After a very busy end to the transfer window we finally have football back on out hands with that we also have the late kick off of the day as Premier League Champions Manchester City host the struggling QPR.
So far this season City haven't looked very good in all honesty. Whilst they are unbeaten they've struggled somewhat in both games an have actually been behind to both Southamtpon and Liverpool, had it not been for a Martin Skrtel goal they'd have like lost to Liverpool. This is something Roberto Mancini should be worried about, at the back City have looked very poor, defensively weak and whilst it's true that they only played 3 at the back against Liverpool they were still carved open far too easily. Thankfully for City however their attacking forces have been able to bail them out so far this season, though you can't afford, in this league, to score 2 goals in every game just for a point.
City's struggles this season are a far cry from last season where they had the best defensive record in the Premier League (conceding just 29 goals, the best in the league) whilst their attack was just as potent with 93 goals (again the best in the league). Whilst it's true that City have been more fun to watch for a neutral, I dare say that City fans aren't too happy about looking so weak at the back. And whilst we all know that Sergio Agüero is a big loss for City, he's not the cause of their problems so far which have all been at the back.
With City's late spate of activity in the transfer market bringing in the likes of Scott Sinclair, Javi Garcia, Maicon and the surprising Richard Wright yeah I didn't see that one coming either) it could take yet longer for City to finally settle into this Premier League season. Though of course when they do I expect them to start rolling over teams for fun.
Whilst it's true that Manchester City are having defensive issues, so to are QPR who opened the season with a 5-0 reverse to Fulham before scraping a point against Norwich with a 1-1 scoreline. 6 goals against and 1 goal for from the opening 2 games of the season isn't a good start for Mark Hughes who has, like Mancini brought in a lot of players over the summer months (including Stephane Mbia, Esteban Granero and Cesar-who may actually be the only one to start) QPR have got to hope that Cesar can help strengthen the team at the back or they will really be in trouble for the rest of the year.
With just 1 point from a maximum of 6 it's fair to say that QPR haven't been very good, even more damning is that their point has only come from a very soft penalty against Norwich (and even that was missed). Whilst they do have proven quality through their squad with the likes of Robert Green, Bobby Zamora, Park Ji-Sung, Djibril Cisse, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Jose Boswinga the team really haven't clicked and dare I say it, a number of those players are likely only there for the money offered by multi-millionaire Tony Fernandes.
As a big boxing fan I often see fights where 2 fighters have poor defenses however one of those fighters has a hell of a puncher. This match appears to look like one of those fights on paper. Neither team has looked good at the back, 10 goals conceded between the two teams so far this season, however City are good on the attack. The likes of Carlos Tevez, Edin Dzeko, Samir Nasri, David Silva and Mario Balotelli are a real force to be reckoned with. I expect this to be a painful day for QPR against a City team who know they have questions to answer.
Kick-Off: 17:30
Prediction: 3-0
Expected Line Ups:
Manchester City-
Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Milner, Y. Toure, Nasri, Tevez, Silva, Balotelli (4-2-3-1)
QPR-
Cesar, Bosingwa, Nelsen, Ferdinand, Fabio, Taarabt, Diakite, Park, Hoilett, Zamora, Cisse (4-4-2)
Notes:
These two met on the final day of last season as City came from 2-1 down to claim a famous 3-2 victory and seal the Premier League whilst in extra time. In that match we had everything including an on the pitch break down by the enigmatic Joey Barton. Expect that story to be mentioned a number of times tomorrow.
Expect goals! City at home last season scored a remarkable 55 goals, more than 3 a game! QPR away from home conceded 41, more than 2 a game!
Players to watch out for-
Manchester City:
Carlos Tevez-It's fair to say that the Argentinian forward is never happy for long but when he's happy he is something special. With the gift he received against Liverpool last weekend he has every reason to be happy. Expect Tevez to have a field day against the QPR defense who will struggle with his strength and creativity.
David Silva-The Spanish magician hasn't been up to his best so far but he's capable of turning a game on it's head when he's on form. Against QPR Silva will be able to get plenty of the ball and plenty of chances to control the match as he begins to look more and more confident.
QPR:
Cesar-The Brazilian shot stopped is expected to start against Manchester City though it's unlikely to take long for him to ask "what am I doing here?" Cesar could well be a very, very busy man against City who will be coming to restore normality in the Premier League. Whoever is in goal for QPR will be called into action a lot.
Djibril Cisse-The French attacker Djibril Cisse has all the traits to give any defense a nightmare. He's powerful, quick and can hit like a rocket. whilst he's certainly not looked his best so far this season, this is a big chance for him to make a mark against a top tier defense. If Cisse comes to the party expect him to be a constant threat on the break.
Showing posts with label Premier League 2012-2013. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Premier League 2012-2013. Show all posts
Friday, 31 August 2012
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
Premier League Week 1-Preview and prediction (Wednesday)
The Premier League season may just have kicked off but we're already on the eve of our first midweek game as prospective title contenders Chelsea face off against the recently promoted Reading, with both teams knowing a win will take them to the top of the table.
On the opening day of the season Reading looked rather toothless for much of their game as they struggled to a 1-1 draw with Stoke, thanks in part to Dean Whitehead getting sent off and conceding a penalty late. The extra man advantage suddenly seemed to charge Reading up and despite their being only minutes of the match left they looked to be a team who had cast of the shackles.
Just a day later Chelsea managed to earn three 3 points away to Wigan after an excellent start going 1-0 up inside 2 minutes before bagging a second just minutes later as they looked almost certain to rout the Latics. Instead of bagging more goals however Chelsea went into their shells and just sat back allowing Wigan to play themselves into the game. Despite their timid performance after taking an early lead Chelsea did have positives to take from the match, mainly the showing by new signing Eden Hazard who worried the Wigan defense every time he had the ball.
Despite having had an extra days rest however it'll be very hard to favour Reading who will be going into the lions den against a Chelsea team who will almost certainly want to not only climb to the top of the league but put on a performance for their own fans at Stamford Bridge in their first home fixture of the season.
At the home last year Chelsea were defensively poor conceding 24 home goals (11th worst home defence) though they often found ways to win by simply out scoring their opponents racking up an impressive 41 home goals (3rd most) to give them 39 home points (5th most). In fact the combined 65 goals scored at Stamford Bridge was the 3rd most goals at a single ground in the Premier League last season (behind only Old Trafford-71 and the Etihad-67) giving fans plenty of action to watch.
