Fulham 3-0 West Brom
Whilst Fulham did start the Premier League season excellently destroying the hapless Norwich 5-0, they had struggled in their following 2 games losing to both Manchester United and West Ham in successive weeks. They bounced back well however to inflict their first Premier League defeat of the season on to an off colour West Brom.
Before the season many worried about Fulham's goal scoring threat though they added well to their team over the summer and appear to have signed up a number of threatening players, none more well known than Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov.
It was to be Berbatov who stole the headlines here, netting his first Fulham goal in the 32nd minute to finish off an excellent run by team mate Alex Kacaniklic. West Brom didn't look their usual selves and it showed as the usually mild mannered Peter Odemwingie was sent off for kicking out at Sascha Riether putting West Brom at an even bigger disadvantage. It didn't take long for Fulham to effectively finish off the game as Berbatov netted a second from the spot.
Despite being 2-0 up Fulham kept control of the match well with Berbatov showing just how good he really is as he held up the ball and acted as a focal point for all of the Fulham attacks sadly however he failed to complete his hat-trick. It didn't however stop Fulham from netting a 3rd with Steve Sidwell tapping in from close range late on to seal all 3 points.
Fulham boss Martin Jol will be really pleased by just how good his team looked here following their 2 losses in their past 2 matches. The ability, strength and size of the Berbatov really allows Fulham so many options up front and with the likes of Mladen Petric, Damien Duff and Alex Kacaniklic they are a genuinely threatening team up front with several different options. I'd be genuinely shocked if Fulham weren't a team challenging for a Europa League position by the end of the season.
Whilst the result certainly wasn't great for West Brom, it was perhaps a dose of reality for Steve Clark who had taken a remarkable 7 points from his first 3 Premier League games in charge. Odemwingie's sending off was a moment of sheer madness (and something he has apologised for) though it was the fact that the Baggies simply couldn't handle Kacaniklic and Berbatov that really made the difference. West Brom have a lot of promise and hopefully this match will have awoken their eyes to the fact they need to play well to continue to get results.
Showing posts with label Fulham. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fulham. Show all posts
Sunday, 16 September 2012
Saturday, 1 September 2012
Premier League Week 3-Write up West Ham v Fulham
West Ham 3-0 Fulham
What a difference a week makes. Just a week ago West Ham were humiliated by Swansea 3-0 though this weekend, with new loan signing Andy Carroll up top, West Ham looked a completely different side.
Going into this match up the sub story was that of two strikers. Andy Carroll who had joined West Ham from Liverpool on loan for the rest of the season and Dimitar Berbatov who had been signed by Fulham from Manchester United, though only one of them started and only one of him had any real say in the match.
Whilst Carroll may have been a £30+ million flop at Liverpool he made an immediate impact for West Ham setting up Kevin Nolan inside a minute as the Hammer's took an early lead. It wasn't long until Carroll was involved again...and again. Through out the first half West Ham kept hitting it up and Carroll kept winning the ball time and time again as he frustrated and irritated a Fulham defense that looked petrified.
It was due to the clear fear in the Fulham defense that West Ham netted their second goal. After a cross was cut out for a Hammer corner the Fulham defense were at 6's and 7's and Winston Reid charged through the area to net a thunderbolt header to dobule the lead with less than half an hour gone. By then it seemed as if West Ham were in control and just over 10 minutes later they secured the 3 points after the ball was have cleared to Matt Taylor who's shot just seemed to split the Fulham defense.
Despite having the 3 points in the bag West Ham didn't have the perfect afternoon as both Andy Carroll and Guy Demel limped off in the second half, however Carroll seemed to be taken off more a precautionary messaure than anything too serious. For Big Sam it wasn't just the performance of Carroll that will have pleased him but the whole squad. Kevin Nolan's role in the team was again crucial to the Hammers positives, and he's now netted his second of the season and Ricardo Vaz Te looked exceptional. With both Matt Jarvis and Yossi Benayoun expected to be in the West Ham squad for their next match we may well see West Ham looking more and more like a team that have the quality to stay up.
Fulham's Martin Jol will certainly be very unhappy at his side who didn't look like a side who opened their Premier League season with a 5-0 win. They looked terrified at the back and up front they looked toothless barring the occassional flash from Damien Duff and second half substitute Dimitar Berbatov (who aside from one or two moments was anonymous). The few positives that Jol can take from the game are that Keiran Richardson looked pretty creative and Steve Sidwell never gave up on the match despite being out numbered and out played in the middle. A poor performance and a poor result for Fulham.
What a difference a week makes. Just a week ago West Ham were humiliated by Swansea 3-0 though this weekend, with new loan signing Andy Carroll up top, West Ham looked a completely different side.
Going into this match up the sub story was that of two strikers. Andy Carroll who had joined West Ham from Liverpool on loan for the rest of the season and Dimitar Berbatov who had been signed by Fulham from Manchester United, though only one of them started and only one of him had any real say in the match.
Whilst Carroll may have been a £30+ million flop at Liverpool he made an immediate impact for West Ham setting up Kevin Nolan inside a minute as the Hammer's took an early lead. It wasn't long until Carroll was involved again...and again. Through out the first half West Ham kept hitting it up and Carroll kept winning the ball time and time again as he frustrated and irritated a Fulham defense that looked petrified.
It was due to the clear fear in the Fulham defense that West Ham netted their second goal. After a cross was cut out for a Hammer corner the Fulham defense were at 6's and 7's and Winston Reid charged through the area to net a thunderbolt header to dobule the lead with less than half an hour gone. By then it seemed as if West Ham were in control and just over 10 minutes later they secured the 3 points after the ball was have cleared to Matt Taylor who's shot just seemed to split the Fulham defense.
Despite having the 3 points in the bag West Ham didn't have the perfect afternoon as both Andy Carroll and Guy Demel limped off in the second half, however Carroll seemed to be taken off more a precautionary messaure than anything too serious. For Big Sam it wasn't just the performance of Carroll that will have pleased him but the whole squad. Kevin Nolan's role in the team was again crucial to the Hammers positives, and he's now netted his second of the season and Ricardo Vaz Te looked exceptional. With both Matt Jarvis and Yossi Benayoun expected to be in the West Ham squad for their next match we may well see West Ham looking more and more like a team that have the quality to stay up.
Fulham's Martin Jol will certainly be very unhappy at his side who didn't look like a side who opened their Premier League season with a 5-0 win. They looked terrified at the back and up front they looked toothless barring the occassional flash from Damien Duff and second half substitute Dimitar Berbatov (who aside from one or two moments was anonymous). The few positives that Jol can take from the game are that Keiran Richardson looked pretty creative and Steve Sidwell never gave up on the match despite being out numbered and out played in the middle. A poor performance and a poor result for Fulham.
Premier League Week 3-As it Happens (Saturday)
Full time
Manchester 3-1 QPRThe Champions were again forced to play incredibly hard to claim the 3 points and whilst 3-1 was perhaps reflective of City's domination they did still not look like a team who were comfortable of themselves.
Goal!
Carlos Tevez finally seals the points for Manchester City after Edin Dzeko completely mis-hits his shot.
Manchester City 3-1 QPR
Y.Toure (16)
Zamora (59)
Dzeko (61)
Tevez (90)
Manchester City Free KickCity have a free kick in a great position...and we have 5 minutes stoppage time to go.
Manchester City Substitution
Samir Nasri is replaced by Abdul Razak as we enter the final minute of normal time.
QPR Substitution
Djibril Cisse comes on to replace Esteban Granero with about 5 minutes left as QPR continue to seek an equaliser.
Yellow Card
Bobby Zamora is booked after a few nibbles at Carlos Tevez
Manchester City Substitution
David Silva is replaced by James Milner with around 10 minutes left to play
QPR Free Kick
QPR take a free kick that seems to go through everyone and Ryan Nelson gets a second great opportunity inside 5 minutes. Manchester City are looking garbage at the back.
QPR Corner
Despite being thoroughly outplayed QPR are only a goal down and Ryan Nelson almost draw QPR level. Squeaky bum time for Roberto Mancini?
Manchester City
Kolo Toure replaces Pablo Zabaleta
Yellow Card
Jack Rodwell picks up a harsh yellow card
QPR Substitution
Keiron Dyer comes on to replace Alejando Faurlin
QPR Substitution
Anton Ferdinand is replaced by Nedum Onuoha
Goal!
Well that didn't last long. Edin Dzeko puts Manchester City back in the lead just minutes after QPR's equaliser. Again it seems City's attack has bailed out their defense.
Manchester City 2-1 QPR
Y.Toure (16)
Zamora (59)
Dzeko (61)
Goal!
Well who'd have thunk it? QPR have managed to equalise thanks to a close range header by the heavily bandaged Bobby Zamora! Game on?
Manchester City 1-1 QPR
Y.Toure (16)
Zamora (59)
Wow!
Manchester City come as close as a team can with an excellent shot that hits the underside of the bar and comes out. Beautiful shot and my my are QPR lucky.
Manchester City Chance
It has taken next to no time for Manchester City to make an impact in the second half as Carlos Tevez swings his foot through the ball and really stings the hands of Robert Green.
And we are off for the second half at the Etihad stadium.
Half Time
Manchester City 1-0 QPR
How is this just 1-0? Manchester City have knocked at the door repeatedly but have only managed to bag themselves 1, which they really will be disappointed by.
Yellow Card
Aleksander Kolarov picks up the first booking of the match just before half time.
