English Premiership

[Megakid]

No I mean that sucks for them. They are 5th, and City is doing pretty good, City may make the CL.

I really hope so, Liverpool aint doing their best imo.

[cigar omar]

Haha. Ok. Here is Ronaldo making Messi look hopeless

hahahahahahhahhahahahahahahhahaha kkkkkkkkkkkkkk hhahhahahahhaahhahahahaaahhahahahahahahah  :cya:

[Totti]

And there goes Livepools chances of winning the PL
It's so damn stupid to just try and hold the lead when ur one goal up, finish Wigan properly instead! :cursing:

[manutd.]

So many fixtures coming up, .. Premier League, FA Cup, Champion's League, .. and a lot has passed over the Christmas period.

Although Arsenal are still in first; over the Christmas period we would have got max points but a sloppy loss costs us the title so far.

United P7 W6 D0 L1 Pts18
Chelsea P7 W5 D1 L1 Pts16
Arsenal P7 W4 D2 L1 Pts14
Liverpool P7 W3 D2 L2 Pts11

Arsenal is a great team obviously, but with a lot of fixtures could this be showing signs of them getting tired? Chelsea surprised me with all their injuries, and Liverpool are going a bit downhill. Props to Arsenal for proving a lot of people wrong. This is why I'm happy we have a huge squad though, so we can rest out other players.

[^_^]

Shit, if Arsenal is at 50 points while tired, can't wait until they catch thier breath. Adebayor keeps scoring, Eduardo will start scoring, and Fabregas may be learning how to pass again (past 3 games...not been his day, but the game vs West Ham showed he's on his way back)

4 trophies this year  :booty:

[Megakid]

Shit, if Arsenal is at 50 points while tired, can't wait until they catch thier breath. Adebayor keeps scoring, Eduardo will start scoring, and Fabregas may be learning how to pass again (past 3 games...not been his day, but the game vs West Ham showed he's on his way back)

4 trophies this year  :booty:

Everything is true there except 4 trophies, not the champs league, i think Milan will win due to experience.

[manutd.]

They weren't tired all year, just in the Christmas break, and we've already seen Arsenal while they weren't tired and they were pretty damn fine.

[Tito]

Assessment time in Premier League

With the Premier League now through its busy festive period, TEAMtalk's James Marshment hands out his half-term reports on the season so far.


With every side in the Premier League having now reached the 21-game mark - Liverpool and West Ham aside - the table is now beginning to set out its shape for the tales that lie ahead.

Arsene Wenger's Arsenal currently top the class and it's fair to say they have performed far better than expected, given the graduation of last season's star pupil Thierry Henry. But the Frenchman's exit has had the polar opposite effect on the Gunners, with the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor and particularly Cesc Fabregas stamping their own identity on the Gunners. Arsenal have been near perfect at the Emirates Stadium thus far, with only Manchester United preventing them from taking maximum points in their 11 home games to date.

But it is the Gunners' new-found steel away from home which will be the most appeasing to Professor Wenger, with their recent 4-1 victory at Everton - a game they so often would have lost in the past - testimony to that.

However, the title this season does look like it will go to the wire with Sir Alex Ferguson's reigning champions Arsenal's most likely challengers. United's home record is almost identical to the Gunners and the Red Devils have amassed 10 straight wins at home following Reading's shock goalless draw on the opening weekend. Most of their success can be attributed to the attacking triumvirate of Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez, though the work of Ferdinand, Vidic and Evra at the back should also not be overlooked given that the Red Devils have conceded just 11 league goals to date.

Chelsea at this stage, however, cannot be ruled out and special praise must be given to the way the club has responded to the departure of the Special One Jose Mourinho and the appointment of Avram Grant. Now if you're talking polar opposites, then these past and present coaches of the Blues are it. But Grant has cajoled a good response from his players, though you cannot help but think the real tests lie ahead. I'll stop short of calling it an injury 'crisis' given the players Chelsea can call upon in reserve, but with the impending African Nations Cup set to rob them of Essien, Drogba, Mikel and Kalou, then it will take one almighty effort to bring a third title in four years to the Bridge.

