Midweek Outlook (07 Dec 2010)

   Manchester United vs Valencia

Remember when I said I am always reminded of 3 things whenever West Ham comes to mind? Well, after the 4-0 drubbing, make that 4 from now on. @#$%$%@!

Still, there is no need to push the panic button yet as it was a make-shift squad of 10 changes. Fergie wasn't too concerned about the loss. We never thought much of the League Cup to begin with anyway.

And West Ham paid for the price thereafter slumping to a 0-1 defeat to Sunderland to remain rooted to the bottom of the table. How smart was that?

Grant, in my opinion, is not a smart manager. Perhaps that's why he did not last long at Chelsea either. I am not saying that by giving up on the League Cup game against ManUtd, a win against Sunderland would be guaranteed but at the very least with the players better rested (Grant made only 2 changes), they would at least stood a better chance?

It was a narrow win for Sunderland which translate to a narrow loss for West Ham, I am sure fixture fatigue was quite a big factor contributing to this defeat.

Speaking of rest, ManUtd will indeed be well rested after the game against Blackpool was postponed due to frozen pitch. Granted Arsenal has taken over us in the table, we do however have a game in hand which we may not even need to cash out should we defeat the Gunners come the following Monday.

Oh did I mention that we are playing Chelsea the Sunday after that?

Rest! Dammit!! The squad needs rest!!

If we can pull off both wins, I think we can start dreaming about the title even before Christmas. Oh how the tides has change where just a couple of months ago, I was lamenting how our season was over with a spate of draws here, there and everywhere.

Looking at today's game. We may have already qualified to the next round but a defeat today is unthinkable as it would allowed Valencia to top out the group. The implication would be that we will be meeting the winners of the other groups in the next group. There are no surprises this season as powerhouses like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are all expected to finish their respective groups on top.

The only worry is the prospect of encountering Inter Milan. Still, that may not happen as Inter Milan is only in second place because of goal difference. This final game of the round may just turn the tables in favour of Inter Milan.

In any case, finishing at the top of the table would be the wiser decision to make for this year.

Still, the mentality of Valencia coming into this game plays a large part also. They are not doing very well of late, slumping to a 0-2 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid, chalking only 4 wins in their last 10 games.

Do they want to go easy on tonight's game and just settle for second, thus allowing them to prepare for the next game hosting Osasuna or will they be gunning for the top spot?

ManUtd will have it easier today as they have home ground advantage and needing only a draw to secure pole position.

Valencia receives a 0.75-ball handicap from ManUtd and bookies feel that the advantage is in favour of the visitors and thus giving Valencia a 1.90 decimal odds to win the handicap.

Punters, on the contrary, are putting 82% of the total wagers on the home side as Valencia has not won away in their last 4 consecutive games.

Although ManUtd almost always win their final game in Round 1, I am not so confident this time with Arsenal looming over our shoulders at the weekend.

I think ManUtd probably will settle for a draw and qualify as group winner.

JayWalk's 2010/2011 Track Record to-date (06 Dec 2010) :  P79-W40-L39

- Voxeros

Fixture Focus - Spurs (7 Dec 2010)

FC Twente vs Tottenham Hotspur

(UEFA Champions League Group Stage)

We are through to the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League, and the next game determines whether we will top the group (and be part of the seeded pot for the next draw).

We will travel to the city of Enschede, home of last season's Eredivisie champions. We had knocked them 4-1 back at the Lane a couple of months ago, and FC Twente will be relishing revenge at their home turf of De Grolsch Veste, with nothing to play for but pride.

Our lineup has taken a tremendous blow since the Liverpool game, with Kaboul and Van der Vaart adding to our long list of injured players. Possible starters (likely 4-4-2) would be Gomes at the goal mouth, Assou-Ekotto, Gallas, Bassong and Hutton at the back, Bale, Palacios, Modric and Lennon at midfield, and Defoe/Pavlyuchenko and Crouch up front. Dawson, though unused in the Birmingham game, might appear in this game.

FC Twente will be without their striker Ruiz and leftback Kuiper, but they have virtually everyone starting from their first team.

Expect a crunch match, and a grand finale game to the group stages.

COYS!!!!!

*Champions League hymn playing*

Results - Game 04 - 05 Dec 2010 EPL Prediction League 2010/2011

Congrats to Bedokian for notching another one on the Marksmen Board and a co-share of the Pole with ihawk98.

Terrible weekend for some of us as we scored zero on both matches and losing ground with the top.

Dammit!

