EPL News Round-up

Plenty of news to hit you with this weekend. 

First off, I want to say good luck to Arsenal in the Carling Cup final today. I think that Arsene Wenger is easily the best manager in the Premier League. He barely spends any money (Arsenal are the only club in the top four that actually makes a profit every year) and has spent several years cultivating a young team that, on its day, plays the best football in the world (cemented by the fact they recently beat Barcelona). He deserves a trophy and I hope he wins it this afternoon.

Right, on with the news.

Newcastle United have signed Cheik Tiote to a new long-term deal. For Toon fans that is great news. Tiote has been one of their best players all season and they are going to need more players like him if they are to kick on in the Premier League next year and reclaim their position as one of the biggest clubs in the country.

Liverpool midfielder Raul Miereles has come out and said that he feels he has more support from Kenny Dalglish than he got from ex-Reds manager, Roy Hodgson. I can't stand when players come out and say derogatory things like that. If he feels that then he should keep it to himself. I can't imagine it is true anyway considering Roy Hodgson bought the guy, paying 11.5 million quid for him. Why would Hodgson do that and then not give Miereles enough support? I like Miereles as a player but I am losing respect for him as a person after he came out and said that.

Wayne Rooney reckons this is the worst season he has ever had. Really? Thanks for updating us Wayne but we already know.

With less than 18 months left in his contract, Samir Nasri is still locked in discussions with Arsenal regarding a possible extension. If Arsene Wenger wants continued success with his young team, he is going to need to keep a hold of players like Nasri. It will be interesting to see if Nasri waits until the end of the season to sign a contract or not. If he does and Arsenal don't win a trophy I have a hunch he might follow Fabregas out the door.

More news just in. West Ham 3-1 Liverpool. Not a good result for the Reds there. I wonder if Miereles didn't get enough support in this game because I don't see him on the scoresheet.

Enjoy the Cup Final.

Update:
Birmingham City 2-1 Arsenal - Yet again Arsenal prove that for all their flair and skill, when it really matters they can't finish the job. All the possession in the world won't win you a Cup if you can't score. Oh yeah, if you try to kick the ball out of your Keeper's hands in the 88th minute it won't help either. Epic finish to the game.

I feel for you Wenger.

Well done Birmingham! Carling Cup Champions 2011

The Race for the Europa League!

First off, I have to apologise to all you EPL fans out there. I have been favouring the NHL a little too much recently but there has been a lot going on. If you are intrigued about the NHL but you don't know where to start, then head over to NHL.com and check it out. Right now is the best time to have a look as we near the business end of the season!

Ok back to football.

For many teams who cannot hope to compete for the Premier League title or a Champion's League spot, the prize at the end of the season is a position that will qualify them for entry into the Europa League.

The battle for a Europa League qualification spot is quite exciting to watch as it tends to concern around 10 teams in the League. Only a maximum of 4 teams can qualify for the Europa league and only one of those teams is guaranteed entry. More rules on the qualification process can be found here: Europe League Qualification.

Basically 5^th place is guaranteed a spot in the Europa League. Whoever finishes 6^th usually qualifies also with 7^th and 8^th being circumstantial.

Now, who is currently in the race to play against some of Europe's best teams next year? Well, we have Chelsea, who are favourites to finish 5^th with 45 points, then we have Liverpool (39pts), Sunderland (37pts), Bolton Wanderers (36pts), Newcastle United (35pts) and Stoke City (33pts) all within six points of each other. On the outside looking in we have Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool and Fulham. Arguably even Everton, Birmingham City and Aston Villa still have a long shot at getting in as they are only nine points behind 6^th place Liverpool.

The race for qualification is very tight this year but I think Liverpool have to be considered the favourites for 6^th and Sunderland favourites for 7^th. As a Toon fan that is a very difficult thing to say but after looking at the facts and the rosters it is clear that Liverpool and Sunderland have the most complete teams.

Liverpool are favourites for 6th place.