QPR Corner
QPR get a corner as we edge towards half time and despite it being solid it comes to nothing.
Penalty Appeal
Manchester City are looking for a second and appeal for a handball in the area, it's again waved away
QPR Free Kick
QPR get a free kick in a promising position but it's wasted and Manchester City counter and create a great chances that gets wasted.
Manchester City Corner
Manchester City come close once again though it gets turned behind for yet another corner.
Lovely!
Manchester City play the ball wonderfully into an excellent position but make a pass too many and QPR clear the danger.
Manchester City Free Kick
Manchester City look to double their lead but a free kick, from a promising position, is wasted.
Manchester City Corner and Goal!
The previous corner has lead us to another one...and that one has lead us to a Yaya Toure thunderbolt past Rob Green. The deadlock has been broken.
Manchester City 1-0 QPR.
Y.Toure (16)
Manchester City CornerNormality is resumed with Manchester City getting yet another corner.
QPR Corner
A challenge by Jack Rodwell sees the ball hurtling towards his own net from 40 yards and Joe Hart is called into action to tip it over his own bar. QPR's corner comes to nothing.
Manchester City Corner
...you guess it, another Manchester City corner. This one here doesn't have the same threat as the previous on. That's the FIFTH QPR corner in a little over 10 minutes.
Manchester City Corner
...and another City corner...this one comes close with QPR needing to clear off the line...
Manchester City Corner
We are still inside the first 8 minutes and City have had their 8th corner! It comes to little but further shows their dominance.
Penalty Appeal
QPR are seriously under the cosh here and a ball-hit-hand incident is appealed for by the blue, the referee doesn't give it but it looks like the 0-0 will not last long.
Manchester City Corner
We are only 4 minutes into the match but City have now had 2 corners, this one being a much better corner than the first one.
Manchester City Corner
We're only 90 seconds into the match and Manchester City already have their first corner of the match. It comes to nothing but they are showing their intentions from the off.
...and we're off at The Etihad!
Despite the 15:00 kick offs starting slowly they ended up being rather solid overall. We had a combined 12 goals shared between the 4 games, we also had 2 penalties and 2 red cards as well as a number of notable injuries. All in all there was enough entertainment there for the neutral.
Whilst the winning runs of both Swansea and Everton came to an end the nightmares for Andre Villas-Boas has continued with the fans at White Hart Lane booing loudly at the end of their draw. Spurs are really struggling with just 2 points from 3 and when you remember the fans never wanted Harry to go they are likely to make their feelings on AVB well known.
So far today we've had it all-Goals (15), Penalties (2), Red Cards (2), injuries (a very nasty one for Neil Taylor), an angry Irishman (Martin O'Neill), controversy and some excellent debut's (Andy Carroll and Steven Fletcher), will this continue in our late game? Stay here and find out as Manchester City host QPR. (Full match preview here)
Full time
Swansea 2-2 Sunderland
Full time
West Brom 2-0 Everton
Full time
Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Norwich
Full time
Wigan 2-2 Stoke
RED CARD
Just minutes after Gareth Bale gets booked Tottenham go down to 10 with Tom Huddlestone being shown red.
Yellow Card
Gareth Bale becomes the first yellow card at the Tottenham v Norwich game
Goal!
Everton's excellent start to the season has come to a clear end with Gareth McAuley doubling West Brom's lead.
West Brom 2-0 Everton
Long (66)
McAuley (83)
Goal!
Tottenham lead lasted less than 20 minutes as Robert Snodgrass has equalised for Norwich. Pressure must surely be building on Andre Villas-Boas.
Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Norwich
Dembélé (69)
Snodgrass (85)
Goal!
Stoke will not be denied it seems as gentle giant Peter Crouch equalises for the second time against Wigan
Wigan 2-2 Stoke
Maloney (5)-Pen
Walters (40)-Pen
Di Santo (49)
Crouch (76)
RED CARD
Chico is very, very unfortunately sent off for a silly challenge on Louis Saha who really over-sold the challenge. Poor sportsmanship from Saha.
Yellow Card
Marouane Fellaini joins several team mates as he too is booked
Yellow Card
Phil Neville has his name taken by the referee
Sunderland Substitution
Steven Fletcher's hopes of a hat-trick are ended early and he is replaced by Louis Saha.
Goal!
Swansea's super signing Michu strikes again, scorin his 4th Premier League goal in just 3 matches as Swansea's relentless pressure pays off
Swansea 2-2 Sunderland
Fletcher (41, 45)
Routledge (45)
Michu (66)
Goal!
Moussa Dembélé gets his Tottenham career off to a great start putting his new team in the lead!
Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Norwich
Dembélé (69)
Yellow Card
Everton's defender Sylvin Distin joins fellow Toffee's defender Tony Hibbert in the referees book.
Goal!
West Brom take an unexpected lead against Everton thanks to a Shane Long goal.
West Brom 1-0 Everton
Long (66)
Yellow Card
Swansea's Ashley Williams goes into the referee's book.
Angry Irishman!
Martin O'Neill is furious on the sideline feeling that his team deserved a free kick. Instead it's Swansea with a free kick at the other end.
Tottenham Substituion
Tottenham bring on Emmanuel Adebayor to replace Gylfi Sigurdsson as Spurs look to shake up their awfully toothless looking attacking.
West Brom Substitution
Steven Reid has picked up a booking just minutes ago though now has to be taken off with Billy Jones replacing him
Yellow Card
We are having a spate of activity in the Wigan v Stoke match with James McArthur now receiving a booking.
Yellow Card
Stoke pick up their second yellow card of the season as Dean Whitehead receieves a booking.
Goal!
Wigan reclaim the lead thanks to a Franco Di Santos goal early in the second half.
Wigan 2-1 Stoke
Maloney (5)-Pen
Walters (40)-Pen
Di Santo (49)
Yellow CardSteve Reid picks up West Brom's first yellow card of the day just after the restart against Everton.
We are now back under way at all the 15:00 kick offs, with the Swansea v Sunderland game the final one to restart.
Half Times
Swansea 1-2 Sunderland
Wigan 1-1 Stoke
Tottenham 0-0 Norwich
West Brom 0-0 Everton
Despite a VERY slow start to the 15:00 kick offs things ended with a flurry of activity. The first 30 minutes saw more injuries than goal line activity with Neil Taylor's injury at the Liberty Stadium being the worst. The final 10 or so minutes saw no less than 4 goals, 3 of those coming at the Liberty Stadium, as Sunderland twice took the lead against Swansea with the other goal being Stoke's equaliser from the spot against Wigan.
Goal!
Steven Fletcher bags his second of the game to put Sunderland in the lead deep in to stoppage time. A free kick is floated across and Fletcher sweeps up the pieces.
Swansea 1-2 Sunderland
Fletcher (41, 45)
Routledge (45)
Penalty Appeal
Sunderland go straight down the other end and appeal for a penalty themselves but again the rfeferee waves play on.
Penalty Appeal
Swansea appeal for a penalty for a handball but the referee waves play on.
Yellow Card
We have our first yellow card in the Wigan v Stoke game as Marc Wilson gets his name taken
Goal!
Swansea equalise as we head into 6 minutes of stoppage time. Wayne Routledge almost rips the net open after linking up well with Nathan Dyer and Michu.
Swansea 1-1 Sunderland
Fletcher (41)
Routledge (45)
Goal!
Swansea concede their first goal of the season as a defensive mistake lets Steven Fletcher in to open the scoring just 5 minutes before half time.
Swansea 0-1 Sunderland
Fletcher (41)
Goal!
Stoke get a penalty with just a few minutes left until the break and Jonathan Walters converts to level the scores.
Wigan 1-1 Stoke
Maloney (5)-Pen
Walters (40)-Pen
Sunderland Substitution
Lee Cattermole who took a knock a few minutes ago limps off to be replaced by David Naylor. Note-Cattermole suffered a dead leg.
Yellow Card!
Tony Hibbert is shown as yellow card in theWest Brom v Everton match
Wigan Substitution
Jean Beausejour limps off with David Jones replacing him. Starting to look like a painful set of games today.
So we are 30 minutes into the 15:00 kick offs and we've had 1 goal between the 4 matches, 1 yellow card and 2 notable injury based substitutions...not great so far.
Yellow Card!
Craig Gardner receives the first yellow card of the day in the Premier League.
Everton Substitution
Darron Gibson goes off after what appears to be a pulled hamstring. He is replaced by Tony Hibbert.
OUCH! and Swansea Substitution
Neil Taylor is in a lot of pain as Swansea host Sunderland and you knew from when he went down that he was in pure agony. He's being stretchered off and will, eventually, be replaced by Ben Davies. Don't expect to see Taylor back in a hurry, this is a bad one and he will almost certainly be out for several weeks, if not longer.
Penalty Appeal
Nikica Jelavic goes down under a challenge and Everton appeal for the penalty against West Brom. The referee just tells them to get on with it.
Goal!
Wigan take the lead against Stoke in the first goal of the early kick offs thanks to an early Shaun Maloney penalty.
Wigan 1-0 Stoke
Maloney (5)-Pen
Penalty Appeal
Swansea have a penalty appeal in the opening few minutes turned down as they host Sunderland.
And now we are off in the 15:00 kick offs!
