Hi and hello football fans, it's your old pal Roko The Football Guy, whats going down? I hope all is well wherever you are! It's been a tough weekend here at Football Guy Towers, I watched Arsenal get turned over again by a better team, I spent all my money on booze and that which I didn't spend on alcohol was lost on The Super Bowl......... I didn't get out of bed yesterday I think you can understand why.

The Football Guy Prediction League

The scoring system is simple -

Perfect Result = 30pts

Correct Result = 10pts

Wrong Result = -10pts

Here's a look at how everyone did this week -

                          PR       CR      WR      PTS

Football Guy       1          5         4        40

SportBoys           1          4         5        20 

FootyDoc            1          3         6         0 

Lawro                 1          3         6         0

Jamrock             0          2         8       -60

Here's the complete table -

                        PR       CR      WR      PTS

FootyDoc         31        91      102      810

Jamrock          30        85      110      650  

Lawro              28        88      109      630

Football Guy   18        99       108      450     

SportBoys       20        89       115      330

So the FootyDoc extends his lead at the top without himself having a good week. Jamrock slips back to just 20pts above Lawro and The Football Guy and The Sportboys bringing up the rear, although slightly nearer than before.

Fulham v Burnley

I thought both these teams were lucky on Saturday to come away from their respective games with the results they did, but as Michael Ballack pointed out this weekend, Football's not about how well you played but getting the result and neither of these two failed in that respect.

This game on paper looks pretty easy to predict, Burnley have picked up just one point all season away from home so I think I'm gonna have to back Fulham, just by how much?

Football Guy's verdict 1-0

Manchester City v Bolton

From a fantasy football standpoint this is a very good week to have City players in your team as they play twice this game week. I so far have Carlos Tevez in there but for the life of me don't know who else from that team is worth it? Answers please!

Let's not forget that Bolton also play twice this gameweek but considering they are away from home in both I'd not go crazy on their players, although if you want a cheep player or two from the trotters look to further than Lee and Cohen in their midfield, both are under £5.5m (I think Cohen is under £5) and could be worth it.

Football Guy's verdict 2-0

Portsmouth v Sunderland

I seem to have put a lot of faith in Sunderland of late to snap out of their bad run, well no more! I don't care they are playing Pompey, until they actually win a game I won't be predicting a win either.

But boy is it tempting to go with a Sunderland win here, I mean it's Portsmouth for God's sake!!!!

Arrgh screw it, draw it is.

Football Guy's verdict 1-1

Wigan v Stoke

Stoke have played pretty well, and by that I mean they've got good results, Stoke never play pretty well. But the Potters still can't win away from home. Wigan on the other hand have actually played quite well for the most part of late but can't seem to win for love nor money. 

Basically I feel I've done enough to talk myself in to a draw here and I don't think I'll regret it.

Football Guy's verdict 1-1

Arsenal v Liverpool

I know I've not got a lot to back this opinion up with but I'm pretty confident of an Arsenal victory Wednesday night. I know on paper it looks as though Liverpool are the better team right now (form-wise) but for me they have not played all that well in any of their recent victories and let's face it, Arsenal are due a goal or two and a performance or two from certain players. Plus Andrei Arshavin must be really excited as he gets to play against Liverpool and we all know that Arshavin is Liverpool Kryptonite, like a tiny white Drogba for Arsenal.

Football Guy's verdict 2-1

Aston Villa v Manchester United

Aston Villa are sooooo negative it's unbelievably. I don't think you can play as defensive as they do as often as they do and expect to finish in the top four and rightly so.

OK I know their negative play has lead to wins over United and Chelsea (something Arsenal would probably kill for right now) but it's the dropped points elsewhere due to their negativity that will cost them.

United I'm sure will be looking to keep their momentum chugging along and will no doubt be looking for some revenge after Villa beat them at Old Trafford a few months ago.

Football Guy's verdict 0-1

Blackburn v Hull

Tough beating to take for Rovers at the weekend at the hand of Stoke, how they bounce back will be important because despite being quite a healthy seven points above the drop zone most of the teams below them have a game or two in hand and it would not take all that bad of a run to get them dragged back in to the dog fight.

