardyce's firm control, could slide down towards relegation trouble and fight for safety with Fulham, Wigan, Birmingham and Derby.

Tevez saga completed

English champions Manchester United on Friday finally completed the transfer of Argentine striker Carlos Tevez.The Red Devils confirmed the forward had joined on a two-year loan putting an end to a protracted period of negotiation which has lasted almost throughout the summer.

A club statement said: "Manchester United is delighted to announce that Carlos Tevez has been registered as a member of its first-team squad by the Premier League."

Tevez, who has been the subject of a long-running Premier League investigation into third-party ownership, has been training with United all week.

However, he is extremely unlikely to be involved in United's opening game of the season against Reading on Sunday despite being cleared to play by the Premier league.

Instead United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has scheduled Tevez's United debut for next weekend's derby clash at Manchester City.

"Carlos surprised us in the training sessions last week," Ferguson said.

"After the Copa America, and with only a short holiday, I thought he might need more training. But he did very well and looked in great shape.He's likely to be involved the following week against Manchester City. But it's difficult to assess what part he'll play because if you put somebody into a derby game, you have to make sure they're spot on."

The 23-year-old's registration with West Ham was cancelled by the Premier League earlier this week but every item of paperwork within the new deal has been scrutinised in an effort to avoid the kind of wrangle which erupted over the 'third-party' ownership of his agent Kia Joorabchian during Tevez's time at West Ham.

Although Ferguson had expected the deal to be completed long before now, the United boss felt it was "understandable" it should have taken so long.

"I am happy with what the Premier League are doing because eventually we will get a player in the right circumstances, with everything clarified and cleared by the appropriate authorities."

Bolton Wanderers

Bolton have established themselves as a respected Premier League club since rejoining the top flight in 2001. The Trotters made their Premier League bow in 1995 but were relegated after just one season when they finished bottom.

They returned to football's elite a year later after winning the Division One title, but went down again - this time on goal difference. Sam Allardyce guided Bolton back up in 2001 and the club has gone from strength to strength.

Bolton qualified for the UEFA Cup for the first time in their history in 2005 after finishing sixth. After an eighth-place finish the year after, they came seventh last season to make the UEFA Cup again. They were one of 12 founder members of the Football League which was formed in 1888.


The club was founded as Christ Church FC in 1874, but changed its name to Bolton Wanderers three years later. Bolton finished FA Cup runners-up in 1894 and were losing finalists again 10 years later, before making it third time lucky with victory over West Ham in the 1923 final. More FA Cup success arrived in 1926 when they beat Manchester City and again in 1929 with a triumph over Portsmouth.

There was another FA Cup Final appearance in 1953, but Bolton suffered a 4-3 defeat at the hands of a Stanley Matthews-inspired Blackpool. Five years later, they made up for the disappointment by winning the FA Cup for the fourth time with victory over Manchester United.

Bolton had a 29-year spell from 1935 in the top flight and eventually slipped into the league's lowest tier in 1987. They eventually clawed their way back to the Premiership in 1995. And as a Division One team, made an heroic run to the League Cup Final but lost out to Liverpool.

They suffered the same fate again - losing to Middlesbrough in the 2004 League Cup Final - although a club-best finish of eighth in the Barclays Premierhip softened the blow.

Smith completes Newcastle move

Newcastle United have signed England forward Alan Smith from Manchester United for an undisclosed fee.

The 26-year-old has agreed a five-year deal with the Magpies after three years at Old Trafford and trained with his new team-mates on Friday. He had been linked with a number of Barclays Premier League clubs prior to completing his transfer. The former Leeds player's time with the champions was affected by injury and he managed only 93 appearances, scoring 12 goals.
another option

Smith will join his former Elland Road team-mates Mark Viduka and James Milner. He will compete with the likes of Viduka, Michael Owen, Obafemi Martins and Shola Ameobi for a place in the Newcastle attack. Smith, though, can also play in midfield, giving manager Sam Allardyce another option in the centre of the pitch. Allardyce is also hoping to complete a move for former Lyon captain Claudio Cacapa. If he arrives, the Brazilian will strengthen the centre of Newcastle's defence.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson also parted with striker Giuseppe Rossi this week, but is hopeful of completing a deal for West Ham United's Carlos Tevez.

Rossi leaves United for Villarreal

Spanish side Villarreal's penchant for Manchester United's unwanted strikers continues as they signed Italian Under-21 international Giuseppe Rossi for 6.7million pounds.

The 20-year-old American-born hitman - who will sign subject to a medical - will replace another United misfit Diego Forlan at the 2006 Champions League semi-finalists - the Uruguayan having moved to Atletico Madrid for 14 million pounds.

Rossi, who scored four times in 14 senior appearances for United since he joined them aged 16, starred in a loan spell for Serie A outfit Parma last term and his nine goals in 17 matches played a large part in saving the former Cup Winners Cup and UEFA Cup winners place among the Italian elite.

Parma were keen to sign him on a permanent basis but only came up with a 5.4 million pounds bid which was trumped by Villarreal for a player that was hailed by United manager Sir Alex Ferguson as 'the future of the club' last summer when he signed a new contract which would have kept him with the 'Red Devils' till 2010.

Ironically, Rossi's last start for United was in the final game of the 2005-06 campaign, when he was preferred to Ruud van Nistelrooy, a decision which effectively ended the Dutchman's Old Trafford career and saw him also depart for Spain to Real Madrid.

Arsenal snap up striker Da Silva

Arsenal have swooped to sign Croatian international striker Eduardo da Silva from Dinamo Zagreb.The 24-year-old, who scored against England in a Euro 2008 qualifier in October, has signed a four-year contract at the Emirates Stadium.
"I am sad to leave," said Da Silva. "But I'm happy too, since Arsenal are one of the biggest clubs in the world."

Da Silva is the first signing for Arsenal since the departure of Thierry Henry to Barcelona in June."We are delighted to have signed Eduardo Da Silva," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told the club's website.

"He has great qualities and will integrate very well into our style of football.He is a very good finisher and although he is predominantly a striker, he is a very adaptable player.I have known about him for a while but his performances against us in last year's Champions League really showed what a dangerous player he is.Da Silva is a pacy, intelligent player. Also, he is hardworking and has a very good team ethic to his game."

Henry's move to Spain had left Arsenal with Robin van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor as the only senior strikers at the club.Nicklas Bendtner is poised to make his presence felt next season after spending the last campaign on loan at Birmingham in the Championship, and now Da Silva will also press for a place.

Da Silva moved from Brazil to Croatia at 15 and took nationality at 22. He has scored seven international goals.He scored at the Emirates when Arsenal beat Dinamo Zagreb 5-1 on aggregate in last season's Champions League third qualifying round.And he finished the Croatian season with a record 34 goals.

Ghaly joins Birmingham

Birmingham have completed the signing of midfielder Hossam Ghaly from Tottenham for £3 million, subject to a successful application for a work permit.The Egyptian international, 25, has signed a three-year deal with Birmingham, with the option of a further two years.

He becomes Steve Bruce's eighth signing of the summer, following the club's return to the Premier League.The former Al-Ahly and Feyenoord player is best known as a defensive central midfielder, although he has also figured as a right full-back.He joined Tottenham in January last year, going on to make 34 appearances for the north London side, scoring three goals.

This news brings to an end a saga which saw Ghaly claim on Sunday to have completed his move, although a Birmingham spokesman said the deal was "nowhere near" being finalized.
Bruce's hopes of persuading Mido to join the club appear to have faltered.Bruce rated his chances of signing the striker, currently also at Tottenham, as "less than 50-50."

If the deal for Mido fails to come off, Bruce may step up his interest in Middlesbrough striker Aiyegbeni Yakubu, although the player's agent, Barry Silkman, believes the Nigerian would be out of Birmingham's price range at more than £10m.