Full Time
West Ham 3-0 Fulham
An excellent win for West Ham who not only managed to keep a clean sheet but also bag 3 goals in part thanks to the excellent Andy Carroll who single handedly gave Fulham's defense a nightmare before he was substituted off. Sam Allardyce has to be happy at not just the result but also the perfomance which was a massive improvement over what they've done in their preview Premier League games this season.
For Fulham it just seemed like they took a long, long time to get out of the blocks and although their was some positives, notably Keiran Richardson's performance before he was taken off, it was an awful performance for Fulham.
Woodwork
Fulham looking for a concellation goal and Hugo Rodellaga comes close as his shot hits the wood work.
West Ham Corner
Diamien Duff takes a shot that is turned behidn by Jussi Jääskeläinen as we head into the final minute of normal time.
Fulham Corner
Fulham come as close as they've come as James Tomkins has to turn the ball around his own net. The corn comes to nothing as West Ham break quickly.
West Ham Substitution
Guy Demel limps off with a little more than 10 minutes left and it replaced by Robert Hall.
LOVELY!
Fulham play some fantastic football before it ends with a soft shot that is easily saved by Jussi Jääskeläinen. Fulham now showing some promise but we have only got around 15 minutes left.
Fulham Corner
Dimitar Berbatov earns Fulham a corner. Fulham have some solid pressure but it's finally cleared.
West Ham Substitution
Andy Carroll isn't being risked and is taken off for treatment and an early shower with Carlton Cole replacing him.
West Ham Substiution
James Tomkins comes to replace James Collins
Injury Worry!
Andy Carroll is down and in pain
West Ham Corner
Andy Carroll earns West Ham a corner after again frustrating the Fulham defense. After some messy defending Carroll gives Fulham a free kick in their own area for them to clear.
Fulham Substitution
Keiran Richardson's Fulham debut comes to an early end as Alexander Kačaniklić comes on to replace him with around 30 minutes left.
West Ham Corner
West Ham get a corner following the the throw in (see below) and after rattling around the Fulham penalty area the visitors finally get a chance to clear it via a free kick.
West Ham Free Kick
West Ham get a free kick just off centre and just outside the D. Matt Taylor strikes it hard but it's saved for Mark Schwarzer who loses it for a second before it's cleared for a throw in.
Flag!
Dimitar Berbatov is found in space but the linesman flags him off side. Harsh decision.
Fulham Substutition
As expected Dimitar Berbatov comes on the start of the second half with the Bulgarian replacing Mladen Petric.
Half Time
West ham 3-0 Fulham
A dream start at Upton Park for Andy Carroll who not only created a goal inside a minute but has genuinely given the Fulham defense a real nightmare. Fulham have looked scared at the back and have been beaten every time the ball goes through the air. Even on the attack Fulham look poor with only a couple of half chances in the first half.
Big Sam will be the happiest man in London right now, not only has his pursuit of Andy Carroll proven to be successful and already paid off but his team finally seem capable of scoring goals, even if the likes of Winston Reid and Matt Taylor aren't there to score.
For Fulham's manager Martin Jol he'll be asking what's gone wrong since Damien Duff put his side 1-0 up against Manchester United last weeknd, in fact Fulham haven't scored a goal (barring Nemanja Vidic's own goal) since then whilst conceding 6. Fulham fans will be hoping that Jol brings on Dimitar Berbatov to change things up front as they need to change something drastically in the second half.
Fulham CornerFulham get a second successive corner, this one is countered quickly by West Ham but the attack goes over.
Fulham CornerFulham get their first corner just as we enter stoppage time, it's cleared behind.
GOAL!
West Ham effectively seal the points before half time as a poor clearance only goes to Matt Taylor who makes it 3.
West Ham 3-0 Fulham
Nolan (1)
Reid (29)
Taylor (41)
GOAL!
West Ham double their lead following the corner with Winston Reid nodding in the corner.
West Ham 2-0 Fulham
Nolan (1)
Reid (29)
West Ham Corner
Fulham are slowly starting to prevent the crosses that keep finding Andy Carroll sadly these only tend to go out for corners.
West Ham Corner
The corner by West Ham is swiftly cut off by Mark Schwarzer.
Penalty Appeal
Andy Carroll goes up...then down in the Fulham penalty area, the hitman appeals but gets nothing.
Ooops!
Just out side the Fulham penalty area Kevin Nolan swings...and he misses!
Fulham Chance
Brede Haangeland plays in a delightful long ball to Damien Duff in the West Ham penalty area but the Fulham attacker can't convert the chance.
West Ham Corner
West Ham seem intent to build on their good start but again their corner amounts to nothing.
Shot!
Ricardo Vaz Te attempts to beat Mark Schwarzer at his near post but the shot is saved.
West Ham Corner
West Ham get the first corner of the match but it's a poor one by Mark Noble.
Shot!
Mohamed Diame comes close to doubling the lead as Mark Schwarzer is called into action to tip it over the bar.
Shot!
Jussi Jääskeläinen is forced in to action as Keiran Richardson takes his first shot in a Fulham shirt. The keeper's handling skills were less than impressive as he let it slip away from him but no one in white was following in.
GOAL!
Andy Carroll has made an immediate impact at West Ham with a knock on going to Kevin Nolan who hits it across Mark Schwarzer and opens the scoring inside a minute!
West Ham 1-0 Fulham
Kevin Nolan (1)
..And we are off at Upton Park!
So we've finally seen off the dreaded transfer window and now we are back just to what happens on the pitch. We start today at Upton Park as West Ham, with Andy Carroll in tow, host Martin Jol's Fulham.
Whilst Andy Carroll is expected to start we're expecting Dimitar Berbatov to start on the bench however Kieran Richardson is expected to make his debut for Fulham having signed from Sunderland.
Manchester 3-1 QPRThe Champions were again forced to play incredibly hard to claim the 3 points and whilst 3-1 was perhaps reflective of City's domination they did still not look like a team who were comfortable of themselves.
Goal!
Carlos Tevez finally seals the points for Manchester City after Edin Dzeko completely mis-hits his shot.
Manchester City 3-1 QPR
Y.Toure (16)
Zamora (59)
Dzeko (61)
Tevez (90)
Manchester City Free KickCity have a free kick in a great position...and we have 5 minutes stoppage time to go.
Manchester City Substitution
Samir Nasri is replaced by Abdul Razak as we enter the final minute of normal time.
QPR Substitution
Djibril Cisse comes on to replace Esteban Granero with about 5 minutes left as QPR continue to seek an equaliser.
Yellow Card
Bobby Zamora is booked after a few nibbles at Carlos Tevez
Manchester City Substitution
David Silva is replaced by James Milner with around 10 minutes left to play
QPR Free Kick
QPR take a free kick that seems to go through everyone and Ryan Nelson gets a second great opportunity inside 5 minutes. Manchester City are looking garbage at the back.
QPR Corner
Despite being thoroughly outplayed QPR are only a goal down and Ryan Nelson almost draw QPR level. Squeaky bum time for Roberto Mancini?
Manchester City
Kolo Toure replaces Pablo Zabaleta
Yellow Card
Jack Rodwell picks up a harsh yellow card
QPR Substitution
Keiron Dyer comes on to replace Alejando Faurlin
QPR Substitution
Anton Ferdinand is replaced by Nedum Onuoha
Goal!
Well that didn't last long. Edin Dzeko puts Manchester City back in the lead just minutes after QPR's equaliser. Again it seems City's attack has bailed out their defense.
Manchester City 2-1 QPR
Y.Toure (16)
Zamora (59)
Dzeko (61)
Goal!
Well who'd have thunk it? QPR have managed to equalise thanks to a close range header by the heavily bandaged Bobby Zamora! Game on?
Manchester City 1-1 QPR
Y.Toure (16)
Zamora (59)
Wow!
Manchester City come as close as a team can with an excellent shot that hits the underside of the bar and comes out. Beautiful shot and my my are QPR lucky.
Manchester City Chance
It has taken next to no time for Manchester City to make an impact in the second half as Carlos Tevez swings his foot through the ball and really stings the hands of Robert Green.
And we are off for the second half at the Etihad stadium.
Half Time
Manchester City 1-0 QPR
How is this just 1-0? Manchester City have knocked at the door repeatedly but have only managed to bag themselves 1, which they really will be disappointed by.
Yellow Card
Aleksander Kolarov picks up the first booking of the match just before half time.
QPR Corner
QPR get a corner as we edge towards half time and despite it being solid it comes to nothing.
Penalty Appeal
Manchester City are looking for a second and appeal for a handball in the area, it's again waved away
QPR Free Kick
QPR get a free kick in a promising position but it's wasted and Manchester City counter and create a great chances that gets wasted.
Manchester City Corner
Manchester City come close once again though it gets turned behind for yet another corner.
Lovely!
Manchester City play the ball wonderfully into an excellent position but make a pass too many and QPR clear the danger.
Manchester City Free Kick
Manchester City look to double their lead but a free kick, from a promising position, is wasted.
Manchester City Corner and Goal!
The previous corner has lead us to another one...and that one has lead us to a Yaya Toure thunderbolt past Rob Green. The deadlock has been broken.
Manchester City 1-0 QPR.
Y.Toure (16)
Manchester City CornerNormality is resumed with Manchester City getting yet another corner.
QPR Corner
A challenge by Jack Rodwell sees the ball hurtling towards his own net from 40 yards and Joe Hart is called into action to tip it over his own bar. QPR's corner comes to nothing.
Manchester City Corner
...you guess it, another Manchester City corner. This one here doesn't have the same threat as the previous on. That's the FIFTH QPR corner in a little over 10 minutes.
