Fixture Focus - Spurs (1 November 2008)

Spurs vs Liverpool

After a memorable away derby fixture during the midweek, Redknapp must focus his team on another crucial clash at home.

This weekend will see the return of Robbie Keane to White Hart Lane.  As Daniel Levy said in his open letter to Spurs fans earlier this week, Keane was a player he thought would end his career at the Lane.  No one expected him to leave in the summer for the Kop.  I'm wondering what kind of reception he will get from the fans on Saturday.  I certainly hope it is not incessant boo-ing which is rightfully reserved for Judas Sol Campbell only.  But a little boo-ing is ok in my opinion...ngek ngek ngek.

It will be a tight game as Keane is slated to start against his former club while Torres is probably going to be rested. 

After another clumsy display at the Emirates, Heurelho Gomes should really get some bench time but I don't think he will.  I just hope he plays a solid 90mins with none of that "heart stopping" catching (of the ball) when he should be punching, and punching when he should be catching.  And I hope he doesn't injure other Spurs players while doing it.

Redknapp is set to field the same side that worked hard for the draw in midweek and that worries me a little.  The players could be a tad tired but I am sure they will be up to it seeing that we are already in a relegation battle.

COYS!!!

EPL Prediction League Match Weekend 1 - 2 Nov 2008

Sorry I am a little late with the prediction fixtures! 

GAME ON!

EPL19: SAT 1/11 Everton vs Fulham at 8:40pm SIN/HKT

EPL20: SUN 2/11 Bolton vs Manchester City at 11:55pm SIN/HKT

Scoring System
3-Points for a correct outcome (Win, Lose or Draw)
1-point each for correct score on each side.

Double Entry
Later submission shall override earlier submission.

Penalty
Submissions after kick-off will not be admissible. (Disqualification)

Blogger/Blogspot Blackout
This Prediction League will be played here but if in the event Blogger/Blogspot servers go down, we will automatically carry on the league over to the personal blog of Voxeros at
http://jaywalk.blog-city.com. Please bookmark this or at the very least stay in touch with one of us as we will also be helping all stay in the loop via the various channels like MSN, Skype, email as well as SPUG Off-Topic Chat.

Midweek Review (29th Oct 2008)

Manchester United vs West Ham United

"24 hours after what i have post during the weekend, Ramos was sacked. This is scary."

-Gary, 29 Oct 2008

60% possession yet cant get the winning goal? KNN! That is 2 points lost rather than 1 point gain. Then again, Everton did fight hard for the ball.

November haven reach yet, not even 10 games old and we have already got the 3rd managerial casualty. 24 hours after what i have post during the weekend, Ramos was sacked. This is scary.

Daniel Levy got rid of the sporting director and let Harry Redknapp decides the transfers all by himself. What Jacques Santini, Martin Jol and Juande Ramos have in common is that they do not understand the culture of English football. It is played at a faster pace, fouls are more aggressive unlike European football where it is much slower and even players been pushed, they fall and a foul is given. That is considered simulation in England.

Im pretty unsure about West Ham now. They are really in a financial crisis. Their directors is from Iceland and from what we know, Iceland is now bankrupt. Even their sponsorship, XL Leisure Group, also went belly up. They now face lawsuits from Sheffield United who demand $50 million for making them relegated. Look like Zola's hands, legs, mouth are tied.

Man Utd Team News: Michael Carrick is poised to be recall for this match. Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves are still out.

West Ham Team News: Hold your breath! Kieron Dyer, Jonathan Spector, Daniel Gabbidon, Dean Ashton, Mark Noble are out. Charlton Cole is suspended. Diego Tristan is not match fit yet.

Odds and Analysis: Man Utd is giving 2 balls at 1.975. West Ham have long injury list, financial crisis, a new manager at the helm and for that, have to give such a big handicap?!?! A bit fishy, hence no bet for me.

Disclaimer: This review is entirely on my own views and opinion. I didn’t point a gun at you to ask you to follow. If you want to bet on this game, do so at your own risk. Pls bet within limits. Good luck.

Fixture Focus - Spurs (29 Oct 2008)

Arsenal FC vs Tottenham Hotspur

What an apt timing for this fixture!

After adios Senor Ramos (and Commoli, and Poyet, though I miss him), we brought on Harry Potter, er, I mean Redknapp, and his arrival had brought much cheer to us Spurs fans against Bolton over the weekend (and I don't think the word "expelliarmus" got to do with it) with a resounding 2-0 win.

And in the coming crunch, we would be meeting the team-whose-name-must-not-be-spoken (but in case you're interested, it's called ArseNAL), who had a history of rivalry with our fellow fans at the Lane.

Spurs' "downtime" may be over (I certainly hope so), but this game (and the coming weekend match against Liverpool) would see Harry's magic of transforming our team from a "paper tiger" to a force to be reckoned with.

The real test begins. The players are beginning to see their full potential, and the climb out of the bottom rut starts now.

Bring 'em on, Gunners (and Pool).

COYS!!!!!!

Results - Games 25 - 26 Oct 2008 EPL Prediction League 2008/2009

Ok. Looks like I really no mojo as far as this season is concerned as I find myself sliding further down the table. You know you are in the shithole when your bookie sends you a gift as a token of appreciation. KNN!

Housekeeping Notes:

All of this season's tables will be kept in Flickr's photoset. Click Here.


EPL Prediction League "Perfect Score" Hall Of Fame
Perfect Score = 2 correct-score predictions in a single weekend and hence the award of the full 10 points.

1) redherring (20 Oct 2008)

Marksmen Board (Number of Exact Predictions)
4 Games - delay
2 Games - weimeng, hotdog, redherring, ianrush
1 Game - necroastr, bedokian, david.hvp, everton, cha dum yen, limyengchuan, Voxeros,

Scoring System
3-Points for a correct outcome (Win, Lose or Draw)
1-point each for correct score on each side.

Double Entry
Later submission shall override earlier submission.

Penalty
No points for submission after kick-off. (Disqualification)

Blogspot Blackout
The EPL Prediction League will be played here but if in the event Blogger/Blogspot servers go down, we will automatically carry on the league over to my personal blog at http://jaywalk.blog-city.com. Please bookmark this or at the very least stay in touch with one of us as we will also be helping all stay in the loop via the various channels like MSN, Skype, email as well as SPUG Off-Topic Chat.

Prediction League Past Winners

Copa America 2004 - WeiMeng
EPL 2004/2005 - Friday13
EPL 2005/2006 - ianrush
World Cup 2006 - EdwinSng
EPL 2006/2007 - Voxeros
EPL 2007/2008 - Cool402
Euro 2008 - Voxeros

As usual:

1) If you have spotted a mistake, please let me know where and what so that I can amend them accordingly.
2) Please check your scores for accuracy as soon as possible before I update the table during the next round of scores. Once the table has been updated, the old table will be overwritten.
3) In case you are still seeing the old table even if I have announced a new update, please refresh your browser to reload the table.

Fun Tidbits (26 Oct 2008)

For the third week.....

Q: What is the difference between Spurs and a triangle?

A: A triangle has 3 points.

(JayWalk: And the joke keeps going on and on and on... Ngek ngek ngek ngek!!!)

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"They've hit the post three times, had a goal disallowed and hit the bar. I think I'll go out and buy a lottery ticket."

Fulham keeper Mark Schwarzer has a lotto lotto luck against Sunderland.

---

"I'd like to get another 100 games but me and the missus do the Lottery and if our numbers come up, I won't be in training on Monday!"

Ton-up striker Paul Mullin loves Accrington Stanley...but not that much.

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"I'm in love with the English league."

Jose Mourinho reveals there is someone else in his life, other than himself.

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"Games are changed by goal scoring at one end or the other."

Bolton boss Gary Megson states the obvious in his post-match interview on MOTD.

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"You're getting me confused. That's Zola."

MK Dons boss Roberto Di Matteo when asked if he wants his team to play 'beautiful football'.

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MORE SPURS JOKES

"London Underground wish to apologise for the severe points failure in the Tottenham area."

"You can buy 'Spurs, The Glory
Years' from most shops, priced £200. That's £5 for the tape
and £195 for the Betamax player."

Q: What's the difference between Father Christmas and a Spurs win?
A: Some people actually believe Father Christmas exists."

"Darren Bent is ill, so Juande Ramos offers to do his shopping for him. While in Sainsbury's he bumps into Arsene Wenger. 'What are you doing in here, Juande?' asks Wenger. 'Getting a bag of potatoes for Darren Bent,' he replies. 'Sounds like a good swap to me,' says Wenger."

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk
Image Credit: http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com

Beer Fund Raising: 25 - 26 Oct 2008

Looks like my wager system for Serie A and Primera Liga is starting to take shape. EPL still has a long way to go.

Still, after learning the expensive lesson during the last "beta testing", I shall continue to proceed carefully.

- Voxeros

COOL's Saturday's Picks

• 
  

COOL's Sunday's Picks

• 
  

JayWalk's Saturday's Picks:

• Newcastle - Eat 0.25 ball (Lose)
  
• Catania - Eat 0.25 ball (Win 1/2)
  
• Juventus - Give 1.00 ball (Draw)
  
• Barcelona - Give 1.75 ball (Win)
  

JayWalk's Sunday's Picks

• Inter Milan - Give 1.25 ball (Lose)
• Real Madrid - Give 1.50 ball (Lose)
  
• Espanyol - Eat 0.25 ball (Lose)

COOL's Result this week:

COOL's Result this season: 10-1-6 > 4 UP as at 31 Aug 2008

JayWalk's Result this week: 1.5-1-4 -> 2.5 DN

JayWalk's Result this season: 12 - 6 - 21.5 -> 9.5-DN as at 27 Oct 2008

Disclaimer: This is merely to log my own results. You are welcome to follow if you like but I must warn you that you bear your own winnings or losses, whatever the outcome. I have nothing to do with your bets. Please bet responsibly and within your means. There is no absolute sure thing in football betting. If you can't afford to lose, then don't bet.

Weekend Review (25 Oct 2008)

Everton vs Manchester United

"7 points in 3 games, we are technically qualified to the next round."

-Gary, 25 Oct 2008

7 points in 3 games, we are technically qualified to the next round. Fergie will definitely want to maintain the unbeaten streak as long as possible. Even a draw in the return match at Celtic Park will be good enough.

November seem to be a month all managers would want to avoid. This is where board of directors step in if results are still not going in their way. To give a vote of confidence or sack the manager seem easy for them. Yet, there should be stability in guiding the team to prepare for the hectic schedule in the winter. Sad to say, there is only one team is bearing the whole blunt of the situation is Tottenham Hotspurs. They are in a relegation battle rather than fighting for a spot in the Top 4. 4 points off Newscastle United and 5 points to safety zone. They could be worse off than last season's Derby and be another Leeds United, like what Jonathan Woodgate have mentioned. First crack of dressing room dis-unity.

Everton, on the other hand, doing so well in the past season, no players want to join them.

Everton Team News: Tim Cahill is suspended. Tony Hibbert is out.

Man Utd Team News: Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves are out.

Odds and Analysis: Man Utd is giving 1.25 handicap at 2.08. There is a high possibility of Man Utd winning this match by a single goal margin like 1-0 or 2-1 and lose half the stakes. No bet for me.

Disclaimer: This review is entirely on my own views and opinion. I didn’t point a gun at you to ask you to follow. If you want to bet on this game, do so at your own risk. Pls bet within limits. Good luck.

Fixture Focus - Spurs (26 Oct 2008)

Tottenham Hotspur vs Bolton Wanderers

I only have 2 words in this post for the upcoming league fixture for Spurs:

Just win.

COYS!!!!!!

EPL Prediction League Match Weekend 25 - 26 Oct 2008

Time for predictions again!

On Saturday, it is a match between newly promoted teams West Brom and Hull City.  Can Hull City continue their fine form?

On Sunday, Chelsea will welcome Liverpool to Stamford Bridge after midweek UEFA Champions League action.  Who will prevail?

GAME ON!

EPL17: SAT 25/10 West Brom vs Hull at 9:55pm SIN/HKT

EPL18: SUN 26/10 Chelsea vs Liverpool at 9:25pm SIN/HKT

Scoring System
3-Points for a correct outcome (Win, Lose or Draw)
1-point each for correct score on each side.

Double Entry
Later submission shall override earlier submission.

Penalty
Submissions after kick-off will not be admissible. (Disqualification)

Blogger/Blogspot Blackout
This Prediction League will be played here but if in the event Blogger/Blogspot servers go down, we will automatically carry on the league over to the personal blog of Voxeros at
http://jaywalk.blog-city.com. Please bookmark this or at the very least stay in touch with one of us as we will also be helping all stay in the loop via the various channels like MSN, Skype, email as well as SPUG Off-Topic Chat.

Fixture Focus - Spurs (23 October 2008)

Udinese vs Spurs (UEFA Cup, Group D)

We are all familiar with the saying that "when it rains, it pours".  Spurs fans will be forgiven for thinking that this is so true especially in the game over the weekend at Stoke City.  2 goals from Stoke, 2 redcards for Spurs, and 1 concussed defender ensured that the misery continues in the EPL and rooting us firmly at the bottom of the table.

On the flip side, Udinese are flying high in Serie A, and currently occupies second place in the table.  With a strike pair of Italian internationals Antonio Di Natale and Fabio Quagliarella, Udinese should be fancied in this home tie.  Their defence is arguably their weakest point and one where Spurs should exploit.  The problem is, Spurs also brings an anemic strikeforce as Pavlyuchenko is cup-tied, leaving Ramos to chose from the likes of Bent, Dos Santos, and Frazier Campbell.  Three names that are sure to strike fear into the hearts of the Udinese defenders.....NOT!

That said, league positions have nothing to do with cup competiton form.  So I am cautiously hopeful that our cup run continues onward as we start the group stages of this competition. 

COYS!!!

Midweek Review (21 Oct 2008)

Manchester United vs Celtic

"16 home games without losing and counting.."

-Gary, 21 Oct 2008

What a contrast of differences in first half and second half. When the game ends in the first half, the score was 0-0. By the time the full time whistle was blown, Man Utd scored 4 goals without reply.

My focus of this review is not the upcoming Champions League match against Celtic. But of a certain outspoken person whom we last saw in 2007. That person is none other than Jose Mourinho.

He claimed that he has unfinished business in English Premier League and will like to come back once again when he fulfill 3 years contract with Inter Milan. Call it a conspiracy theory or coffee shop talk, but i have a feeling he wants the Old Trafford job. That the same time when Fergie retires from the game. Even ESPNsoccernet have the same sentiments. I wonder Cristiano Ronaldo will leave Man Utd next summer if he gets wind of this theory. I have no doubts of Mourinho's talents in managing people as we seen in Chelsea. Maybe he will do it better than Fergie with some additional new players in defence and goalkeeping department.

Anyway, back to Celtic game, Man Utd is still unbeaten from the competition since 2007. 16 home games without losing and counting. As for Celtic, they are still unable to get a win for 18 away matches.

Man Utd News: Patrice Evra is out of the game with a hamstring problem in the weekend match.
Celtic News: Georgios Samaras and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink are out.

Odd and Analysis: Man Utd is giving a handicap of 1.75 at 2.0. Given that both Celtic's strikers are out, form book is out as this is an Anglo-Scottish game. In short, anything can happen. To be on the safe side, this match is no bet for me.

Disclaimer: This review is entirely on my own views and opinion. I didn’t point a gun at you to ask you to follow. If you want to bet on this game, do so at your own risk. Pls bet within limits. Good luck.

Results - Games 18 - 20 Oct 2008 EPL Prediction League 2008/2009

EPL Prediction League 2008/2009We have a Perfect 10 this weekend! Congrats to redherring for his double-strike to launch himself into 6th place as well as opening his account on the Marksmen Board too!

Congrats to Delay also for yet another week of fine showing to extend his lead in the Marksmen Board to 4 games as a share of the pole position.

Looks like everybody came back rather strongly after being rested for a fortnight.

On to the next weekend!

Housekeeping Notes:

All of this season's tables will be kept in Flickr's photoset. Click Here.


EPL Prediction League "Perfect Score" Hall Of Fame
Perfect Score = 2 correct-score predictions in a single weekend and hence the award of the full 10 points.

1) redherring (20 Oct 2008)

Marksmen Board (Number of Exact Predictions)
4 Games - delay
2 Games - weimeng, hotdog, redherring, ianrush
1 Game - necroastr, bedokian, david.hvp, everton, cha dum yen, limyengchuan, Voxeros,

Scoring System
3-Points for a correct outcome (Win, Lose or Draw)
1-point each for correct score on each side.

Double Entry
Later submission shall override earlier submission.

Penalty
No points for submission after kick-off. (Disqualification)

Blogspot Blackout
The EPL Prediction League will be played here but if in the event Blogger/Blogspot servers go down, we will automatically carry on the league over to my personal blog at http://jaywalk.blog-city.com. Please bookmark this or at the very least stay in touch with one of us as we will also be helping all stay in the loop via the various channels like MSN, Skype, email as well as SPUG Off-Topic Chat.

Prediction League Past Winners

Copa America 2004 - WeiMeng
EPL 2004/2005 - Friday13
EPL 2005/2006 - ianrush
World Cup 2006 - EdwinSng
EPL 2006/2007 - Voxeros
EPL 2007/2008 - Cool402
Euro 2008 - Voxeros

As usual:

1) If you have spotted a mistake, please let me know where and what so that I can amend them accordingly.
2) Please check your scores for accuracy as soon as possible before I update the table during the next round of scores. Once the table has been updated, the old table will be overwritten.
3) In case you are still seeing the old table even if I have announced a new update, please refresh your browser to reload the table.

Fun Tidbits (19 Oct 2008)

Q: What is the difference between Spurs and a triangle?
A: A triangle has 3 points.

(JayWalk: Yeah, I know we had this joke during the last Fun Tidbit but guess what? The joke is still relevant! Hahah..... Bedokian and ihawk98 are going to kill me! COYS!)

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"That's great. Tell him he's Pele, and get him back on!"

Airdrie manager Kenny Black when told his concussed striker Stephen Maguire did not know who he was.

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"I think everyone's human."

Rio Ferdinand makes a profound observation while justifying Ashley Cole's mistake against Kazakhstan in a BBC post-match interview.

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"The most important space on a football field is the one between the player's ears"

Watford manager Aidy Boothroyd.

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Ananova (07 Oct 2008) - Super Sub Nets Winner With Broken Foot

An injured footballer threw down his crutches, ripped off his cast and hobbled on to score the winner with his broken right foot...

Click here to read the rest of the article.

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"You got to give Kazakhstan players credit, they're attacking with four players and defending with eight."

Grame Le Saux at half-time in the England Game. Maths - FAIL.

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"We scored three today and 99 times out of 10, that means a win."

Brighton assistant manager Dean White commenting after their 3-3 draw at home to Cheltenham. Maths - FAIL.

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"We love our Itsy Bitsy, Teeny Weeny, Baldy Headed, Warren Feeney, Plays in Dundee and he can't score a goal."

To the tune of Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. Northern Ireland's Green & White Army in Slovenia.

Warren Feeney (left), born 17 Jan 1981, currently plays for Scottish club Dundee United (on a one-year loan from Cardiff City) as a striker, wearing the No.7 shirt.

He was previously on loan to Swansea City and quickly established himself in the first team with 6 goals in 12 games. He was then supposed to be transferred permanently to Swansea before injury struck and the deal went dead in the water.

So far this season, he has started 4 times for Dundee United but has yet to open his scoring account.

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"We can see you sneaking out!"

Southend fans to Yeovil after Southend score to make it 2-0.


"We can see you coming back!"

Southend fans after Yeovil promptly pulled one back to make it 2-1.

---

Source: http://www.scmp.com.hk; http://www.dundeeunitedfc.co.uk

Beer Fund Raising: 18 - 20 Oct 2008

Well, obviously my wagering system didn't quite worked out as planned as I got a little ahead of myself and dived in too deep.

In the past, I usually do not bet so aggressively but perhaps due to the pent up frustration in the starting weeks of this season, I reckless went in with a vengeance and was made to pay dearly.

Costly lesson there. Back to the drawing board as I continue to tweak with my system.

This weekend has bookie traps everywhere. Proceed with caution.

- Voxeros

COOL's Saturday's Picks

• 
  

COOL's Sunday's Picks

• 
  

JayWalk's Saturday's Picks:

• 
  

JayWalk's Sunday's Picks

• AS Roma - Eat 0.25 ball (Lose)
• Valencia - Give 1.25 ball (Win)
  

COOL's Result this week:

COOL's Result this season: 10-1-6 > 4 UP as at 31 Aug 2008

JayWalk's Result this week: 1 - 0 - 1

JayWalk's Result this season: 10.5 - 5 - 17.5 -> 7-DN as at 20 Oct 2008

Disclaimer: This is merely to log my own results. You are welcome to follow if you like but I must warn you that you bear your own winnings or losses, whatever the outcome. I have nothing to do with your bets. Please bet responsibly and within your means. There is no absolute sure thing in football betting. If you can't afford to lose, then don't bet.

Fixture Focus - Spurs (19 Oct 2008)

Stoke City FC vs Tottenham Hotspur

The last meeting with a newly-promoted club ended in a disaster for Spurs as we lost 0-1 to Hull City in White Hart Lane.

On Sunday we would be the visitors to another recently-promoted club.

Judging from our past seasons' performances away and our current form, I guess Spurs would be approaching Stoke with caution, even though they are just 2 points and 1 place above us. This is good news, though, as if we won, we would be out of the bottom rut that we have been in since the beginning of the season.

Based on their performances against Liverpool and Chelsea (a draw and a win respectively), Spurs might be in for a little trouble if Stoke decided to keep their defences tight and play mano-a-mano style. We need quick attacks in order to bring them down. And the problem here is that, after a 2-week hiatus, will the new Spurs team be able to gel more effectively now?

Only time will tell....

Weekend Outlook (18 Oct 2008)

Manchester United vs West Bromwich Albion

"...Something must have been tweaked in the tactical books as we have seen back-to-back games where ManUtd dominated possession with 60% or more...."

- JayWalk, 18 Oct 2008

A big welcome back from the World Cup Qualifiers as we resume our domestic fixtures proper.

A fortnight ago, we beat Blackburn comfortably to stay 11 points from 6 games. The very same position that we had last season before we went on to win the Premier League.

Something must have been tweaked in the tactical books as we have seen back-to-back games where ManUtd dominated possession with 60% or more. Followers of my stats would have noticed that ManUtd are perennial strugglers as far as possession is concerned, unless of course it is a very one-sided match.

Fortunately, what we lack of in terms of quantity, we always make it up with quality as many a time, despite average numbers in the possession percentages, we ended up doubling or tripling the opposition's Shots Attempted as well as Shots On-Goal.

Our game against Ince's boys was the best of both world as we held 62% possession and doubled their shots, both attempted and on-goal

Looking a little beyond and we see ourselves hosting Glasgow Celtic at Old Trafford this coming Tuesday which is why we ended up playing on Saturdays while the most of the clubs in Serie A and La Liga have Sunday fixtures. Hence clubs like Barcelona, AS Roma and Inter Milan would be able to enjoy an extra day of rest before their respective domestic commitments on Sunday as well as their subsequent ECL games on Wednesday.

JayWalk The Talk: Usually, this section is devoted to who is available for the Starting Lineup and who is not. Availability is usually dictated by injuries or suspensions. This time however, I will start with those whom I think will be affected by traveling fatigue and worse for those who have to travel through multiple timezones.

Here's the list from the ManUtd side. Ronaldo, Nani, Rooney, Brown, Ferdinand, Berbatov, O'Shea, Vidic, van dar Sar, Andersen, Park, Evra and Fletcher.

Here's the list from WBA side. Carson, Koren and Morrison.

See the contrast?

Do not underestimate the seriousness of travel fatigue as it significantly decreases one's sharpness. A goal could easily be a result of a lapse of concentration in the blink of an eye.

On the sick bay side, Hargreaves, Carrick and Scholes are out leaving a big gap in the middle for us. Giggs is sure to start at the midfield and I think Tevez, alongside with Rooney, may start up front for ManUtd given then he didn't play for Argentina despite traveling with them.

As for WBA, Kim, Teixeira, Clement and Meite are not available for selection today.

JayWalk The Walk: Handicap odds for ManUtd is Give 2.00 ball at 2.06 decimal odds. On any other given day, I would have taken it but considering the fact that we are faced with injuries concentrated in the vital midfield position as well as a shit load of players coming back from international duty as compared to WBA who would be much fresher with 2 weeks of rest, it doesn't look like a very attractive bet.

2-ball handicap is too rich for my blood. This is a very good opportunity for the lesser clubs to beat their stronger opponents on the ground that lesser clubs have less international players and hence, more rest.

The Punter's Pot seems to agree with my view as current bets on ManUtd to beat WBA is only at 69%.

Punters be warned. Stronger clubs that are made to give handicap above 1.00 ball reeks of bookie trap to me.

On a side note: Rumour has it that Spurs may yet again fail to take 3 points this weekend and perhaps it's Vamos! Ramos!

Disclaimer: The above views are purely my own two-cents' worth. In other words, I cannot and will not guarantee that my predictions are accurate. If you want to bet on the game, do so at your own risk. Also, please bet responsibly and within your means regardless of how "sure thing" that game may appear to be. As the old saying goes, "The Ball Is Round". Good luck.

EPL Prediction League Match Weekend 18 - 19 Oct 2008

The EPL is back this coming weekend after the international break.

On Saturday, can Arsenal heap more grief on Everton who have not won since the beginning of September (all competitions)?

On Sunday, will the high flying Hull City Tigers continue their winning streak against the Hammers?

GAME ON!

EPL15: SAT 18/10 Arsenal vs Everton at 9:55pm SIN/HKT

EPL16: SUN 19/10 Hull City vs West Ham at 9:55pm SIN/HKT

Scoring System
3-Points for a correct outcome (Win, Lose or Draw)
1-point each for correct score on each side.

Double Entry
Later submission shall override earlier submission.

Penalty
Submissions after kick-off will not be admissible. (Disqualification)

Blogger/Blogspot Blackout
This Prediction League will be played here but if in the event Blogger/Blogspot servers go down, we will automatically carry on the league over to the personal blog of Voxeros at
http://jaywalk.blog-city.com. Please bookmark this or at the very least stay in touch with one of us as we will also be helping all stay in the loop via the various channels like MSN, Skype, email as well as SPUG Off-Topic Chat.

A break to ponder....

With the internationals coming up, the Premier League would be having a break till the 18th of October. But for Spurs, it may be a good time to ponder.

After 7 games, Spurs have beaten the odds in every imaginable statistics ever - it was the worst start since (gasp) before the First World War broke out, and we are the only team in the EPL NOT to have won a single game till now. And the performance at the Lane has been dismal - besides Everton, we have the worst home record ever (though the Toffees did compensate for this by having 2 away wins). Being in the spotlight for the wrong reason is definitely not ideal, especially for Spurs.

As a known Spurs fan in my circle of family, friends and colleagues, I find it equally hard to stomach such an indignation that we are facing. Talks of relegation and playing in the Championship is floating around in my football conversations, and I got asked with the most common question - "What happened to Spurs?" after the game at home, or back in the office on Mondays.

And who is to blame? Fans will definitely point to the manager first, in this case Ramos. Some may even blame the executive management, or even the players. As for me, I am quite tired of these blame games, though I do have the urge to boo off my team after the final whistle had been blown.

Forget about being in the top 4, let alone being in the top 10, as I had mentioned in some other forum. The battle of survival is now on, with just 31 games remaining. The dreaded table-standings-during-Christmas-jinx is coming, and I would not want to see ourselves in the red, or worse, being shown at live matches in April 2009 to determine which team is going down.

Come on Spurs, players, fans, coaches, etc., let's get the act together and we shall prevail!

COYS!!!!

EPL Prediction League 2008/2009

Tottenham is having the worst start of the season since Titanic sank in 1912. Let see whether Ramos is able to get it right when they face Stoke City after 2 weeks of international break.

There wont be any prediction games for this week.

Results - Games 04 - 05 Oct 2008 EPL Prediction League 2008/2009

Another pissy weather weekend for me as my punting system failed and aptly reflected by my continuous slide down the league table. Back to the drawing board. Haiz.

Congrats to Cha Dum Yen and ianrush for their 6-pointers to leap-frog great strides.

Housekeeping Notes:

All of this season's tables will be kept in Flickr's photoset. Click Here.


EPL Prediction League "Perfect Score" Hall Of Fame
Perfect Score = 2 correct-score predictions in a single weekend and hence the award of the full 10 points.

1) [Nobody Yet]

Marksmen Board (Number of Exact Predictions)
3 Games - delay
2 Games - weimeng, hotdog
1 Game - necroastr, bedokian, david.hvp, ianrush, everton, cha dum yen

Scoring System
3-Points for a correct outcome (Win, Lose or Draw)
1-point each for correct score on each side.