Newcastle are capable but they have a very small squad and will be too weak to challenge if they suffer anymore injuries. Bolton are very solid and tough to beat but they don't have the quality that Sunderland and Liverpool possess. Stoke are much the same as Bolton insofar as they are a solid side that can win if they stick to their formula, but don't have the quality to change things when their formula isn't working. Because of that I don't see Stoke qualifying either.

There is a possible fourth Europa League spot and if the Premier League does get it this year (see Europe League Qualification) then I would fancy Newcastle to qualify in 8^th.
 

Playing in the Europa League gives teams a chance to play against some of the biggest teams in the world and gives them a shot at winning one of the most coveted trophies in football. It also means more money, which can lead to better players and more success...

Who do you think will qualify this year?

Thursday Poll: NHL and EPL

Which part of the country has the better football teams?

Should there be fights in the NHL?

Bright Future in Oil City

By taking a quick glance at the NHL standings it becomes obvious that the Edmonton Oilers are not having a great season in regards to winning games and qualifying for the playoffs. However, if you take a look behind the scenes you can see that, in fact, the Oilers are having an excellent season. No-one expected this team to do any better than it did last year in the standings, why should they? They only added a couple of rookies to a team that performed so abysmally last season. This is the start of a rebuilding process for the Oilers and it is a rebuild that is going very well so far.

Take, for example, the fact that the Oilers have time on their side and field a very youthful roster of hockey players. Hall is 19, Paajarvi is 19, Eberle is 20, Omark is 23, Cogliano is 23, Smid is 25, Peckham is 23, Dubnyk is 24 and Gagner is 21. That makes at least nine players who are 25 or under (there are a few more). The Oilers also have several players who are coming into the prime of their careers in Ales Hemsky (27), Ryan Whitney (27), Tom Gilbert (28), Dustin Penner (28) and Ryan Jones (26). Only Horcoff, MacIntyre, Khabibulin, Vandermeer and Strudwick are in their 30s.

Some teams might bemoan the lack of experience but in Edmonton it isn't really an issue considering their situation. They have a bunch of guys who will hopefully be playing together for many years and will gel as a team, fostering chemistry on the ice. They might lose one or two bodies to trades (Hemsky and Penner may be gone by next week) and a couple might leave because they aren't good enough, but the majority of those players should still be around in a season or two.

Hall is having an outstanding season.

It seems that being young has not stopped a few of the Oiler's roster from having excellent rookie seasons. Theo Peckham has looked tough and uncompromising as a shut-down defenseman on the Edmonton blueline and Jordan Eberle has managed to reach 31 points for the season so far. However, what most Oilers fans will be happy about is that Taylor Hall, their number one draft pick, is in second place for points (38) and leads the Oilers, along with Dustin Penner, for goals (20). Sam Gagner, who has more experience than Hall and Eberle (despite only being 21), is also contributing and has 36 points so far.

I am excited to see what this team will be capable of in two or three year's time if their young players progress like they should. This Edmonton team has the potential to be a highly skilled, fast team with plenty of goal-scoring ability. They have all the right ingredients and the right head coach for the job in Tom Renney. However, as is sometimes the case with potential, the Oilers have to be careful not to let it all go to waste or there could be a few more years of obscurity ahead.

It has been a long time since Gretzky and the glorious 80s. Will this franchise reclaim a place as one of the elite teams of the NHL?

Opinions?

Home-Stand Success for Desert Dogs

Bryzgalov, Doan and Jovo celebrate a win

The Phoenix Coyotes' recent home stand has been a massive positive for two reasons. First of all, the Coyotes have gotten back to winning ways, playing the same gritty defensive game that served them so well last season. Secondly, they have started to make the Jobing.com Arena a hard place to go. While their home record is still not great, the last few games have started to push it in the right direction.

The Coyotes have played six of their last seven games at home and have won six in a row since receiving that 6-0 battering from Vancouver on the 2^nd of February. That game seems to have given the Coyotes a well needed kick up the backside as they have been excellent since. Phoenix have beaten the likes of the Stars (in Dallas), the Blackhawks and the Capitals during their six game streak and have looked very strong defensively in all of those games.

