Results - Games 29 - 30 Aug 2009 EPL Prediction League 2009/2010

What a close call for weimeng as he was just a mere whisker away from a Perfect-10. Still, the reward is pretty sweet with a 6-placing jump to come in at 9th.

KingMeng made good his Sunday prediction after missing Saturday's to finish with a respectable 5 points. A few of us used to give up Sunday's prediction just because we missed Saturday's. This is the perfect example that carrying on after Saturday's miss can still reap decent points.

Press on!

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) ianrush (22 - 23 Aug 2009)
2) ihawk98 (22 - 23 Aug 2009)
3) edwinsng (22 - 23 Aug 2009)

Marksmen Board (Number of Exact Predictions)
3 Games - ihawk98
2 Games - ianrush, edwinsng, limyengchuan, everton, KingMeng
1 Game - delay, PMG, Bedokian, voxeros, weimeng, necroastr, cool402


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
EPL 2008/2009 - Everton

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.

Weekend Review - 29 Aug 2009

Manchester United vs Arsenal

"[Owen] still need to prove that he still can score against those top clus and especially those in the European campaign."

-Gary, 29 Aug 2009

Not a convincing win given that the scoreline was still 0-0 at half-time. And Michael Owen finally open his account. He still need to prove that he still can score against those top clubs and especially those in the European campaign.

We are pitted against Wolfsburg, Besiktas and CSKA Moscow. I have a bad feeling about this season's European campaign where Man Utd could cruise easily to the next round but have to shoot their foot 3 times by either drawing or losing to these tricky opponents on their home ground before qualifying. Man Utd will qualify for the next round but will make things difficult for themselves. So the only way is to gain maximum points at home.

And now we are facing one of the Top 4 teams in the Premier League quite early in the season with no bearings to whether it will win the championship this coming May. Liverpool have lost 2 games to Aston Villa and Spurs. I would say it's a good timing to face Arsenal now rather than in Nov or Dec where we have to pick points from those mid-table and relegation-threatened teams to fight for the top spot.

Arsenal started brightly despite the loss of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor. Thomas Vermaelan have settled well in Arsenal from Ajax. Even William Gallas is having a new lease of life by scoring goals from every part of his body except hands, of course.

Man Utd Team News: Rio Ferdinand, Owen Hargreaves and Edwin van der Sar are out.

Arsenal Team News: Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasir and Tomas Rosicky are out.

Odds and Analysis: Man Utd giving 0.25 handicap?!?! Shouldnt it be Arsenal giving instead even though they are away? No punt for me as i see either a draw or a potential upset from Arsenal.

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 August 2009)

Tottenham Hotspur vs Birmingham City

The last time we were top of the league with 3 league wins out of 3, we were led by Bill Nicholson and went on to win the Football League Championship and the FA Cup that season.  A historic occasion in itself.  Yet I strongly suggest to all fans not to think so far ahead for this season.  Let's keep a level head and concentrate on each game as it comes.

Spurs entertain a visit from Birmingham this weekend and under 'arry, we've not lost at home since last November.  I have to believe that with the international break coming up, a strong first XI will be fielded with the likes Defoe and Keane leading the line upfront again.  Modric and Palacios will be back in midfield even though David Bentley had a solid outing against Doncaster in midweek.  Cudicini will continue in goal as Gomes is still out injured.

Birmingham has had a good start themselves, making the champions Manchester United work hard for a slim opening day victory, then beating Portsmouth and then drawing with Stoke last weekend.  However, they have yet to score from open play this season.  Alex McLeish will definitely also want to disrupt the flow that Spurs have been showing on the field (resulting in 13 goals from our first 4 matches in all competitions this season). 

Again, barring any strange unforeseen bizarreness, I do believe that we should do well at home and come away with 3 points.

COYS!!!

Fixture Focus - Spurs (26 August 2009)

Doncaster Rovers vs Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham, who were last year's Carling Cup runners up after losing to Manchester United on penalities, start this season's campaign away to Doncaster Rovers. What do we know about Doncaster? They currently play in the Championship after securing the promotion from League One in the previous season. Their results so far after 4 league games are 3 draws and 1 loss. The only win so far has been the 1st Round tie in the Carling Cup where they came away 1-0 victors over Notts County.

Spurs are in unfamiliar territory and sitting at the top of the Premier League after 3 games with full points. It remains to be seen how much attention Redknapp will give to this cup competition but I do expect Crouch, Pavlyuchenko and Kyle Naughton to be in the starting lineup this time. Perhaps Bentley and O'hara will also get a run around and an opportunity to marshal the midfield. Key first stringers like Modric and Palacios will probably not travel, while those who do play will undoubtedly be rested in the 2nd half in preparation for the weekend game at home against Birmingham.

Barring any strange unforeseen bizarreness, I do believe that we should come away with 3 points and proceed comfortably into the next round.

COYS!!!

EPL Prediction League Match Weekend 29 - 30 August 2009

Take note that Saturday's match starts right after midnight.

EPL05: SAT 29/8 Manchester United vs Arsenal at 12:00am SIN/HKT

EPL06: SUN 30/8 Everton vs Wigan at 09:55am SIN/HKT

GAME ON!

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.

Results - Games 22 - 23 Aug 2009 EPL Prediction League 2009/2010

Welcome edwinsng back to the league albeit a week late. Still our friend here hit the ground running with the perfect opening of a Perfect-10!

Kudos also to ianrush and ihawk98 for their Perfect 10s as well.

Still, it is still Limyengchuan pole for holding the Perfect 10-ers back with a 1-point lead.

Well done!

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) ianrush (22 - 23 Aug 2009)
2) ihawk98 (22 - 23 Aug 2009)
3) edwinsng (22 - 23 Aug 2009)

Marksmen Board (Number of Exact Predictions)
2 Games - ianrush, edwinsng, ihawk98, limengchuan
1 Game - delay, PMG, KingMeng, Bedokian, Everton, 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
EPL 2008/2009 - Everton

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.

Fixture Focus - Spurs (23 Aug 2009)

West Ham United FC vs Tottenham Hotspur

Another tremendous result at the KC Stadium against Hull City during midweek, which proves that Spurs is getting rid of its bad away form jinx. Another hurdle to cross would be this weekend's away fixture at Upton Park, against our unofficial rival West Ham. If Spurs could clear this, I could say consistency sets in and we would really be a serious contender for one of the top 4 spots.

However, Gomes would not be appearing in this game after he was hauled off in the Hull City game, and Cudicini would be standing in.

Nevertheless, I am confident that Spurs would continue the winning streak, especially in this highly-charged London derby. Defoe would be up against his former club, and do hope that he will maintain his on form of converting goals.

COYS!!!!

Weekend Review - 22 Aug 2009

Wigan vs Manchester United

"Man Utd seem to be a very normal team to me."

-Gary, 22 Aug 2009

An unexpected loss to Burnley. There was no half-chances. No attempt to break Burnley's resilient defence. Man Utd doesnt play with urgency at all despite having 67% possession.

Wigan surprised us when they won their first game against Aston Villa. The reasons for the surprises are an unknown manager of Roberto Martinez taking charge of Wigan for the first time despite been a former Wigan player and Aston Villa, who finished top half of the Premier League most of the seasons that we remembered under the guidance of Martin O'Neill. But Wigan came crushing down on earth with a home defeat to Wolves.

Man Utd seem to be a very normal team to me. No creative midfielder like Cristiano Ronaldo or set piece specialist like David Beckham or a striker who at the right place at the right time to score goals like Ruud van Nistelrooy. Does anyone know that he score goals as if he is picking durians?

Wigan Team News: Oliver Kapo is out.

Man Utd Team News: First team defence is out with both Vidic and Rio Ferdinand injured. Edwin van der Sar is still out with broken fingers. Owen Hargreaves seem to be spending more time in the treatment room than on the field.

Odds and Analysis: By right, Man Utd's first 3 games cannot be touched as they are still finding their rhythm. It was a wrong choice to go with Man Utd to clear the handicap against Burnley. As for Wigan, the handicap is 1. No matter how much Man Utd give this time round, i wont punt for this match.

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 (19 Aug 2009)

Hull City AFC vs Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs have a tremendous start to the season with the 2-1 victory over the EPL champion wannabe Liverpool at White Hart Lane over the past weekend.

Now, the real test begins.

Spurs would be away in their next 2 fixtures - one at the "Tiger's Den" against Hull City, and later on Sunday against the Hammers at Upton Park. Judging from past statistics of Spurs' away form, these 2 games would definitely be a benchmark in our aim of being in the top 4.

First things first, it would most likely be the same Spurs squad travelling up to the Kingston Communications Stadium, with the only question of which 2 strikers would start out first.

And Hull, almost snatching a draw from another EPL champion wannabe Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last Saturday, would be no nice kitty cat at their own turf.