This from a betting standpoint is a clear STAY AWAY FROM HULL MATCH. On paper Hull look like a good bet as they have picked up four points from Chelsea and City whilst Blackburn got a beating from Stoke, but how many times this season have we seen unfancied teams pick up good results against the big boys only to come crashing back down to earth the following week?

Football Guy's verdict 2-1

Everton v Cheslea

For some reason Lawro does not have the pic of both teams badges on his predictions page which means I can't steal it....... Boo him!

One thing I'll promise you, it's not going to be a repeat of the 3-3 at Stamford Bridge a couple of months back although I do quite fancy the draw. Don't know why but I just do!

Football Guy's verdict 1-1

West Ham v Birmingham

Weird thing this weekend, both these two were on the opposite ends of the same scoreline 2-1 and both of them deserved what the other one got.

The Football Gods will make sure everything is payed back in this one.

Football Guy's verdict 2-1

Wolves v Tottenham

Basically Spurs fans, if you don't beat Wolves on Wednesday it will mean you failed to beat them home and away (losing at home) and I think as a rule you should be banned form competing in Europe as that would be a disgrace.

Come on Spurs, don't be a disgrace, don't help Big Mick keep his job........ Actually fuck it, lose!

They won't lose though will they?

Football Guy's verdict 1-2

The Rest

Right, first off here are the Footy Doc's predictions -

Man City 2v0 Bolton

Portsmouth 2v1 Sunderland

Wigan 2v0 Stoke City

Fulham 2v0 Burnley

Arsenal 1v1 Liverpool

Aston Villa 1v0 Man Utd

West Ham 1v0 Birmingham

Wolves 1v2 Tottenham

Blackburn 0v1 Hull City

Everton 1v2 Chelsea

Next up we have JamrockRover -

Man City 3 - 0 Bolton 
Portsmouth 1 - 1 Sunderland
Wigan 1 - 0 Stoke City
Fulham 2 - 0 Burnley
Arsenal 2 - 1 Liverpool
Aston Villa 1 - 1 Man Utd
West Ham 1 - 2 Birmingham

Wolves 0 - 1 Tottenham
Blackburn 3 - 1 Hull City
Everton 1 - 2 Chelsea

And finally,  the SportBoys - 

Man City 2 v 1 Bolton

Portsmouth 1 v 2 Sunderland

Wigan 2 v 1 Stoke

Fulham 1 v 0 Burnley

Arsenal 2 v 1 Liverpool

Villa 1 v 1 United

West Ham 2 v 1 Birmingham

Wolves 1 v 3 Spurs

Blackburn 2 v 2 Hull

Everton 1 v 2 Chelsea 

Oh and let's not forget Lawro! -

The End

Take care,

Football Guy

Hi and hello football fans, you know who I am and I know I'm in a hurry so let's get straight in to the predictions -

Liverpool v Everton

Both these two teams have been playing rather well of late, unfortunately for one of them that run is going to come to an end me-thinks and considering Everton last won at Anfield back in 1999 I doubt that run will be Liverpool's.

This fixture it also seems produces the most Red Cards of any Premier League match-up so look out for that when deciding who your Captain in Fantasy is going to be this week........ I doubt anyone will be picking a Liverpool or Everton player this week but you never know!

Football Guy's verdict 2-1

Bolton v Fulham

On finding out this week that Andy Johnson was out for the season here was Roy Hodgeson's reaction -

"One of the reasons why we let Diomansy go was because we didn't think the problem with Andy was anywhere near as grave"

"Of course, now I have let him go and have further news about Andy, I might be beginning to regret it but you can only make decisions at the time."

What do you mean "We didn't think the problem with Andy was anywhere near as grave?" It's Andy Johnson for God's sake. He's injured so often I'm surprised Arsene Wenger has not tried to buy him!

Anyway, with that kind of karma lingering around your club this week I'm afraid I can't see Fulham improving on their already awful away record.

Football Guy's verdict 1-0

Burnley v West Ham

This has become quite an interesting fixture, a true six pointer...... Well as much of a six pointer as you can have in early February..... After last weekends narrow loss to Chelsea will that signal a return for Burnley to their early season home form?

Earlier in the season, the Clarets could rely on their form at Turf Moor but, having won five of their first six home games, they have failed to win any of the subsequent five and now languish in the relegation zone.