Double Entry
Later submission shall override earlier submission.

Penalty
No points for submission after kick-off. (Disqualification)

Blogspot Blackout
The EPL Prediction League will be played here but if in the event Blogger/Blogspot servers go down, we will automatically carry on the league over to my personal blog at http://jaywalk.blog-city.com. Please bookmark this or at the very least stay in touch with one of us as we will also be helping all stay in the loop via the various channels like MSN, Skype, email as well as SPUG Off-Topic Chat.

Prediction League Past Winners

Copa America 2004 - WeiMeng
EPL 2004/2005 - Friday13
EPL 2005/2006 - ianrush
World Cup 2006 - EdwinSng
EPL 2006/2007 - Voxeros
EPL 2007/2008 - Cool402
Euro 2008 - Voxeros

As usual:

1) If you have spotted a mistake, please let me know where and what so that I can amend them accordingly.
2) Please check your scores for accuracy as soon as possible before I update the table during the next round of scores. Once the table has been updated, the old table will be overwritten.
3) In case you are still seeing the old table even if I have announced a new update, please refresh your browser to reload the table.

Fun Tidbits (05 Oct 2008)

Q: What is the difference between Spurs and a triangle?
A: A triangle has 3 points.

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"And here's the 14th team in the Premier League."

The Chelsea announcer at Stamford Bridge introducing Manchester United.

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"I'd go home and kick the cat if I could - but I haven't got one."

Doncaster boss feeling annoyed after the 2-0 home defeat by Southampton

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Wonderkid Reuben Noble-Lazarus really earned his crust when he became the youngest player ever Football League player, the Daily Mirror reports. The striker aged 15 years and 45 days, didn't get a wage but instead had a pizza with teammates after his debut fir Barnsley against Ipswich. But yesterday he was sitting back in the classroom. He said, "My mum would never let me miss school." And Reuben, who can't quite believe he has made history, added, "It's a bit embarrassing I've even found out I'm on Wikipedia. I don't get paid because I'm too young but I shared a pizza with the first team after the match and they were all patting me on the back."

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The future of football games?? Read below.

Consoles can provide fans with all the home comforts including instant action replays while allowing them to order food and drink.

Offside? Did the ball cross the line? There won't be any doubts .. the playing area will become 'live' with players, referees and managers all linked to a network of sensors and global positioning systems (GPS) designed to eradicate human error.


Holograms could enhance the enjoyment of viewers in pubs or at home. Players could leap from the screen and join in with celebrating fans.

...but there are some things that won't change:

1. Arsene Wenger's eyesight.

2. Sir Alex Ferguson's hairdryer.

3. Roy Keane being scary.

4. Chelsea winning ugly.

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Source: http://www.scmp.com.hk; http://www.mirror.co.uk/; http://www.orange.co.uk

Beer Fund Raising: 04 - 05 Oct 2008

i think my system for this sesason is finally done as I am going in with 6 matches for Saturday and another 4 (not confirm) to beta test this.

Wish me luck!

HUAT AH!

- Voxeros

COOL's Saturday's Picks

• Blackburn - Eat 1 ball (Testing water) (Lose)
  
• Sunderland - Eat 1 ball (Testing water) (Win)
  
• Atletico Madrid - Eat 0.75 ball (Testing water) (Lose)
  
• Bologna - Eat 1.75 ball (Testing water) (Win)
  

COOL's Sunday's Picks

• Liverpool - Give 0.25 ball (Testing water) (Win)
  
• Aston Villa - Eat 1 ball (Testing water) (Lose)
  
• Hull City - Eat 0.75 ball (Testing water) (Win)
  
• Everton - Give 0.5 ball (Testing water) (Lose)
  
• Portsmouth - Give 0.75 ball (Testing water) (Win 1/2)
  

JayWalk's Saturday's Picks:

• Arsenal - Give 1.00 ball (Lose)
  
• ManUtd - Give 1.00 ball (Win)
  
• Lazio - Give 1.00 ball (Lose)
• Inter Milan - Give 1.75 ball (Lose)
• Villarreal - Give 1.00 ball (Draw)
  
• Barcelona - Give 0.75 ball (Win)

JayWalk's Sunday's Picks

• Portsmouth - Give 0.75 ball (Win 1/2)
  
• Sampdoria - Eat - 0.25 ball (Lose)
  
• Roma - Give 0.50 ball (Lose)
  
• AC Milan - Give 1.00 ball (Lose)

COOL's Result this week:

COOL's Result this season: 10-1-6 > 4 UP as at 31 Aug 2008

JayWalk's Result this week: 2.5-1-6

JayWalk's Result this season: 9.5 - 5 - 16.5 -> 7-DN as at 05 Oct 2008

Disclaimer: This is merely to log my own results. You are welcome to follow if you like but I must warn you that you bear your own winnings or losses, whatever the outcome. I have nothing to do with your bets. Please bet responsibly and within your means. There is no absolute sure thing in football betting. If you can't afford to lose, then don't bet.

Weekend Outlook (04 Oct 2008)

Blackburn Rovers vs Manchester United

"...A great relief for Bubba to finally open account with a brace of goals to score us our first win of the ECL...."

- JayWalk, 04 Oct 2008

A great relief for Bubba to finally open account with a brace of goals to score us our first win of the ECL.

ManUtd is never known to dominate in terms of possession but if they ever did, it can only indicate how one-sidedness the game was.

And very much so against Aalborg BK where we took 60% control of the ball in their own back yard.

They never had a chance considering the fact that our goalie only had to entertain one save in the entire 90 minutes.

Looks like it's another 3 points when they come to Old Trafford further down the calendar.

That would leave us with 2 games against Celtic and 1 more against Villarreal where we need just another 3 points from any of these 3 games to proceed to the next round.

JayWalk The Talk: We have quite a few casualties this week as Rooney, Scholes are set to join Carrick and Hargreaves in the sick bay.

Up front, we will be playing Tevez and Berbatov with Ronaldo behind, playing his 200th game for ManUtd. Fletcher should expect a call up to fill in the void left by Scholes while we have Nani, Andersen, Park and Giggs to fight for the remaining midfield spots.

Rafael was simply brilliant in midweek but I think Fergie will be resting him today. In his place, Neville will have dips on the starting sheet if he can pass a fitness test today. Otherwise, it will be Brown finally getting off the bench into the starting lineup.

Robinson, Dunn, Grella and McCarthy will not be available to start for Blackburn Rovers today due to injury and Simpson is on load from ManUtd where the EPL rules stipulates that on-loan players will not be allowed to play against their parent club.

JayWalk The Walk: Here's the thing. ManUtd has only won once at Ewood Park since 1999. Call it a jinx or a hoodoo but Ewood Park has always been a tricky place to be.

Hence it explains why ManUtd are made to give a 1-ball handicap but a difficult 2.025 decimal odds to clear it.

Although Blackburn is sitting higher up on the league table, we all know that ManUtd is the much stronger team. Still, I believed that the hoodoo jinx was factored into the odds to reflect as such.

I, on the other hand, have a different theory. It is not the grounds superstition that helped Blackburn lose only 1 in 8 games. It's really the managers behind. Since 1999, we have Graeme Souness and subsequently Mark Sparky Hughes. Both were excellent managers at Blackburn and I attributed the team's good record to them.

But now that Hughes is gone, we have a fellow ManUtd graduate at the helm. Paul Ince who was England first black captain and is now the first black Briton to manage an Premiership club. Problem is that this is his maiden season at the top flight and he is about to be schooled by the best manager in the Premiership.

Punter's wagers skewed heavily in favour of ManUtd to beat the 1-ball handicap by a ratio of 83 to 17.

I say we go ahead and give the 1-ball handicap. We have no game in the coming midweek and as such, there will be no reason to hold back. It is definitely going to be a victory for ManUtd which means that even if we win by 1 goal, we still get our money back.

Disclaimer: The above views are purely my own two-cents' worth. In other words, I cannot and will not guarantee that my predictions are accurate. If you want to bet on the game, do so at your own risk. Also, please bet responsibly and within your means regardless of how "sure thing" that game may appear to be. As the old saying goes, "The Ball Is Round". Good luck.

Fixture Focus - Spurs (5 Oct 2008)

Tottenham Hotspur vs Hull City AFC

First, I would like to congratulate Hull City for defeating our sworn enemy in North London last weekend.

That is all I have to say about them.

For the past few commentaries, it seems that our worst nightmares had manifested, with my prediction of Defoe scoring against us came true (though it could be an arranged "get-back" by Pompey players to allow him to take the spot kick).

After coming back from a very harrowing UEFA Cup game (which we drew, and none of our players scored in that game), Spurs should now concentrate on the league.

After all, which EPL club had a worst start in 53 years?

COYS!!!!!

Fixture Focus - Spurs (2 October 2008)

Wisla Krakow vs Spurs (UEFA Cup, 1st Round, 2nd Leg)

This is the beginning of the "do or die" series of matches for Juande Ramos.  Spurs hold a slim 2-1 lead coming into this away fixture.  All it takes is a 1-0 win for Wisla Krakow and they will advance.

And IF this happens, I think Ramos will be fired. 

But Ramos is clearly a cup-competition specialist so perhaps he will pull a rabbit out of his bag and ensure that Spurs qualify for the group stages of this competition.  The team has weathered so much since the start of the season and fans like me are cautiously hopeful that we start winning again tonight.  Ledley King is slated to start while Gareth Bale has a late fitness test.  Up front, it is likely to be Bent as Pavlyuchenko is cup-tied and probably Frazier Campbell on the bench.  The lack of attacking options scares me as this will be a close game I assure you.

COYS!!!