Expect an exciting all-out match.

COYS!!!!!

Midweek Review - 19 Aug 2009

Burnley vs Manchester United

"Though not firing all cylinders at the moment, i think they might be able to nick 2 goals past Burnley."

-Gary, 19 Aug 2009

We have match possession of 63% yet couldnt convert it to goals. Man Utd is indeed a slow starter into the campaign. Throughout the match, i was only anticipating Owen's participation in the match, and he was truly a letdown. With the injury time to play and he have a great opportunity to grab a debut goal in Man Utd shirt, yet he shot straight at Joe Hart. One on one somemore hor.

We are now in the second game of the new season and we are going to visit the 2nd promoted team in a row. Burnley, managed by Owen Coyle, have lost the first game against Stoke and is already a team destined for a straight return to the Championship. But the most shocking result was Arsenal's drubbing against Everton by 6-1. Lightning doesnt strike twice at the same place when Tottenham win against Liverpool 2-1. Yet it does!

Burnley Team News: Full squad to choose from.

Man Utd Team News: Nani is out with dislocated shoulder. Edwin van der Sar is out with broken fingers. Gary Neville is still out.

Odds and Analysis: Man Utd is giving 1.50 ball handicap. Though not firing all cylinders at the moment, i think they might be able to nick 2 goals past Burnley.

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.

EPL Prediction League Match Weekend 22 - 23 August 2009

EPL03: SAT 22/8 Sunderland vs Blackburn at 09:55pm SIN/HKT

EPL04: SUN 23/8 West Ham vs Tottenham at 08:25am SIN/HKT

GAME ON!

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.

Results - Games 15 - 16 Aug 2009 EPL Prediction League 2009/2010

Welcome back to yet another season of the English Premier League!

As usual, I am calling everyone to get their friends to join in to make this a big party!

A shout out to PMG who is joining us for the first time and KingMeng who has decided to return after a lengthy absence.

Welcome!

Anyway, we started this season quite aggressively with limyengchuan almost opening account with a Perfect 10! Oh well, better luck next time.

Congrats to delay, PMG, KingMeng, Bedokian & limyengchuan for opening account in the Marksmen Board.

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) No One Yet!

Marksmen Board (Number of Exact Predictions)
1 Game - delay, PMG, KingMeng, Bedokian, limyengchuan

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
EPL 2008/2009 - Everton

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.

Fixture Focus - Spurs (16 August 2009)

Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool

Tottenham has a 'wonderful' history of starting slow out of the blocks.  We have only won 2 out of the last 12 opening matches of the season, a sobering thought indeed.  On the other hand, Liverpool has only lost 2 opening day Premier League matches.  It really doesn't bode well for us does it?  So who will prevail this weekend?

It really depends on how Liverpool adjusts to the changes after the summer.  Xabi Alonso and Arbeloa are gone and in comes Glen Johnson (Pompey) and Aquilani (Roma) as straight positional replacements.  Stevie G is still classified as 'doubtful' to start but I can assure you he WILL be on the field on Sunday.  Torres is also nursing an ankle injury.

There are more changes on our side but not that drastic.  Gone are Zokora, Bent, and defender Chris Gunter and in comes Bassong, 2 Kyles, and ex-red Peter Crouch.  The rest of the team is largely unchanged and this is where I hope that Redknapp can instill some consistency and build on the understanding the players already have with each other.  We have to gel fast!

Our defence is suspect this weekend which is my biggest worry. I will sweat buckets if Torres has 'recovered' from his ankle injury as well. Yet I am excited to see who will start upfront for us.  Will it be ex-Reds Keano and Crouch, or will it be Crouch and Defoe rekindling their Pompey scoring days together?  That said, a draw would be a good result for Spurs.

COYS!!!

Weekend Review - 15 Aug 2009

Manchester United vs Birmingham City

"Man Utd have been traditionally a slow starter during the start of the new season, but why the high handicap in the first place?"

-Gary, 15 Aug 2009

Welcome to the new season. Despite the weekend curtain raiser between Man Utd and Chelsea, this is the first match of the season.

Not much to mentioned about Man Utd here as i have covered it over the last 2 posts. Most importantly, we will get to see how Man Utd are able to cope with the losses of Ronaldo and Tevez. We will also get to see how Michael Owen and Antonio Valencia able to perform better, or up a notch, when they put on a Man Utd jersey.

