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Preview 10/11: Game Week 1

Cal Posted on August 13, 2010
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This is when all the talking stops and the football on the pitch takes centre stage. The first game week will give us an indication of how good each team really is. With key match-ups dominating the weekend. 

The premier league kicks-off with Tottenham hosting Manchester City. Both teams battled hard for a 4th place finish last season and both managers will look to get off to good starts and gain an advantage over the other. 

**Anyone playing the Premier League's official fantasy game can also join the private Matchpredictions league.  The code for the normal league is: 14692-190817  The code for the head-to-head is: 14692-190875

My tips for this weekends fixtures:

Tottenham Hotspur V Manchester City  2-1

Aston Villa V West Ham United  1-1

Blackburn Rovers V Everton  0-1

Bolton Wanderers V Fulham  2-1

Sunderland V Birmingham City  2-0

Wigan Athletic V Blackpool  2-0

Wolverhampton Wanderers V Stoke City  0-0

Chelsea V West Bromwich Albion  3-0

Liverpool V Arsenal  1-1

Manchester United V Newcastle United  3-1

Cat EPL Game Week Preview     Tag Football, Soccer, EPL, english premier league, season preview, Blackpool, Wigan Athletic, Wolverhampton wanderers, west bromwich albion, stoke city, bolton wanderers, West ham united, newcastle united, sunderland, birmingham city, blackburn rovers, Aston

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2010/11 Season Preview Pt.1

Cal Posted on August 12, 2010
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Top Four

4th Arsenal: They will be in with a shout of winning the league and then one or two key players get injured and the season is over. Highly entertaining football but no victory parade. Wenger should take the Cup competitions more seriously this time around, as winning the league might be a long-term goal rather than a short term one.
 
3rd Manchester City: With all the summer signings the pressure of winning the league is solely on them. I still think that they are not quite ready to win the league. You need more than just an expensive squad; you need an attitude and a desire that only a good manager can bring into the team.
They might have a better time in Europe this campaign.
 
2nd Chelsea: They pretty much have the same squad of players going into this season that won them the league last year. Last year they were pushed all the way by an under par Manchester United. Drogba still remains their “gamebreaker” and I don’t see him repeating his feats of last year.
 
1st Manchester United: They had a torrid time with injuries throughout their campaign last year, especially to their back four. But SAF instils such a fierce attitude in all of his players that they never know when they are beaten.

I reckon if the physios keep the injuries in check then they have every chance of overtaking Liverpool as the club with the most League titles.

 

Cat Season Preview     Tag Football, Soccer, EPL, english premier league, season preview, Blackpool, Wigan Athletic, Wolverhampton wanderers, west bromwich albion, stoke city, bolton wanderers, West ham united, newcastle united, sunderland, birmingham city, blackburn rovers, Aston

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2010/11 Season Preview Pt.2

Cal Posted on August 11, 2010
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Europa!!

9th Fulham: A successful European campaign meant that they had to feel content with finishing 12th in the league. That also meant Roy Hodgson being poached by Liverpool and them having to adapt to a new manager in the shape of Mark Hughes.
The good thing is that he has managed in the EPL before and has quite a decent track record at this level. If he manages to improve on Fulham’s away woes it will be half the battle won.
 
7th Everton: Turned their season around in dramatic fashion after a dismal start. Losing only 2 games out of 19 games played in the year 2010. Beating Chelsea and Manchester United in a ten-day span.
They should be chasing Champions League football but the teams around them have bigger squads and even bigger wallets.
 
8th Aston Villa: Have pretty much the same set of pros and cons as Everton; a good manager, no prominent striker, limited squad and budget. They lost a spot on my ladder when MoN left the club. If they don't manage to hold on to their talented youngsters, they might fall further behind.
 
6th Tottenham Hotspur: Although they have a big squad they will still have to juggle their domestic and European priorities. It will be good to see them go for broke in Europe rather than being neither here nor there in the league.
 
