Daily News: NHL and EPL

 NHL News:

Phoenix and Atlanta on the brink of a move – The Coyotes and the Thrashers are both on the brink of moving. But which franchise will end up in Winnipeg?

Canucks win President's Trophy for the first time, poised to make more history too – The Vancouver Canucks are enjoying their best ever season.

Pronger out til playoffs – Flyers' captain, Chris Pronger is out until the playoffs while he recovers from hand surgery.

McCreary refs final game on Saturday – Veteran ref, Bill McCreary will officiate the final game of his 26 year refereeing career tomorrow night when the Caps take on the Sabres.

Wideman in hospital, no telling when he will return – Washington Capital's defenceman Dennis Wideman is in hospital suffering from a leg hematoma.

EPL News:

Saha to miss the remainder of the season – Everton striker Louis Saha will miss the rest of the EPL season after having undergone surgery.

Hodgson believes he never stood a chance at Anfield – Former Reds boss Roy Hodgson has stated that he never felt wanted at Anfield.

Arsenal join the hunt for Al Habsi – Arsenal have joined the race, along with Liverpool, Aston Villa and Celtic, to sign Bolton goalie, Ali Al Habsi. They desperately need him too.

Mancini warns Balotelli – Man City boss Roberto Mancini wants Balotelli to improve his behaviour on and off the pitch.

Spurs' Hutton out for a month – More injury woe for Spurs as right-back Alan Hutton is sidelined for a month with a knee problem.

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More news on Monday! 

Bittersweet Season for Birmingham?

Birmingham City pulled off a huge upset in the Carling Cup final last month when they defeated heavy favourites Arsenal to win their first League Cup since 1963. That was a massive achievement for the Second City club, however, their form in the Premier League has them languishing in the relegation zone. It would surely be a bittersweet season for the Blues if they coupled a major trophy win with relegation to the Championship.

With only one win in their last five Premier League games, the shine has quickly worn off that memorable Carling Cup win and Birmingham need to re-find the form that served them so well last season when they finished 9^th overall.

Like many teams that get promoted to the Premiership, Birmingham's current squad are experiencing the phenomenon that is “second-season-syndrome”. Usually, after over-achieving in their first season in the top flight, teams suffer pretty badly in their second season. Why is that?

Well, if you think about it, it boils down to two reasons, the mentality of the players and the expectation surrounding the club. The players have a different mind-set in their second season compared to that of their first. When a team is promoted, there is little expectation for them to do well. In fact, they are expected to lose most of their games and to either be relegated or just avoid relegation. Therefore, the squad plays with a “nothing-to-lose” mentality that can often have very positive side effects as the team will play without nerves or the weight of expectation.

However, in a club's second season, things change drastically. The team suddenly has something to lose and is now expected to stay up. This change in expectation causes a change in the player's mentality, often producing negative side-effects that can lead to a disappointing League campaign.

The Blues are suffering from a cup success hangover

Birmingham have the squad and the manager to stay up. They are also a well supported club and have the pedigree to play in Europe's best League. However, they are currently playing like a team who believes it has done its job after winning a major trophy. With only nine Premier League games to go, including games against Sunderland, Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea, Birmingham need to start playing desperately.

I'm not sure that they can turn things around at this late stage. Other teams around them are currently playing better than they are and are finding the form that Birmingham so desperately crave.

If things don't change, this could very much be a bittersweet season for Birmingham City's fans.

Daily News: NHL and EPL

Busy weekend for me so let's start off Monday with some more NHL and EPL news!

 

 NHL News:

 Crosby impresses during training - Sidney Crosby is getting closer and closer to his NHL return as he continues to impress during practices.

Kovalchuk injured? - Ilya Kovalchuk missed Monday's practice with the Devils with a sore leg. Is there more to it?

Kopitar out for the season with broken ankle - Anze Kopitar's injury has weakened the King's chances of a Stanley Cup this year.

Bruins clinch playoff spot - After beating the Flyers, the Bruins have made it into the playoffs and look strong.

Savard's concussion worsening? - Marc Savard's concussion issues are leading to memory loss.