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) 8plus1 (28 - 29 Aug 2010)
2) KingMeng (02 - 03 Oct 2010)
3) ihawk98 (02 - 03 Oct 2010)
4) ollopA (16 - 17 Oct 2010)

Marksmen Board (Number of Exact Predictions)
6 Games - ihawk98
5 Games - KingMeng, Mr. White
4 Games - Bedokian
3 Games - 8plus1, ollopA, Voxeros, Everton, redherring
2 Games - cool402, ianrush, edwinsng
1 Game - weimeng,


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://www.jaywalkonline.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
EPL 2009/2010 - ihawk98
World Cup 2010 - Raynaldo

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 - 4 Dec 2010

Blackpool vs Manchester United

Without our 2 centre-backs of Rio Ferdinand and Vidic, anything that can go wrong with Man Utd will go wrong. Without them, we leak goals like leaking water and draw too many matches, but we are currently 2 points ahead of Chelsea. Now with the Carling Cup out of our sight, we can focus on Premier League till Jan 2011 with a FA Cup 3rd Round against Liverpool.

Blackpool, a surprise package in the Premier League. They are not even in the relegation zone yet. He took in those rejects from Premier League, and with nothing to prove, is taking Blackpool to new heights.

Blackpool Team News: Dekel Keinan, Chris Basham, Marlon Harewood, Matthew Gilks and Billy Clarke are out.

Man Utd Team News: Owen Hargreaves, Michael Owen, Antonio Valencia, Paul Scholes and Chris Smalling are out.

Odds and Analysis: Man Utd is giving 1.5 handicap. With Blackpool nothing to prove against the Big 4, i have a doubt that Man Utd will clear the handicap. Avoid!!

Game is postponed due to adverse weather conditions.

Fixture Focus–Spurs (EPL, 4 December 2010)

Birmingham vs Tottenham Hotspur        

What a week we had!  This must be one of the best string of result Spurs have achieved.  And now, we face a toughie at St. Andrews against a Birmingham squad that just dispatched Aston Villa to reach the semi-finals of the Carling Cup.

Birmingham have a good home record with just one defeat in 22 games at home.  And Spurs will be without Rafael van der Vaart, Younes Kaboul, King and Huddlestone.  The good news is that Dawson is back and should get some action this weekend.  I wonder if ‘arry will deploy 2 up front that seem to work so well for us this past week.  It does allow very open and flowing football and the down side is that we become leaky at the back too.

I just feel that the roller coaster ride must come down sometime and a draw for us would be nice away from home.  That said, I am wishing that the lads will surprise everyone and continue the great run of results we have had.

Always exciting when we support the Lilywhites! COYS!!!

EPL Prediction League Match Weekend 4–5 December 2010

EPL29: SAT 4/12 Wigan vs Stoke at 10.55pm SIN/HKT

EPL30: SUN 5/12 West Brom v Newcastle at 09.25pm 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)

Blog Blackout
This Prediction League will be played here but if in the event this blog goes down, we will automatically carry on the league over to the personal blog of Voxeros at http://www.JayWalkOnline.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 Outlook (30 Nov 2010)

   West Ham United vs Manchester United  

Whenever I come across West Ham United, I think of 3 things.

1. 14 May 1995.
   
   The day we lost the Premier League title to Blackburn Rover despite them losing their game on the final day. We were trailing Blackburn by 2 points coming into the final day and them losing means that we would have won the title had we been able to pull off a victory against a mid-table West Ham who had nothing to play for on the final day.
   
   Alas, a defensive mistake by Steve Bruce costs us the vital victory and the title.
   
   
2. Joe Cole.
   
   Many years ago, in one of my archives, I earmarked 3 youngsters destined for greatness. Michael Owen, Robbie Keane and Joe Cole.
   
   Joe Cole debuted against us and his "No Big No Small" fearlessness caught my eye. I remember screaming (in my head), "Hey Fergie! We need to get that kid!!"
   
   Alas we tried but failed as Cole decided that the smell of Chelski money was more important than taking to road to become a great player. Karma paid him back by granting a permanent space on the Stamford Bridge bench for most of his stint. Sure, he is starting to make inroads at Liverpool now but he, as far as I am concerned, has passed his prime already. We won't want him even if he is offered to us on a free transfer.
   
   
3. Harry Redknapp.
   
   Similar to my blog about the 3 youngsters, I have also earmarked 3 managers many years back that I earmarked for greatness. Alan Curbishley, Sam Allardyce and Harry Redknapp.
   
   These are the 3 managers who can operate on a small budget and take on the big clubs.
   
   There is something about Redknapp that turns everything to gold with his magic touch. He brought West Ham to the UEFA Cup via the Inter Toto Cup route but unfortunately, that was as far as they could go as they exited pretty early.
   
   Second time round, he did much better with Portsmouth, bringing them all the way to the group stages of the UEFA Cup.
   
   Next, he brought Tottenham Hotspur to the Champions League and as of last week, they are through to the group stages too.
   
   Anyone still remember the famous shock 2-0 defeat of ManUtd by Bournemouth back in the 80s? Yes, it's Harry Redknapp at the helm!

The West Ham United today is a different story. They are stuck at the bottom of the league table and I don't foresee them staying in the Premiership next season, if Avram Grant has no new ideas in his hat.

(In case anyone hadn't notice, all three teams in the relegation zone all start with the letter "W". )

The last time we lost to West Ham was way back in Dec 2007 and since then, we beat them in the subsequent 6 games, keeping 5 clean sheets en route.

For this particular match, there isn't a need to find out who is playing and who won't be featuring. It is inconsequential on 2 counts.

1. West Ham is at the bottom of the table right now and as far as I am concerned, survival is more important. Domestic Cup are not only a waste of resources but also a suspension and injury risk.
   
   If I were the gaffer, I throw the game, rest my key players and preparing to meet Sunderland the following weekend.
   
   They won last weekend and that's 2 wins in a row but were so far back that they still find themselves at the bottom of the table. A third win against Sunderland would definitely lift them out of the woods and the good news is that the Black Cats aren't that difficult to beat. What better time now than when the momentum is going in their favour?
   
   So tell me, what good is it to be the League Cup holder but playing in the League Championship? I'd rather let the cup go and ensure survival in the Premier League. From a financial point of view, premiership status is worth more than the cup prize money and a spot in the Europa League which they won't survive anyway.
    
2. Usually, Fergie won't pay attention to the League Cup but that is usually during the early stages. Now that we are within smelling distance of silverware, you can be sure Fergie will add some fire power to today's squad, albeit not full power as we have a tricky away trip to Blackpool the following Saturday.

The handicap on ManUtd is a 0.5-ball give-away and a very easy 1.85 decimal odds to beat. Wager is 91% on ManUtd beating the handicap. Looks like everybody agrees with my theory

I don't see how ManUtd can lose this game. I am not even entertaining the thought of a draw. ManUtd to win outright.

JayWalk's 2010/2011 Track Record to-date (24 Nov 2010) :  P73-W37-L36

- Voxeros

Results - Game 27 - 28 Nov 2010 EPL Prediction League 2010/2011

Congrats to Bedokian and Everton for being the only 2 with a 6-point haul this weekend.

Now Bedokian and ihawk98 lead the table and ihawk98 has the honour of leading the Marksmen Board with 6 games.

Well done, guys!

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) 8plus1 (28 - 29 Aug 2010)
2) KingMeng (02 - 03 Oct 2010)
3) ihawk98 (02 - 03 Oct 2010)
4) ollopA (16 - 17 Oct 2010)

Marksmen Board (Number of Exact Predictions)
6 Games - ihawk98
5 Games - KingMeng, Mr. White
4 Games - 
3 Games - 8plus1, ollopA, Bedokian, Voxeros, Everton, redherring
2 Games - cool402, ianrush, edwinsng
1 Game - weimeng,


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://www.jaywalkonline.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
EPL 2009/2010 - ihawk98
World Cup 2010 - Raynaldo

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 (28 Nov 2010)

Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool FC

A week after our victory over Arsenal at their home turf in 17 years, and a few days after our victory against Werder Bremen in which we are qualified to the knockout stages of the Champions League, Spurs will host yet another thrilling clash which had signified our newfound position as one of the new top 4 just a season ago. In the very same fixture last season, Spurs had nicked a 2-1 victory over the boys from the Kop, who in the season before were nearly crowned champions.

Spurs will probably be entering this game with our midfield wonders Van der Vaart and Jenas doubtful, but at least our flying wingmen Bale and Lennon will start, along with the central stalwarts Modric and Palacios. Dawson is fit but I guess he would be sidelined in favour of current centreback pairing of Gallas and Kaboul, along with Hutton and Assou-Ekotto at their sides. Last but not least, Defoe and Crouch are eager to rekindle their strike partnership again.

The Reds are without their wonder captain Gerrard but we will be facing their on-form Torres. Furthermore, there is this media-hyped expected clash between Bale and Johnson.

A must win, and especially so at White Hrt Lane, where it proved to be a fortress against teams which had played in the Champions League (for now).

COYS!!!!!

Weekend Review - 27 Nov 2010

Manchester United vs Blackburn Rovers

I am doing away with the stats as Soccernet have change the the format. Sigh.

One goal each in Premier League and Champions League, with both coming from penalty is pretty surprising for a striker. If both goals were scored by a defender, I have no comments. Next match is a dead rubber match against Valencia, with both teams already qualified for the next round.

Tonight match against Blackburn, where they just brought over by an Indian company Venky, dealing with poulty. Free eggs and milk for Blackburn players?

Fergie on the other hand, admitted to rotate Berbatov too much that his scoring form is also affected. Now he is going to stick with Rooney and Berbatov, hoping that both strikers will score to regain their confidence.

Man Utd Team News: Owen Hargreaves, Michael Owen, Antonio Valencia, Paul Scholes and Darren Fletcher are out.

Blackburn Team News: Keith Andrews, Martin Olsson, Vince Grella, Brett Emerton, Morten Gamst Perdersen and Benjani are out.

Odds and Analysis: Man Utd is giving 1.5 handicap. Avoid the handicap, but Man Utd for the 3 points and overtake Chelsea.

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.