I'd say this is a bigger game for West Ham as I think Burnley will go down anyway, it's picking up points like these away from home that will keep the Hammers up!

Football Guy's verdict 1-1

Hull v Manchester City

I know quite a few Carlos Tevez fantasy owners who felt very let down by the ugly ones measly 3pts haul from Pompey at home, I know I did and I think Carlos, being the nice guy that he is is going to pay us all back this week with a goal and an assist to boot!

Hull won't make life easy for City though but with Liverpool playing Everton and Spurs playing Villa City must make the most of this excellent chance to further strengthen their case for fourth place.

Football Guy's verdict 1-2

Manchester United v Portsmouth

Had I Dider Drogba in my fantasy team I would no doubt go with him as Captain this week as he is going to beat on Arsenal like he usually does, but since I already have three Chelsea players none of whom are called Didier I'm going to go with the next best thing and that my friends as you may have guessed is the Pig-Man himself, Wayne Rooney!

United should be still on a high after raping Arsenal last weekend and should win this comfortably...... Watch out for 1-0 now!

Football Guy's verdict 3-0

Stoke v Blackburn

Seriously, the Sunderland Stoke game last Monday was the worst game I've ever seen in the Premier League and I'm not blaming Sunderland for it!

I've seen some ugly football teams in my time but this Stoke side take the biscuit. I don't think they strung together three consecutive passes the whole match without hoofing it forward.

I wish for the life of me they would go down as I can't stand having this disgrace to the beautiful game in the top flight of the best league in the world but unfortunately I'm going to have to put up with them for the foreseeable future....... Cunts.

Football Guy's verdict 1-0

Sunderland v Wigan

Can either of these two teams win? Sunderland have picked up just four points from their last 10 league games whilst Wigan have only one win in their last eight........ Go for a draw right?

Well I'm prepared to give Sunderland another shot at winning at home and after all, Wigan just lost to Notts County..... How poo is that?

Come on D-Bent, bring home the bacon.

Football Guy's verdict 2-1

Tottenham v Aston Villa

I think the first goal will be crucial in this game, especially if Spurs get it as it will force Villa to push forward and chase the game, something thy are not ideally built for.

Spurs drew earlier in the season at Villa park despite going a goal down early, I was impressed with Spurs that day although at the same time I was disappointed with Villa due to their lack of ambition at home and I was kinda glad they were made to pay for it in the end!

I'm gonna be boring and go with a draw.

Football Guy's verdict 1-1

Birmingham v Wolves

Here what I wrote about the reverse fixture back in gameweek 14 -

Wolverhampton is near enough to Birmingham to be affected by it's boring cloud but not near enough to feel the full brunt of it's effect. In stead they suffer from not being able to judge how good something is.

Apparently if you have sex with Megan Fox in Wolverhampton you think it's crap and your not quite sure how to react if someone tells you a fact about Chuck Norris but then go on to claim that Mick McCarthy could do it better....... It's TRUE!!!  

I'll go with a repeat of the actually scoreline that wekeend.

Football Guy's verdict 1-0

Chelsea v Arsenal

My record for predicting Arsenal games has lead many regular readers to believe that I have the power to jinx them, well I'm sure they will be happy to know that I'm backing against Arsenal this week and it's not some silly attempt at a reverse jinx but rather that I feel Chelsea will dispose of Arsenal with ease kinda like they did at the Emirates earlier this season.

I'll hope against hope that I'm wrong but what statistical or other wise hope have Arsenal shown me this season to think they can win at the Bridge?

If you can get Drogba in your fantasy team, he'll be worth it, trust me I'm an Arsenal fan!