Manchester City Corner
...and another City corner...this one comes close with QPR needing to clear off the line...
Manchester City Corner
We are still inside the first 8 minutes and City have had their 8th corner! It comes to little but further shows their dominance.
Penalty Appeal
QPR are seriously under the cosh here and a ball-hit-hand incident is appealed for by the blue, the referee doesn't give it but it looks like the 0-0 will not last long.
Manchester City Corner
We are only 4 minutes into the match but City have now had 2 corners, this one being a much better corner than the first one.
Manchester City Corner
We're only 90 seconds into the match and Manchester City already have their first corner of the match. It comes to nothing but they are showing their intentions from the off.
...and we're off at The Etihad!
Despite the 15:00 kick offs starting slowly they ended up being rather solid overall. We had a combined 12 goals shared between the 4 games, we also had 2 penalties and 2 red cards as well as a number of notable injuries. All in all there was enough entertainment there for the neutral.
Whilst the winning runs of both Swansea and Everton came to an end the nightmares for Andre Villas-Boas has continued with the fans at White Hart Lane booing loudly at the end of their draw. Spurs are really struggling with just 2 points from 3 and when you remember the fans never wanted Harry to go they are likely to make their feelings on AVB well known.
So far today we've had it all-Goals (15), Penalties (2), Red Cards (2), injuries (a very nasty one for Neil Taylor), an angry Irishman (Martin O'Neill), controversy and some excellent debut's (Andy Carroll and Steven Fletcher), will this continue in our late game? Stay here and find out as Manchester City host QPR. (Full match preview here)
Full time
Swansea 2-2 Sunderland
Full time
West Brom 2-0 Everton
Full time
Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Norwich
Full time
Wigan 2-2 Stoke
RED CARD
Just minutes after Gareth Bale gets booked Tottenham go down to 10 with Tom Huddlestone being shown red.
Yellow Card
Gareth Bale becomes the first yellow card at the Tottenham v Norwich game
Goal!
Everton's excellent start to the season has come to a clear end with Gareth McAuley doubling West Brom's lead.
West Brom 2-0 Everton
Long (66)
McAuley (83)
Goal!
Tottenham lead lasted less than 20 minutes as Robert Snodgrass has equalised for Norwich. Pressure must surely be building on Andre Villas-Boas.
Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Norwich
Dembélé (69)
Snodgrass (85)
Goal!
Stoke will not be denied it seems as gentle giant Peter Crouch equalises for the second time against Wigan
Wigan 2-2 Stoke
Maloney (5)-Pen
Walters (40)-Pen
Di Santo (49)
Crouch (76)
RED CARD
Chico is very, very unfortunately sent off for a silly challenge on Louis Saha who really over-sold the challenge. Poor sportsmanship from Saha.
Yellow Card
Marouane Fellaini joins several team mates as he too is booked
Yellow Card
Phil Neville has his name taken by the referee
Sunderland Substitution
Steven Fletcher's hopes of a hat-trick are ended early and he is replaced by Louis Saha.
Goal!
Swansea's super signing Michu strikes again, scorin his 4th Premier League goal in just 3 matches as Swansea's relentless pressure pays off
Swansea 2-2 Sunderland
Fletcher (41, 45)
Routledge (45)
Michu (66)
Goal!
Moussa Dembélé gets his Tottenham career off to a great start putting his new team in the lead!
Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Norwich
Dembélé (69)
Yellow Card
Everton's defender Sylvin Distin joins fellow Toffee's defender Tony Hibbert in the referees book.
Goal!
West Brom take an unexpected lead against Everton thanks to a Shane Long goal.
West Brom 1-0 Everton
Long (66)
Yellow Card
Swansea's Ashley Williams goes into the referee's book.
Angry Irishman!
Martin O'Neill is furious on the sideline feeling that his team deserved a free kick. Instead it's Swansea with a free kick at the other end.
Tottenham Substituion
Tottenham bring on Emmanuel Adebayor to replace Gylfi Sigurdsson as Spurs look to shake up their awfully toothless looking attacking.
West Brom Substitution
Steven Reid has picked up a booking just minutes ago though now has to be taken off with Billy Jones replacing him
Yellow Card
We are having a spate of activity in the Wigan v Stoke match with James McArthur now receiving a booking.
Yellow Card
Stoke pick up their second yellow card of the season as Dean Whitehead receieves a booking.
Goal!
Wigan reclaim the lead thanks to a Franco Di Santos goal early in the second half.
Wigan 2-1 Stoke
Maloney (5)-Pen
Walters (40)-Pen
Di Santo (49)
Yellow CardSteve Reid picks up West Brom's first yellow card of the day just after the restart against Everton.
We are now back under way at all the 15:00 kick offs, with the Swansea v Sunderland game the final one to restart.
Half Times
Swansea 1-2 Sunderland
Wigan 1-1 Stoke
Tottenham 0-0 Norwich
West Brom 0-0 Everton
Despite a VERY slow start to the 15:00 kick offs things ended with a flurry of activity. The first 30 minutes saw more injuries than goal line activity with Neil Taylor's injury at the Liberty Stadium being the worst. The final 10 or so minutes saw no less than 4 goals, 3 of those coming at the Liberty Stadium, as Sunderland twice took the lead against Swansea with the other goal being Stoke's equaliser from the spot against Wigan.
Goal!
Steven Fletcher bags his second of the game to put Sunderland in the lead deep in to stoppage time. A free kick is floated across and Fletcher sweeps up the pieces.
Swansea 1-2 Sunderland
Fletcher (41, 45)
Routledge (45)
Penalty Appeal
Sunderland go straight down the other end and appeal for a penalty themselves but again the rfeferee waves play on.
Penalty Appeal
Swansea appeal for a penalty for a handball but the referee waves play on.
Yellow Card
We have our first yellow card in the Wigan v Stoke game as Marc Wilson gets his name taken
Goal!
Swansea equalise as we head into 6 minutes of stoppage time. Wayne Routledge almost rips the net open after linking up well with Nathan Dyer and Michu.
Swansea 1-1 Sunderland
Fletcher (41)
Routledge (45)
Goal!
Swansea concede their first goal of the season as a defensive mistake lets Steven Fletcher in to open the scoring just 5 minutes before half time.
Swansea 0-1 Sunderland
Fletcher (41)
Goal!
Stoke get a penalty with just a few minutes left until the break and Jonathan Walters converts to level the scores.
Wigan 1-1 Stoke
Maloney (5)-Pen
Walters (40)-Pen
Sunderland Substitution
Lee Cattermole who took a knock a few minutes ago limps off to be replaced by David Naylor. Note-Cattermole suffered a dead leg.
Yellow Card!
Tony Hibbert is shown as yellow card in theWest Brom v Everton match
Wigan Substitution
Jean Beausejour limps off with David Jones replacing him. Starting to look like a painful set of games today.
So we are 30 minutes into the 15:00 kick offs and we've had 1 goal between the 4 matches, 1 yellow card and 2 notable injury based substitutions...not great so far.
Yellow Card!
Craig Gardner receives the first yellow card of the day in the Premier League.
Everton Substitution
Darron Gibson goes off after what appears to be a pulled hamstring. He is replaced by Tony Hibbert.
OUCH! and Swansea Substitution
Neil Taylor is in a lot of pain as Swansea host Sunderland and you knew from when he went down that he was in pure agony. He's being stretchered off and will, eventually, be replaced by Ben Davies. Don't expect to see Taylor back in a hurry, this is a bad one and he will almost certainly be out for several weeks, if not longer.
Penalty Appeal
Nikica Jelavic goes down under a challenge and Everton appeal for the penalty against West Brom. The referee just tells them to get on with it.
Goal!
Wigan take the lead against Stoke in the first goal of the early kick offs thanks to an early Shaun Maloney penalty.
Wigan 1-0 Stoke
Maloney (5)-Pen
Penalty Appeal
Swansea have a penalty appeal in the opening few minutes turned down as they host Sunderland.
And now we are off in the 15:00 kick offs!
Full Time
West Ham 3-0 Fulham
An excellent win for West Ham who not only managed to keep a clean sheet but also bag 3 goals in part thanks to the excellent Andy Carroll who single handedly gave Fulham's defense a nightmare before he was substituted off. Sam Allardyce has to be happy at not just the result but also the perfomance which was a massive improvement over what they've done in their preview Premier League games this season.
For Fulham it just seemed like they took a long, long time to get out of the blocks and although their was some positives, notably Keiran Richardson's performance before he was taken off, it was an awful performance for Fulham.
Woodwork
Fulham looking for a concellation goal and Hugo Rodellaga comes close as his shot hits the wood work.
West Ham Corner
Diamien Duff takes a shot that is turned behidn by Jussi Jääskeläinen as we head into the final minute of normal time.
Fulham Corner
Fulham come as close as they've come as James Tomkins has to turn the ball around his own net. The corn comes to nothing as West Ham break quickly.
West Ham Substitution
Guy Demel limps off with a little more than 10 minutes left and it replaced by Robert Hall.
LOVELY!
Fulham play some fantastic football before it ends with a soft shot that is easily saved by Jussi Jääskeläinen. Fulham now showing some promise but we have only got around 15 minutes left.
Fulham Corner
Dimitar Berbatov earns Fulham a corner. Fulham have some solid pressure but it's finally cleared.
West Ham Substitution
Andy Carroll isn't being risked and is taken off for treatment and an early shower with Carlton Cole replacing him.