5th Liverpool: The appointment of Roy Hodgson is a positive start. But the continuous distractions off the field might prove to be too much of a dampener on it. Hodgson has a tough assignment in front of him; regaining Champions League football and their pride.
I’m being generous in my prediction of a 5th place finish. This could turn catastrophic in a hurry if results on and off the field don’t go Liverpool’s way.
Cat Season Preview     Tag Football, Soccer, EPL, english premier league, season preview, Blackpool, Wigan Athletic, Wolverhampton wanderers, west bromwich albion, stoke city, bolton wanderers, West ham united, newcastle united, sunderland, birmingham city, blackburn rovers, Aston

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2010/11 Season Preview Pt.3

Cal Posted on August 09, 2010
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Middling Nothingness

14th West Ham United: Avram Grant did a tremendous job at Portsmouth, considering the predicament he found the club in. Taking Portsmouth to the F.A. Cup final and motivating his players to perform under the most distracting of environments. Commendable.

He brings all that to a West Ham side, which lacked any inspiration last season.

 

13th Newcastle United: being relegated was the best thing that happened to Newcastle. As the atmosphere surrounding the club, the season they went down, was morose at best. A lot has changed since then. Winning a return to the league that they belong in and proving the critics wrong were huge strides forward.

They still don’t have a squad capable of full filling the high expectations set by their ever-faithful fans.I’m just hoping it does not turn into another circus.

 

12th Birmingham City: They surprised a lot of people with what they achieved last season. The key reason for their success was a formidable back four, and keeper of the season, Joe Hart. In my opinion they overachieved last campaign and that will get rectified this season. As they regress back to mediocrity.

 

11th Blackburn Rovers: Finished last season on a positive note, which propelled them to a respectable 10th in the league. I can’t really see them doing much more this season.

 

10th Sunderland: They added quality players last term and showed a lot of promise under Steve Bruce. Then all of a sudden everything went pear shaped for the Mackems. I still feel they have potential to compete for a higher spot on the ladder, but considering what happened last season I’m a bit cautious.

Cat Season Preview     Tag Football, Soccer, EPL, english premier league, season preview, Blackpool, Wigan Athletic, Wolverhampton wanderers, west bromwich albion, stoke city, bolton wanderers, West ham united, newcastle united, sunderland, birmingham city, blackburn rovers

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2010/11 Season Preview Pt.4

Cal Posted on August 06, 2010
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Battle for Survival

Last seasons survival battle turned in to quite a dull affair. With Portsmouth handed a 9-point deduction and Hull pushing the self-destruct button by sending Phil Brown on gardening leave. 

The upcoming season might be a little different than others. Normally the usual candidates for the drop are the teams that have just been promoted to the premier league from the championship. This year we have Newcastle United, West Bromwich Albion and Blackpool joining the premiership.  Two out the three seem more than likely to retain their premiership status, with Blackpool being the odd one out. 

The way I see it unfolding this season:

20th Blackpool: The Premier League debutants have a daunting task in front of them and will find it mighty hard to prolong their stay in the top flight. Making matters worse is that they play only 3 games at home in the first 3 months, ruling out any chance of early points. A respective campaign could be their only saving grace.

19th Wigan Athletic: Last season the Latics can be best described as being consistently inconsistent. Having beaten the likes of Chelsea 3-1 and then losing to Tottenham 9-1. They conceded a total of 79 goals, which was only 3 better than Burnley. In my opinion I don’t see them improving from last season. Which will prove to be a decisive factor as the teams around them have actually improved.

18th Wolverhampton Wanderers: In a nutshell “Second Season Syndrome”.

17th West Bromwich Albion: The “Yoyo Effect”. If that isn’t a term to describe a team that keeps bouncing from one league to another, than I might just have created the term. The Baggies essentially have been promoted to and relegated from the top flight, 5 and 3 times in the past 10 seasons respectively. It would not shock me if they claim their 4th relegation.

16th Stoke City: A very solid defensive line and an ability to master the art of “Throw Ins” have kept Stoke City in the premier league for the past 2 seasons. They actually improved in their last campaign. Finishing a respectable 11th. In my opinion the league has gotten far more competitive this season as compared to the last ten seasons gone past. Which might make things tougher for teams like Stoke City.

15th Bolton Wanderers: I have seen Bolton being successful playing one brand of football and that was under Big Sam. I agree it was not easy on the eye but it got them results (and a few kind words from Arsene Wenger). After Big Sam left, to basically bore other fans, every other manager has tried bringing a better style of football to the club, but have been met with very mediocre results. Dilemma!!

Cat Season Preview     Tag Football, Soccer, EPL, english premier league, season preview, Blackpool, Wigan Athletic, Wolverhampton wanderers, west bromwich albion, stoke city, bolton wanderers

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