Football Guy's verdict 2-0

The Rest

Right, first off here are the Footy Doc's predictions -

Liverpool 2v1 Everton

Bolton 2v0 Fulham

Burnley 1v2 West Ham

Hull City 1v3 Man City

Man Utd 2v0 Portsmouth

Stoke City 1v1 Blackburn

Sunderland 3v1 Wigan

Tottenham 0v0 Aston Villa

Birmingham 3v2 Wolves

Chelsea 1v1 Arsenal

Next up we have JamrockRover -

Liverpool 1 - 1 Everton

Bolton 1 - 0 Fulham

Burnley 2 - 2 West Ham

Hull City 1 - 3 Man City

Man Utd 4 - 0 Portsmouth

Stoke City 1 - 1 Blackburn

Sunderland 2 - 1 Wigan

Tottenham 1 - 2 Aston Villa

Birmingham 1 - 0 Wolves

Chelsea 1 - 2 Arsenal

And finally,  the SportBoys -

Liverpool 2 Everton 2

Bolton 2 Fulham 1

Burnley 1 West Ham 1

Hull City 1 Man City 2

Man Utd 3 Portsmouth 0

Stoke 2 Blackburn 0

Sunderland 2 Wigan 1

Spurs 1 Villa 1

Birmingham 1 Wolves 0

Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0

Oh and let's not forget Lawro! -

The End

Have a good weekend and take care,

Football Guy

 

 

 

Hi and hello Football Fans, it's your old pal Roko The Football Guy, what's going down? I hope all is well wherever you are!

Contrary to popular belief I have not died but I have suffered a rather traumatic experience over the weekend. I was forced to watch my dear friend Arsenal rapped by Manchester United........ Just in case there was any confusion I'm not one for watching my good friends get rapped like that, but just so you have a clearer picture of what I'm talking about I went back in time to 1972 and filmed a short four and a half minute re-enactment of what happened to me Sunday afternoon. This following clip will explain it all, I'm plaing by Jon Voight, Arsenal are played by Ned Beatty and United are played by two Hillbillies, oh and the last 45 seconds didn't actually happen I just wanted to film a mental imagine of what I wanted to do to United after what they did to me and Arsenal - ENJOY.

The Football Guy Prediction League

The scoring system is simple -

Perfect Result = 30pts

Correct Result = 10pts

Wrong Result = -10pts

Here's a look at how everyone did this week -

                          PR       CR      WR      PTS

FootyDoc            3          2         5        60

Lawro                 1          6         3        60 

Jamrock             2          3         5         40 

Football Guy       1          3         6         0

SportBoys           1          2         7       -20

Here's the complete table -

                        PR       CR      WR      PTS

FootyDoc         30        88       96       810

Jamrock          30        83      102      710  

Lawro              27        85      103      630

Football Guy   17        94       104      410     

SportBoys       19        85       110      310

So as you can see, next year when I get rid of Perfect Results things will look a lot different!

See you tomorrow.

Hi and hello football fans it's your old pal Roko The Football Guy, what's going down? I hope all is well wherever you are! Things are back to normal here in the broom closet at Football Guy Towers, my cousins have left, my body has finally recovered from last weekends antics and for some reason I'm in a strangely good mood! I'll try and ride the feeling as it don't happen very often.......

Got a lot to cover today so let's get stuck in.

The Football Guy Prediction League

Interesting with most of us doing very well, especially Lawro and The Footy Doc who each only got one result wrong!

The scoring system is simple -

Perfect Result = 30pts

Correct Result = 10pts

Wrong Result = -10pts

Here's a look at how everyone did this week -

                          PR       CR      WR      PTS

FootyDoc            2          5         1        100

Lawro                 2          5         1        100 

SportBoys          2          4         2         80 

Football Guy       1          5         2        60

Jamrock              0          5         3        20

Here's the complete table -

                        PR       CR      WR      PTS

FootyDoc         27        86       91       750

Jamrock          28        80       97        670  

Lawro              26       79       100      570

Football Guy   16        91       98        410     

SportBoys       18        83      103       330

So after going back and fourth the last couple of weeks The Footydoc finally seems to have opened a bit of a lead at the top of the standings, if Jamrocks not careful he might find Lawro right behind him soon enough.

Birmingham v Tottenham

Both had contrasting results midweek, Birmingham were gumped by Chelsea whilst Spurs beat Fulham...... I'm not going to read to much in to the Birmingham result as they had to lose sooner or later but on the whole have still been playing pretty well of late. As for Spurs, they have consistently been struggling to break teams down and Birmingham's defense have proved for most of this season to be one of the toughest.

Nothing against Spurs, but I think Birmingham win this and I'd feel pretty confident playing any Birmingham defenders I have in my fantasy team.

Football Guy's verdict 1-0

Burnley v Chelsea

This is the first of two league games this week for Chelsea, the other being against Hull..... What was that? Did I just hear someone shout "FRANK LAMPARD FANTASY CAPTAIN" ????? Well if you've got him you'd be a bit silly not to go with him, especially with his recent return to goalscoring form.