West Ham Substiution
James Tomkins comes to replace James Collins
Injury Worry!
Andy Carroll is down and in pain
West Ham Corner
Andy Carroll earns West Ham a corner after again frustrating the Fulham defense. After some messy defending Carroll gives Fulham a free kick in their own area for them to clear.
Fulham Substitution
Keiran Richardson's Fulham debut comes to an early end as Alexander Kačaniklić comes on to replace him with around 30 minutes left.
West Ham Corner
West Ham get a corner following the the throw in (see below) and after rattling around the Fulham penalty area the visitors finally get a chance to clear it via a free kick.
West Ham Free Kick
West Ham get a free kick just off centre and just outside the D. Matt Taylor strikes it hard but it's saved for Mark Schwarzer who loses it for a second before it's cleared for a throw in.
Flag!
Dimitar Berbatov is found in space but the linesman flags him off side. Harsh decision.
Fulham Substutition
As expected Dimitar Berbatov comes on the start of the second half with the Bulgarian replacing Mladen Petric.
Half Time
West ham 3-0 Fulham
A dream start at Upton Park for Andy Carroll who not only created a goal inside a minute but has genuinely given the Fulham defense a real nightmare. Fulham have looked scared at the back and have been beaten every time the ball goes through the air. Even on the attack Fulham look poor with only a couple of half chances in the first half.
Big Sam will be the happiest man in London right now, not only has his pursuit of Andy Carroll proven to be successful and already paid off but his team finally seem capable of scoring goals, even if the likes of Winston Reid and Matt Taylor aren't there to score.
For Fulham's manager Martin Jol he'll be asking what's gone wrong since Damien Duff put his side 1-0 up against Manchester United last weeknd, in fact Fulham haven't scored a goal (barring Nemanja Vidic's own goal) since then whilst conceding 6. Fulham fans will be hoping that Jol brings on Dimitar Berbatov to change things up front as they need to change something drastically in the second half.
Fulham CornerFulham get a second successive corner, this one is countered quickly by West Ham but the attack goes over.
Fulham CornerFulham get their first corner just as we enter stoppage time, it's cleared behind.
GOAL!
West Ham effectively seal the points before half time as a poor clearance only goes to Matt Taylor who makes it 3.
West Ham 3-0 Fulham
Nolan (1)
Reid (29)
Taylor (41)
GOAL!
West Ham double their lead following the corner with Winston Reid nodding in the corner.
West Ham 2-0 Fulham
Nolan (1)
Reid (29)
West Ham Corner
Fulham are slowly starting to prevent the crosses that keep finding Andy Carroll sadly these only tend to go out for corners.
West Ham Corner
The corner by West Ham is swiftly cut off by Mark Schwarzer.
Penalty Appeal
Andy Carroll goes up...then down in the Fulham penalty area, the hitman appeals but gets nothing.
Ooops!
Just out side the Fulham penalty area Kevin Nolan swings...and he misses!
Fulham Chance
Brede Haangeland plays in a delightful long ball to Damien Duff in the West Ham penalty area but the Fulham attacker can't convert the chance.
West Ham Corner
West Ham seem intent to build on their good start but again their corner amounts to nothing.
Shot!
Ricardo Vaz Te attempts to beat Mark Schwarzer at his near post but the shot is saved.
West Ham Corner
West Ham get the first corner of the match but it's a poor one by Mark Noble.
Shot!
Mohamed Diame comes close to doubling the lead as Mark Schwarzer is called into action to tip it over the bar.
Shot!
Jussi Jääskeläinen is forced in to action as Keiran Richardson takes his first shot in a Fulham shirt. The keeper's handling skills were less than impressive as he let it slip away from him but no one in white was following in.
GOAL!
Andy Carroll has made an immediate impact at West Ham with a knock on going to Kevin Nolan who hits it across Mark Schwarzer and opens the scoring inside a minute!
West Ham 1-0 Fulham
Kevin Nolan (1)
..And we are off at Upton Park!
So we've finally seen off the dreaded transfer window and now we are back just to what happens on the pitch. We start today at Upton Park as West Ham, with Andy Carroll in tow, host Martin Jol's Fulham.
Whilst Andy Carroll is expected to start we're expecting Dimitar Berbatov to start on the bench however Kieran Richardson is expected to make his debut for Fulham having signed from Sunderland.
Friday, 31 August 2012
Premier League Week 3-Preview and prediction (West Ham v Fulham)
For the second week running the newly promoted West Ham will get the weekend off to a start featuring in Saturday's early kick off as they host fellow London rivals Fulham. Despite both teams winning their opening league fixtures, both lost last time out and will be looking to get back on the winning path at the others expense.
West Ham's opening day victory over Aston Villa seems to have flattered to deceive with Villa taking a 3-1 drubbing last weekend to Everton whilst the Hammers were rolled over by Michael Laudrup's exceptional Swansea team. Despite the loss to Swansea however West Ham did show some promise, especially from set pieces where they came close a number of times and they do appear to have goals in them.
Having won 2-0 in a mid-week League Cup match (against Crewe) West Ham may go into this match with some momentum however it appears one of those goal scorers, Nicky Maynard, is on his way out (expected to go to Cardiff). Though hopefully, regardless of whether Maynard moves or not West Ham will have rebuilt some of their confidence or Big Sam may find his players really doubting themselves, especially in front of goal.
With Matt Jarvis having made his Premier League debut for the Hammers and looking excellent it does appear that West Ham will create chances, but the bigger question is have they got someone to finish the chances? It seems as though this is biggest issue with the Hammers and although they scored freely in the Championship last year (81 goals, 2nd most) with Ricardo Vaz Te and Carlton Cole they do appear to be struggling this season. Vaz Te, an excellent Championship player, has struggled to score in the Premier League in the past and Cole's Premier League record is around 1 goal in every 5 appearances.
Despite having a number of Premier League level players they really do lack an out and out Premier League goalscorer, something that could really comeback to haunt them. It's the same problem that saw West Ham relegated 2 years ago when they scored a mere 43 Premier League goals (the 3rd worst) with their top League scorer being Demba Ba with just 7 goals. In fact West Ham's attack was so toothless that only 4 players scored 5 or more goals in their 38 League games.
Whilst West Ham are struggling for goals Fulham on the other hand are one of the Premier League's highest scoring teams with 7 goals from their 2 games far. They opened their league season with an excellent 5-0 over Norwich and were unlucky not to steal a point in their 3-2 loss to Manchester United weekend. Whilst they did lose in midweek (1-0 to Sheffield Wednesday) in the League Cup Martin Jol's intention will be for a successful Premier League campaign, not a League Cup one.
Like West Ham it doesn't appear that Fulham are done with the transfer market and whilst they have recently lost Mousa Dembele (selling him to Tottenham) it appears as if Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov is on his way to raven Cottage. Rumours are also circulating that Keiran Richardson could also join Fulham before the transfer window closes in just over a day. If Jol can secure both of these signings than it will be a major coup for the Dutchman.
Despite selling Dembele (who gave Manchester United a headache last weekend) Fulham have a really promising team. Not only is Damien Duff looking close to his best but Mladen Petric looks deadly in front of goal and Alexander Kačaniklić looks like a very shrewd signing. Fulham could be a handful for anyone in the Premier League.
Going into this match both teams will be wanting to show they are a good team though out of the two only Fulham appear to be a good team, I'll be expecting an away win.
Kick-Off: 12:45
Prediction: 0-2
Expected Line Ups:
West Ham-
Jääskeläinen, Demel, Reid, Collins, McCartney, Diamé, Noble, Nolan, Vaz Te, Taylor, Cole (4-3-3)
Fulham-
Schwarzer, Hangeland, Hughes, Kelly, Briggs, Duff, Diarra, Kacaniklic, Sidwell, Petric, Ruiz (4-4-2)
Notes:The summer signings haven't yet finished for either team and it looks likely that Andy Carroll will be loaned to West Ham for the season whilst Dimitar Berbatov is set to sign for Fulham (note this preview is being written on Thursday) however it's unlikely either will be registered in time to play.
West Ham have only lost 2 of their last 23 competitive fixtures (one of those being their 3-0 loss to Swansea)
Fulham have only beaten West Ham once at Upton Park in the Premier League
Players to watch out for-
West Ham:
Kevin Nolan-The West Ham Captain is their key player and most of what they do goes through him. Nolan is the driving force behind West Ham so the Fulham defense and Midfield will look to keep Nolan from exerting his force on the game. Whilst he's the West Ham Midfield general he's also a threat in front of goal and acts not only as a poacher but also as a solid threat in the air meaning that he will need to be marked well at set pieces.
Ricardo Vaz Te-The Portuguese forward was one of, if not the, Player of the Season for West Ham after signing from Barnsley mid way through the season. His goal record for the club is tremendous and his work rate is through the roof, he will always pose a threat to defenses and he will be looking to open his scoring sooner rather than later for the season.
Fulham:
Mladen Petric-The new Striker Mladen Petric has looked a star since signing for Fulham and with 2 goals already this he looks like an excellent threat. He gave the Manchester United defense a head ache at times last time out and was unlucky not to have scored past David De Gea. Expect the West Ham defense to be given a real nightmare against him.
Damien Duff-The Irish Winger retired from international football at the start of the new season though has proven that there is still life in the old dog with a goal in both Premier League games that he has played in so far, giving him the same return as he had in the entire of last season. Duff will give the Hammers fits if he gets the ball.