Against Reading I don't see the Chelsea defense being pushed too hard, the performance against stoke was less than threatening and on last years form Reading really aren't a great threat away from home. Despite scoring 33 away goals (5th most in the Championship) last season they netted 14 of those in 4 games (with 4 against West Ham, 4 against Barnsley, 3 against Southampton and 3 against Bristol City) meaning in the other 19 away games they netted an average of once per game. Though Reading's strong point away from home, and what helped win them 13 away games (tied most with West Ham in the Champion) was their away defence which conceded just 23 goals in 23 games (the 2nd best behind West Ham).
What we have here then is a very strong offensive team in Chelsea who will attack, especially at home, against a strong defensive team in Reading who will likely only play with one out and out attacker giving them little threat up front. Though the bigger point isn't about last years stats but more about the mentality of the Reading players. We know Chelsea's players, on the whole, have international pedigree, with the technical ability to really play Reading off the pitch. With the likes of Lampard and Hazard pulling the strings behind Torres it could well be a difficult night for Reading who will find themselves under a lot of pressure. How will Reading cope with not getting much of the ball? How well drilled are they? And most importantly, are they capable of taking a chance if they get one?
For me the key here is whether or not Reading can shut down the service Chelsea will try to provide to Torres. If they can stop the likes of Hazard, Lampard, Ivanovic and Cole from playing in the Chelsea hitman it could prove to be a fruitless night for the Blues. Sadly for the Royals I genuinely can't see them holding out for 90 minutes against a very threatening Chelsea attack which despite only playing a single Striker has goal threats from every where on the pitch. Lampard, as we know can bang them in, Ivanaovic, as he showed on Sunday is a threat, Torres, Hazard and Oscar are all solid in front of goal and Terry is a serious threat from set Pieces.
Whilst Reading do have goals in them through Adam le Fondre and Pavel Pogrebyank in open play and Ian Harte from set pieces I don't imagine they will have enough of the ball to threaten Petr Cech in what could be a steep learning curve.
Kick off-19:45
Prediction 3-0
Expected Line Ups:
Chelsea-
Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole, Mikel, Lampard, Bertrand, Hazard, Oscar, Torres (4-2-3-1)
Reading-
Federici, Gunter, Harte, Gorkss, Pearce, Guthrie, Leigertwood, McAnuff, McCleary, Le Fondre, Pogrebnyak (4-4-1-1)
Notes:
Chelsea's new signings Eden Hazard and Oscar are expected to both make their home debut's for the Blues who are expected to start Mata on the bench so as to start Oscar.
Whilst no new injury worries have come up for Reading Jimmy Kebe still hasn't returned to the team and isn't expected back for several weeks.
This will be Chelsea's 2nd game of 3 inside a week as they start the Premier League with a relatively hectic schedule.
As a sub story to the game expect the comparisons between Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and Reading's owner Anton Zingarevich to at least get a mention on TV and Radio
Players to watch out for-
Chelsea:
Fernando Torres-The Spanish Striker looked like he was slowly getting back to his best at the end of last season and again at Euro 2010 where he claimed the Golden Boot. Whilst not at his most impressive against Wigan he is a serious threat and seems to be getting more confident. With the service he is likely to get it's hard to imagine him not getting at least one chance here.
Eden Hazard-New signing Eden Hazard look excellent on the ball against Wigan and whilst he went down far too easily he seems to have the innate ability to open defenses up at will. Against Reading I can can imagine him creating chances left right and centre as he looks to justify his hefty price tag.
Reading-
Adam Federici-Despite effectively giving Stoke their goal on Saturday the Australian Keeper is a very reliable keeper and will be looking to put the blunder behind him as he faces Chelsea's fearsome attacking line. Whether Reading fan's like it or not Federici will be a busy man in goal.
Kaspars Gorkšs-The defensive stalwart will need to show why he is so highly rated by Reading fans as he attempts to organise the Reading defense as well as neutralise the Chelsea task. The Latvian was incredible in the Championship last year and will need to step up here. If Gorkšs has a bad game this could be hugely embarrassing for Reading.
On the opening day of the season Reading looked rather toothless for much of their game as they struggled to a 1-1 draw with Stoke, thanks in part to Dean Whitehead getting sent off and conceding a penalty late. The extra man advantage suddenly seemed to charge Reading up and despite their being only minutes of the match left they looked to be a team who had cast of the shackles.
Just a day later Chelsea managed to earn three 3 points away to Wigan after an excellent start going 1-0 up inside 2 minutes before bagging a second just minutes later as they looked almost certain to rout the Latics. Instead of bagging more goals however Chelsea went into their shells and just sat back allowing Wigan to play themselves into the game. Despite their timid performance after taking an early lead Chelsea did have positives to take from the match, mainly the showing by new signing Eden Hazard who worried the Wigan defense every time he had the ball.
Despite having had an extra days rest however it'll be very hard to favour Reading who will be going into the lions den against a Chelsea team who will almost certainly want to not only climb to the top of the league but put on a performance for their own fans at Stamford Bridge in their first home fixture of the season.
At the home last year Chelsea were defensively poor conceding 24 home goals (11th worst home defence) though they often found ways to win by simply out scoring their opponents racking up an impressive 41 home goals (3rd most) to give them 39 home points (5th most). In fact the combined 65 goals scored at Stamford Bridge was the 3rd most goals at a single ground in the Premier League last season (behind only Old Trafford-71 and the Etihad-67) giving fans plenty of action to watch.
Against Reading I don't see the Chelsea defense being pushed too hard, the performance against stoke was less than threatening and on last years form Reading really aren't a great threat away from home. Despite scoring 33 away goals (5th most in the Championship) last season they netted 14 of those in 4 games (with 4 against West Ham, 4 against Barnsley, 3 against Southampton and 3 against Bristol City) meaning in the other 19 away games they netted an average of once per game. Though Reading's strong point away from home, and what helped win them 13 away games (tied most with West Ham in the Champion) was their away defence which conceded just 23 goals in 23 games (the 2nd best behind West Ham).
What we have here then is a very strong offensive team in Chelsea who will attack, especially at home, against a strong defensive team in Reading who will likely only play with one out and out attacker giving them little threat up front. Though the bigger point isn't about last years stats but more about the mentality of the Reading players. We know Chelsea's players, on the whole, have international pedigree, with the technical ability to really play Reading off the pitch. With the likes of Lampard and Hazard pulling the strings behind Torres it could well be a difficult night for Reading who will find themselves under a lot of pressure. How will Reading cope with not getting much of the ball? How well drilled are they? And most importantly, are they capable of taking a chance if they get one?
For me the key here is whether or not Reading can shut down the service Chelsea will try to provide to Torres. If they can stop the likes of Hazard, Lampard, Ivanovic and Cole from playing in the Chelsea hitman it could prove to be a fruitless night for the Blues. Sadly for the Royals I genuinely can't see them holding out for 90 minutes against a very threatening Chelsea attack which despite only playing a single Striker has goal threats from every where on the pitch. Lampard, as we know can bang them in, Ivanaovic, as he showed on Sunday is a threat, Torres, Hazard and Oscar are all solid in front of goal and Terry is a serious threat from set Pieces.
Whilst Reading do have goals in them through Adam le Fondre and Pavel Pogrebyank in open play and Ian Harte from set pieces I don't imagine they will have enough of the ball to threaten Petr Cech in what could be a steep learning curve.
Kick off-19:45
Prediction 3-0
Expected Line Ups:
Chelsea-
Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole, Mikel, Lampard, Bertrand, Hazard, Oscar, Torres (4-2-3-1)
Reading-
Federici, Gunter, Harte, Gorkss, Pearce, Guthrie, Leigertwood, McAnuff, McCleary, Le Fondre, Pogrebnyak (4-4-1-1)
Notes:
Chelsea's new signings Eden Hazard and Oscar are expected to both make their home debut's for the Blues who are expected to start Mata on the bench so as to start Oscar.
Whilst no new injury worries have come up for Reading Jimmy Kebe still hasn't returned to the team and isn't expected back for several weeks.
This will be Chelsea's 2nd game of 3 inside a week as they start the Premier League with a relatively hectic schedule.
As a sub story to the game expect the comparisons between Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and Reading's owner Anton Zingarevich to at least get a mention on TV and Radio
Players to watch out for-
Chelsea:
Fernando Torres-The Spanish Striker looked like he was slowly getting back to his best at the end of last season and again at Euro 2010 where he claimed the Golden Boot. Whilst not at his most impressive against Wigan he is a serious threat and seems to be getting more confident. With the service he is likely to get it's hard to imagine him not getting at least one chance here.
Eden Hazard-New signing Eden Hazard look excellent on the ball against Wigan and whilst he went down far too easily he seems to have the innate ability to open defenses up at will. Against Reading I can can imagine him creating chances left right and centre as he looks to justify his hefty price tag.
Reading-
Adam Federici-Despite effectively giving Stoke their goal on Saturday the Australian Keeper is a very reliable keeper and will be looking to put the blunder behind him as he faces Chelsea's fearsome attacking line. Whether Reading fan's like it or not Federici will be a busy man in goal.
Kaspars Gorkšs-The defensive stalwart will need to show why he is so highly rated by Reading fans as he attempts to organise the Reading defense as well as neutralise the Chelsea task. The Latvian was incredible in the Championship last year and will need to step up here. If Gorkšs has a bad game this could be hugely embarrassing for Reading.
Monday, 20 August 2012
Premier League-Team of the Week, Week 1
So we've now had the first round of matches and we've had a chance to see all the teams in action, however who were the best players from the week we've just had?
Goalkeeper-David De Gea (Manchester United)
The Spaniard may not have kept a clean sheet against Everton but Manchester United's young keeper managed to keep the Toffee's down to just a single goal in an outstanding performance that saw him making 3 or 4 fantastic saves.
Defence-Sylvian Distin (Everton)
Everton's Sylvain Distin may not have gotten the plaudits due to the performance of team mate Marouane Fellaini (also selected for the tam of the week) but he was a rock and thwarted United time and time again.
Defence-Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea)
Serbian Branislav Ivanovic was one Chelsea's stand out players in their 2-0 victory at Wigan. His threat going forward, which resulted in the opening goal was tremendous and his work at the back in helping Chelsea keep a clean sheet was vital, a real stand out performance.
Defence-James Collins (West Ham)
West Ham's resigning of James Collins looks like a a steal having cost less than £3 million and his performance against former team Aston Villa was almost flawless as the West Ham defense completely neutralised the Villa attack.
Defence-John Arne Riise (Fulham)
The veteran defender was a star at the back for Fulham playing not only brilliantly to defend his teams goal (something that was rarely required) but playing some of the most delightful diagonal balls we saw over the opening weekend.
Midfield-Marouane Fellaini (Everton)
The Belgian Midfielder gave Manchester United a headache linking play between attack and defence amazingly well and capped off an excellent performance with a stunning header to secure Everton the win.
Midfield-Samir Nasri (Manchester City)
The talented Frenchman did everything a manager could ask of an attack minded midfielder as he ran Southampton ragged before scoring the winning goal in the game of the weekend. Nasri could have assisted in any number of goals had the strikers been able to finish off the chances he created.
Midfield-Nathan Dyer (Swansea)
The Swans had an incredible match and whilst Michu stole the headlines Dyer was a close second, bagging two himself as the two men really abused the QPR midfield and defense. If Dyer can perform like this week in and week out he should be expecting an England call up before the year is out.
Midfield-Michu (Swansea City)
Swansea's City's signing of Michu appears to have been as master-stroke as the Spaniard made an immediate impression on the Premier League bagging 2 goals creating another in Swansea's demolition job over QPR.
Attack-Santi Cazorla (Arsenal)
Arsenal's Spanish debutant Santi Cazorla made an excellent start to his Premier League Career doing everything but scoring as he ran Sunderland ragged in a truly wonderful performance. Cazorla looks very special on this performance.
Attack-Mladen Petric (Fulham)
Like Michu (see above) Mladen Petric got off to the dream start to his Premier League career bagging 2 goals in his debut as Fulham routed Norwich 5-0. To add to his goals Petric also played a major part in the goal by Alexander Kacaniklic.
Manager of the Week-Michael Laudrup
Whilst Martin Jol may feel he deserved the plaudits due to the performance of his team, it's hard not to feel that the Michael Laudrup just out did him. Laudrup took over a Swansea City who had lost their manager (Brendon Rodgers) and star player (Joe Allen) over summer but yet put on a performance that seemed to suggest that they are now Laudrup's team.
Goalkeeper-David De Gea (Manchester United)
The Spaniard may not have kept a clean sheet against Everton but Manchester United's young keeper managed to keep the Toffee's down to just a single goal in an outstanding performance that saw him making 3 or 4 fantastic saves.
Defence-Sylvian Distin (Everton)
Everton's Sylvain Distin may not have gotten the plaudits due to the performance of team mate Marouane Fellaini (also selected for the tam of the week) but he was a rock and thwarted United time and time again.
Defence-Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea)
Serbian Branislav Ivanovic was one Chelsea's stand out players in their 2-0 victory at Wigan. His threat going forward, which resulted in the opening goal was tremendous and his work at the back in helping Chelsea keep a clean sheet was vital, a real stand out performance.
Defence-James Collins (West Ham)
West Ham's resigning of James Collins looks like a a steal having cost less than £3 million and his performance against former team Aston Villa was almost flawless as the West Ham defense completely neutralised the Villa attack.
Defence-John Arne Riise (Fulham)
The veteran defender was a star at the back for Fulham playing not only brilliantly to defend his teams goal (something that was rarely required) but playing some of the most delightful diagonal balls we saw over the opening weekend.
Midfield-Marouane Fellaini (Everton)
The Belgian Midfielder gave Manchester United a headache linking play between attack and defence amazingly well and capped off an excellent performance with a stunning header to secure Everton the win.
Midfield-Samir Nasri (Manchester City)
The talented Frenchman did everything a manager could ask of an attack minded midfielder as he ran Southampton ragged before scoring the winning goal in the game of the weekend. Nasri could have assisted in any number of goals had the strikers been able to finish off the chances he created.
Midfield-Nathan Dyer (Swansea)
The Swans had an incredible match and whilst Michu stole the headlines Dyer was a close second, bagging two himself as the two men really abused the QPR midfield and defense. If Dyer can perform like this week in and week out he should be expecting an England call up before the year is out.
Midfield-Michu (Swansea City)
Swansea's City's signing of Michu appears to have been as master-stroke as the Spaniard made an immediate impression on the Premier League bagging 2 goals creating another in Swansea's demolition job over QPR.
Attack-Santi Cazorla (Arsenal)
Arsenal's Spanish debutant Santi Cazorla made an excellent start to his Premier League Career doing everything but scoring as he ran Sunderland ragged in a truly wonderful performance. Cazorla looks very special on this performance.
Attack-Mladen Petric (Fulham)
Like Michu (see above) Mladen Petric got off to the dream start to his Premier League career bagging 2 goals in his debut as Fulham routed Norwich 5-0. To add to his goals Petric also played a major part in the goal by Alexander Kacaniklic.
Manager of the Week-Michael Laudrup
Whilst Martin Jol may feel he deserved the plaudits due to the performance of his team, it's hard not to feel that the Michael Laudrup just out did him. Laudrup took over a Swansea City who had lost their manager (Brendon Rodgers) and star player (Joe Allen) over summer but yet put on a performance that seemed to suggest that they are now Laudrup's team.
Premier League Week 1-Write up Everton v Manchester United
Everton 1-0 Manchester United
In the last kick off from the the opening round of Premier League fixtures we got a notable upset as Everton managed to defeat the highly favoured Manchester United 1-0, a victory that was well deserved by the Toffees.
Despite much of the pre-game talk being about Robin Van Persie the Dutchman merely started on the bench as the talking point went from Van Persie to United dishevelled looking defence that was ravaged by injuries to 4 centre backs, leaving them with a make shift defence that included Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia. Whilst this should have worried United fans they would have assumed an attacking line up that included new signing Shinji Kagawa, Wayne Rooney, Danny Wellbeck, Nani and Paul Scholes would have managed to outscore Everton. Instead of being about the strong United attack it was a man in blue who stole the headlines as Belgium's wacky haired Marouane Fellaini dominated the game.
The opening half saw Everton dominate the match with Fellaini in the middle of everything and the Toffee's could easily have been 3 or 4 up by the break with David De Gea managing to keep United in the match with a number of tremendous saves. Whilst David Moyes would have felt happy at half time with his teams domination of the play he may have worried it was going to be "just one of them days" where nothing goes in.
It took only 12 minutes of the second half for Everton to do what they failed to do in the opening 45 minutes as Fellaini managed to out muscle Michael Carrick in the penalty area and thunder a header past De Gea who really stood no chance of stopping it.
The goal seemed to completely change the form of the game as Everton went defensive and allowed United to come at them, and attack United did earning 6 corners in the half, though they failed to really do anything with them. Every corner United had was cleared with ease by the rock solid Everton defense who rarely allowed United the space, or time they needed on the ball to open a good chance. Despite the impressiveness of the Everton defense Shinji Kagawa was given a chance to shine as he became more and more involved in the game and after linking up with Van Persie, a second half substitution, the Japanese player came close forcing Tim Howard to make a rare save.
Whilst Fellaini was the clear man of the match the whole Everton were impressive with Sylvian Distin, Phil Jagielka and Tony Hibbert being rocks at the back who repeatedly thwarted United. In fact Everton's "worst" performance may well have been by Tim Howard who had very little to do due to how excellent Everton's out field players were. If Everton can keep this standard of play up they may well challenge for a European place at the end of the year. Worryingly though Nikica Jelavic did appear to have a niggling injury when he was subbed off late and Distin also looked in pain before the final whilst, if either of those men are absent for the next fixture Everton fans should be worried.
It's obvious that David Moyes will be estatic at the result though Alex Ferguson will be more than a little bit annoyed. Whilst United did have a bit of a makeshift back four they had the players on the pitch that would have been expected to beat Everton, sadly a number of them were poor. Tom Cleverly, Nani and Scholes were all sub standard and allowed Everton to boss the Midfield, whilst Wellbeck failed to shine, Rooney looked to be lacking fitness and the defence was also poor with Carrick being to blame for the goal. However Ferguson will take some positives from the match, Kagawa looks like an excellent signing and despite being quiet in the first half he really came alive in the second and the late display by Robin Van Persie was promising whilst David De Gea looked sensational.
In the last kick off from the the opening round of Premier League fixtures we got a notable upset as Everton managed to defeat the highly favoured Manchester United 1-0, a victory that was well deserved by the Toffees.
Despite much of the pre-game talk being about Robin Van Persie the Dutchman merely started on the bench as the talking point went from Van Persie to United dishevelled looking defence that was ravaged by injuries to 4 centre backs, leaving them with a make shift defence that included Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia. Whilst this should have worried United fans they would have assumed an attacking line up that included new signing Shinji Kagawa, Wayne Rooney, Danny Wellbeck, Nani and Paul Scholes would have managed to outscore Everton. Instead of being about the strong United attack it was a man in blue who stole the headlines as Belgium's wacky haired Marouane Fellaini dominated the game.
The opening half saw Everton dominate the match with Fellaini in the middle of everything and the Toffee's could easily have been 3 or 4 up by the break with David De Gea managing to keep United in the match with a number of tremendous saves. Whilst David Moyes would have felt happy at half time with his teams domination of the play he may have worried it was going to be "just one of them days" where nothing goes in.
It took only 12 minutes of the second half for Everton to do what they failed to do in the opening 45 minutes as Fellaini managed to out muscle Michael Carrick in the penalty area and thunder a header past De Gea who really stood no chance of stopping it.
The goal seemed to completely change the form of the game as Everton went defensive and allowed United to come at them, and attack United did earning 6 corners in the half, though they failed to really do anything with them. Every corner United had was cleared with ease by the rock solid Everton defense who rarely allowed United the space, or time they needed on the ball to open a good chance. Despite the impressiveness of the Everton defense Shinji Kagawa was given a chance to shine as he became more and more involved in the game and after linking up with Van Persie, a second half substitution, the Japanese player came close forcing Tim Howard to make a rare save.
Whilst Fellaini was the clear man of the match the whole Everton were impressive with Sylvian Distin, Phil Jagielka and Tony Hibbert being rocks at the back who repeatedly thwarted United. In fact Everton's "worst" performance may well have been by Tim Howard who had very little to do due to how excellent Everton's out field players were. If Everton can keep this standard of play up they may well challenge for a European place at the end of the year. Worryingly though Nikica Jelavic did appear to have a niggling injury when he was subbed off late and Distin also looked in pain before the final whilst, if either of those men are absent for the next fixture Everton fans should be worried.
It's obvious that David Moyes will be estatic at the result though Alex Ferguson will be more than a little bit annoyed. Whilst United did have a bit of a makeshift back four they had the players on the pitch that would have been expected to beat Everton, sadly a number of them were poor. Tom Cleverly, Nani and Scholes were all sub standard and allowed Everton to boss the Midfield, whilst Wellbeck failed to shine, Rooney looked to be lacking fitness and the defence was also poor with Carrick being to blame for the goal. However Ferguson will take some positives from the match, Kagawa looks like an excellent signing and despite being quiet in the first half he really came alive in the second and the late display by Robin Van Persie was promising whilst David De Gea looked sensational.
Sunday, 19 August 2012
Premier League Week 1-Preview and prediction (Monday)
With only 1 game being played today I've decided to not just do a prediction (which lest be honest, I've been awful with so far) but a proper preview, taking a look at not only who I expect will win, but also at the match in general, getting behind the figures and the facts to try and help everyone know what to expect as Everton start their campaign at home to title contenders Manchester United.
David Moyes' Everton side will be looking to build on last years 7th place finish though the losses of Jack Rodwell (to Manchester City) and Tim Cahill (to Houston Dynamo) could make things very difficult for the Toffees. Whilst they have lost 2 key players they've not really made any major additions to their side aside from Belgian international Kevin Mirallas (from Olympiakos) who will be unable to play in this fixture. Whilst they did also resign the talented Steven Pienaar (from Tottenham) he did feature prominently for Everton last season, having spent much of the season loaned to Goodison outfit.
Whilst some are predicting big things for Everton I'll be honest I'm a little bit worried for them having seen them sell yet more key players, something they've had to do on an almost annual basis since the turn of the millennium. Rodwell joins the likes of Wayne Rooney, Andy Johnson, Joleon Lescott and Mikel Arteta who have all gone from the Toffees to fellow Premier League teams for in excess of £10 million as the club tries to pay off substantial debt. Though saying that they have reinvested the money from the Rodwell sale to bring in Mirallas.
Despite selling Cahill and Rodwell, Everton do still have a strong core of players with the likes of Tim Howard, Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines, Sylvain Distin, Johnny Heitinga, Phil Neville, Leon Osman, Marouane Fellaini and the potent Nikica Jelavic as well as Pienaar who has been a hugely influential player for Everton in his previous stints at the club. Outside of Jelavic the team do lack an out and out goal scorer so they will be dependent on him through out the season.
Whilst Everton have have been a bit of a selling club this year it's fair to say Manchester United have splashed the cash as Alex Ferguson looks to regain the Premier League title that his team lost on the last day of the season last time around. The highest profile of his signings is Dutch attacker Robin Van Persie who was signed for over £20 million from Arsenal. Alongside Van Persie United have also snapped up Japanese attacker Shinji Kagawa (from Borussia Dortmund) who is seemingly a long term successor for the aging Paul Scholes.
It's hard not to view the Red Devils as a serious contender alongside fellow fierce rivals Manchester City and after the way the season finished last time around I can only imagine United having more drive to win the league this year than they had last year where they were pipped at the post. For Alex Ferguson's men last season shouldn't be viewed as a huge failure but as a massive lesson, goal difference can make a difference, the silly mistakes that see a 4-0 turn into a 4-1 or a chance missed to go 2-0 up really can be the difference between first and second. The players will know this more than pretty much anyone else in the league.
Like Everton, United have a solid core of players though unlike Everton the team aren't so dependent on a solitary attacking figure, especially not after their summer purchases. And unlike Everton United haven't really got an out and out #1 with David De Gea still likely fighting for his spot with Dane Anders Lindegaard. Though they do have a good mixture of youth and experience, the experience is really showing on some players and I'd expect the likes of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes to be very limited in their game time this year, with Rio Ferdinand likely to also be rested almost as much as he is played.
So finally on the match at hand.
Everton, at Goodison last year were pretty solid with 10 wins from their 19 home fixtures, taking a total of 33 points from a possible 57. They were the 8th best team in the league at home, a figure that almost matched their overall league standing (7th) though where they stood out was defensively with the second best home defense in the league, conceding just 15 goals in the 19 games played at Goodison (only City's 12 goals against at home was better).
Despite a solid home defensive record Everton some how lost 6 home fixtures, this was in part due to their lack of real fire power, scoring just 28 goals in 19 games at home, a figure that was tied 8th (tied with Norwich City). They will be hoping to increase their goals at home, especially with Jelavic being at Everton from the start of the season rather than joining in the January transfer window.
Interestingly one of the best home defenses from last season goes up against one of the best away attacks of last season in Manchester United (who came second in away goals last year) who were in fact the team with the best away record, taking 42 points away from home. United will look to continue their success on the road again this year and have the squad capable of again troubling defenses across the country.
As well as having the second best away attack they had the best away defensive record conceding just 14 goals away from home. For some reason United seemed to love playing away last year, often using a lightening quick counter attack to turn the game on it's head and take advantage of teams that were chasing a game in front of their own fans.
Looking at those defensive stats it's may be fair to assume this will be a very low scoring game though with United's attack looking genuinely terrifying and with what they learned about goal difference last year I wouldn't be surprised if they made a statement, especially after City struggled to a 3-2 win over new boys Southampton. Saying that I also expect Everton to try and get their season off to a good start, something they failed to do last season where they lost their opening fixture at home to Queens Park Rangers and were surprisingly 16th after 10 games.
Despite starting this match as under dogs Everton have had some success against United in recent years including last years 4-4 thriller and an equally exciting 3-3 the year before. Impressively Everton enter this game unbeaten at home in their last 8 in the Premier League with the last 4 home games being impressive victories (with a combined aggregate of 13-1). Almost as notable is the fact that 2 of United's 3 away defeats came in 3 of their last games including a 1-0 loss to Wigan.
Looking at everything, I expect we'll have a good game on our hands, Everton's home form at the end of last year was simply tremendous with Jelavic quickly becoming a star, though I think United will just have too much for them and driven on by revenge United will likely run out winners overall and whilst I don't expect a goal fest I do expect very enjoyable match.
Kick off-20:00
Prediction 1-2
Expected Line Ups:
Everton-
Howard, Hibbert, Heitinga, Jagielka, Baines, Osman, Gibson, Fellaini, Pienaar, Naismith, Jelavic (4-4-1-1)
Manchester United-
De Gea, Rafael, Carrick, Vidic, Evra, Valencia, Cleverly, Young, Kagawa, Rooney, Wellbeck (4-3-1-2)
Notes:
Everton new signing Kevin Mirallas wasn't signed in time for this match however the re-signed Steven Pienaar will likely start.
Although Robin Van Persie, who was signed on Friday could make his debut against Everton he is expected to start on the bench, however Shinji Kagawa is expected to start.
Despite being expected to start a number of players have been viewed as doubt with Marouanne Fellaini and Darron Gibson (Everton) being considered as doubts
Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United)was doubtful and has now been ruled out, leading to United missing 4 central defenders (Ferdinand joins Phil Jones, Johnny Evans and Chris Smalling)
Players to watch out for-
Everton:
Nikaca Jelavic-The Everton danger man is expected to be the solitary forward man for Everton though is a huge goal threat and did bang in 2 goals against United last time the two teams met.
John Heitinga-The Dutch international was a rock at the back last year for Everton and was eventually crowned their player of the year, expect a solid performance here as he tries to stifle United's attacking threats.
Manchester United:
Shinji Kagawa-The attacking Japanese player will be making his Manchester United debut after playing a pivotal part in Borussia Dortmund's Bundesliga triumph last year, expect him to trouble the Everton defense repeatedly.
Wayne Rooney-The United talisman bagged 2 goals the last time out against his former club and will be looking to link up with Kagawa to bag more this time around.
Stats:
This fixture last season 0-1 (Hernandez 19)
Result last time the two teams met 4-4 (Rooney (41, 69), Welbeck (57), Nani (60) : Jelavic (33, 83), Fellaini (67), Pienaar (85))
David Moyes' Everton side will be looking to build on last years 7th place finish though the losses of Jack Rodwell (to Manchester City) and Tim Cahill (to Houston Dynamo) could make things very difficult for the Toffees. Whilst they have lost 2 key players they've not really made any major additions to their side aside from Belgian international Kevin Mirallas (from Olympiakos) who will be unable to play in this fixture. Whilst they did also resign the talented Steven Pienaar (from Tottenham) he did feature prominently for Everton last season, having spent much of the season loaned to Goodison outfit.
Whilst some are predicting big things for Everton I'll be honest I'm a little bit worried for them having seen them sell yet more key players, something they've had to do on an almost annual basis since the turn of the millennium. Rodwell joins the likes of Wayne Rooney, Andy Johnson, Joleon Lescott and Mikel Arteta who have all gone from the Toffees to fellow Premier League teams for in excess of £10 million as the club tries to pay off substantial debt. Though saying that they have reinvested the money from the Rodwell sale to bring in Mirallas.
Despite selling Cahill and Rodwell, Everton do still have a strong core of players with the likes of Tim Howard, Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines, Sylvain Distin, Johnny Heitinga, Phil Neville, Leon Osman, Marouane Fellaini and the potent Nikica Jelavic as well as Pienaar who has been a hugely influential player for Everton in his previous stints at the club. Outside of Jelavic the team do lack an out and out goal scorer so they will be dependent on him through out the season.
Whilst Everton have have been a bit of a selling club this year it's fair to say Manchester United have splashed the cash as Alex Ferguson looks to regain the Premier League title that his team lost on the last day of the season last time around. The highest profile of his signings is Dutch attacker Robin Van Persie who was signed for over £20 million from Arsenal. Alongside Van Persie United have also snapped up Japanese attacker Shinji Kagawa (from Borussia Dortmund) who is seemingly a long term successor for the aging Paul Scholes.
It's hard not to view the Red Devils as a serious contender alongside fellow fierce rivals Manchester City and after the way the season finished last time around I can only imagine United having more drive to win the league this year than they had last year where they were pipped at the post. For Alex Ferguson's men last season shouldn't be viewed as a huge failure but as a massive lesson, goal difference can make a difference, the silly mistakes that see a 4-0 turn into a 4-1 or a chance missed to go 2-0 up really can be the difference between first and second. The players will know this more than pretty much anyone else in the league.
Like Everton, United have a solid core of players though unlike Everton the team aren't so dependent on a solitary attacking figure, especially not after their summer purchases. And unlike Everton United haven't really got an out and out #1 with David De Gea still likely fighting for his spot with Dane Anders Lindegaard. Though they do have a good mixture of youth and experience, the experience is really showing on some players and I'd expect the likes of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes to be very limited in their game time this year, with Rio Ferdinand likely to also be rested almost as much as he is played.
So finally on the match at hand.
Everton, at Goodison last year were pretty solid with 10 wins from their 19 home fixtures, taking a total of 33 points from a possible 57. They were the 8th best team in the league at home, a figure that almost matched their overall league standing (7th) though where they stood out was defensively with the second best home defense in the league, conceding just 15 goals in the 19 games played at Goodison (only City's 12 goals against at home was better).
Despite a solid home defensive record Everton some how lost 6 home fixtures, this was in part due to their lack of real fire power, scoring just 28 goals in 19 games at home, a figure that was tied 8th (tied with Norwich City). They will be hoping to increase their goals at home, especially with Jelavic being at Everton from the start of the season rather than joining in the January transfer window.
Interestingly one of the best home defenses from last season goes up against one of the best away attacks of last season in Manchester United (who came second in away goals last year) who were in fact the team with the best away record, taking 42 points away from home. United will look to continue their success on the road again this year and have the squad capable of again troubling defenses across the country.
As well as having the second best away attack they had the best away defensive record conceding just 14 goals away from home. For some reason United seemed to love playing away last year, often using a lightening quick counter attack to turn the game on it's head and take advantage of teams that were chasing a game in front of their own fans.
Looking at those defensive stats it's may be fair to assume this will be a very low scoring game though with United's attack looking genuinely terrifying and with what they learned about goal difference last year I wouldn't be surprised if they made a statement, especially after City struggled to a 3-2 win over new boys Southampton. Saying that I also expect Everton to try and get their season off to a good start, something they failed to do last season where they lost their opening fixture at home to Queens Park Rangers and were surprisingly 16th after 10 games.
Despite starting this match as under dogs Everton have had some success against United in recent years including last years 4-4 thriller and an equally exciting 3-3 the year before. Impressively Everton enter this game unbeaten at home in their last 8 in the Premier League with the last 4 home games being impressive victories (with a combined aggregate of 13-1). Almost as notable is the fact that 2 of United's 3 away defeats came in 3 of their last games including a 1-0 loss to Wigan.
Looking at everything, I expect we'll have a good game on our hands, Everton's home form at the end of last year was simply tremendous with Jelavic quickly becoming a star, though I think United will just have too much for them and driven on by revenge United will likely run out winners overall and whilst I don't expect a goal fest I do expect very enjoyable match.
Kick off-20:00
Prediction 1-2
Expected Line Ups:
Everton-
Howard, Hibbert, Heitinga, Jagielka, Baines, Osman, Gibson, Fellaini, Pienaar, Naismith, Jelavic (4-4-1-1)
Manchester United-
De Gea, Rafael, Carrick, Vidic, Evra, Valencia, Cleverly, Young, Kagawa, Rooney, Wellbeck (4-3-1-2)
Notes:
Everton new signing Kevin Mirallas wasn't signed in time for this match however the re-signed Steven Pienaar will likely start.
Although Robin Van Persie, who was signed on Friday could make his debut against Everton he is expected to start on the bench, however Shinji Kagawa is expected to start.
Despite being expected to start a number of players have been viewed as doubt with Marouanne Fellaini and Darron Gibson (Everton) being considered as doubts
Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United)was doubtful and has now been ruled out, leading to United missing 4 central defenders (Ferdinand joins Phil Jones, Johnny Evans and Chris Smalling)
Players to watch out for-
Everton:
Nikaca Jelavic-The Everton danger man is expected to be the solitary forward man for Everton though is a huge goal threat and did bang in 2 goals against United last time the two teams met.
John Heitinga-The Dutch international was a rock at the back last year for Everton and was eventually crowned their player of the year, expect a solid performance here as he tries to stifle United's attacking threats.
Manchester United:
Shinji Kagawa-The attacking Japanese player will be making his Manchester United debut after playing a pivotal part in Borussia Dortmund's Bundesliga triumph last year, expect him to trouble the Everton defense repeatedly.
Wayne Rooney-The United talisman bagged 2 goals the last time out against his former club and will be looking to link up with Kagawa to bag more this time around.
Stats:
This fixture last season 0-1 (Hernandez 19)
Result last time the two teams met 4-4 (Rooney (41, 69), Welbeck (57), Nani (60) : Jelavic (33, 83), Fellaini (67), Pienaar (85))
Saturday, 18 August 2012
Premier League Week 1-Write up Newcastle v Tottenham Hotspur
Newcastle 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
The late kick off of the opening day saw last year's 5th placed team hosting the 4th placed team in a match that on paper looked the best of the first days match ups. Sadly however the match took a while to really get going with the first 20 or so minutes being very stop start as Martin Atkinson booked 3 players in the space of 5 minutes in the opening half. Despite the poor nature of the half Spurs seemed the team more likely to scoring hitting the wood work twice with the only real attempts of note.
Despite being a slow burner the match came alive in the second half after Demba Ba scored his first goal for the club after a lengthy dry spell. It wasn't long however until Jermain Defoe equalised for Spurs after a poachers finish. Spurs sadly fell asleep almost immediately after equalising and as Hatem Ben Arfa was in the penalty area he was stupidly fouled by Dutchman Rafael Van Der Vaart and Aaron Lennon who gave away a penalty that Ben Arfa put away himself (after a small argument with Ba about who was going to take the penalty).
Also during the match Alan Pardew was sent to the stands after pushing one of the linesmen who made a decision that Pardew didn't agree with. I imagine that Pardew will have to suffer a touchline ban though hopefully what he takes from the match out weighs the penalty. His team didn't look as good as they did at times last season, though Ba's goal will hopefully help him get back to the form that saw him making a name for himself as one of Newcastle's key players. Whilst they didn't look great it is a very valuable 3 points over a serious rival and this is the sort of thing Newcastle need, wins over other top teams.
Andre Villas-Boas first competitive fixture in charge of Spurs after taking over from Harry Redknapp sadly didn't see Spurs playing to their best. A number of injuries left their front line very weak with only Jermain Defoe and teenager Harry Kane fit enough to play and this certainly didn't help. Though the loss falls squarely on the heads of Rafael Van Der Vaart and Aaron Lennon who had no reason to foul Ben Arfa in the penalty. Hopefully Spurs will be able to get their game faces on for their next fixture.
The late kick off of the opening day saw last year's 5th placed team hosting the 4th placed team in a match that on paper looked the best of the first days match ups. Sadly however the match took a while to really get going with the first 20 or so minutes being very stop start as Martin Atkinson booked 3 players in the space of 5 minutes in the opening half. Despite the poor nature of the half Spurs seemed the team more likely to scoring hitting the wood work twice with the only real attempts of note.
Despite being a slow burner the match came alive in the second half after Demba Ba scored his first goal for the club after a lengthy dry spell. It wasn't long however until Jermain Defoe equalised for Spurs after a poachers finish. Spurs sadly fell asleep almost immediately after equalising and as Hatem Ben Arfa was in the penalty area he was stupidly fouled by Dutchman Rafael Van Der Vaart and Aaron Lennon who gave away a penalty that Ben Arfa put away himself (after a small argument with Ba about who was going to take the penalty).
Also during the match Alan Pardew was sent to the stands after pushing one of the linesmen who made a decision that Pardew didn't agree with. I imagine that Pardew will have to suffer a touchline ban though hopefully what he takes from the match out weighs the penalty. His team didn't look as good as they did at times last season, though Ba's goal will hopefully help him get back to the form that saw him making a name for himself as one of Newcastle's key players. Whilst they didn't look great it is a very valuable 3 points over a serious rival and this is the sort of thing Newcastle need, wins over other top teams.
Andre Villas-Boas first competitive fixture in charge of Spurs after taking over from Harry Redknapp sadly didn't see Spurs playing to their best. A number of injuries left their front line very weak with only Jermain Defoe and teenager Harry Kane fit enough to play and this certainly didn't help. Though the loss falls squarely on the heads of Rafael Van Der Vaart and Aaron Lennon who had no reason to foul Ben Arfa in the penalty. Hopefully Spurs will be able to get their game faces on for their next fixture.
Premier League Week 1-Write up West Brom v Liverpool
West Brom 3-0 Liverpool
Having sacked Kenny Dalglish at the end of last season and brought in Brendon Rodgers expectations were high at Liverpool for this season, though as we all know things are never the way they should be for Liverpool where stunningly upset today in their league opener by West Brom.
Liverpool started well with the controversial Luis Suarez having a number of chances including an excellent headed chance to put Liverpool in the lead, though couldn't finish any of them. Instead of Suarez it was returning Zoltán Gera that opened the scoring with an excellent strike in the 43rd minute that may well be an early contender for goal of the season. The Hungarian let loose with a thunderbolt from outside the penalty area that gave Reina no chance.
In the second half West Brom had a fantastic chance to double their lead as Daniel Agger fouled Shane Long in the penalty area. Whilst Agger was given a straight red Long couldn't convert the penalty. It didn't take long however for West Brom to be given a second penalty after Martin Škrtel lost track of both the ball and Long. This time Peter Odemwinge stepped up to the spot and he didn't make the same mistake as his team smashing the ball into the bottom corner. The match was finally sealed around 15 minutes from time as Romelu Lukaku headed in a 3rd for West Brom.
Brendon Rodgers was expected to have a midas touch though signings Joe Allen and Fabio Borini both looked completely out of place on the pitch with the pair looking like 2 very expensive accessories. The combined £26 million spent on the two men is looking like a seriously bad move for Rodgers who will almost certainly get the fans on his back if he cannot turn things around quickly.
For West Brom's new manager Steve Clarke this must have been a dream start. Not only did he manage to defeat the team that got rid of him last year but he managed to make a real statement about his team, who will likely be expected to match last season's 10th place finish. The return of Gera (who had been out for 8 months) is a major positive for the Baggies and Lukaku is an excellent loan signing who will seriously give West Brom a threat up front. Don't be surprised if West Brom manage a number of upsets this year.
Having sacked Kenny Dalglish at the end of last season and brought in Brendon Rodgers expectations were high at Liverpool for this season, though as we all know things are never the way they should be for Liverpool where stunningly upset today in their league opener by West Brom.
Liverpool started well with the controversial Luis Suarez having a number of chances including an excellent headed chance to put Liverpool in the lead, though couldn't finish any of them. Instead of Suarez it was returning Zoltán Gera that opened the scoring with an excellent strike in the 43rd minute that may well be an early contender for goal of the season. The Hungarian let loose with a thunderbolt from outside the penalty area that gave Reina no chance.
In the second half West Brom had a fantastic chance to double their lead as Daniel Agger fouled Shane Long in the penalty area. Whilst Agger was given a straight red Long couldn't convert the penalty. It didn't take long however for West Brom to be given a second penalty after Martin Škrtel lost track of both the ball and Long. This time Peter Odemwinge stepped up to the spot and he didn't make the same mistake as his team smashing the ball into the bottom corner. The match was finally sealed around 15 minutes from time as Romelu Lukaku headed in a 3rd for West Brom.
Brendon Rodgers was expected to have a midas touch though signings Joe Allen and Fabio Borini both looked completely out of place on the pitch with the pair looking like 2 very expensive accessories. The combined £26 million spent on the two men is looking like a seriously bad move for Rodgers who will almost certainly get the fans on his back if he cannot turn things around quickly.
For West Brom's new manager Steve Clarke this must have been a dream start. Not only did he manage to defeat the team that got rid of him last year but he managed to make a real statement about his team, who will likely be expected to match last season's 10th place finish. The return of Gera (who had been out for 8 months) is a major positive for the Baggies and Lukaku is an excellent loan signing who will seriously give West Brom a threat up front. Don't be surprised if West Brom manage a number of upsets this year.
Premier League Week 1-Write up QPR v Swansea
QPR 0-5 Swansea
Last year QPR really struggled to stay up, it appears they will again be struggling to stay in the Premier League despite making a number of notable signings over summer. The talking point here however wasn't QPR, but instead Swansea, who under new manager Michael Laudrup looked sensational.
New signing Michu opened the scoring for the Swansea in just 8 minutes announcing his arrival with a shot that just appeared to roll away from the keeper. He doubled his personal account early in the second with an excellent finish to cap off a wonderful counter attack by Swansea as QPR chased an equalised.
The second Michu goal appeared to open the floodgates for Swansea who were in a mood to fill their boots and that appeared to be what they did with Nathan Dyer netting twice himself before late substitute Scott Sinclair added a fifth and final goal for the Swans.
Despite the rumour of Scott Sinclair leaving Swansea in the near future this was a promising performance by the whole team who, under Laudrup looked genuinely sensational, especially on the counter. The Danish manager has made several very shrewd buys, including the signing of Michu who may end up being the buy of the season.
Mark Hughes appears to have a pretty good squad on paper, though it could take a while for his players to gel, this could be the big problem with QPR, however the bigger problem appears to be their finishing. With over 20 shots today QPR only managed to hit half of them on target, with 0 goals from 11 shots on target you need to wonder whether they have the strike force which can keep them up. The fact Swansea found it so easy to rip them apart on the counter should also be a very worrying sign for the Loftus Road club. This isn't how you start a season.
Last year QPR really struggled to stay up, it appears they will again be struggling to stay in the Premier League despite making a number of notable signings over summer. The talking point here however wasn't QPR, but instead Swansea, who under new manager Michael Laudrup looked sensational.
New signing Michu opened the scoring for the Swansea in just 8 minutes announcing his arrival with a shot that just appeared to roll away from the keeper. He doubled his personal account early in the second with an excellent finish to cap off a wonderful counter attack by Swansea as QPR chased an equalised.
The second Michu goal appeared to open the floodgates for Swansea who were in a mood to fill their boots and that appeared to be what they did with Nathan Dyer netting twice himself before late substitute Scott Sinclair added a fifth and final goal for the Swans.
Despite the rumour of Scott Sinclair leaving Swansea in the near future this was a promising performance by the whole team who, under Laudrup looked genuinely sensational, especially on the counter. The Danish manager has made several very shrewd buys, including the signing of Michu who may end up being the buy of the season.
Mark Hughes appears to have a pretty good squad on paper, though it could take a while for his players to gel, this could be the big problem with QPR, however the bigger problem appears to be their finishing. With over 20 shots today QPR only managed to hit half of them on target, with 0 goals from 11 shots on target you need to wonder whether they have the strike force which can keep them up. The fact Swansea found it so easy to rip them apart on the counter should also be a very worrying sign for the Loftus Road club. This isn't how you start a season.
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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