I can't see anything other than a Chelsea victory in this one and should any other result than a Chelsea victory happen I'll assume I've gone blind or have been drugged by some sort of hallucinogenic mushroom.

Football Guy's verdict 0-3

Fulham v Aston Villa

Did you know Fulham's last four league games have all been away from home? How crazy is that!?!? No wonder they've stunk of late having to play that many times away from Craven Cottage.

They must be ever so grateful to be back home this weekend unfortunately though their guest are a team that seems to have been built to play on the break, Aston Villa. It seems to me like every winger/forward Villa have would not be totally embarrassed in a 100 meter sprint with Usain Bolt, heck even Emilie "Bruno" Heskey moves quicker than you'd expect and with a solid defense behind them I see a lot of counter attacking going on in Fulham Saturday afternoon.

Villa win on the break

Football Guy's verdict 1-2

Hull v Wolves

I watched the Wolves Liverpool game midweek and I can honestly say it was one of the worst games of football I have ever seen. It wasn't just down to the fact very little was created, what really killed that game was that both sides seemed content to just hoof the ball forward like they were pub sides playing with hangovers Sunday morning, I've seen more skill go in to a pile of dog shit than I saw in that match Tuesday night and it begs the question - Do we want teams like this in the Premiership?

Well there's not much we can do about Liverpool as they won't go down and could well be back in the Champions League next year, but Wolves........ Get lost to the Championship where you belong you bunch of no talent thugs!

There, I feel much better now.

Football Guy's verdict 2-0

Liverpool v Bolton

As you've just read above, Liverpool are in my bad books at the moment but I'm willing to give them a chance to redeem themselves. Go out and beat Bolton and I don't mean necessarily smash them, just play some good football and get a good result, I know your capable and so do you!

It's good for Owen Coyle that he managed to beat Burnley, otherwise he could well have been winless in his first four games in charge.

Football Guy's verdict 2-0

West Ham v Blackburn

Blackburn have had a couple of good results of late which should have eased a bit of the pressure that had been mounting on them. As for West Ham, well this is a must win game.

I say must win because you've got to beat teams like this at home if you are to survive but also because I'm thinking that Blackburn will just ease off a bit this weekend considering the good results they;ve had of late which means all the more so The Hammers must take advantage.

I'm very very very confident of a home win.

Football Guy's verdict 2-1

Wigan v Everton

I felt Wigan were a bit unfortunate against Blackburn midweek as for me they were the better team for large parts of the game which in itself surprised me. You never really know what Wigan team your going to get which makes them a tough team to bet on. I can't be bothered to go and check but I reckon I've predicted more Wigan games incorrectly than any other team.

Everton have played well of late, but I just have a feeling they will draw this one *WARNING - See Above statement

Football Guy's verdict 1-1

Arsenal v Manchester United

I must confess, I read what Lawro had to say about this game before doing my prediction just to see if he had as expected gone with a draw. here's a quote -

"I never get too excited about the great big 'Super Sunday' matches, and I just think this one will end up a draw."

You couldn't make it up!

One thing though, if you don't get excited about games between the Big Four then what does excite you? I'm going for him getting a Dorty Sanchez of Manish when the cameras go off Football Focus.

I'm sure I'm jinxing Arsenal here big time but I'm super-confident of victory and I'll go as far as to say if they don't win and Chelsea win both their games this week then Arsenal can forget about winning the title for another year.

COME ON YOU GUNNERS

Football Guy's verdict 2-1

Manchester City v Portsmouth

City must be no doubt hurting from their late defeat to United midweek, anytime you lose a Cup Semi Final in stoppage time to your biggest rival it's got to hurt. Well as if by magic, to help them get over the pain the Fixture God's have given them Portsmouth to batter around at home on Sunday.

For fantasy owners let me paraphrase Posh Spice and say "This Carlos is gonna punish you"

Special prize for the first person who can guess the reference.

Football Guy's verdict 3-0

Sunderland v Stoke

OK Sunderland enough is enough, when are you going to win a game again? It's been two months and nine games since Sunderland last won in the league, who do you think you are, Pompey?

