Some great games this week in the Premier League. Let’s take a look:
Arsenal-Manchester United
The PLTO Match of the Week is a good one as the first place Arsenal Gunners will host second place Manchester United in a match that will clearly have the victor leaving with first place results in the league as well. Manchester United strangely have 6 draws on the road this season with only one win; whereas Arsenal is only a modest 5-3 record at home this season. I like the Red Devils to pull off the upset on the road, but this one is a tough one to call.
Now that those idiots Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr are finally out the door at Anfield, it appears that the time has come for the new Liverpool owners to rebuild that rift between the owners and the fans with good cheer this holiday season. John Henry, also the owner of the Boston Red Sox, recently decided to give away free tickets to children as a “small gesture of our appreciation of the welcome we have been afforded so far” according to club chairman Thomas Werner.
Leicester manager Sven-Goran Eriksson recently attempted to sign Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder David Beckham on brief loan. The second division coach hoped to convince his former Three Lions captain (from 2001-2006) to join him back in England after a long absence from playing league football in his homeland since his departure from Manchester United to Real Madrid nearly a decade ago.
Tottenham Hotspur forward Peter Crouch knows that his manager Harry Redknapp just might become a hot commodity sometime soon for his country rather then his club. The English coach (and clever Wheeler and Dealer this recent transfer window) is always at the top of the “long list” of potential future Three Lions managers and the fact that his side has become a Champions League final 16 team and a possible top four EPL side should only help his odds of landing the national team job once Fabio Capello bows out in a few years time.
Let’s take a look at the EPL clubs in the Champions League:
Chelsea: The Blues have the most impressive record of any club in the Champions League tournament with perfect 5-0-0 results so far this season. Their 15 points is obviously good enough for the next round of the tournament, but is their recent dip in form and injury problems a sign of trouble to come for the once unstoppabe powerhouse?
It’s been a strange Premier League season and owners appear to be a little bit more patient with their managers during these tough economic times. One manager has been hired this season due to a resignation, but none have been sacked.
That is until now.
In a shocking decision, Newcastle United has sacked manager Chris Hughton. Hughton had recently guided the second tier team back to the Premier League with a promotion and had started off his 2010 campaign on a fairly strong note with 11th place results. But the fairly good play by the new boys wasn’t enough to save the inexperienced manager’s post and reserve team coach Peter Beardsley will take over the reigns briefly as they search for a new, more experienced manager.
Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier recently admitted that he would “love to bring” Manchester United forward Michael Owen to Villa Park sometime soon. The news should come as no surprise considering Owen starred for Houllier in 2001 when Liverpool won the treble and Owen was award Footballer of the Year.
Hollier, who is in his first year with Aston Villa, seems keen to land his former star from this quote in his interview with Mail on Sunday:
I would love to bring him here. He would be good for the group and has a joyful attitude to playing.
Happy Thanksgiving folks! And if you are from another country other than the USA and therefore don’t celebrate the holiday then my apologies.
But to be honest we all have things to be thankful for and that is the real point of the holiday. So without further adieu here are a few things I am thankful for this Premier League season:
1) Liverpool Has New Owners
Carlo Ancelotti is not considering resigning from his Chelsea club anytime soon despite rumors coming from the League Managers’ Association (LMA) claiming the Chelsea manager contacted the organization Sunday after his loss to Birmingham.
Ancelotti said that the LMA called him and that he in no way is considering handing in his walking papers just because of one tough cold streak. Ancelotti’s side was among the most mediocre teams in the league this November and the Blues coach’s trusted assistant Ray Wilkens was let go a few weeks back to make way for new assistant Michael Emenalo. The coaching switch, an array of injuries, and a lack of offensive production have all limited the Blues production and success over the last month, but Ancelotti still desires a long term stay at Stamford Bridge despite the recent bump in the road:
Tottenham defender William Gallas is expected to remain captain of the Spurs squad for awhile following a brilliant 3-2 upset victory by the Spurs against Arsenal last weekend. Wheeler and dealer Harry Redknapp elected to give Gallas the honor of the yellow armband last weekend because Gallas was facing his former side and was expected to here plenty of jeers coming from his former home of Emirates Stadium.