West Ham's opening day victory over Aston Villa seems to have flattered to deceive with Villa taking a 3-1 drubbing last weekend to Everton whilst the Hammers were rolled over by Michael Laudrup's exceptional Swansea team. Despite the loss to Swansea however West Ham did show some promise, especially from set pieces where they came close a number of times and they do appear to have goals in them.
Having won 2-0 in a mid-week League Cup match (against Crewe) West Ham may go into this match with some momentum however it appears one of those goal scorers, Nicky Maynard, is on his way out (expected to go to Cardiff). Though hopefully, regardless of whether Maynard moves or not West Ham will have rebuilt some of their confidence or Big Sam may find his players really doubting themselves, especially in front of goal.
With Matt Jarvis having made his Premier League debut for the Hammers and looking excellent it does appear that West Ham will create chances, but the bigger question is have they got someone to finish the chances? It seems as though this is biggest issue with the Hammers and although they scored freely in the Championship last year (81 goals, 2nd most) with Ricardo Vaz Te and Carlton Cole they do appear to be struggling this season. Vaz Te, an excellent Championship player, has struggled to score in the Premier League in the past and Cole's Premier League record is around 1 goal in every 5 appearances.
Despite having a number of Premier League level players they really do lack an out and out Premier League goalscorer, something that could really comeback to haunt them. It's the same problem that saw West Ham relegated 2 years ago when they scored a mere 43 Premier League goals (the 3rd worst) with their top League scorer being Demba Ba with just 7 goals. In fact West Ham's attack was so toothless that only 4 players scored 5 or more goals in their 38 League games.
Whilst West Ham are struggling for goals Fulham on the other hand are one of the Premier League's highest scoring teams with 7 goals from their 2 games far. They opened their league season with an excellent 5-0 over Norwich and were unlucky not to steal a point in their 3-2 loss to Manchester United weekend. Whilst they did lose in midweek (1-0 to Sheffield Wednesday) in the League Cup Martin Jol's intention will be for a successful Premier League campaign, not a League Cup one.
Like West Ham it doesn't appear that Fulham are done with the transfer market and whilst they have recently lost Mousa Dembele (selling him to Tottenham) it appears as if Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov is on his way to raven Cottage. Rumours are also circulating that Keiran Richardson could also join Fulham before the transfer window closes in just over a day. If Jol can secure both of these signings than it will be a major coup for the Dutchman.
Despite selling Dembele (who gave Manchester United a headache last weekend) Fulham have a really promising team. Not only is Damien Duff looking close to his best but Mladen Petric looks deadly in front of goal and Alexander Kačaniklić looks like a very shrewd signing. Fulham could be a handful for anyone in the Premier League.
Going into this match both teams will be wanting to show they are a good team though out of the two only Fulham appear to be a good team, I'll be expecting an away win.
Kick-Off: 12:45
Prediction: 0-2
Expected Line Ups:
West Ham-
Jääskeläinen, Demel, Reid, Collins, McCartney, Diamé, Noble, Nolan, Vaz Te, Taylor, Cole (4-3-3)
Fulham-
Schwarzer, Hangeland, Hughes, Kelly, Briggs, Duff, Diarra, Kacaniklic, Sidwell, Petric, Ruiz (4-4-2)
Notes:The summer signings haven't yet finished for either team and it looks likely that Andy Carroll will be loaned to West Ham for the season whilst Dimitar Berbatov is set to sign for Fulham (note this preview is being written on Thursday) however it's unlikely either will be registered in time to play.
West Ham have only lost 2 of their last 23 competitive fixtures (one of those being their 3-0 loss to Swansea)
Fulham have only beaten West Ham once at Upton Park in the Premier League
Players to watch out for-
West Ham:
Kevin Nolan-The West Ham Captain is their key player and most of what they do goes through him. Nolan is the driving force behind West Ham so the Fulham defense and Midfield will look to keep Nolan from exerting his force on the game. Whilst he's the West Ham Midfield general he's also a threat in front of goal and acts not only as a poacher but also as a solid threat in the air meaning that he will need to be marked well at set pieces.
Ricardo Vaz Te-The Portuguese forward was one of, if not the, Player of the Season for West Ham after signing from Barnsley mid way through the season. His goal record for the club is tremendous and his work rate is through the roof, he will always pose a threat to defenses and he will be looking to open his scoring sooner rather than later for the season.
Fulham:
Mladen Petric-The new Striker Mladen Petric has looked a star since signing for Fulham and with 2 goals already this he looks like an excellent threat. He gave the Manchester United defense a head ache at times last time out and was unlucky not to have scored past David De Gea. Expect the West Ham defense to be given a real nightmare against him.
Damien Duff-The Irish Winger retired from international football at the start of the new season though has proven that there is still life in the old dog with a goal in both Premier League games that he has played in so far, giving him the same return as he had in the entire of last season. Duff will give the Hammers fits if he gets the ball.
Saturday, 25 August 2012
Premier League Week 2-Write up Manchester United v Fulham
Manchester United 3-2 Fulham
Having lost in their opening fixture away to Everton, Manchester United knew they would need a win in their first home Premier League game. Going into this match however they were facing a confident Fulham who had breezed aside Norwich 5-0 just a week earlier in one of the most impressive performances of the opening week.
The confidence of Fulham showed from the opening whistle and after just 141 seconds Fulham had raced out to a 1-0 lead thanks to a Damien Duff finish inside the penalty area from a Bryan Ruiz free kick. Their lead however was to be short lived and less than 8 minutes later Robin Van Persie would open his account for United as he banged in a beauty.
After equalising United pushed hard for another goal and their pressure told as they scored their second of the match with new signing Shinji Kagawa putting in from close range after a Mark Schwarzer save landed at his feet. It seemed after this goal that United would want to put Fulham to the sword and bag themselves as many as they could get. Just minutes after taking the lead the ball was in the net again thanks to Rafael, though it was ruled offside as United sought to increase their lead. The pressure eventually told as they claimed a 3rd goal before half time, again it was Rafael who put the ball in the net, this time he was onside as United appeared to have the game in the bag before half time.
Sadly for Manchester United fans their team has a habit of making life harder than it needs to be and midway through the second half goal keeper David De Gea and captain Nemanja Vidic collided in mid air going for the same cross. Somehow the ball caught Vidic on the heel before rolling into the net in what will like be one of the most bizarre own goals of the season. This seemed to give the Fulham attack some real hope and they searched for an equaliser in the final 25 minutes though United just did enough to thwart the Fulham attack. Sadly the defensive duties did have a casualty as Wayne Rooney suffered a nasty gash in stoppage time that will likely keep him out for around a month.
Whilst Alex Ferguson will be happy at the 3 points he won't be happy at the fact United made the game hard for themselves and almost threw it away. Their defensive woes are frightening at the moment and they really need to do something about it or it will again cost them points like it did last season. The absence of Rooney, any other season would have been really catastrophic for the Red Devils however new signings Robin Van Persie and Shinji Kagawa proved in the first half that United probably don't need to rely on Rooney as much this year. In fact it seems likely that Kagawa, who looked tremendous again, will be their key player this season and can really pull the strings with complete ease.
Martin Jol may feel unlucky his team didn't manage to steal a point, they were certainly the better team in the second half and forced a great save from De Gea just before half time, however he will take solace in they way his men played. They refused to give up at 3-1 down like some other teams would have, they refused to accept the game was lost and they showed real character once again. Moussa Dembele put on an excellent performance and could well be the key to the Fulham attack over the coming season and Mladen Petric once again looked a threat and was close to scoring before being subbed off. Jol has got a strong team here and I wouldn't be surprised if they challenge for a Europa League place at the end of the year.
Notes-
This match saw the first Premier League start for Robin Van Persie in a Manchester United Shirt
Damien Duff scored in a second successive game
Having lost in their opening fixture away to Everton, Manchester United knew they would need a win in their first home Premier League game. Going into this match however they were facing a confident Fulham who had breezed aside Norwich 5-0 just a week earlier in one of the most impressive performances of the opening week.
The confidence of Fulham showed from the opening whistle and after just 141 seconds Fulham had raced out to a 1-0 lead thanks to a Damien Duff finish inside the penalty area from a Bryan Ruiz free kick. Their lead however was to be short lived and less than 8 minutes later Robin Van Persie would open his account for United as he banged in a beauty.
After equalising United pushed hard for another goal and their pressure told as they scored their second of the match with new signing Shinji Kagawa putting in from close range after a Mark Schwarzer save landed at his feet. It seemed after this goal that United would want to put Fulham to the sword and bag themselves as many as they could get. Just minutes after taking the lead the ball was in the net again thanks to Rafael, though it was ruled offside as United sought to increase their lead. The pressure eventually told as they claimed a 3rd goal before half time, again it was Rafael who put the ball in the net, this time he was onside as United appeared to have the game in the bag before half time.
Sadly for Manchester United fans their team has a habit of making life harder than it needs to be and midway through the second half goal keeper David De Gea and captain Nemanja Vidic collided in mid air going for the same cross. Somehow the ball caught Vidic on the heel before rolling into the net in what will like be one of the most bizarre own goals of the season. This seemed to give the Fulham attack some real hope and they searched for an equaliser in the final 25 minutes though United just did enough to thwart the Fulham attack. Sadly the defensive duties did have a casualty as Wayne Rooney suffered a nasty gash in stoppage time that will likely keep him out for around a month.
Whilst Alex Ferguson will be happy at the 3 points he won't be happy at the fact United made the game hard for themselves and almost threw it away. Their defensive woes are frightening at the moment and they really need to do something about it or it will again cost them points like it did last season. The absence of Rooney, any other season would have been really catastrophic for the Red Devils however new signings Robin Van Persie and Shinji Kagawa proved in the first half that United probably don't need to rely on Rooney as much this year. In fact it seems likely that Kagawa, who looked tremendous again, will be their key player this season and can really pull the strings with complete ease.
Martin Jol may feel unlucky his team didn't manage to steal a point, they were certainly the better team in the second half and forced a great save from De Gea just before half time, however he will take solace in they way his men played. They refused to give up at 3-1 down like some other teams would have, they refused to accept the game was lost and they showed real character once again. Moussa Dembele put on an excellent performance and could well be the key to the Fulham attack over the coming season and Mladen Petric once again looked a threat and was close to scoring before being subbed off. Jol has got a strong team here and I wouldn't be surprised if they challenge for a Europa League place at the end of the year.
Notes-
This match saw the first Premier League start for Robin Van Persie in a Manchester United Shirt
Damien Duff scored in a second successive game
Saturday, 18 August 2012
Premier League Week 1-Write up Fulham v Norwich
Fulham 5-0 Norwich
One of the stand out results of the day was the dominant performance by Fulham who truly dominated the Canaries banging in 5 unanswered goals. The match started well for Norwich who came close to opening the scoring via Surman though as soon as Damien Duff broke the deadlock in the 26th minute the wind was taken from the Norwich sails.
Fulham doubled their lead 4 minutes from the break with Mladen Petric scoring his first goal for the team from a Duff corner. The lead was further extended with a second goal for Petric early in the second half after a major deflection from Michael Turner took the ball over John Ruddy.
Alexander Kačaniklić scored his first goal for Fulham as he extended the lead to 4-0 in the 66th minute finishing off an excellent pass by Petric who made an excellent debut.
The scoring was finished with just minutes left as Hugo Rodellaga was taken down in the penalty area allow Sidwell to slot one in from the penalty sport.
Before kick off many tipped Fulham for the drop though on this performance they look like a very solid team, the signing of Petric has seriously improved Fulham, especially offensively. If anything this should really make Norwich fans worry, they were awful and completely out played managing only 2 shots on target (to Fulham's 9). Chris Hughton appears to have a lot of work on his hands if he intends to keep Norwich in the Premier League. Martin Jol however has proven, once again, that he's an excellent manager and really knows what he is doing.
One of the stand out results of the day was the dominant performance by Fulham who truly dominated the Canaries banging in 5 unanswered goals. The match started well for Norwich who came close to opening the scoring via Surman though as soon as Damien Duff broke the deadlock in the 26th minute the wind was taken from the Norwich sails.
Fulham doubled their lead 4 minutes from the break with Mladen Petric scoring his first goal for the team from a Duff corner. The lead was further extended with a second goal for Petric early in the second half after a major deflection from Michael Turner took the ball over John Ruddy.
Alexander Kačaniklić scored his first goal for Fulham as he extended the lead to 4-0 in the 66th minute finishing off an excellent pass by Petric who made an excellent debut.
The scoring was finished with just minutes left as Hugo Rodellaga was taken down in the penalty area allow Sidwell to slot one in from the penalty sport.
Before kick off many tipped Fulham for the drop though on this performance they look like a very solid team, the signing of Petric has seriously improved Fulham, especially offensively. If anything this should really make Norwich fans worry, they were awful and completely out played managing only 2 shots on target (to Fulham's 9). Chris Hughton appears to have a lot of work on his hands if he intends to keep Norwich in the Premier League. Martin Jol however has proven, once again, that he's an excellent manager and really knows what he is doing.
Premier League Week 1-As it Happens (Saturday)
Penalty
Just minutes after Spurs managed to the level the score they shoot themselves in the foot giving away a penalty as Rafael Van Der Vaart brings down Hatem Ben Arfa. Ben Arfa gets up to score the spot kick and Newcastle reclaim the lead.
Newcastle 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Bar (55)
Defoe (76)
Ben Arfa (80) Pen
Goal!
Tottenham manage to equalise against Newcastle thanks to Jermain Defoe and with around 15 minutes of the match left this is anyone's game.
Newcastle 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Ba (55)
Defoe (76)
Red Card
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew becomes the first manager of the season to be sent to the stands after pushing a linesman after what he felt was a bad decision.
Goal!
Newcastle take the lead against Spurs against the run of play as Demba Ba scores for the first time in 15 games.
Newcastle 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Ba (55)
Yellow Card
The referee hands out a 4th first half yellow card in the Newcastle v Tottenham game, giving Yohan Cabaye a booking with just seconds of the half to play.
Yellow Card
The cards are really being flashed about there with Sandro joining Tottenham team mate Livermore in the book. 19 minutes in and we've had 3 cards.
Yellow Card
Just minutes after the first yellow card we get another this time Tottenham's Jake Livermore.
Yellow Card
The first yellow card of the late kick off goes to Danny Simpson of Newcastle after 14 minutes.
We have now kicked off in the late match between Newcaste and Tottenham at the stadium formerly known as St James Park.
Yellow Card
Andy Carrol picks up a very late booking to add further insult to injury for Liverpool who have a truly terrible start to the season.
Yellow Card
Ryan Shawcross is the latest Stoke player to get on the wrong side of the referee as Reading try to steal a win
Yellow Card
Stoke are starting to struggle to even hold on to a point and goalkeeper Asmir Begović picks up a yellow card.
Red Card and Penalty
Stoke are reduced to 10 men late on as Dean Whitehead picks up his second yellow card for a foul in the area giving Reading a surprising chance to pick up a point with a penalty which Adam le Fondre puts away to equalise.
Reading 1-1 Stoke
Kightly (34)
Fondre (89)
Penalty
Fulham have a chance to go 5-0 up as they get a penalty...and it's converted by Steve Sidwell who has just compounded the embarrassment or Norwich who have been slaughtered here today.
Fulham 5-0 Norwich
Duff (26)
Petric (41, 54)
Kačaniklić (66)
Sidwell (87) Pen
Goal!
Swansea are really having a day to remember as they go 5-0 up against QPR who have had a nightmare of a return to the Premier League. Scott Sinclair adds the latest Swansea get off to an amazing start.
QPR 0-5 Swansea
Michu (8, 43)
Dyer (63, 71)
Sinclair (81)
Goal!
This is becoming laughable from Liverpool who have now fallen 3-0 down thanks to Romelu Lukaku who really has tied up the match for West Brom. Brendon Rodgers needs to get to the drawing board as soon as the final whistle goes.
West Brom 3-0 Liverpool
Gera (43)
Odemwinge (64) Pen
Lukaku (77)
Yellow Card
West Brom collect their first yellow card of the season as Marc-Antoine Fortuné gets booked against Liverpool
Yellow Card
Matthew Etherington becomes the 4th player to have his name taken in the Reading v Stoke game, joining his Stoke team mate Whitehead.
Yellow Card
Reading's Mikele Leigertwood gets his name taken by the referee and joins team mate Gorkss on a yellow card.
Goal!
Maybe Fulham won't finish the day top the Premier League after all as Dyer grabs a second and bag's Swansea's 4th goal of the match as they roll over QPR. This is getting nasty.
QPR 0-4 Swansea
Michu (8, 53)
Dyer (63-71)
Goal!
Fulham are having a field day here against Norwich and have now added a 4th goal thanks to Alexander Kačaniklić. Fulham will almost certainly be top of the League at the end of the day following this demolition job.
Fulham 4-0 Norwich
Duff (26)
Ptric (41, 54)
Kačaniklić (66)
Goal!
Swansea are banging them in for fun now as they go 3-0 up thanks to Nathan Dyer grabs his first of the season.
QPR 0-3 Swansea
Michu (8, 53)
Dyer (63)
Yellow Card
Swansea's Angel Rangel get's his name taken by the referee and joins team mate Guzman, as well as QPR pair Diakité and Fabio.
Penalty
Just minutes after Shane Long misses a penalty West Brom get another as Martin Škrtel makes a huge blunder. Peter Odemwingie bangs this one in to double West Brom's lead.
West Brom 2-0 Liverpool
Gera (43)
Odemwinge (64)
Missed Penalty
West Brom's Shane Long takes the penalty and...what was that? He nicely passes it to Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina who easily saves it to keep the score 1-0
Red Card
Things go from bad to worse for Liverpool as Daniel Agger gets himself sent off for preventing a clear goal scoring opportunity. A double whammy as West Brom have been given a penalty as well.
Yellow Card
QPR pick up their second booking in the space of minutes as Fabio follows Diakité into the referees book.
Yellow CardLiverpool collect their third booking of the match as Lukas gets shown a yellow card
Yellow Card
Things are just getting progressively worse for QPR who just minutes after going 2-0 have Samba Diakité booked
Goal!
Swansea new boy Michu bags his second of the day as he double's Swansea's lead over QPR
QPR 0-2 Swansea
Michu (8, 53)
Goal!
Fulham move further ahead of Norwich City as Petric scores his second of the game and Fulham's 3rd. This looking like a painful day for the Canaries.
