Weekend Preview: Best League in the...UK?

After a week that confirmed what pretty much everyone has known for a while - the Premier League just isn't the best league in Europe any more - the Premier League is back and the top teams will be looking to bounce back after 4 of the country's representatives failed to win in Europe...

The big talking point this week has to be Man City's failure (yet again) in Europe. Roberto Mancini's record in Europe is coming under close scrutiny as his team look set to bow out at the group stages for the second year in a row, despite their wealth of riches, barring a miracle. Between 2004-08 Mancini got Inter to the Quarters (2004/05, 2005/06) and the last 16 (2006/07 and 2007/08) before he was sacked. This was despite winning the Serie A title three years in a row from 2006-2008. 2 years after he left Inter (with predominantly the same core as Mancini's team) won the Champions League under Jose Mourinho. Coincidence? City’s three fixtures in the Champions League them concede a total of 72 shots in contrast to 85 in their eight Premier League games this season. Yes, Man City have been drawn in the 'Group of Death' this year but they haven't even played well really. They have 1 point and they were extremely lucky to get that against Dortmund. The contrast in the two teams on Wednesday was remarkable and it has been well documented that the total cost of the Ajax starting XI on Wednesday was £2.75m while City's starting XI cost a measly £187.5m! They really should have been winning that game.

Aston Villa v Norwich - Saturday's early kick off will centre around the battle of Norwich and their former manager, Paul Lambert. There is seemingly a lot of ill-feeling between the two parties since their separation - Norwich are suing Lambert for breach of contract while Lambert is counter-suing Norwich for unfair dismissal looking for £2m! This week Norwich's chairman said Lambert walks out on every team he manages while Lambert suggested he hasn't spoken to the chairman, Alan Bowkett in three years (even when he was there). There has been a lack of spark for either team this season and neither has really got going. Both sides only have the one win in the league each from 8 games, and both have struggled for goals scoring less than 1 per game this season on average (both have 6 goals). Norwich have conceded over 2 goals per game this season on average (17 goals in 8 games), while Villa have let in 13 goals in 8 games. Norwich did win against Arsenal last time out and they will be hoping that result will kick start their season but it looks like being a relegation dogfight for both teams this year, and neither have been in good form. Norwich haven't won their last 6 away games, while Villa have failed to win in 17 of their last 18 league games. Both managers have a difficult job on their hands this season and you have to think a lot of both teams seasons depend on Darren Bent and Grant Holt respectively. Holt has 3 goals this season while Bent has 2 and they are the only players from either team who have scored more than 1 goal this season. You have to think this game could be the best opportunity for these teams to fill their boots and score a few, but it appears unlikely. I tend to think that Paul Lambert will thrive on this sort of pressure game. Having played at the likes of Dortmund and Celtic and winning multiple trophies he loves the big games and this is a huge game for his team, and I think the Lambert factor will win out for Villa.

Prediction: Villa 2-1 Norwich

Everton v Liverpool - Sunday's early kick off sees the return of the Merseyside derby. This game seems like it could be a difficult one to predict so I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest there will be a lot of cards. In the last 6 games between these sides there have been 26 yellow cards and 3 reds. So expect more of the same this weekend. Everton have only beaten Liverpool once in the last 6 meetings between the two teams while Liverpool have won 4 and certainly seem to have the edge on their rivals. However, Everton go into this game 8 places and 6 points above their rivals, and have only lost once this season. They have also won 6 of their last 7 home games in the league. However, as we all know the form book goes out of the window in a derby. Liverpool have a young team and the average age of their likely first XI tomorrow is 24.5 years old, whilst Everton's is 29.4 years of age. This youth could either prove to be the undoing of Liverpool or their secret weapon. The players don't look like they have been phased by anything this season but a pressure cooker atmosphere at Goodison Park in the Merseyside derby is another challenge altogether for Liverpool's players. Personally I think the game will come down to clinical finishing and Everton's 15 goals in the league versus Liverpool's 10 tells a story in itself. Liverpool need to take their chances tomorrow otherwise Everton will punish them. I'm going with the form book in this game though.

Prediction: Everton 3-1 Liverpool

Chelsea v Man Utd - Finally, the Sunday evening match is at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea take on Manchester United. Stamford Bridge always seems to be a bogey ground for United and the Reds haven't won at Stamford Bridge in the League in the last 10 games - since April 2002, and Chelsea are the only team in the history of the Premier League who have more wins than losses against United. Funnily enough though United haven't lost in their last 5 meetings against Chelsea (including the two Champions League games from United's 2011 run to the final). This should be an excellent game though and sees 1st take on 2nd in the league. This game could go a long way to showing how serious both teams title challenges are this year. Expect goals - between them these teams have scored 40 goals in the league this year and conceded 17. United are starting games this season bizarrely and seem to be giving teams head starts every game. I think this was slightly inevitable as this season seems to be purely concentrated on attacking and scoring goals with that forward line. Chelsea's forward line is almost as impressive though and it should be a high scoring affair for that reason. United have scored at least 2 goals in their last 7 Premier League games and it seems almost certain that Chelsea will score goals as United's defence seems to be leaking goals on a huge scale this year. United's philosophy this year seems to be 'we will score one more than you'. This has never really worked before (see Newcastle in 95/96) so it is intriguing to see how long this goes on.

Prediction: Chelsea 2-2 United

This weekend QPR take on an Arsenal team who have lost their last 2 games and appear to be back in the middle of a crisis again, just weeks after being the best team since Sliced Bread FC. Rangers are still without a win in the league this season and they will be hoping this is the best time to play Arsenal. However, Mark Hughes has said he fears a backlash this weekend. Rangers avoided defeat last weekend for the first time in 4 in the league and fans will be hoping this could be the start of a turnaround in fortunes, and they will take heart from Norwich's performance against the Gunners last weekend.

 Crewe beat Swindon 2-1 in midweek to record their first win in 4 in the league and they take on an in-form Yeovil team this weekend who have won their last 2 league games. Games between these two teams don't end in draws (both teams have shared 3 wins each in the last 6 games between these 2). Byron Moore got 2 in midweek for his first goals of the season and Steve Davis has challenged him to get double figures this season, so the Railwaymen will be hoping this will spur him on to have more of an impact. Yeovil are an entertaining team this season having scored 24 so far in 14 this season and conceded 21 so there should be goals and an entertaining game at Gresty Road!

Union Berlin take on SC Paderborn 07 on Sunday. Paderborn haven't won in their last 4 and Union will be hoping to build on their win over FSV Frankfurt last week. This is 11th v 10th and should be a tight affair as both teams sit on 12 points. Let's hope Union's good home form continues and they use this to their advantage!

Enjoy the weekend and we'll be back with a review of the weekend next week!

J

The Weekend That Never Stops Giving

Another eventful weekend in English football with plenty to chew over.

Man United v Liverpool was a highly controversial game, and predictably supporters from Liverpool will argue all the big decisions went against them wrongly, while United fans will claim they were correct. I can't really be bothered going into why I think Shelvey's red card was correct, or why I think it was a penalty on Valencia. What I will say is that all fans have watched 16 replays from 14 different angles and come to their obviously correct conclusions. Sky zoomed in on Luis Suarez's foot to determine he reached the ball a microsecond before Jonny Evans and as a result it was a penalty. Mark Halsey saw these decisions in real time with no slow mo's and no extra angles for his benefit. It is easy to judge with the benefit of hindsight but spare a thought for what a tough job it is to make a decision on a split second's judgement knowing millions of people are watching and won't all agree with it. In the game, Liverpool bossed the field, and had 63% possession in the first half, but yet again they didn't have a clinical striker to take advantage of all this possession. Obviously Shelvey's sending off influenced the game hugely and by the end United had 48% of the ball throughout the game. I do think though that another major factor in their success in the second half was the substitution of Scholes on for Nani. I thought Nani had quite possibly his worst game in a United shirt yesterday. He had a passing accuracy of just 65% - to put that into perspective only Pepe Reina had a worse passing percentage yesterday of every single player on the pitch. He gave United no directness and was a liability unfortunately. As soon as Scholes came on and Giggs went to the left, they had more shape, space and width to pass the ball about. Obviously the extra man helped with this as well though. I think that the difference between the two sides was mainly up front: Liverpool had 6 shots on target and scored just 1 - a conversion rate of just 16%, whereas United had 3 shots on target and scored 2 - a 66% conversion rate. Liverpool have had a tough start and shouldn't lose patience in Brendan Rodgers, but from a United perspective the fact that they are picking up wins whilst not playing well (something City haven't mastered this season yet) is encouraging. Eventually they need to click or it will come back to bite them, but I think that if you give RVP and Kagawa a bit more time to develop chemistry the signs are there that it could be a good partnership.

Well Man City v Arsenal was a confirmation that we might have title challengers from outside of Manchester this season, if you didn't already know. Arsenal showed resilience to come from behind to earn a point at the Etihad which they maybe wouldn't have had last year. By the end of the game you'd probably have to say that Arsenal deserved to win the game really, but ultimately the result is the only thing that matters. I think City are finding it a little bit more difficult this season as teams are upping their game for the 'Champions' (I feel a little bit sick still saying that). City have already dropped 6 points this season after just 5 games - that is nearly a quarter of the points they dropped all season last year. It's hard what to say the most impressive aspect of Arsenal's game has been this season - their excellent defensive displays, or the imperious Santi Cazorla (I'm not sure, but having listened to Jamie Redknapp I think he might be quite 'little'). Arsenal had 59% of possession in this game, and if they can get a clinical striker (sorry but Podolski hasn't proved he is yet) firing then they really could be in with a very strong shout for the title.

If you haven't watched Everton's second goal from their match against Swansea yet, watch it. Watch it now. Phil Neville picked up the ball right by their corner flag to end a Swansea move. Within 3 short, sharp, incisive passes Steven Pienaar had been released down the right and he played a magnificent first time cross perfectly into the path of the onrushing Kevin Mirallas to score at the second time of asking after his first effort had been tipped onto the crossbar. This goal shows the other side of Everton that people don't give them enough credit for usually. Against United they were set to be bullying and physical (in a good way) but this game shows they are a terrific footballing side when the time calls for it. Everton actually had a higher passing accuracy than Swansea, who are lauded for their tiki taka football, throughout the game (85% to 81%) and Everton had more possession of the ball - which not many teams will achieve at the Liberty Stadium this year I imagine. A lot is made of Everton being notoriously slow starters, but this is their best start after 5 league games since 2007/08 when they also had 10 points. Last year at this stage they had 7 points, in 2008/09 they also had 7 points, in 2009/10 they had 6 points and in 2010/11 they had just 2 points after 5 games. I think though that Everton's style of play is more impressive than their points total. They have a swagger about them this season we've not really seen before. They have depth up front, they have creativity in midfield and solidity in defence. Basically all signs point to Everton having a very good season and I think that if they carry on playing this well consistently throughout the season they could well challenge for a top 4 place.  

Southampton's season essentially started in earnest on Saturday and what a result it was for them. When they received their fixture list they will have earmarked the Wigan game as a must win I imagine, but Nigel Adkins will probably have realised his team would be highly unlikely to pick up much after their first four games which consisted of both Manchester clubs and Arsenal. They shipped 14 goals and looked very ropey defensively. Unfortunately for Saints Kelvin Davis just doesn't look up to the standard of a Premier League goalkeeper. He was finally dropped this week after conceding 14 goals in 4 games, and they only conceded one with Paulo Gazzaniga in goal and now they've signed Artur Boruc on a free this week as well. Rickie Lambert however looks right at home in the Premier League. In 137 games for Southampton he has scored an incredible 82 goals. He got 30 goals in League One in 2009/10 and 21 the following season in the same league. He made the step up to the Championship and scored 27 goals in 42 games last year, and now he has hit the ground running again with 4 goals in 5 games so far this season, including 2 against Manchester City and United. Following on from the success of Grant Holt and Danny Graham last year who also made their way up through the Football League, Lambert is showing that a clinical finisher can perform at any level if he has confidence. Southampton certainly look as if they will approach games with the Kevin Keegan mentality of defending by attacking. Whilst the Saints defence is undoubtedly very leaky - statistically the worst in the league at the moment - they have scored the 5th highest total so far with 9 as well (just 1 behind Man City). Last year in the Championship Saints scored 85 goals all season. This indicates their strength most definitely lies in going forward and attacking teams. It promises to be an exciting season for Southampton and you get the feeling that they may well be one of the most interesting teams to watch this season, especially in terms of goals! They certainly look much more well-equipped for the Premier League than Reading and Gaston Ramirez's performance looked like a very good sign. Nigel Adkins has done an excellent job at Saints to get them from League One to the Premier League and surely that should buy him some time out of the 'back page sack race', especially since they had such a challenging start to the fixture list. 

Unfortunately the other big talking point this week is John Terry. As much as we don't want to give him any more publicity, he has now announced his retirement from international football, something we couldn't just let slip. J mentioned in our preview of the England game against Moldova that he thought this had been coming for a while now. England have got a lot of very good options at centre back with the likes of Gary Cahill, Joleon Lescott and Phil Jagielka already in contention. Maybe it's time for someone like Ryan Shawcross or maybe Steven Caulker to be given the chance to come into the squad and gain experience, which is the only way they will be able to develop as international class central defenders. John Terry stated that the FA had made his position in the England team "untenable" by putting together an investigation about his alleged racial abuse of Anton Ferdinand last October when he had been acquitted in a criminal court of any wrongdoing. In the past if an England player was accused of a criminal charge was not eligible to be picked for the international team; John Terry was. When relations between England's usual centre back pairing became untenable due to Rio Ferdinand's unhappiness at Terry's behaviour towards his brother, Rio Ferdinand was dropped entirely and not picked; John Terry was. John Terry is said to have slept with his international and club colleague's ex-girlfriend (I thought that was a fact but apparently it isn't) and yet Wayne Bridge was the one who was forced to declare himself ineligible for selection whilst Terry was still in the team. In short, it's pretty difficult to see how the FA have made his position "untenable". As a matter of fact it appears to the outsider that they have bent over backwards to accomodate their brave leader at any cost. Therefore, it leads us to the conclusion that John Terry must know this FA investigation, which starts today, will not end favourably for him. In essence he has walked before he was pushed, and it is hard to take any other stance than he deserves what he gets. Though let's not forget, possibly the most important thing to come out of this is that Championship's Wayne Bridge is now surely in line for an England recall?

Roundup of our teams

As mentioned above Man Utd beat Liverpool 2-1 away from home, with a Rafael curler and Robin Van Persie penalty (finally we scored a penalty!) cancelling out Steven Gerrard's opener in a tense game at Anfield.

If you haven't read C's excellent review of the QPR - Tottenham game from yesterday yet why not? QPR were extremely unlucky to come away with anything from the game, let alone missing out on 3 points. Bobby Zamora's opener put QPR ahead but a Faurlin own goal and Defoe goal in one mad minute put paid to the R's hopes of a first away win in 16 games.

Crewe drew 1-1 with Leyton Orient to frustratingly record their 4th draw in a row in the League and sit in 15th position. Matt Tootle put the Alex ahead after 2 minutes but L'Orient equalised in the 19th minute through former QPR man Martin Rowlands. The Alex are really missing the presence and finishing ability of Mathias Pogba up front, and while the talented duo of AJ Leitch-Smith and Max Clayton are more than capable at this level there is a dearth in back up behind them, and thankfully for the Railwaymen Mat Pogba has returned to training this week to hopefully rectify this situation.

As reported in Friday's weekend preview, Union Berlin claimed their first league win of the season against the team who were placed immediately above them before the weekend, FC Cologne, who look to have carried their form from last year's relegation from the Bundesliga into this year. Union won 2-1 in a game that we are hoping will kickstart their season proper! Silvio and Torsten Mattuschka won the game for Union and moved them out of the relegation places into a lofty 14th position in the league.

What we learned this week:-

- Your Mrs ranting on Twitter still won't get you into the Reading team right now, Mr Federici. And on yesterday's evidence, you'll be warming the bench for a while; an excellent display from Alex McCarthy away at West Brom showed that he more than merits his place in the starting 11.
- Carl Jenkinson has been immense so far this season.
- Would you like to learn how to put a young child in his place with just a little laugh and smile?

- What a terrible shame that Nathan Dyer should come on for Swansea only to be booked twice in thirteen second half minutes (the two bookings incidentally just a minute apart). Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
- Surely this is the most ridiculous time to sack Steve Kean? Out of all the moments they could have done it now makes absolutely no sense with Rovers 2nd in the Championship. Another example of Venky's complete lack of understanding about how to run a football club. Seems similar to when Gareth Southgate was sacked by Middlesbrough after guiding them to relegation he then saw them to 4th place and 1 point off top when he was then sacked - and look what's happened at Middlesbrough since.

- There were a fair few football league hat-tricks around this weekend but one that stood out was that of Dean Bowditch. Bowditch is a player I've always thought has flattered to deceive after bursting on to the scene at Ipswich, but he helped himself to his 2nd career hat-trick for MK Dons away courtesy of Bury's generous defence. I'm reliably informed that this was his first treble in 8 years (the day of his senior debut).

- There are no dead certs in football, just ask everyone that had Birmingham v Barnsley down as a home banker! A terrific away romp for the Tykes with Craig Davies on fire. He also gave an excellent post-match interview about how Birmingham is significant in his life because it's where his Nan lives, so it's ultra special to have scored four goals there rather than anywhere else. (I wish I could link you to it but can't find it at the moment.)

- Tranmere and Gillingham march on at the top of League One and Two, both picking up away wins respective in games at Crawley and Port Vale, arguably the toughest test each side has faced so far this season. 

- A special mention for Leon Clarke, who has found himself in another one of his spurts of form after joining Scunthorpe, where everything he touches is currently turning to gold (4 goals in 4 games). He never did find one of those said spurts at Wolves, or QPR, or Preston, or Swindon, or Charlton. Clarke is a truly odd confidence player who never ceases to amaze me with how many clubs he's been at, how high up the Football League ladder he has played and how little he offers to a team when he's not scoring. I wonder how long this run of goals will last before Scunny fans see the worst of him.

- The wait for another home win for Morecambe fans still goes on, this time they blew a 2-0 lead over Plymouth and went on to lose 3-2. Unbelievable!
- How has Sylvain Ebanks-Blake's 'straight down the middle' penalty routine not been sussed out by goalkeepers yet?! He's been doing it for ages now!

It's the turn of the CoC (Capital One Cup - obviously) this week and two ties that look particularly tricky for  Premier League sides are Tottenham away at Carlisle on Wednesday and Everton travelling to Leeds on Tuesday. We don't promise excitement - it is the CoC - but it could be intriguing. C is heading to Loftus Road to brave the rain on Wednesday night for the R's tie against Reading, so expect another match review from that.

Enjoy the week

C&J

*Also a little quick note to cheer up our friend JJ who hasn't been too good this week. Get well soon mate!

Weekend preview: Super, Magnificent, Phenomenal, Hype Inducing Sunday Is Nearly Here...!

It's a classic Sky Sports double bill this weekend as 'Super Sunday' © ® ™ returns to our screens with two big matches between Liverpool & Man Utd and Man City & Arsenal. 

I’m sure you’re all sick of reading about it and we’re sick of saying it but here is a little note to say that we really hope that there is no offensive chanting at the Liverpool – Man Utd game at the weekend. Let’s hope that we’re talking about the football at the end of the game and not the actions of some mindless few.

Anyway on to the football…as a United fan I can’t help but be pessimistic about our chances in this match as we haven’t won at Anfield in the League at the last 4 attempts and no matter how badly Liverpool seem to be playing at the time, the game against Man Utd always seems to spur them onto a good performance. Liverpool will press the ball quickly and high up the pitch which won’t suit United especially if the likes of Carrick or Scholes are playing (can’t see Scholes playing though after 2 games already in the last week). These players prefer space and time and they won’t get it at Anfield. Liverpool’s possession game may also be tricky for United to deal with. Unlike Liverpool, the Red Devils don’t really have any ball winners in their team to upset this which could mean long periods of possession for Liverpool. The duel of Raheem Sterling against Rafael also looks like an opportunity for Liverpool, as Rafael is more known for his attacking play than defensive capabilities (this is assuming Rafael will play but with Smalling injured and Phil Jones I can’t see him going with Valencia there in this game after the Everton debacle). That said Liverpool’s possession this season has not amounted to wins largely due to the fact that their front line is not very clinical and this hasn’t changed. I can see Liverpool having more chances and it may depend on whether Suarez or Borini have put their shooting boots on or not. United will be more likely to be clinical which could give them an edge. They will need to pass the ball better in midfield than they did against Galatasaray though if they are to stand any chance of avoiding defeat. Reading an article by The Secret Footballer it seems that Brendan Rodgers may be under fire if Liverpool don’t win this game, and you have to wonder if their hunger to win the first game of the season at the expense of their bitter rivals will see them win out in the end.  All in all this is a tough one to call and I’m erring on the side of predicting a loss but then it could be a draw.

Prediction: Liverpool 2-1 Man Utd

Immediately after the Liverpool-United game is another humdinger, which obviously Sky won't hype to the hilt promising it is the most important match since one Anthony McPartlin met a certain Mr Declan Donnelly on the set of Byker Grove. I think that this one is the most interesting game this weekend to be honest. It is the acid test for just how good this Arsenal team is and maybe even can be. A lot of people are talking up Arsenal’s chances of challenging for the title this season and we will begin to get an idea of how serious we should take this talk by 6:30 on Sunday evening. I'm sorry but I don't consider that Liverpool game to have been a serious test, I'm talking top 4 really at the moment (as in Man City, Man Utd, Chelsea mainly). Arsenal have looked really good so far this season they seem more balanced and Santi Cazorla looks like an outstanding player. But the 6-1 against Southampton wasn't that impressive to me since Saints defence has been very leaky, and they scraped past a Montpellier side which is languishing in 16th place in Ligue 1 and is a shadow of the title winning side last year, which was picked apart by the vultures (such as Arsenal, taking Giroud). Therefore, this is the time when we can hopefully see if Arsenal have the ability to challenge this season. As much of a cliche it is to say it, I think this game could all hinge on the first goal. Arsenal's ability to keep clean sheets looks like it has come back again after going missing for about 7 years, so if they go in front it may well be that they will keep hold of it. But if City go in front it will be interesting to see if the fragile nature of Arsenal's confidence comes to the fore again or if that is now a thing of the past. I think Arsenal will get a lot of chances in this one. City have conceded 9 goals in 5 games in all competitions so far this season, but then they have scored 11 in 5 as well. In short, Arsenal's defence will have its biggest test to date this weekend! Overall, I can actually see both teams settling for the draw if they head into the last 20 minutes on level terms. It would be a decent result for both teams and this early in the season I think that both will go in with the objective of avoiding defeat.

Prediction: Man City 1-1 Arsenal

Leeds v Nottingham Forest - We've picked out this game as all the signs point to there being goals, goals, goals galore at Elland Road on Saturday. Last year this fixture Forest ran out winners in an amazing 3-7 match. Furthermore, in the last 3 league games between the two sides there have been over 3 goals every time. This sounds promising you say? Well to add to this excitement, there have been 16 goals in Nottingham Forest's 6 league games this season (scored 9, conceded 7), and a phenomenal 21 goals in the same amount of games for Leeds (scored 10, conceded 11). Forest are unbeaten in their last 6 games whilst Leeds have lost their last 2. But Forest have been drawing matches away from home rather than winning really. All signs point to either a high scoring draw or a Forest win essentially. Leeds are sitting in 14th in the league and were booed off against Hull in midweek, so you have to feel that if Forest can score early Leeds fans could get on their players backs and the away team could run out winners.

Prediction: Leeds 0-0 Forest...Only joking! We're going for Leeds 2-3 Forest

For QPR this weekend it's another London derby as attention turns to 'The Lane'. Spurs will want to make up for a poor run of form at home of late which has seen them find the net just twice and pick up draws against Norwich and West Brom in the league. Both the Canaries and the Baggies will have been viewed by Spurs fans as cannon fodder before their respective match ups but, encouragingly from QPR's point of view, both sides were able to provide more than a match for the home side and will have left the Lane ruing missing out on what might have been three points. Having said that, the R's will have to play arguably the paciest right hand side in the football league and one of the best left midfielders on the planet without a recognised left-back (I don't count Onuoha or Hill in spite of their apparent 'ability to play anywhere across the back line') and with just two recognised centre halves due to a spate of injuries. Still, as long as we go there and play more positively than we did in last season's trip in the first half, then we should at least see them put up a better fight than the 3-1 reverse suffered a year back. AVB will no doubt be out for revenge as it was ultimately the QPR v Chelsea fixture almost a year ago that ruined his excellent start at Chelsea manager and saw the wheels begin to fall off of what looked like it might have been a decent campaign (what a shame, eh?!). Much has been made of the fact that QPR haven't won at Tottenham for 18 years but, in their defence, they've only been there three times since, so it's hardly a surprise! Still, I'd suggest there's a strong possibility of that number becoming 19 come 6pm on Sunday...

After picking up a creditable back to back away draws at Stevenage and Carlisle, Crewe host the QPR Reserves (better known as Leyton Orient) this weekend at Gresty Road. L'Orient are on a good run themselves (although having watched their 1-0 win over Brentford last weekend, they seem to be having some good fortune along the way!) so this will be an intriguing encounter. It was pleasing to see Max Clayton pick up League One's Young Player of the Month accolade, a deserved reward for a player who has really stepped up to the plate so far this season in spite of having had the burden of filling the void left by Nick Powell departing firmly placed upon him. We can only hope that his form continues but also that this isn't a precedent for the vultures to start circling around him too.

Finally I am delighted to bring the news that on this very evening 1. FC Union Berlin claimed their first league win of the season at home to struggling 1. FC Köln, themselves also still seeking a first league win since being relegated from the top flight (they are in fact winless since 10th March!). Silvio and Tuschi (Torsten Mattuschka) scored the goals for the boys from East Berlin in a 2:1 victory. An excellent start to the weekend indeed! Here's hoping they've finally turned the corner - St Pauli away up next in the league.

C is off 'daan the Lane' on Sunday afternoon and a match report will follow along with the usual weekend roundup.

Enjoy what will arguably be the best weekend of the season yet.

C&J

Week 3 Review: Deadline Day Dust Settles

Well after the transfer deadline mayhem this was actually a pretty unremarkable week for analysis we thought, without droning on about Liverpool's travails which have been covered in far too much detail everywhere else for us to bore you with our views as well.

Aston Villa fans must be going into the international break with a newfound sense of optimism after their performance against Newcastle. After their deadline day dealings we were fearing the worst for the Villains. Their signings consisted of League One players and a 21 year old striker from the Belgian league. Villa have very little experience in their side and it says something when Stephen Ireland is one of the most senior players in your squad. The thing about young players though, as commentators love to remind us, is that they are fearless and Sunday’s result could show this. It’s about time Shay Given was dropped after his terrible Euros and start to this season, but the central defence seems too inexperienced. James Collins was sold which is strange considering Richard Dunne is still injured from the Euros. Up front, Villa look very light weight, as mentioned in previous posts, and it really does seem like they will struggle this year to score goals. But if one man can do it it’s Paul Lambert. He weaved his magic with Norwich bringing in League One players such as Elliott Bennett and Anthony Pilkington who made the step up with aplomb, and he must be hoping Jordan Bowery and Ashley Westwood do the same, and who knows maybe they will?

In the football league, Sheffield Wednesday fans finally found out that Dave Jones does not in fact walk on water and is still a horrible, bitter man and the sorest loser in football. After his first defeat as boss of Wednesday, he blamed the officials for changing the game by changing their minds about giving a penalty against his team, claiming it incensed the Crystal Palace crowd and created a feeling of injustice which spurred the Palace players on to victory! Ridiculous.

Roundup

QPR produced arguably their best half of the Premier League season away at Manchester City on Saturday evening. In spite of what the clueless Jon Champion and Chris Waddle might have made you believe, the R's did offer something to the game at the end of the first half and through most of the second half. They began playing some neat passing football after half time and were rewarded for being more daring with a goal to make it 1-1 and have City worried. Perhaps they could even have scored a second if the ball had fallen to someone other than Ryan Nelsen. Maybe City took their foot off the gas, but given how abject our football has looked this season to date, this was tons better from Rangers and gave the away support plenty of encouragement that all these signings might actually gel to form a decent team. (Note from J – as a United fan the most annoying thing of this game was that when QPR put some passing together their football was excellent, but this happened all too infrequently – one friend said to me Mark Hughes is the wrong manager for the new crop of players and I’m starting to agree).

After 2 games of this season Manchester United have already recovered more points from losing positions this season than they did throughout the whole of last season (6 v 3, thanks Opta Joe!). The signing of Robin Van Persie already looks like it is paying off and United look very confident in front of goal. He has taken no time at all to bed into the team and looks totally at home in this team, even praising Paul Scholes to the heavens yesterday. It seems like this is a match made in heaven and hopefully it will inspire Wayne Rooney and Chicharito and Welbeck to keep up with RVP as well. The defence is still looking susceptible to goals and the time may come sooner rather than later to see how Alexander Buttner can adjust to being thrown into the first team as Patrice Evra’s form continues to slip. The problem with him and Rafael as full backs is that their main strengths are both attacking rather than defending, though Rafael is improving - but he had no chance against Rickie Lambert on Sunday!

A return to winning ways for the mighty Crewe was most welcome. The Railwaymen saw off a sorry looking Coventry thanks to a scrappy looking goal from Max Clayton after he'd missed a sitter earlier in the game. Who needs Nick Powell or Ashley Westwood eh? Let’s hope the fabled academy produces someone else to step up though as there is a lot of burden on Abdul Osman and Luke Murphy at the moment!

Unfortunately, the news on Monday night wasn't quite so positive from the Alten Försterei as 1.FC Union Berlin went down 2-1 at home to city rivals Hertha BSC. Union pulled the game back to level terms but, just like the City v QPR game, parity lasted just a few minutes. On a side note, we were surprised to see that Ben Sahar has turned up at Hertha!

What we learned this week:-

-  Steven Fletcher looks like exactly what Sunderland needed and is already looking like he can justify his price tag
- As expected, Andy Carroll and West Ham looks to be a match made in heaven
- Liverpool could do with another striker before the transfer window clo-... Oh.
- The Albion continue to make a mockery of J's league prediction
- Neil Warnock and El Hadji Diouf are best friends, honest!
- Paulo Di Canio will take you off after 21 minutes if he thinks you're having a bad game, whatever position you play in, and then criticise you for reacting badly when substituted even though he demanded to be substituted in a game against Bradford City in 2000!
- Finally J got the first correct score of the season with the City v QPR result – psychic I tell you!

Week Three Preview, Just For You

Come Saturday the transfer window dust should have settled and we’ll be left with the always calm matchdays. At the time of writing this post it is Thursday evening and not all transfers will have gone through so just to put a disclaimer in and so you don’t question our sanity if we haven’t covered some big transfers you might have expected in this preview the reason is we’re coming to you from the past! In fact, we’re going to break with all expectation and won’t really be mentioning transfers that much since we’re going to cover all the major stories coming from this past ‘Deadline Day Week’ (patent pending so keep your mits off our phrase Jim White).

This weekend will obviously be interesting to see the debuts of a number of players and also the effect that big name signings have on a team. Will Tottenham players be affected by the loss of Luka Modric and the subsequent arrival of Moussa Dembele? Will West Ham’s strikers be motivated to keep their place ahead of the apparently imminent signing of Andy Carroll on loan or will it peeve some players off? These are all really interesting sideshows to the games and regardless of whether some of the bigger signings are playing I’m sure teams like Fulham and Sunderland might find their fans have been inspired by their marquee signings of Dimitar Berbatov and Adam Johnson respectively. Both of whom are really good signings for these teams I’d venture to add. But we will see anyway won’t we...