 

EPL News:

Pardew sweating on Best fitness  - Alan Pardew is hoping striker Leon Best will be fit for this weekend's crucial clash with Wolves. Really? Things are desperate up North.

Redknapp likened to Mourinho  - Rafael Van Der Vaart has made a comparison between Harry Redknapp and Jose Mourinho's management styles. Pretty big compliment for Redknapp. 

Doyle out for 1-2 months - Wolverhampton's hard working striker Kevin Doyle could be out of action for the rest of the season. That could be damaging to Wolves' survival hopes.

Kean confirms interest in Ruud Van Nistelrooy - Blackburn boss Steve Kean has made his interest in veteran striker Van Nistelrooy public.

Richards targets a swift return to action - Talented, but injury prone, defender Micah Richards is hoping his latest injury will not keep him out for too long.

Enjoy!

EPL News Round-up

What's new in the EPL this week?

Alex Ferguson has been handed a five-game ban by the FA following his criticism of referee Martin Atkinson. I like this move by the FA. I get a little tired of managers blaming any loss their team suffers on the performance of the referee when everyone knows how hard that job is. Of course the ref is going to make mistakes, there are 22 players out there on the pitch who are trying to cheat, dive and influence the referee in some way. I wish it wasn't like that but, let's face it, that is a big part of professional football these days.

Fergie wouldn't be whinging if his team had gained an advantage through poor refereeing. In fact, more often than not it is Fergie who gains the advantage, so I'm glad the FA gave him this ban. Perhaps they could duct-tape his mouth up too.

Adam Johnson looks like he is set to return for Manchester City. This is great news for The Citizens and for England fans. The sooner he gets back on the pitch the better.

Nani is still pissed at Jamie Carragher for the nasty tackle he received in Manchester United's 3-1 loss to Liverpool a couple of weeks ago. I guess he has every right to be angry, the tackle was pretty awful but I think he could let it go. It didn't seriously injure him (he was back on Tuesday night to feature in United's Champion's League clash with Marseille) and Carragher did apologise.

I'm not a fan of Nani, he prances round like a fairy half the time, but I do agree with him when he asks the referees to be fair. Carragher should have been sent off but there is far too much inconsistency with how the refs deal with bad tackles.

Bale is back

Gareth Bale is back! This is excellent news for everyone. He was playing so well up until his injury so I hope he gets back to his best as soon as possible. It's a shame he will, like Ryan Giggs, waste his international career with Wales but I guess you can't have it all.

I'll have a wee look at some of this weekend's upcoming games shall I?

SATURDAY:

12:45 Tottenham vs West Ham

Nice London derby to kick things off on Saturday. West Ham have been pretty good recently but I can't see Tottenham losing this one. Maybe a draw, but I reckon Spurs will win.

15:00 Aston Villa vs Wolverhampton

Bent and Young have been so good playing up front for Villa that I cannot see how Wolves will contend with them. However, Villa are suspect at the back (the Bolton game anyone?) and Wolves have the physicality to cause any team problems.

15:00 Blackburn vs Blackpool

Blackpool will be looking to get back to winning ways now they have dropped firmly into the relegation battle. Blackburn are just one place above Blackpool on the same points so this game is easily a six-pointer.

15:00 Man Utd vs Bolton

Man Utd have lost their last two Premiership games in a row and Bolton are never an easy team to play. I can see this one being close but Man Utd's home advantage might see them through.

15:00 Stoke vs Newcastle

This is going to be a tough game for Newcastle. Stoke are very physical and will put plenty of balls into the Newcastle box. I'm not totally convinced by Newcastle's back four so I think they will concede. Can Best and Lovenkrands do enough up front for the Toon? I don't think they can.

15:00 West Brom vs Arsenal

This should be a walk in the park for Arsenal but as any Gunner fan will know, these games never seem to be easy anymore. With Man Utd involved in such a tough game against Bolton, Arsenal should be looking to win this game comfortably to keep the pressure on the Red Devils.

15:00 Wigan vs Birmingham

Wigan desperately need the points, as do Birmingham, who need to shake off that Cup winning hangover quickly if they want to stay in the Premiership. This one should be a cautious game so I can't see too many goals.