As for Birmingham, Alex McLeish has bring Scottish flair into the team with Barry Ferguson, James McFadden and Garry O'Connor. And some bad boy like Lee Bowyer. When i saw the squad list, majority of them are discards from other Premier League clubs previous seasons ago. Psychologicial speaking, they have a point to prove to the previous employers that they are wrong to let them go. I predict that they will survive the first season if nothing happens to their team with long term injury or the latest news of Carson Yeung takeover.

Man Utd Team News: Edwin van der Sar is out with broken fingers. Ben Foster is out with an injury sustained during the Community Shield. Goalkeeping crisis with the only fit Tomasz Kuszczak to stand between the posts. Vidic, Jonny Evans, Wes Brown and Gary Neville are out.

Birmingham City Team News: Christian Benitez, a record signing for Birmingham City is struggling for fitness.

Odds and Analysis: Man Utd have been traditionally a slow starter during the start of the new season, but why the high handicap in the first place? At 1.75 ball handicap, is way too high for Man Utd to overcome. Birmingham City will do better the second time round. I predict an odd goal victory for Man Utd. No punt 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.

09/10 Season Preview....from a Spurs fan

The hangover is nearly gone, and after a 3-month wait, the 09/10 season is starting soon (Ed: I know it had started with our London neighbours' victory over the guys in red from Manchester in the Community Shield, but for us Spurs fans, this Saturday will be the beginning).

A fresh season, a fresh start, and maybe a fresh stab at usurping the top 4.....

Or maybe not.

Throughout the summer break, we have seen the (probable) rise of the blue half of Manchester flexing its (financial) muscle a la Chelsea years back, buying player after player, and maybe even poaching (or good riddance?) one of our players over. Forget Everton, forget even Aston Villa, I would say Manchester City is the team to watch, but only if they have enough gel (not the hair ones) to go through.

What's worse, our defence is weakened, with Woodgate out for a few weeks, Dawson may also be out and King probable. Our start is really shaky.

But we do have a silver lining - we now have 2 ex-Liverpool players, or strikers - Keane (old news) and Peter Crouch. Both of them may even start at our opening match against their old club, and combined with Defoe and (maybe) Pavlyuchenko it would be a strike force to reckon with.

So, what holds for us Spurs?

Only time will tell.

And meanwhile, Audere Est Facere (To Dare is to Do).

And COYS!!!!

May the season begin!

EPL Prediction League Match Weekend 15 - 16 August 2009

Welcome back to another season of the Prediction League!

All eyes will be on Everton (not the actual EPL team but the player ID in this league) who will begin his defense of his league title.  No one, I repeat, no one has successfully defended the Prediction League title yet. 

The first fixture pits Stoke against a newly promoted, and very resilient Burnley, while the second fixture sees ex-Red Peter Crouch and now Tottenham's new signing, start against his former club at home.

EPL01: SAT 15/8 Stoke vs Burnley at 09:55pm SIN/HKT

EPL02: SUN 16/8 Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool at 10:55am SIN/HKT

GAME ON!

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.

Weekend Review - 09 Aug 2009

Manchester United vs Chelsea

"A warm welcome to the new season"

-Gary, 09 Aug 2009

A warm welcome to the new season as the curtain raiser for this weekend is the Community Shield between Man Utd and Chelsea.

Chelsea, without fail, open their new season with a new manager yet again. This time round is Carlo Ancelotti. This new season seem very quiet as the volume of transfer activities are not as much as previous season with the exception of Man Middle East City. This financial crisis has in fact increased the effect of savings by 5-10 folds. If Chelsea strikeforce of Anelka and Drogba can stay injury-free, with Deco and Joe Cole playing deeper in the new formation, i think Fergie have a great foresight by saying Chelsea is the force to reckon for this new season, not Liverpool.

As i mentioned earlier in the prelude, I dont know how the losses of Ronaldo and Tevez has affected Man Utd, but it has not shown in the pre-season friendlies yet. We have to see as the season progress. The impact is greatly minimised from what we have see Antonio Valencia in action. As for Micheal Owen, he have to prove his critics wrong in the new season, rather than in the friendlies. So what he have scored 3 goals? The opposition is Malaysia national team.

Kind of rusty when you didnt write for 2 months.

Chelsea Team News: No injuries reported. A full squad to choose from.

Man Utd Team News: Edwin van der Sar injured his fingers and either Ben Foster or Thomaz Kuszczak will man between the posts. Vidic, Wes Brown, Gary Neville are out.

Odds and Analysis: With a level handicap and given that this game is treated as a friendly, no punt 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.