The home stand has not been without its problems however. It looks like veteran defenseman Ed Jovanovski is going to be out for a significant amount of time after fracturing his orbital bone in a head collision at the end of the second period against the Thrashers on Thursday night. The Phoenix blueline will miss Jovo's leadership skills and his presence on the ice for sure, however, this may be a chance for some of the younger defensemen to show what they can do as they will undoubtedly get more ice-time in the wake of the injury.

Next up for the Coyotes is a ten-day, five-game road trip that looks very, very difficult on paper. While there are plenty of games left in the season, these five games could be crucial to the Coyotes' hopes of making the playoffs. These games will also be a good test for this team, allowing the fans and players a chance to see where the Coyotes rank amongst some of the more elite teams of the NHL.

The first game is against the Nashville Predators who are very similar to the Coyotes in the way they play. I am predicting a low scoring game there. Next up will be the Flyers and then the Lightning, the two best teams of the Eastern conference. The last two games, against the Blue Jackets, and the Blackhawks respectively will be a chance for the Coyotes to take more points off their Western Conference rivals.

The keys to a successful road trip will be:

• Ilya Bryzgalov staying hot between the pipes. Bryz has been the biggest reason behind the Coyotes' recent success.
• Big defensive effort. The Coyotes have simplified their game and gone back to what makes them a successful team. By reducing the scoring chances against, they give themselves a better chance of winning.
• Jovo's replacement stepping up. With such a big player out, whoever it is that steps into his place must have an excellent five games.
• Team scoring. With no true goalscorer, the Coyotes rely on all their forwards to pitch in with goals and assists. This needs to continue.

First game of the road-trip is on Saturday. The puck drops at 8:00pm CST.

Thursday Poll: NHL and EPL

Who is the best young player in the Premiership?

Which NHL team has the most potential over the next 2 years?

Canuck Cup Success Unlikely?

I feel a little bit of a hypocrite as I sit down to write this. Only a couple of months ago I wrote an article discussing how complete the Vancouver Canucks seemed to be, and how they were bringing more to the table this year. They were dominating the Western Conference then and they were finding games very easy to win. I considered them possible favourites to lift the cup. I didn't say they would definitely win but I was certainly singing their praises.

How a couple of months can change things...

I should start by saying that, in appearance, not much has changed. Vancouver are still top of the pile in the Western Conference and are still playing reasonably well. It is safe to say they will reach the playoffs too. Why the pessimism then? Well Vancouver don't look as Cup-ready as they did not so long ago. They are a banged up team with plenty of injuries to their blue-line and their offense is starting to show its lack of depth. Behind the Sedins and Kesler, who do they have who you can consider a game-winning (nevermind a cup-winning) player? Maybe Samuelsson? Maybe Burrows? Maybe not.

You need a healthy team to win a Cup and Vancouver do not have that. While they do have depth on their blue-line, they are currently being stretched very thin. Andrew Alberts was the latest casualty to Vancouver's defence after he broke his wrist in the second period of a 3-2 loss to St. Louis. He joins teammates Alexander Edler (back surgery), Dan Hamhuis (concussion), Keith Ballard (sprained knee), and Lee Sweatt (broken foot) on the injured reserve. Only Ballard and Sweatt have not been placed on long-term injury reserve.

Can Luongo be a cup-winning goalie?

Beyond the lack of offensive depth and the crippled blue-line, Vancouver may have another issue. Roberto Luongo is a great goalie and has proven that in the regular season. However, he has yet to prove his pedigree in the playoffs. He has never been past the second round and while some of the blame lays at his team-mates' feet for not protecting him enough and not scoring enough, it also lies at Luongo's feet for not repeating his regular season form when it really matters.

There are plenty of issues facing the Vancouver Canucks right now and, at least in recent years, they have shown themselves to be a team that doesn't face adversity particularly well. We haven't seen a Canadian Stanley Cup-winning team since Montreal back in 1992/93. Maybe this year is a bridge too far as well.

Thoughts?