17:30 Everton vs Fulham

It has been the same story for both of these teams all year. You never know which team is going to turn up. The really good one or the really poor one. I guess the lack of consistency is the main reason why they are both languishing in mid-table obscurity. I literally couldn't hazard a guess at what will happen in this game.

SUNDAY:

13:30 Sunderland vs Liverpool

I can see Liverpool keeping up their current good form with a win at the Stadium of Light. Suarez looks a fantastic player and I can't see the Sunderland defence coping with him.

16:00 Chelsea vs Man City

This is a huge game for the end-of-season bragging rights. Which of these teams is going to finish third? It should be, I stress should be, a fantastic game. I'm going with Chelsea.

Thursday Poll: NHL and EPL

Are Tottenham a legit challenge to the top four?

Do you want to see the Coyotes franchise relocated?

The Perfect Advert for Football

Yesterday's eight games in the Premiership were infested with goals. In fact, the 41 goals scored broke the record (previously 36) for the most goals scored in one day in the Premier League. While the managers of those teams that played will be worried about defensive frailties, fans of football were simply enjoying the entertainment on show.

Stoke 3 - 2 Sunderland

Aston Villa 2 - 2 Fulham

Everton 5 - 3 Blackpool

Tottenham 2 - 1 Bolton

Wolverhampton 2 - 1 Man Utd

Man City 3 - 0 West Brom

Newcastle 4 - 4 Arsenal

Wigan 4 - 3 Blackburn

Along with the goals there were some other big stories that came out of yesterday's games. Man Utd's unbeaten run in the EPL came to an end (thankfully) courtesy of the worst team in the Premier League (statistically). Newcastle made history by producing the best comeback in Premiership history. The Toon Army cancelled out Arsenal's four goal lead in the last 20 minutes of the second half with goals that included two penalties and a wonder strike from Cheik Tiote.

Louis Saha continued his scoring streak in style by putting four past Rachubka in the Blackpool net in a game that was as open as the scoreline suggests. Carlos Tevez celebrated his 27^th birthday but netting a hat-trick against struggling West Brom, who have now unjustly sacked their manager, Roberto Di Matteo, in response. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. West Brom have only just been promoted so they were expected to struggle a little.

Tottenham needed a wonder strike in the 92^nd minute from Niko Kranjcar to secure victory over Bolton and Stoke got lucky against Sunderland with two offside goals to secure a 3-2 victory. Sunderland were by far the better side and any time Stoke win is a loss for football itself. Honestly, look at their team, they are all 6'5 heavyweights. Rory Delap's long throw was a novelty last season but now it just makes Stoke look even more one dimensional than we know they are. Rant over.

What does all of this mean in the context of the League standings then? Manchester United are only four points clear of Arsenal and you have to say they aren't playing very well right now. Arsenal could have closed that gap to only two points if they had managed to hold on to their four goal advantage. Wigan have climbed out of the relegation zone following a vital 4-3 win over Blackburn and Blackpool slip further down the table after losing their fifth game in a row.

Torres will be wearing blue today.

Sundays games:

Of course, the weekend's entertainment is far from over. Today we have Chelsea v Liverpool. All eyes will be on Torres as he makes his first appearance in a blue shirt against his former club. He will be desperate to impress his new fans to justify the 50 million pounds that was spent on him, getting a goal against his former club would be the icing on the cake too. Sparks might fly in this game!

Half Time: Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool
Full Time: Chelsea 0-1 Liverpool (Miereles) 

Transfer Deadline Day: EPL

The January transfer window slammed shut at 11pm last night but not before we had seen some huge transfers. Liverpool were arguably the busiest of all Premier League clubs as they try to re-build their squad. Chelsea were also fairly busy and both the blues and the reds spent a record amount of cash. West Ham managed to strengthen their side, as did Sunderland.

Over 200 million pounds was spent in January, which dwarfed the paltry 29 million that was spent at this point last year. Some of the biggest signings included Bent (£24 Million) from Sunderland to Aston Villa, Dzeko (£27 Million) from Wolfsburg to Manchester City, Torres (£50 Million) from Liverpool to Chelsea, Luiz (£21.5 Million + Nemanja Matic) from Benfica to Chelsea, Carroll (£35 Million) from Newcastle to Liverpool and Suarez (£23.5 Million) from Ajax to Liverpool.