So – now to preview some of the weekend’s action:

WBA v Everton - Saturday afternoon sees two of the season’s surprise packages so far meeting at the Hawthorns. Before you cry out Everton fans I mean it’s a surprise you’ve started so well (I don’t know if you knew this but you haven’t really started the season well in most of David Moyes’ reign) not that your squad is excellent – we already knew that. West Brom have also started a lot better than anyone could have predicted other than Frank Skinner and Adrian Chiles. Last weekend’s last gasp draw at White Hart Lane was a terrific result for the Baggies and Romelu Lukaku looks like a really good loan signing. He has come on as an impact sub for both his games so far granted, but he really does look a handful. He has got Drogba-like presence up front and is a man mountain but he has a really good turn of pace. I was surprised Chelsea didn’t keep him actually to provide an alternative to Torres but their loss is West Brom’s gain. Everton played excellent football against Aston Villa and up front they look really dangerous. It’s hard to see past the Toffees for this one, but I have a strange feeling the Baggies might nick a draw again, keeping both sides undefeated.

Prediction: WBA 1-1 Everton

Man City v QPR – Saturday evening sees the return of the game which probably everyone outside of the red half of Manchester (including me) saw as one of the best of all time from May last year (anytime I hear “AGUEROOOOO” I still feel queasy). Citeh’s defence has actually looked unstable this season, in stark contrast to last year. I am a bit sceptical about Mancini’s lineup on Sunday at Anfield though and to be honest I think the inclusion of Kolo the Klown over Joleon Lescott had to be a gesture to Brian Marwood to show him just how thin City’s defence is and their need for another CB to fill the gap if either Kompany or Lescott get injured. It seems Mancini’s got his wish this week with Matija Nastasic close to signing from Fiorentina with the added bonus of Stefan Savic going in the opposite direction to boot! They’ve also added Scott Sinclair to effectively replace Adam Johnson on the bench as well so his pockets will be happy at least even if there doesn’t appear to be any other reason for that move. QPR have been incredibly active in the transfer window this summer and this week is no different, with Julio Cesar arriving from Internazionale so far. This is a really astounding move considering Cesar was a Champions League winner just over 2 years ago whilst Rangers were in the Championship. Granted Cesar’s form has dipped since then but he is a very good goalkeeper and was Inter’s number one just last season. Goodness knows what was going through Rob Green’s head when Cesar was signed though and it’s difficult to imagine Green will be the first choice for much longer at all. Unfortunately for C though I think Rangers squad still needs to gel and I can only see a routine win for Citeh here even though it pains me.

Prediction: Citeh 3-1 QPR

Liverpool v Arsenal – This looks like being the stand out game of the weekend and it is a meeting between two sides who could really do with a morale boosting victory to really get their season going. Last week’s draw against the champions was much needed for Liverpool and they looked like a side beginning to get to grips with Brendan Rodgers’ style and the result will help their belief and inspire them to integrate more fully into the system. Raheem Sterling looked really bright against Citeh and his emergence should see him ahead of Stewart Downing in the pecking order for a long time to come in theory. The arrival of Nuri Sahin is actually quite interesting since Joe Allen produced a man of the match performance and Jonjo Shelvey performed really well for a man thrown into the deep end and having to come on for the injured (and unlucky) Lucas after 5 minutes. It will be interesting to see if Rodgers plumps for Sahin ahead of Shelvey (I can’t believe he’d drop Allen after last week) or sticks with the same midfield that kept Citeh to such a bare minimum of chances really. Likewise it’ll be interesting to see how Arsenal do this week. 0 goals scored and 0 goals conceded is hardly the start Arsene will have dreamed of, but the fact is they haven’t conceded and they have played against 2 teams who have effectively parked the bus against them. In this game it really doesn’t seem like Liverpool will do that and that could be to Arsenal’s advantage. Is this the game that Giroud or Podolski or Cazorla finally click? I think it could be and I’m sticking my neck out to say I can see another score draw here.

Prediction: Liverpool 2-2 Arsenal

Elsewhere this weekend, Man Utd take on Southampton at what should actually be a packed St Mary’s this time (as opposed to my very wrong prediction about this last week). Crewe take on a Coventry team in disarray after manager Andy Thorn was sacked this week, and they will be hoping that there is a delayed reaction to this.

Finally, it’s a massive game for Union Berlin on Monday night as they host their city rivals Hertha BSC in what will be an electric atmosphere at the Alten Forsterei!

Enjoy the weekend and deadline day everyone!

C&J