One team who will go into 2008 looking to improve their marks are Liverpool and their disappointing home form (four wins from 10 home games) could yet result in a new teacher being drafted in. Granted, Mr Benitez is proven in getting the best from his crop when it comes to their field trips abroad, but the Anfield faithful want to see their 18-year wait for a league title come to an end. Sadly for them, it's not going to happen this year, despite the best efforts of Gerrard, Torres and Mascherano.

There's also no guarantees at this stage that they can even finish in the top four, with a host of sides - most notably Manchester City - vying to bully the star pupils from their perch. Sven's City can probably claim the half-term commendation for biggest improver thus far, with Elano and Petrov superb going forward and Dunne and Richards equally impressive at the back.

The likes of Everton, Aston Villa and Portsmouth can also take great pride in their work so far and it'll be interesting to see whom finishes where when the prizes are handed out at the end of term.

The Toffees are marginally the best of the bench so far with midfielders Arteta, Cahill and Pienaar as consistent as anyone this term, while Villa's solid start has been based on the solid work of Mellberg and Laursen at the back, with Young and Agbonlahor offering pace and movement to their attack.

Pompey are probably the biggest over-achievers in the entire top flight, but whilst they have been great on the road, they will need to find a cure to their unexpected home wobbles. But credit where credit is due and Harry Redknapp has assembled a squad deserving of achieving European status next term.

Blackburn are another side performing well on a consistent basis, despite a recent mini-slump, with Roque Santa Cruz looking one of the signings of the season and David Bentley looking every inch capable of filling David Beckham's long-term shoes in the England side. Nestled in just behind them are West Ham and they can take satisfaction with their work so far, particularly in the absence of so many key performers. Their recent home win over Manchester United shows what they are capable of and a season of mid-table mediocity will be pleasing considering their great escape last term.

Moving on to the under-achievers and Newcastle and Spurs have both had their spells in the naughty corner after a series of less-than-convincing displays. Both have been pretty shambolic defensively, but have managers in Sam Allardyce - if he can ride out the current storm - and Juande Ramos who are more than capable of pulling them up by the bootlaces.

Reading defied the doubters by finishing eighth last term and whilst a repeat looks unlikely, they also look easily capable of retaining their place amongst in the elite. Bolton are another side anxiously looking over their shoulder this term but after a shaky start under Sammy Lee, the often-maligned Gary Megson has come in and introduced a brand of football more akin to the days of Allardyce. Much, of course, will depend on Nicolas Anelka's future and Trotters fans will surely not relish reports that Henri Camara has been lined up as the Frenchman's replacement.

New managers have been the order of the day in the Premier League this term, with seven teams so far changing their tactician-in-chief. Whereas Paul Jewell's Derby sadly looked doomed to failure - despite their best efforts - the likes of Roy Hodgson at Fulham, Steve Bruce at Wigan and Alex McLeish at Birmingham will all be hopeful of avoiding the dreaded drop. Much of their season could hinge on what happens in the January transfer window and all three will be looking for that key capture that could make all the difference.

Which brings us finally to Middlesbrough - the only team so far to inflict a defeat upon table-topping Arsenal. Boro have looked decidedly toothless in attack this term - despite the recent best efforts of Tuncay - and they will need to strengthen their attack this month if they want to see an improvement and not slip away into the second tier.

 :cheers:

[Buckwheat156]

the second half of the season this is when the premiership gets fun and stressful for everyone

[manutd.]

Wrote some articles for this. Adi will be posting them on beyondfootball.com soon so I want you all to read them.  :-*

[Tito]

not the first thing you stole from me  :bang:

[manutd.]

I didn't steal anything from you.  :dontknow: