Looking forward to the Premier League start

footycorner — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:19:02 +0000

All English football fans are eagerly awating the start of the Premier League season 2008/2009, and as it edges ever closer there is increasing discussion as to which teams will go down, and what team will finish in 4th place. As with most people, I firmly believe that the bottom two positions will be taken up by Hull and Stoke City as these are the smallest clubs in the league. In my opinion, West Brom will finish around the 15th mark as I think they have enough resources to see them them through the season.

As for 4th place…….. For me it’s Liverpool. Although Everton, Aston Villa and Portsmouth will try and stake their claims Liverpool will always be financially superior and for them it’s just about spending their money wisely. As with last season I also think that Manchester United will finish as Premier League champions. Here is my prediction of how the table will finish next season:

Manchester United
Chelsea
Arsenal
Liverpool
Everton
Tottenham
Aston Villa
Portsmouth
Man City
Newcastle
Blackburn
West Ham
Sunderland
Middlesborough
Bolton
West Brom
Fulham
Wigan
Stoke City
Hull

However, the transfer window has only been open for about a week, and i’m sure a lot will change. I’ll be sure to post again with my updated league table when the Premier campaign gets closer.

Aftermath of Euro 2008

footycorner — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:14:50 +0000

Looking back after Spain’s victory in Euro 2008, there were a number of suprise players who were unknown of before the tournament who impressed us all greatly. Here is my top 5 selection:

5. Dani Guiza
Came on mostly as a subsitute to help Spain clinch Euro 2008 victory. But when used Guiza played well, and even scored to help Spain seal victory against Russia.
Euro rating: 7/10

4. Colin Kazim-Richards
Turkey were unfortunately edged out by Germany in a classis match. But when Turkey were at their best Kazim-Richards was always at the centre of it. Although he never scored in the tournament, he hit the bar twice against Germany and was influential in the two wins of the group stages.
Euro rating: 8/10

3. Yuriy Zhirkov
Quite easily the best left back in the tournament. Wasn’t afraid to get forward but made a number of important challenges in defense. His performance has warrented supposed interested from several clubs including Manchester United.
Euro rating: 8.5/10

2. Andrei Arshavin
There is no doubt that the hype throughout the tournament was all about this player. However although he played very well, it was only in flashes of brilliance, and that is why he only comes no.2 in the rankings. His good performance has even earnt a £12 million bid from Barcelona.
Euro rating: 8.5/10

1. Roman Pavlyuchenko
Was pushed into the background behind Arshavin, but in my opinion Pavlyuchenko played brilliantly in every game in the tournament. He played an important part in Russia’s charge to the quarter finals and scored 3 goals and also a motm award against Greece. I’m sure some big clubs will be watching him.
Euro rating: 9/10

Finally, here is my team of the tournament: