Insidefootball.net - The Premierleague Blog Insidefootball.net - The Premierleague Blog new blog for all 20 Premierleague clubs. The latest news in one place from the club fans blog sites. Articles
Carlton Cole for England, Anyone?
2008-01-22 16:30:00 A reader emailed me this morning to tell me of several of her friends who believe Carlton Cole might be a surprise inclusion in Fabio Capello’s first England squad, which will be announced next week, I think. I have to say I will believe it when I see it, but you have to say that it ... More About: West Ham
The Mail gets into a tangle ahead of the Carling Cup
2008-01-22 12:32:00 We all know journalists are specialists at taking a quote and then creating a story out of it, generally missing the whole point (perhaps deliberately). But sometimes, the contradictions are just too blatent. Check out the Mail 's preview of the Arsenal -Spurs tie: The bad news for the Tottenham skipper is that Arsene Wenger is set to abandon his policy of fielding his reserves and play a near full-strength team in tonight's Carling Cup semi-final second leg at White Hart Lane. Really? That would be against everything Wenger's said, so I wonder if they've got any quotes to back that up? Scroll down a little, and you find Wenger's comments: "I will rotate the squad which means those that didn't play on Saturday will play at Tottenham. I will put the younger players out and have experienced ones on the bench because the squad has been reduced. On the bench you might find a high number of Premier League players." So not a 'near full-strength team' at all, then. Glad we've clea... More About: Ahead
Spurs preview - Gallas to lead depleted kids out
2008-01-22 12:24:00 So here we are again - for the fourth time this season, Arsenal and Spurs will square off against each other, with the familiar build up focusing on our impressive record against the old enemy over the years. Tonight is something different though, because Spurs go into the second leg of the Carling Cup semi as favourites, based on both the first leg draw, and the confirmation that Wenger will, for the most part, stick to the same youngsters that have brought us this far. There are exceptions - with Toure in Ghana, Djourou already out, and now Senderos injured, Gallas steps in as the only remaining centre back, to partnered by one of Hoyte or Sagna, probably the former. With Song also at the African Cup of Nations, and Diarra now departed, there are a couple of spaces for more experienced players, and Wenger has suggested that he'll line the bench with game changing options, not a bad plan given that he may not field the first choice eleven in the FA Cup this weekend either. I have ... More About: Kids , Preview , Lead
What?s Better? The Fancy Save or Technical Perfection?
2008-01-22 12:00:00 To pull off the fanciest save of your life, or not...that my friends is the question. Although I may sound positively Shakespearean, the statement opens up a can of worms about whether the best goalkeepers in the world should be acrobatic dynamos or stoic walls of steel. The question above was formulated by Frenchie (aka Sam), who IM'd me the other day to ask me whether it is better to make a deft defying save, or focus on proper technique and just keep the ball out of the net?Frenchie was at a party and met an eccentric old guy who said that goalkeepers nowadays all go for the technically perfect save. What he meant by this is that goalkeepers use footwork, get into position and take an easy catch to get the job done.The crazy old guy rattled on and came up with a dashing philosophy claiming that people are forgetting that soccer is all about entertainment, and goalkeepers should, for the best part, be good at entertaining the masses (... More About: Technical , Save , Perfection , Technic , Fancy
Is it just me that thinks Hicks and Gillett have got a point?
2008-01-22 11:37:00 Liverpool's fans are on the warpath again, and their anger is directed firmly towards the club's owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett , while their support for Rafa Benitez remains firm. Can I just ask one simple question - why? Yes, Benitez has won the Champions League, and yes, he clearly understands cup competitions, of the European variety particularly. But he doesn't understand the Premiership, and he's in his fifth season in England now. Liverpool are not progressing, in fact they are back to where they began under him - hoping for European success to distract them from a battle with Everton for fourth place. Financially, he has been well backed - although his sales raised some money in the summer, he splashed out an absolute fortune on new players, notably Torres (costing more than twice as much as anyone in Arsenal 's squad). Following that, he then claims he isn't being backed in the market. Really? He made a similar complaint last season, after he'd seen his youn... More About: Point
A quotetastic Arsenal-Tottenham preview
2008-01-22 09:05:00 I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the internet can be a frustrating thing. For no particular reason my connection has been playing up for the past few days and that of course lead to a lack of posts since the Fulham win. It’s a shame too, considering how much fun that game ... More About: Arsenal , Preview , Tottenham
Bagels? Own Stuff
2008-01-22 07:56:00 Every now and then a game comes along that makes you feel likes it’s your first time at the Lane all over again. Tonight will be one of those games. There’s always a certain awareness in the back of one’s mind when a North London Derby is coming up. Away from home it’s often more a sense of dread but at home there’s the hope, the excitement, the knowledge that we can beat anyone on our day, the chance that today might be the day we put right what has been wrong for oh so many years now and we know how just how good it feels to do that. It took a week to come down from the high I felt when we finally put the Chelsea hoodoo to rest; the narrow lead, the cripplingly tense second half and our rejoicing at the final whistle as I watched the fireworks in the sky above WHL blur in my tear soaked eyes. I’ll never forget it. I’ve never seen Tottenham beat arsenal, not live, not there in the crowd and in a way I was glad I didn’t break that duc... More About: Stuff
Mellberg to sign with Juve and Moore off to Glasgow
2008-01-22 05:45:00 Add Gary Cahill to the list of players leaving (http://www.avfcblog.com/content/view/217 7/70/) and for all the talk of Martin O'Neill as an excellent man manager someone will soon start to question why so many people want off. It won't be me, I'm just saying someone will. Anyway, reports in Italy today are suggesting that Mellberg is about to sign a pre-contract deal to join the Italian giants in July and we've now got confirmation that Luke Moore also wants out. More About: Aston Villa , Glasgow , Sign , Juve
the new old arsenal are back, young ‘cup’ guns, and destination
2008-01-22 05:01:00 A late posting on the Fulham game at the weekend, a look forward to our Young Guns ' Carling Cup semi-final game against Tottenham's first team, and a group of players (non-Arsenal ) being worked to the bone. Rather than a full match report of the Fulham game, I will bow to more detailed treatises elsewhere, and limit my comments on the game to a few words. A solid result against Fulham was always a minimum requirement if both players and fans were to rejuvenate the belief that this team has title winning credentials. And a solid result it was, with two goals... More About: Back , Destination
Wenger Puts Gallas on the Line as Spurs say all the right thingsā¦
2008-01-22 04:59:00 With a side shorn of Phillipe Senderos (broken nose), Johann Djourou (strain) and Alex Song and Kolo Toure (AfCon), Arsene Wenger has been left with no choice but to play his captain, William Gallas , in tonight’s Carling Cup Semi Final first leg against Tottenham Hotspur. The lack of defensive cover means Justin Hoyte and/or Gilberto Silva ... More About: Spurs , Line , Alla
Aston Villa held to draw at Anfield
2008-01-21 16:05:00 We should have had three points tonight and I'm actually quite disappointed we didn't but I'm not disappointed at the display and I'm actually quite happy. I'm so happy in fact that I'm not going to spend the next thirty minutes writing down my views, instead I'm going to have another drink and do it tomorrow instead. More About: Aston Villa , Draw , Anfield , Villa , Aston
10 Reasons why Spurs do not deserve to even play against Arsenal
2008-01-21 11:44:00 It’s hot in this part of the world - and it has been for quite a long, dreary stretch of time. The kind of hot that puts you in the right kind of bad mood for a good old fashioned rant, Third-Gen style. More About: Arsenal , Play , Spurs , Reasons , Serve
Ridgewell getting ready for the Championship, Cahill shouldn?t be allowed t
2008-01-21 05:04:00 I liked and actually still like Liam Ridgewell. I think the lad has bags of potential and he's very close to becoming an excellent central defender, but he shouldn't be talking about former team mates joining him at Birmingham City in the press (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/ar ticles/sport/football.html?in_article_id= 509488&in_page_id=1779&ct=5). Playing Champ ionship football next season is punishment enough for Ridgewell but he'll rightly get some stick when he comes to Villa Park. However, Gary Cahill is too good for Championship football and he really shouldn't be leaving us yet. More About: Aston Villa , Ready , Allo
Return to form as Adebayor proves the doubters wrong
2008-01-20 22:50:00 Fulham 0 Arsenal 3 (Adebayor 19, 38, Rosicky 81) It is strange to think Emmanuel Adebayor is still not considered worthy of Arsenal by some of the club's own fans. Top scorer for the season, by some distance, his goals are generally match winners, and have papered over the cracks blown wide open by Henry's departure and Van Persie's continual injuries. You only need to witness the ineptitude of Aliadiere at Boro yesterday to understand how preferable it is to have someone of Ade's ability up front as opposed to the impotent threat we carried at the back end of last season. Yesterday, nothing less than a win would do, and after a shaky start where the passing went a little astray as it has in recent weeks, we took the lead. Rather than passing through the centre, it was an old fashioned goal, with Clichy overlapping on the left before swinging in a tremendous cross for Adebayor to head into the corner. It was a smart tactical ploy - with Fulham lacking height in the centre, Adeba... More About: Return , Wrong , Form
Manchester City: Let?s Look at the Positives
2008-01-20 20:22:00 A More About: Manchester , Manchester City , City , Chester
Last minute glory!! Reading 0-2 Manchester United
2008-01-20 12:11:00 After that Six goal slaughter to the bar codes i was hoping that Reading was to deserve the same.I wasn’t too sure for that to be same with Reading but i wanted to.Reading has matured under a premiership team under Steve Copell and doesn’t look a team for granted. Well they proved themselves right after United ... More About: Manchester United , Manchester , Minute
Hleb Elemental as Adebayor Continues to Hurt His Doubters
2008-01-20 11:43:00 Fans have called for a dominating performance from Arsenal for a long time, now. The scrutinizing fans go as far to pinpoint the first half against Aston Villa as the last time they saw a comprehensive Arsenal performance - and while yesterday’s match against Fulham might not have taken the breath away as much as ... More About: Hurt
Villa’s Greatest Heroes: Peter McParland
2008-01-20 08:36:00 Billy Wright and Duncan Edwards were two of the greatest footballers ever to play for England. That they were once both left on their backsides during one run from a Northern Irish winger seems barely credible. More About: Heroes , Peter , Villa , Greatest
It’s Not Always About Goalkeeping…
2008-01-20 04:50:00 Readers send me emails every couple of weeks about how to make it into the big leagues, or how I can help them get into a club. It's funny sometimes when you read articles about football players and how their focus on football is the be all, end all of their existence. It isn't, (or at least it shouldn't be). Everything we do as footballers is a conduit for every other facet in our lives, a springboard into something outside of just football alone. We all hold passions outside of football, mine has always been writing, technology and running an online business...thus this blog. Some goalkeepers, like Wigan's Chris Kirkland for example has had a strong passion to become a firefighter his whole life. Sounds funny right? Oh, he/she doesn't need the money, we say, why would they work a "regular" 9 to 5er when they can easily retire from football. But have you thought that maybe outside of your goal area, there are many other things to th...
was this alex ferguson’s rude gesture towards the reading bench/fans?
2008-01-20 03:06:00 This is just a quick post on a most bizaare thing. I've just seen this weeks Match Of The Day from the BBC, and caught what I thought to be a very rude gesture from Alex Ferguson towards what looked like either the Reading bench or fans, just after the second goal went in. Is Fergie beginning to crack under some kind of, as yet undefined pressure? I searched high and low on t'internet, and the only reference I could find regarding this was on ... More About: Fans , Alex Ferguson
Walcott the Kid and van Persie?s Kid Gloves
2008-01-19 10:39:00 Gearing up to our away-clash to Fulham today, Arsene Wenger goes on a bit of a tirade directed at his own decisions, and a certain Englishman for the future… Arsene Wenger has said that he is not too chuffed with the progress made by young Theo Walcott so far in his fledgling career. In his two-ish ... More About: Arsenal , Gloves
No move for Jermain Defoe and the punt
2008-01-19 04:38:00 Jermain Defoe isn't coming to Aston Villa . Well, that's the impression I've got from the comments made by Martin O'Neill recently. It's a pity Defoe wasn't at Bodymoor having a look around and it's a pity that terms were not discussed, but I suppose Martin O'Neill can't say those things happened otherwise we'd see Spurs telling their supporters that Aston Villa have permission to talk to the player. More About: Move , Punt
Wenger: ?Diarra panicked?
2008-01-18 11:10:00 I was just on Arsenal TV Online and saw the first interview given by Arsene Wenger since Lassana Diarra’s exit to Portsmouth. While I can’t really list it all word for word (that would take me hours to write down!) I thought I’d post the crux of the interview for everyone to read. The interview began ...
Laugh? I Nearly Wet Myself
2008-01-18 09:38:00 According to the Mirror, Celtic are to bid £4 million for Mark Noble. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ... More About: West Ham , Laugh
Diarra is a fool + Arsenal-Fulham preview
2008-01-18 08:38:00 Yesterday it was made official that Lassana Diarra had left Arsenal for Portsmouth for a figure reported to be around £5.5 million. The reason for the Frenchman leaving was of course his need to play first-team football, something that he couldn’t find at Arsenal with Cesc Fabregas and Mathieu Flamini asserting themselves as the chosen ... More About: Preview , Fool , Fulham
diarra: ?when i leave portsmouth?
2008-01-18 08:22:00 I really didn't think I'd be writing anymore on this issue, however needs must. It would appear that the (cough) midfield maestro extraordinaire that is Diarra, is already talking about life after Portsmouth , with the ink from his pen on the contract hardly dry. It looked to me as though the lady newscaster on Setanta Sports News who read the report just about kept her laughter under control, such was the ridiculous nature of the story she had before her. The news report, also quoted in The Guardian, had Diarra... More About: Arsenal , Leave
Poll Results: Majority want Cahill to stay at Aston Villa
More articles from this author:2008-01-18 06:51:00 We don't always publish the results of polls we run but sometimes we need to. In this particular one, I said I would yesterday. The poll was created on the back of the story that Birmingham City wanted Gary Cahill and the results are as expected (http://www.avfcblog.com/component/option ,com_poll/task,results/id,134/). More About: Aston Villa , Results , Poll , Stay , Villa 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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