EPL Mid Week Round Up for Weekend August 25 – 26 2012

So the second weekend of the new EPL – English Premier League is over and here is a brief rundown on all the results and action

EPL Saturday August 25, 2012

Swansea City 3-0 West Ham United
Not much to say in favor of WHU 2-0 down at the break, then Swansea made it three and the game was all over leaving Big Sam and the West Ham squad a long journey back to London – time to dwell on where it all went wrong. A stellar start for new Swansea team boss Michael Laudrup maximum points six from six!

Aston Villa 1-3 Everton
Everton are firing on all cylinders two games two wins, one scalp being the mighty Manchester United. Great start for the Toffees who do not usually start a new EPL season on fire. Aston Villa look tired already only two games into the campaign looking set for a long hard season where success looks to be avoiding relegation at best.

Chelsea 2-0 Newcastle United
Chelsea have maintained the same form that saw them crowned Champions of Europe when they hoisted the Champions League Cup 2012. Now they have new arrival Eden Hazzard who looks and plays like a super star. CFC have played three and clear at the top of the EPL with 9 points. To the rest the chase is on…

Norwich City  1-1 Queens Park Rangers
Norwich a side that have all the signs of being a mid table none event team were up against QPR managed by the hapless Mark Hughes. For the five people in  the UK who may be interested the score was a one all draw. QPR are odds on for relegation and that will surely duly happen minus Mark Hughes who will get fired around Xmas and the new year time 2013.

Southampton 0-2 Wigan Athletic
It is tough in the EPL when newly promoted and you come up against a lively team like Wigan Athletic who showed the Saints that they are in for a tough season especially if all teams play like the visitors in this match they were set up well, creative as the two goals showed and had dare we say the word a hint that they have wee bit of class in the side. On this form one can expect to see Wigan Athletic sitting pretty in the middle of the EPL table. As for Southampton it will be a long hard season and the Championship trapdoor will be open wide, on this form the Saints have it all to do

Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 West Bromwich Albion
New Spurs boss clueless AVB – Andres Villas- Boas confirmed why he is hot bookies favorite for the first EPL manager to be sacked! Why Not? The bookies have it just right at odds of 1/2  as 1 point from 2 games means 19 points from 38 games which is automatic relegation!

EPL Sunday August 26, 2012

Liverpool 2-2 Manchester City
Well two teams who often deliver more BS than football but this game kept the fans happy as four goals were scored in the game. Two each so I suppose both sides will feel a point each is a point gained rather than 2 points lost. Liverpool on paper look like a very ordinary squad no change that a poor team. As for City I doubt whether they will be able to live with Chelsea and Manchester United this year and they will do well to finish the year third in the EPL

Stoke City 0-0 Arsenal
Britannia Ground home of Stoke City is a fortress backed up by maybe the most vocal supporters in the EPL. So visitors Arsenal never looked  like scoring and Stoke were not up for breaking out and leaving gaps that may have given the Gunners goal scoring opportunities. Stoke always line up the same way at home for all the visiting teams except the top four they will go for a win. But when the likes of Arsenal – Manchester United – Chelsea and any other team in the top four come to the Potteries. Stoke will park the bus and settle for a draw which they see as a point won.

Reading v Sunderland – Game Postponed

EPL Mid Week Round Up for Weekend August 25 – 26 2012..

The agony is over for the beleaguered Blackburn Rovers as they finally drop through the EPL – English Premier League trapdoor as they lose at home to Wigan Athletic 0-1

So what went wrong – that cannot be correct what went right – NOTHING!

Starting from the top down the Indian owners Venkys are USELESS they have not got a clue about basic football let alone being trusted with the ownership of an EPL team like Blackburn Rovers

Steve Kean is a wally or better still a COMPLETE WALLY! Has acted more like a muppet than an EPL manager the bottom line with this inept so called coach is that he is simply not up the task of being capable of managing a successful EPL team

Finally the players all who’s confidence is shot they had virtually no chance of surviving way back in August 2011 so it has been agony, it will be a long time before they get re-organized and are seen back in the EPL in the near future!

Blackburn Rovers Relegated May 7 in Loss to Wigan…

This is not a laughing matter – however it is very funny so here goes. It relates to what people in the UK – United Kingdom know about life and real life issues like geography and other basic subjects

• We will start with EPL – English Premier League football overheard SAF – Sir Alex Ferguson talking off camera to WR – Wayne Rooney – quote – SAF ‘Wayne I want you to score 8 goals in the next 5 Matches’ – more – WR ‘Eh you what Boss!’ – more – SAF ‘You know Wayne 2 times your IQ = 8 goals’ – more – WR ‘Oh sorry boss now I understand I was thinking about a MILF with big knockers at the time that is why I could not work out 8!’ – more – SAF ‘WTF’…

• One in five UK people do not know the countries that make up the United Kingdom

• If SAF is right and the average IQ of an EPL footballer is 4 no wonder the WAGs do not know anything about geography then what do these pretty girls know – seems that their duties are to take care of footballer’s balls. Um that makes sense we assume!

• Six out of ten could not name the highest peak in England some of the answers were Mount Everest – Ben Nevis – Snowden – the answer is Scafell Pike

• One in 3 people believe Manchester – Glasgow and Birmingham are surrounded by the Home Counties which of course surround London

• Over fifty percent of people did not know Balmoral Castle is in Scotland.

• We just have to throw this one in somewhere when Jamie O’Hara the Wolves footballer first met WAG Danielle Lloyd he had no idea she had had been used as a dartboard by pricks!

• Over 25 percent of the folks thought Ayers Rock was in England it is of course a famous Australian landmark

UK High Street Intelligence Questionnaire…

As of March, 10, 2012 – Five clubs have become detached from the rest in the EPL – English Premier League table they are Wigan Athletic – Blackburn Rovers – QPR aka Queens Park Rangers – Bolton Wanderers – and finally Wolverhampton Wanderers aka Wolves quite frankly there is not much to chose between these teams as they all on form, do not have the quality and the grit needed to climb up the table.

Let us look briefly at QPR managed by the hapless Mark Hughes with only 22 points they are poor when playing their best. Then we have Blackburn Rovers also on 22 points with little form and a manager Steve Kean who quite frankly does not look up to the task of keeping the Rovers up. Next also on 22 points are the Birmingham side Wolves who recently showed the door to Mick McCarthy and upgraded Terry Connor into the hot seat – but they look clueless and seem set to drop out the EPL – English Premier League come May this year when all the talking will be over as they get relegated down to the Championship League. Next in the shakedown are Bolton 20 points who are arguably the best of all these five teams but for some unknown reason they are not firing off this season. Then at the very bottom also on 20 points we have Wigan Athletic who are shall we say struggling period.

Is it down to these 5 teams oh yes for sure as the gap between QPR and next team above in the table Aston Villa is eight points yes a massive 8 points as Villa already look safe as they have notched 30 points and they have 11 games to play to reach the mystical 40 points that usually ensures EPL football for one more season. But the reality is that if any of the present bottom five get 35 points come May I will be surprised!

So to drop out the EPL it has to be Wolverhampton Wanderers aka Wolves – plus any two from four – Take Your Pick!

Is the Drop a Certainty for EPL Side Wolves…

Manchester United 5 – Wigan 0

There is one undisputable fact about footballers in the EPL – English Premier League some are steady reliable journeymen. They play week in week out ‘Steady as a Rock’ never letting the team down yet never grabbing the headlines. Then you have the top players whose best form comes and goes, experts say ‘Form is variable – Class is Permanent’ this is the category they fit into like the great veteran Manchester United superstar Ryan Giggs – John Terry the Chelsea center back – Ashley Cole another Blues player who is one of the best full backs in the world – Joey Barton fans love him or hate him but he is without doubt one of the best midfield players playing in the EPL today.

Then you have the rare breed the flair players the players that can do unbelievable things with ball, play the game so skillfully in a relaxed manner – that to watch they make football look easy! They are special and only a few come along every generation. In 2011 Spurs have one in the mercurial Luka Modric who plays football like a dream as he jinks – twists and glides over the turf with the ball under such tight control one may think it is tethered to his feet – such are the amazing skills of this wonderfully creative midfield genius.

Then one has to travel up north to Manchester to find a striker – a goal poacher extraordinaire – the laconic goalmouth magician Dimitar Berbatov. Now this genius is a luxury that only the very rich clubs can afford to keep on the payroll, because they do not play often – not because they are injured – but as in the case of Dimitar Berbatov who only wants to play in the box and has a reluctance to play and work for the rest of the team. But when guys like Dimitar Berbatov play they are electric like on Boxing Day when Dimitar Berbatov scored a magical hat-trick as United hammered a 10-man Wigan Athletic side 5-0

Berbatov hits Stunning Boxing Day Hat Trick v Wigan…

Two of the all time ‘Gunners’ greats are modern day sporting superstars Robin van Persie and Thierry Henry. Both can be categorized as great goal scorers both in the EPL – English Premier League and the CL – Champions League not forgetting of course a hatful of goals they have each scored for their national teams RVP – Holland and TH – France.
But it is at the old Highbury stadium and the new Emirates Stadium where Robin van Persie and Thierry Henry have excelled for Arsenal FC.

Robin van Persie has just equalled Thierry Henry’s Arsenal record for scoring 34 Premier League goals in a calendar year.

The Dutchman has scored 34 times in 2011 and has two matches left this year to try and beat all time EPL record of 36 by Alan Shearer in 1995.

RVP – Robin van Persie had this to say – quote – “It is a big honour to equal Thierry’s record because he is probably the best player Arsenal ever had. ” – more – “To achieve what he did in a year is really special. It makes me proud.”

RVP – Robin van Persie beats Thierry Henry Arsenal Goal Score Record…

The end of year EPL transfer window is now open and the tabloids are full of transfer news speculation and pages of gossip and rumors.

But one thing is certain down at Stamford Bridge Chelsea FC is not a happy camp either on the pitch – off the pitch – or in dealing with the hapless clueless manager AVB. Many players are unsettled and when they are on the pitch look like they could not care less!

Didier Drogba is one exception he is on fire, and playing out of his skin, but the problems lies with the dummy who is the manager AVB, so one has to ask will Didier Drogba say enough is enough and leave to join a new club. AVB has been dithering about offering the striker a new contract and it looks to outsiders that AVB has lost the confidence of most of the dressing room. So in our opinion if the best player they have on current form decides to leave then surely Lampard and others will jump off the sinking Stamford Bridge ship!

Will Didier Drogba leave AVB led Chelsea FC…

Legend
AVB – meaning – Andre Villas-Boas the Portuguese Chelsea FC Manager
EPL – meaning – English Premier League