Premier League Preview - Fixture Madness! (Part One)

Sunday sees the rest of the dogfighters battling for points. Hull are in search of only their 2nd win in 17 matches and they welcome an equally poor Blackburn side to the KC in the early kick off for a massive 6 pointer. Their FA Cup fixtures from this week could have an impact on this one (with regards to either confidence or fatigue) but in reality it will all depend on which side will decide to put away their chances. Footie Frog is betting Blackburn will pile the misery on Hull. 

There should be another away win as Newcastle travel to Bolton with Smith, Martins and Viduka all back, but an under-fire Megson could prove his critics wrong – depending on which Bolton side turns up. The Trotters could out-fight the still-somewhat-depleted Toon in the midfield, but Footie Frog feels that because Newcastle need the points more, an away win is on the cards. 

Premier League Preview - Fixture Madness! (Part One)

The other 2 matches on Sunday look like relatively simple predictions. 

Aston Villa look far too strong on paper for a struggling Stoke side yet to win away from home this term. They rested almost all their key players against CSKA Moscow in midweek, and though Stoke’s Fuller could play some part after recovering from injury, they are without Etherington and Delap, both of whom are suspended.

West Ham, meanwhile, welcome Man City to Upton Park for a match to prove once and for all who is the best of the most inconsistent sides in the Prem. At first glance, West Ham look the least likely to win after losing to Bolton last weekend and after Carlton Cole has recently proved the media wrong ( yes he is rubbish, after all!) However, everyone knows that Man City cannot win away from home - having done it just once this season - and though they flattered to deceive at Anfield last weekend, Footie Frog hopes that their supporters weren’t taken in. Another draw that the Citizens should win. Back Bellamy to score against his old club.

Premier League Preview - Fixture Madness! (Part One)

Footie Frog will forgive you if you have looked at the next week of Premier League fixtures and had a small jump of joy… he is still hopping with happiness at the insanely hectic fixture list, which sees eight matches played this weekend and a full programme over Tuesday and Wednesday. Yes that means a midweek ‘Match of the Day’ (fingers crossed for Gary and Alan^2, and not the stand-in bunch of comedians, Messrs Chiles, Peacock and Dixon!!)

 Saturday is essentially a day for Manchester United to see how dirty their coat-tails will get. Will Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal continue to hold on to them, dragging them through the mud or will they finally just admit that none of them stands a chance this season, and let go entirely? In matches against Wigan, Middlesbrough and Fulham respectively there lies no stern test, except perhaps a buzz of confidence for the latter two after their FA Cup victories this week. All three sides have been poor in the league of late though, and Footie Frog expects wins for all the title-chasing pack (although given Arsenal’s recent attacking prowess, breaking down a –presumably- nine man Fulham defence at the Emirates could prove trickier than it seems!)

The not-so-interesting game on Saturday sees the coming together of two sides that have very little to offer creatively. West Brom travel to Merseyside to take on Everton and they are in desperate need of some points to keep them in touch of the rest of the bottom half of the table. Everton have performed brilliantly so far this season, but after learning that Mikel Arteta will be out for the rest of the season, injury problems could take their toll. Low score draw.

Footie Frog's 'Tadpoles to Watch'™

This is a new feature on the Footie Frog website, and is basically a way to show all of you that cannot get to see the major European leagues both what you are missing out on, and also what major young talent could be coming soon to a Premier League club near you.

This feature will be updated weekly (usually on Wednesdays) and will (for the time being at least) be categorised by position, starting from the back and working up to the strikers until a squad of 23 ‘Tadpoles’ has been selected.

There are a few rules of qualification for this feature –

      1.  Footie Frog must have watched them play

      2.  They must be 21 or younger

      3.  They must be playing in Europe (anywhere but the Prem!)

      4.   Ridiculously obvious choices will be overlooked

      5.   (and most importantly) THEY MUST BE GREAT!!

 

Starting with the three Goalkeepers then, Footie Frog’s first selection is…

 

SERGIO ASENJO

FactFile:           

Full Name:                Sergio Asenjo Andres

Date of Birth:           June 28, 1989 (age 19)

Height:                     6ft 2in

Club:                        Real Valladolid

Position:                  Goalkeeper

 

Overview:

One of the players that Footie Frog is most excited about in Spain at the moment, Sergio Asenjo seems destined to be the next big thing in Spanish goalkeeping. After his fine debut against Villarreal last season (making him the youngest keeper in La Liga) Asenjo quickly established himself as undisputed first choice at Valladolid, going on to make 24 starts in an impressive debut campaign. This season he has continued where he left off, with some outstanding displays attracting the attention of many major European clubs, with Barcelona and Valencia both reported to be ‘extremely interested’ in the young stopper. Footie Frog wouldn’t be surprised if Asenjo is snapped up at the end of the season – both of these clubs have goalkeeping issues currently; Valencia basically without one, and Victor Valdes somewhat out of favour with the Blaugrana faithful.

Asenjo is agile, has terrific reflexes, a safe pair of hands and he demonstrated a knack for penalty saving in the semi-finals of the European U19 Championship in 2007. A great capture for any club, and with a reported €6m buy-out clause he would be a wonderful investment.

 

Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered is Becks…

(Below) OK, strictly speaking Becks isn't anything to do with the Premier League anymore, but Footie Frog has him in his heart - and let's be honest, the man's a Prem Legend!!

11. 108. 17. 125. 32. 2010.
These six numbers sum up the twilight years of one man’s dazzling career.

February 11th of this year saw a remarkable achievement made in the international colours. No, not the switching of England players with talentless body doubles (still to be investigated) but I am of course, talking about David Beckham’s equalling of the record of 108 outfield caps for England, a milestone set by the great Bobby Moore.

Now let’s be honest, Goldenballs has his fair share of critics. Many esteemed football journalists were sharpening the nibs on their Parker pens as kick-off approached, almost slavering at the prospect of Beckham’s gala going wrong. And, continuing with this trend of honesty, it is difficult for me (a self-proclaimed fan of DB) to say that his substitute appearance against the reigning European champions was anything other than average.

However, the man’s achievement for his country cannot be ignored. David seemed delighted, surprised, and even a little bewildered after the match, saying ‘I never thought I would make 96 or 97, so to be on 108 now is something very special to me.’

To have bounced back from the vilification and abuse he suffered after France ’98 and reach this feat is incredible, because people love to knock David Beckham. Even after his record equalling match against Spain, plenty of people proceeded to point out his other record - a 17th yellow card in the international shirt.

But this 'bouncebackability' (™Soccer AM!!) is a testament to the drive the man has to succeed with his country. He has unfinished business, and it has nothing to do with Peter Shilton’s all-time England record of 125 caps.

Something has been bothering David for some time now.
Something he nearly gave up by moving to America, but is now back in his sights thanks to his recent Italian adventure.
Something his recent performances in the (probably trademarked) number 32 shirt of A.C. Milan have made a real possibility.
Something golden.
Something bewitching…

…and personally I would love to see Beckham gunning for the Jules Rimet one last time. Bring on Becks’ African Adventure 2010! ™

Premier League Preview – Clash of the *ahem* 'Titans'

Two massive matches take place this afternoon, with everyone desperate for the three points that will keep them in touch...either of the top spot... or just the safety of mid-table.

For Newcastle and Sunderland at St. James’ Park, this match means even more than local pride and bragging rights usually at stake in the Tyne Wear derby. Both sides are close to the bottom of the table, Newcastle perilously so, and a win would bring a little relief with teams like Stoke and Bolton picking up 3 points yesterday.

A match that is usually so important to both sets of supporters anyway is likely to have an added edge come 1-30, and Footie Frog expects cards to be flying. Sunderland’s Ricky Sbragia has a near full-strength team to pick from, only missing Tainio and McShane after midweek injuries, but Joe Kinnear’s injury woes in his time at the Toon are piling up. After Joey Barton was ruled out for 6 weeks, and Owen for 4, the already depleted Magpies eleven could be a mish-mash of players this afternoon.

New signings Lovenkrands and Nolan could feature heavily, with the former making his first start and the latter making his Newcastle debut, but whether this small amount of rejuvenation will be able to lift a Newcastle team out of form, out of sorts, and out of strikers is doubtful. Footie Frog is plumping for an away win, and more desperation on Tyneside.

The late kick-off today is a huge match in regards to the title race. Chelsea travel up to Anfield to take on a Liverpool side with whom they are level on 48 points, 5 behind an impressive Manchester United who are sitting high and sitting pretty. Chelsea have a terrible record against the ‘big 4’ this season, having lost their 3 matches against them so far this season, but at least their recent form has seen victories, unlike today’s opponents, who are yet to record a victory this year.

Both attacks are full-strength with Torres and Gerrard fit for the Reds and Lampard and Anelka fit for the Blues, but both have also been somewhat off-form in 2009. Liverpool have looked dire in attack recently, and Torres in particular needs to get his shooting boots back on; his touch and finishing looking weak of late. With him not firing, the Reds side have been exposed for their over-reliance on Stevie G and actually their seeming lack of quality elsewhere in the side. Chelsea have been the same throughout the whole of this season thus far – they have looked unsettled as a team, and while Anelka steered them through the first half of the season, he too was unsettled when Scolari through Drogba straight back into the team when he recovered from injury.

Anelka has not looked the same since and Footie Frog thinks that this match could be (as ever) dominated by the defences. If the lack of confidence from which both clubs have obviously been suffering in 2009 takes control of this game, we could be in for an exciting game on the large, unforgiving Anfield pitch. I reckon that whoever makes the first mistake today will be the ones in trouble, but I can see Liverpool getting themselves back on track this afternoon. Home win. Just.