Weekend Review - 31 Oct 09

Manchester United vs Blackburn Rovers

"Dont expect goal glut in Old Trafford."

-Gary, 31 Oct 09

Another win to progress to the next round of Carling Cup competition. It was a stroll in the park from the statistics shown on the left. However, Man Utd doesnt seem to have the hunger of going forward and creating chances.

The coming match against Blackburn could be for the wrong reasons. Swine flu.

Blackburn currently have Sam Allardyce and 2 players suspected to be down with the virus. Sam Allardyce, out of precaution, stay out of the League Cup win against Peterborough.

Sam Allardyce is a very English type of football tactician where he love to use long ball methods to create confusion to the opponents. He achieved it when he was in Bolton. However, when he tried using it when he was in his ill-fated stint in Newcastle, fans disapproved of his tactics as they prefer attacking football. Currently in Blackburn, the results have been mixed due to a winless away record in this season. They are conceding goals like water leaking from a tap, especially against Arsenal and Chelsea. Dont expect goal glut in Old Trafford.

Man Utd Team News: Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Park Ji-sung and Owen Hargreaves are out. Gary Neville is suspended.

Blackburn Team News: Christopher Samba, Pascal Chimbonda and Vincenzo Grella are out.

Odds and Analysis: Man Utd is giving 2 balls. Man Utd will win this match but no point punting this match as Man Utd might just clear the handicap.

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 (31 Oct 2009)

Arsenal FC vs Tottenham Hotspur

Trivia - The distance between White Hart Lane and the Emirates Stadium is around 6 km.

Though both of us are not as close as the space between Anfield and Goodison Park, this 6-km distance marked the area of the famous North London rivalry in English footballing history. And this Saturday, we would be travelling this distance to our rivals' den.

Spurs had emerged victorious against Everton and continuing their march along their Carling Cup campaign. The Gunners, too, had dispatched our defeated opponents' neighbours Liverpool in the same campaign. With the 2 teams in winning form after a lacklustre previous weekend, this showdown would be a cracker.

Spurs would be playing without fastman Lennon, and news has been filtering in that a few of our regulars like Woodgate, Crouch and King may be doubtful. Defoe is still serving his suspension.

Arsenal has been enjoying goal fests on most of their opponents. For this game, IMO it will be a goalfest. At whose favour, well, since it's a derby, it's hard to tell.

No matter what, COYS!!!!!

EPL Prediction League Match Weekend 31 October - 1 November 2009

EPL19: SAT 31/10 Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur at 08:40pm SIN/HKT

EPL20: SUN 01/11 Birmingham vs Manchester City at 11:55pm 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 24 - 25 Oct 2009 EPL Prediction League 2009/2010

Congrats to Delay for making great strides over the week with a 8-point haul to finish in 6th position. If the streak continues, we will soon be seeing him leading the table.

Speaking of leading the table, Everton has caught up with Limyengchuan to co-share the lead with ianrush a mere 2 points behind.

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)
3 Games - ihawk98, ianrush, Bedokian, limyengchuan, delay
2 Games - edwinsng, everton, KingMeng, voxeros
1 Game - PMG, weimeng, necroastr, cool402, redherring


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 (27 October 2009)

Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton

Life as a Spurs fan is like being on a roller coaster ride in the dark. There will be times of euphoria as you rise to the top, and then the proverbial slide down to another reality, and the cycle continues. The weekend defeat at home by Stoke is a classic example of us not expecting the slide down to earth.

And when it rains, it pours. 'arry has a number of injuries to contend with as he prepares for Tuesday night's Carling Cup clash against Everton. Jonathan Woodgate (head injury) and Aaron Lennon (ankle) have joined a missing list that already included Ledley King (illness/knee), Luka Modric (fractured fibula) and Giovani dos Santos (ankle). Add to that striker Jermain Defoe, who serves the second of his three-match suspension and Niko Kranjcar, who is cup-tied having played in the competition for Portsmouth.

I am not sure why our road to cup finals are always peppered with Premier League opponents and this 4th round tie is no different. Everton are no push overs but they also have their share of challenges. Coming off a tough loss to Bolton over the weekend, the Toffees also still have key players out due to injuries. Long-term absentees Mikel Arteta, Phil Jagielka and Steven Pienaar remain sidelined with their respective knee injuries but Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Johnny Heitinga, Leighton Baines and Yakubu are hoping to be fit after each missed all or part of the Bolton match.

Moyes has "hinted" that he may have to play an even more weakened side for this match given his team's hectic schedule and that may pave the way for names like Kieran Agard, Jose Baxter and Hope Akpan to start.

I can see that squad selection may not be easy as Redknapp has one eye on Saturday's derby at arch-rivals Arsenal. As reported, he might give fringe players a chance to play so plan on seeing the likes of Pavlyuchenko, Bale, Bentley and Hutton in the starting 11. Nevertheless, our boys have to find it within themselves to bounce back after a tough loss to Stoke and get the "W" tonight.

COYS!

Midweek Review - 27 Oct 09

Barnsley vs Manchester United

"...Mark Robins is a former player of Man Utd and is also the player that scored in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest in 1990 that saved Fergie the sack."

-Gary, 27 Oct 09

Oh well. I had expected the results before the match. The stats show that Liverpool were the hungrier side but keep losing possession to Man Utd.

Vidic seem to have a habit of getting sent off in Liverpool's matches. 3 times in a row, no less.

Next up is Barnsley where ManUtd is taking a breather from the European football and Premier League. They will bring an experimental side to Oakwell Stadium.

Manager Mark Robins is a former player of Man Utd and is also the player that scored in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest in 1990 that saved Fergie the sack.

Barnsley Team News: Ryan Shotton, Carl Dickinson, Nathan Doyle and Andy Gray are ineligible.

Man Utd Team News: Danny Wellbeck, Darren Fletcher, Michael Owen, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Wes Brown are set to feature. Tomasz Kuszczak could take over Edwin van der Sar.

Odds and Analysis: Man Utd is giving 1 ball. I will take Man Utd which could either push the bet or win the punt.

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 (24 Oct 2009)

Tottenham Hotspur vs Stoke City FC

Spurs is continuing on its winning march again after a victory at Portsmouth last weekend. Later today we would playing host to the Potters, who had never won on the road this season so far.

With Defoe out due to a straight red suspension from last week's game, we may see the return of Crouch in the starting lineup, and my guess is the rest of the Spurs lineup would remain much the same as the one we fielded at Pompey.

Stoke on the other hand, would have their Fuller-Beattie strike duo to depend on for scoring. And Whelan, the Irish hero in the World Cup qualifier, may be in their starting lineup.

Are we able to do the same as per last season, where we netted in 3 goals in just 25 minutes? Expect a good game tonight.

COYS!!!!!

Weekend Review - 25 Oct 09

Liverpool vs Manchester United

"Man Utd can take their eyes off for their Champions League till Feb 2010 as they are virtually to the next round."

-Gary, 25 Oct 09

Man Utd can take their eyes off for their Champions League till Feb 2010 as they are virtually to the next round.

Man Utd just need one more point to ensure qualification to the next round when they meet CSKA Moscow 2 weeks from now.

For the whole week, Liverpool is in the headlines for the wrong reasons. Management is trying to sell the club, manager not good enough to lead the club to their first ever Premier League title since 1990, yet able to do exceptionally well in European campaigns. Rafa Benitez is not bringing out the best in players either, and Liverpool is fast becoming a 2 men team as they relied too much on Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. Liverpool is also going through the worst run right now with 4 defeats.

But with the Top 4 all suffering defeats so early in the season seem to be an indicator that the season is tighter and teams like Aston Villa, Tottenham and Man City are able to do an upset to the Top 4 anytime. So far, no team have won the Premiership title with no more than 3 defeats. Perhaps this season could be an exceptionally one.

Liverpool Team News: Fernando Torres, Sotirios Kyrigiakos, Damien Plessis and Alberto Aquilani are out.

Man Utd Team News: Wayne Rooney and Darren Fletcher are out.

Odds and Analysis: Man Utd is giving 0.25 handicap. Although Rafa Benitez have only won against Fergie twice since he came in 2004, I believe he might win this to make the league exciting.

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 24 - 25 October 2009

EPL17: SAT 24/10 Hull vs Portsmouth at 09:55pm SIN/HKT

EPL18: SUN 25/10 Liverpool vs Manchester United at 09:55pm 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 17 - 18 Oct 2009 EPL Prediction League 2009/2010

Great show by Limyengchuan for being the only 6-pointer this weekend and a massive leap right to the top of the table.

Congrats also for co-leading the Marksmen Board too.

Cheers.


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, ianrush, Bedokian, limyengchuan
2 Games - edwinsng, everton, KingMeng, delay, voxeros
1 Game - PMG, weimeng, necroastr, cool402, redherring


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.

Midweek Review - 21 Oct 2009

CSKA Moscow vs Manchester United

"This time round, Man Utd cannot anyhowly shoot themselves in the foot."

-Gary, 21 Oct 2009

Another win and climb to the top of the table. For a moment i thought Man Utd will finally score more than one goal to clear the handicap, but Bolton refused to act to the script.

Next match against CSKA Moscow. I believe Fergie is casting one eye on the weekend fixture against Liverpool where they already have 4 defeat, with the latest against Sunderland via a beach ball deflection. Bizarre goal!!

Hence i believe that Fergie might not opt for the kill but rather play out a dull draw game to keep their away winning streak continues.

Some interesting facts for this match: Man Utd have not won against any Russian teams. CSKA Moscow have won 2 times against English teams. Tall order for Man Utd to get a point from this game! Worst case scenerio will be Man Utd buang these 2 fixtures against CSKA Moscow, and win the remaining 2 games against Besiktas and Wolfsburg to qualify for the knockout rounds. This time round, Man Utd cannot anyhowly shoot themselves in the foot.

CSKA Moscow Team News: Full team to choose from.

Man Utd Team News: Owen Hargreaves is out.

Odds and Analysis: Man Utd is giving 0.5 handicap. I rather eat it.

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 (17 Oct 2009)

Portsmouth FC vs Tottenham Hotspur

After the international break, Spurs will be travelling down south to the beleaguered Pompeys who have just won 1 game since the beginning of the season.

And it is also a game between the "was's" and the "is's". Harry came from there, and so was one of our midfielders (Krancjar), and so were 2 of our strikers (Defoe and Crouch). And in Portsmouth, ex-Spurs players Boateng, Kaboul, Brown and O'Hara (OK, my mistake, the last guy is on-loan, so technically he's still one of us) are there. A reunion match, perhaps?

Portsmouth would want to start, and desperately, their winning engine. For us, we may be seeing the return of Woodgate, and stalwarts King and Dawson, so we are fully manned in the defence. Other than that, our other lineup would be much the same, depending on who Harry wants to field. Modric is still out, though.

This is a game Spurs must win in order to continue to rub elbows and shoulders with the big boys in the EPL (wait a minute, we are already big, but not "tall" enough in the table to rub elbows and shoulders).

COYS!!!!!

Weekend Review - 17 Oct 09

Manchester United vs Bolton Wanderers

"Can someone pls remind Fergie that karma had bit him back?"

-Gary, 17 Oct 09

Can someone pls remind Fergie that karma had bit him back? He claimed that the referee didnt give enough time in the end to win the game. Yet, in the derby against Man City, he didnt say anything.

Fergie did what he did best. He knows that the current Man Utd team is having the worst performance this season, and he actually divert the attention to the unfit referee. Poor referee kana arrowed for nothing.

Look like the Old Trafford seat is up for competition even though Jose Mourinho is the favourite as Steve Bruce nearly put one over his former boss.

Gary Megson seem to be an unknown manager with no achievements to prove. It's either managing clubs in the lower divisions or especially club like West Brom where he managed to relegate them one season and bring them back to the Premier League the next season. Bolton have been hovering along the relegation section of the table but should be able to survive this season.

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

Bolton Team News: Sean Davis, Johan Elmander and Joey O'Brian are out.

Odds and Analysis: Man Utd is giving 1.5 ball. So far, Man Utd have not been able to clear more than 1 ball handicap and with an eye on Champions League the following week, i dont believe Man Utd will be able to clear the handicap. Avoid Man Utd at all cost for this season. Man Utd relies on Rooney to deliver the goods which is impossible for him to do it 90 minutes in every 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.

EPL Prediction League Match Weekend 17 - 18 October 2009

EPL15: SAT 17/10 Aston Villa vs Chelsea at 07:40pm SIN/HKT

EPL16: SUN 18/10 Blackburn vs Burnley at 07:55pm 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.

EPL Prediction League

There wont be any prediction league games this coming weekend due to World Cup qualifiers and international friendlies.

Results - Games 03 - 04 Oct 2009 EPL Prediction League 2009/2010

This is getting close as ianrush's lead is cut down to a mere 1 point ahead of redherring and everton.

Close!

Congrats to Delay for being the only 6-pointer this weekend to finally catch up with the pack. Given his past record, be sure to see him overtake some of the folks in weeks to come.

Congrats also to Bedokian for getting one more right on the Markmen Board to co-lead with ihawk98 and ianrush.

Cheers.


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, ianrush, Bedokian
2 Games - edwinsng, limyengchuan, everton, KingMeng, delay, voxeros
1 Game - PMG, weimeng, necroastr, cool402, redherring


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 - 3 Oct 2009

Manchester United vs Sunderland

"Great acquistion but unlimited liabilities."

-Gary, 3 Oct 2009

4 points to go before qualifying for the knockout round. But poor Michael Owen only last for 20 minutes as injuries came back to haunt him. The season is only 8 matches old and he got the injury. Great acquistion but unlimited liabilities.

Sunderland have been doing quite well, i would say better than Mick McCarthy and Roy Keane era. Steve Bruce have bring Birmingham City back to the Premiership on the first try and send Wigan to the top half of the table last season. Darren Bent is also having a new lease of life since his move from Tottenham Hotspur.

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

Sunderland Team News: Full team to choose from.

Odds and analysis: Man Utd is giving 1.75 handicap. Ever since the season started, Man Utd only managed to win an odd goal victory and bookmakers see Sunderland no up, is it? Fishy odds, 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.

Fixture Focus - Spurs (3 Oct 2009)

Bolton Wanderers FC vs Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs are travelling up to the Northwest to meet up with the Trotters. The Reebok Stadium, though traditionally a fortress, have in this season somewhat become breached, for now. They have drawn 1 game and lost 2 while at home, and though it may be statistical, this may pose a boon for our side to hang on to the top 4 placing should we win there. But, statistics again, we have not won 1 game there since....lemme see....at least 5 meetings ago, or even more?

With Defoe out with a hand injury, Harry had indicated that Crouch may be in the starting lineup. And we welcome the return of Dawson from his injuries, and with Bassong's "knock-in-the-head" is not that serious, our centreback would be back in reasonable strength.

This would be a good game to watch, firstly whether we could break the "Reebok curse", and also our ability to maintain that top of the table (world) feeling.

COYS!!!!!