Statistics of note:

Andy Carroll's transfer fee is the most expensive between Premier League clubs in history (for a British player) after he was sold to Liverpool by Newcastle for a princely 35 Million.

Fernando Torres broke the Premier League transfer record after signing for Chelsea for 50 Million

Darren Bent is has cost more money than any other player in Premier League history if you count the costs of all of his transfers. If you think that is an odd one, bear in mind that no striker (other than Rooney and Drogba) has scored more goals in the last 5 seasons than Darren Bent.

Winners:

Liverpool – Potentially gone from bad to good overnight with the additions of Suarez and Carroll. Could be a devastating partnership. If they had managed to secure the services of Charlie Adam then it would have been the icing on the cake.

Chelsea – Managed to bag a fantastic young talent in David Luiz and finally got their man in Torres who we all know is an excellent player. Torres and Drogba up front? Terrifying.

Aston Villa – They have paid a lot for Bent, maybe too much, but they have a bona-fide goal scorer now and that is what they needed more than anything else. They should be OK.

Tottenham Hotspur – 3 Million for Pienaar? What. A. Steal.

West Ham United – Robbie Keane and Wayne Bridge bring plenty of talent and experience to a side that desperately needs it.

Losers:

Newcastle United – The 35 Million will help ease the pain but Newcastle have lost their best player and future talisman. With Ameobi as their best back-up striker, things might become very difficult for the Toon. Staying up is more important than ever now so that the 35 million can be put to use in the summer to bolster this team.

Everton - Losing Pienaar for such a small return is going to sting. They didn't pick anyone up to replace him either.

Stoke City – Stoke haven't really lost here, but fans of the Premier League have. John Carew's arrival at Stoke can only mean more of the same boring long ball, physical football that we have come to expect from Tony Pulis' side. Let the yawning commence.

Well that's all folks from an exciting transfer deadline day. It could be the biggest transfer period for a long time as well with those new rules coming in for the 2012-13 season so I hope you enjoyed it.

Did your team win or lose during the window? Let's hear some of your thoughts!

Dull Derby Day Draws

On Sunday, Premier League fans were treated to three big derby matches. The Tyne and Wear derby between Newcastle and Sunderland, the Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton and the Second City derby between Birmingham and Aston Villa. As you have probably gathered from the aptly chosen title, all three games ended in draws. It is never surprising when these matches end in draws because of a few reasons.

1. Both sides know how much it means to win so, while the games are full of effort, emotion and energy, there is usually a loss of focus and judgement making the games physical, scrappy affairs.
2. I would say that both teams do not want to lose more than they want to win so, naturally, the players are a little more cautious.
3. Sometimes, when a game gets hyped up as much as these derby games do, they can be a little disappointing. Perhaps we expect too much.

In defence of the Merseyside derby, the game was pretty good. The second half in particular, after Everton's explosive comeback, set the game up for a fantastic last 30 minutes. Also, in the Tyne and Wear derby we were treated to a last gasp equalizer from Sunderland's Asamoah Gyan. So it is not as though the games were totally devoid of drama, it's just that they won't go down in history as memorable encounters.

Furthermore, in regard to League position, these games did nothing. None of the teams greatly benefited or are now disadvantaged because of the results. Along with that, none of the fans of any team go home from these particular games with bragging rights, which is arguably the point of a derby game.

I was hoping to write a fairly lengthy article discussing the red cards, penalties, hat-tricks, defensive mistakes, goalkeeping howlers or bad refereeing but there was only the Kuyt penalty in the Liverpool game that springs to mind and that was a penalty so there really are no talking points.

"But hold on!" I hear you cry, "Spurs played Man Utd today...there is still hope!" Fair enough, what about the Tottenham v Man Utd game? Surely that would have had some drama? Both teams would have benefited greatly from a win; Man Utd would have gone back to the top with games in hand over their rivals or Tottenham would have broken back into the top four. With that in mind let's check the sco...oh well, at least there was a sending off.

Maybe next week? 