Fulham 3-0 Norwich
Duff (26)
Petric (41, 54)
Substitution
Struggling Norwich make the first substitution of the Premier League see sending Steve Morison on to replace Andrew Surman at half time as they attempt to over turn a 2-goal deficit at Fulham.
Yellow CardReading's Kaspars Gorkšs joins Dean Whitehead in the referees book just before half time.
Yellow Card
Liverpool's bad boy Luis Suarez didn't need long to pick up his first yellow card of the season as he collects Liverpool's second booking of the day just minutes after Liverpool go down.
Goal!
What a strike! Zlotan Gera marks his return to the Premier League in style as he scores a blinder against Liverpool for West Brom. This is worth watching Match Of The Day for.
West Brom 1-0 Liverpool
Gera (43)
Goal!
Fulham double their lead over Norwich thanks to Mladen Petrić who scores his first goal for the club after signing in the summer.
Fulham 2-0 Norwich
Duff (26)
Petrić (41)
Yellow Card
Liverpool defender Glen Johnson becomes the first Liverpool player to pick up a yellow card.
Goal!
West Ham take the lead in controversial fashion as Kevin Nolan manage to put the Premier League's new boys 1-0 up against Aston Villa
West Ham 1-0 Aston Villa
Nolan (40)
Yellow Card
Aston Villa's Cieran Clark picks up the second yellow card of the day after 39 minutes
Goal!
Stoke City manage to take the lead completely against the run of player against Reading with new signing Michael Kightly grabbing it thanks to a huge blunder by Adam Federici.
Reading 0-1 Stoke City
Kightly (34)
Goal!
Fulham open their account in the Premier League for this season with a Damien Duff strike against Norwich City.
Fulham 1-0 Norwich
Duff (26)
Yellow Card
The first Yellow Card of the 2012-2013 Premier League season is handed out to Stoke City's Dean Whitehead after 18 minutes of their match with Reading.
Goal!
The first of the 2012-2013 Premier League season is scored by Swansea, with new boy Michu being the goal scorer against QPR!
QPR 0-1 Swansea
Michu (8)
Just minutes after Spurs managed to the level the score they shoot themselves in the foot giving away a penalty as Rafael Van Der Vaart brings down Hatem Ben Arfa. Ben Arfa gets up to score the spot kick and Newcastle reclaim the lead.
Newcastle 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Bar (55)
Defoe (76)
Ben Arfa (80) Pen
Goal!
Tottenham manage to equalise against Newcastle thanks to Jermain Defoe and with around 15 minutes of the match left this is anyone's game.
Newcastle 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Ba (55)
Defoe (76)
Red Card
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew becomes the first manager of the season to be sent to the stands after pushing a linesman after what he felt was a bad decision.
Goal!
Newcastle take the lead against Spurs against the run of play as Demba Ba scores for the first time in 15 games.
Newcastle 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Ba (55)
Yellow Card
The referee hands out a 4th first half yellow card in the Newcastle v Tottenham game, giving Yohan Cabaye a booking with just seconds of the half to play.
Yellow Card
The cards are really being flashed about there with Sandro joining Tottenham team mate Livermore in the book. 19 minutes in and we've had 3 cards.
Yellow Card
Just minutes after the first yellow card we get another this time Tottenham's Jake Livermore.
Yellow Card
The first yellow card of the late kick off goes to Danny Simpson of Newcastle after 14 minutes.
We have now kicked off in the late match between Newcaste and Tottenham at the stadium formerly known as St James Park.
Yellow Card
Andy Carrol picks up a very late booking to add further insult to injury for Liverpool who have a truly terrible start to the season.
Yellow Card
Ryan Shawcross is the latest Stoke player to get on the wrong side of the referee as Reading try to steal a win
Yellow Card
Stoke are starting to struggle to even hold on to a point and goalkeeper Asmir Begović picks up a yellow card.
Red Card and Penalty
Stoke are reduced to 10 men late on as Dean Whitehead picks up his second yellow card for a foul in the area giving Reading a surprising chance to pick up a point with a penalty which Adam le Fondre puts away to equalise.
Reading 1-1 Stoke
Kightly (34)
Fondre (89)
Penalty
Fulham have a chance to go 5-0 up as they get a penalty...and it's converted by Steve Sidwell who has just compounded the embarrassment or Norwich who have been slaughtered here today.
Fulham 5-0 Norwich
Duff (26)
Petric (41, 54)
Kačaniklić (66)
Sidwell (87) Pen
Goal!
Swansea are really having a day to remember as they go 5-0 up against QPR who have had a nightmare of a return to the Premier League. Scott Sinclair adds the latest Swansea get off to an amazing start.
QPR 0-5 Swansea
Michu (8, 43)
Dyer (63, 71)
Sinclair (81)
Goal!
This is becoming laughable from Liverpool who have now fallen 3-0 down thanks to Romelu Lukaku who really has tied up the match for West Brom. Brendon Rodgers needs to get to the drawing board as soon as the final whistle goes.
West Brom 3-0 Liverpool
Gera (43)
Odemwinge (64) Pen
Lukaku (77)
Yellow Card
West Brom collect their first yellow card of the season as Marc-Antoine Fortuné gets booked against Liverpool
Yellow Card
Matthew Etherington becomes the 4th player to have his name taken in the Reading v Stoke game, joining his Stoke team mate Whitehead.
Yellow Card
Reading's Mikele Leigertwood gets his name taken by the referee and joins team mate Gorkss on a yellow card.
Goal!
Maybe Fulham won't finish the day top the Premier League after all as Dyer grabs a second and bag's Swansea's 4th goal of the match as they roll over QPR. This is getting nasty.
QPR 0-4 Swansea
Michu (8, 53)
Dyer (63-71)
Goal!
Fulham are having a field day here against Norwich and have now added a 4th goal thanks to Alexander Kačaniklić. Fulham will almost certainly be top of the League at the end of the day following this demolition job.
Fulham 4-0 Norwich
Duff (26)
Ptric (41, 54)
Kačaniklić (66)
Goal!
Swansea are banging them in for fun now as they go 3-0 up thanks to Nathan Dyer grabs his first of the season.
QPR 0-3 Swansea
Michu (8, 53)
Dyer (63)
Yellow Card
Swansea's Angel Rangel get's his name taken by the referee and joins team mate Guzman, as well as QPR pair Diakité and Fabio.
Penalty
Just minutes after Shane Long misses a penalty West Brom get another as Martin Škrtel makes a huge blunder. Peter Odemwingie bangs this one in to double West Brom's lead.
West Brom 2-0 Liverpool
Gera (43)
Odemwinge (64)
Missed Penalty
West Brom's Shane Long takes the penalty and...what was that? He nicely passes it to Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina who easily saves it to keep the score 1-0
Red Card
Things go from bad to worse for Liverpool as Daniel Agger gets himself sent off for preventing a clear goal scoring opportunity. A double whammy as West Brom have been given a penalty as well.
Yellow Card
QPR pick up their second booking in the space of minutes as Fabio follows Diakité into the referees book.
Yellow CardLiverpool collect their third booking of the match as Lukas gets shown a yellow card
Yellow Card
Things are just getting progressively worse for QPR who just minutes after going 2-0 have Samba Diakité booked
Goal!
Swansea new boy Michu bags his second of the day as he double's Swansea's lead over QPR
QPR 0-2 Swansea
Michu (8, 53)
Goal!
Fulham move further ahead of Norwich City as Petric scores his second of the game and Fulham's 3rd. This looking like a painful day for the Canaries.
Fulham 3-0 Norwich
Duff (26)
Petric (41, 54)
Substitution
Struggling Norwich make the first substitution of the Premier League see sending Steve Morison on to replace Andrew Surman at half time as they attempt to over turn a 2-goal deficit at Fulham.
Yellow CardReading's Kaspars Gorkšs joins Dean Whitehead in the referees book just before half time.
Yellow Card
Liverpool's bad boy Luis Suarez didn't need long to pick up his first yellow card of the season as he collects Liverpool's second booking of the day just minutes after Liverpool go down.
Goal!
What a strike! Zlotan Gera marks his return to the Premier League in style as he scores a blinder against Liverpool for West Brom. This is worth watching Match Of The Day for.
West Brom 1-0 Liverpool
Gera (43)
Goal!
Fulham double their lead over Norwich thanks to Mladen Petrić who scores his first goal for the club after signing in the summer.
Fulham 2-0 Norwich
Duff (26)
Petrić (41)
Yellow Card
Liverpool defender Glen Johnson becomes the first Liverpool player to pick up a yellow card.
Goal!
West Ham take the lead in controversial fashion as Kevin Nolan manage to put the Premier League's new boys 1-0 up against Aston Villa
West Ham 1-0 Aston Villa
Nolan (40)
Yellow Card
Aston Villa's Cieran Clark picks up the second yellow card of the day after 39 minutes
Goal!
Stoke City manage to take the lead completely against the run of player against Reading with new signing Michael Kightly grabbing it thanks to a huge blunder by Adam Federici.
Reading 0-1 Stoke City
Kightly (34)
Goal!
Fulham open their account in the Premier League for this season with a Damien Duff strike against Norwich City.
Fulham 1-0 Norwich
Duff (26)
Yellow Card
The first Yellow Card of the 2012-2013 Premier League season is handed out to Stoke City's Dean Whitehead after 18 minutes of their match with Reading.
Goal!
The first of the 2012-2013 Premier League season is scored by Swansea, with new boy Michu being the goal scorer against QPR!
QPR 0-1 Swansea
Michu (8)
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