My thoughts exactly.

Sundays games:

Sunderland 1-1 Newcastle United

Birmingham City 1-1 Aston Villa

Liverpool 2-2 Everton

Tottenham Hostpur 0-0 Manchester United

The FA Cup Fourth Round Draw

The FA Cup enters the Fourth Round

The draw for the fourth round of the FA Cup followed the game between Manchester United and Liverpool yesterday, which United won 1-0. The fixtures are listed below:

Torquay v Crawley Town or Derby

Watford v Brighton

Bolton v Wigan

Arsenal or Leeds v Huddersfield

Fuham v Spurs

Everton v Chelsea

Southampton v Manchester Utd

Swansea v Leyton Orient

Burnley v Burton

Birmingham v Coventry

Doncaster or Wolves v Stoke or Cardiff

Notts County v Leicester or Manchester City

Stevenage v Reading

Aston Villa v Blackburn

West Ham v Nottingham Forest

Sheffield Wed v Wycombe or Hereford

Some interesting ties there. Saints v Man Utd is a good one and should be a great game. Maybe Saints will be able to pull off a shock like the one in the 1976 FA Cup final? Fulham v Spurs, Bolton v Wigan, Everton v Chelsea and Aston Villa v Blackburn are all Premier League ties and will be interesting to keep an eye on too.

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Thank you for reading!

Premier League Review: Boxing Day

Boxing day football carries with it a great tradition. Over the years we have seen some great games and this year was no different. There were some big results that concerned both the top and bottom of the table.

Manchester City managed to keep pace with Mancester United at the top of the League with a 3-1 away win at Newcastle. Both teams had plenty of chances but it was City, and Tevez, who proved to be the more clinical on the day. With City 2-0 up, Andy Carroll  did bring Newcastle back into the game in the 72nd minute, however, Tevez restored City's two goal advantage against the run of play 10 minutes later to take all three points.

The Red Devils picked up three points against Newcastle's big rivals, Sunderland, at Old Trafford. A routine win in which United dominated meant that Sir Alex's men are still unbeaten this year and sit at the top of the Premier League, two points clear of City, with two games in hand.

At the bottom end of the table, West Ham managed to come back from a goal down to beat relegation rivals Fulham, 3-1, at Craven Cottage. Quite how they managed that is certainly open for discussion as Fulham dominated the game for most of the 90 minutes. After opening the scoring, Fulham looked to be coasting to a sure-fire win before they conceded two very weak goals just before half time. West Ham climb off the bottom of the table following the win and Fulham joined them in the relegation places.

Tottenham and Aston Villa provided us with a great game at Villa Park. The 2-1 win for Tottenham keeps them in fourth place, only one point behind London rivals Chelsea and two points behind London rivals Arsenal. The loss was another bitter pill to swallow for a faltering Aston Villa side who had shown so much promise in recent years but seem to be losing their way under Gerrard Houllier.

Bolton continued their very impressive season with a 2-0 win over surprise act West Brom. The Wanderers are certainly playing some decent football this year under Owen Coyle, who has yet to spend big in the transfer market. With the addition of a great finisher and some creativity in midfield, Bolton could even challenge Tottenham for that last Champion's League spot.

A full list of the results can be found below.

Sunday 26^th December:

Fulham 1 - 3 West Ham

Wolverhampton 1 - 2 Wigan

Newcastle 1 - 3 Man City

Bolton 2 - 0 West Brom

Aston Villa 1 - 2 Tottenham

Blackburn 0 - 2 Stoke

Man Utd 2 - 0 Sunderland

Arsenal v Chelsea: Preview

Wenger looks for a massive win tonight

Chelsea and Arsenal play a massively important game tonight (27^th December) at 20:00 GMT. One of these teams needs to win to keep pace with Man United (a draw helps neither side) and I would prefer it to be Arsenal. Wenger is the best manager in the Premier League, even if he is a little close minded about the weaknesses in his team. His ethics and playing style are far better than his managerial rivals at the top of the table and his team are an absolute joy to watch on their day. I'm hoping for a 2-1 home win, but Chelsea are a very strong side and could upset the Gunners tonight at the Emirates.