You've got Stoke this week at home and we all know Stoke can't do jack-shit away from home, so go out their, win the game and make sure Darren Bent scores a few whilst your at it!

Football Guy's verdict 2-0

The Rest

Right, first off here are the Footy Doc's predictions -

Birmingham 1v1 Tottenham,

Burnley 0v3 Chelsea,

Fulham 2v1 Aston Villa,

Hull 1v0 Wolverhampton,

Liverpool 2v0 Bolton,

West Ham 2v0 Blackburn,

Wigan 1v2 Everton,

Arsenal 2v0 Man Utd,

Man City 2v0 Portsmouth,

Sunderland 1v0 Stoke,

Next up we have JamrockRover -

Birmingham 1 - 1 Tottenham

Fulham 2 - 1 Aston Villa

Hull City 2 - 1 Wolves

Liverpool 2 - 0 Bolton

West Ham 2 - 1 Blackburn

Wigan 1 - 3 Everton

Burnley 1 - 3 Chelsea

Man City 3 - 0 Portsmouth

Arsenal 2 - 1 Man Utd

Sunderland 1 - 0 Stoke City

And finally,  the SportBoys -

Birmingham 2 Tottenham 1

Fulham 1 Aston Villa 1

Hull City 2 Wolves 1

Liverpool 2 Bolton 0

West Ham 2 Blackburn 1

Wigan 2 Everton 2

Burnley 0 Chelsea 2

Man City 3 Pompey 0

Arsenal 2 Man U 1

Sunderland 3 Stoke 1

Oh and let's not forget Lawro! -

The End

Hi and hello football fans, it's your old pal Roko The Football Guy, whats going down? I hope all is well wherever you are! It's been a busy last five or so days since I last spoke to you all. I've got some relatives over from Croatia and have been spending most of my time with them...... You know, it would be rude not to! So as you can imagine that has been taking up most of my waking hours, though never fear, I did get a break from them on Saturday evening when I discovered why plant food is not designed for human consumption. It might seem like a good idea in a social surrounding but trust me you'll feel crap for days. Thankfully feeling crap is nothing new to me and I do feel sorry for my friend James who's not been able to stop his hands from curling up like T-Rex hands for the past couple of days, had that happened to me imagine how difficult it would be to write this preview? I'd need to hiring a ghost writer but considering I spent all my money on booze and plant food the ghost writer would have to work for food instead which thankfully I have a fair bit of due to my relatives who came over from Croatia filling my fridge. Anyway, I've had a weird couple of days and I think it's best if I just get on with things.

Bolton v Burnley

Who do you reckon would get a worse reception from the Burnley fans if they turned up Tuesday night - Owen Coyle or Ian Huntley? I'm going to go with Ian Huntley as he killed two little girls but I doubt the reaction to Coyle tonight will me less harsh.

I've got to say I fancy Bolton to dish some pain on their bosses former employers and if I needed to bring in a striker say in Fantasy Football I'd be taking a long look at Bolton's own Ivan Klasnic who's been in pretty good form of late (forget the past two games as they were against League Arsenal which is an entirely better entity than Cup Arsenal, kinda like Pepsi and Pepsi Max).

Football Guy's verdict 3-1

Portsmouth v West Ham

As regular readers may have not doubt noticed I can get very lazy at times when writing this blog, it's not that I want to be it's just money I find is a great motivator and since I receive none whatsoever to write this the regularity and quality drops from time to time. Now imagine I was a footballer who was expecting a cheque for £20K each week and then didn't receive it for a couple of weeks at a time...... How do you reckon I'd react? Well from my experience most footballers once they have tasted money become very dependent on money and follow it around like they were some sort of rat caught in the pied pipers tune. I also hear that removing a footballers pay will induce a similar response to how a heroin addict would react if he didn't have his medicine and if I supported Pompey, I'd not feel very comfortable with eleven Pete Doherty's out there trying to say me from the drop.

Football Guy's verdict 1-2

Tottenham v Fulham

I got a lot of abuse form a few spurs fans I know Sunday mocking me for Cup Arsenal's exit for the FA Cup at the hands of Stoke. I promptly explained to them that it was Cup Arsenal and that they have lower expectations than their bigger brother League Arsenal. This explanation quickly got me called a cunt, to which I responded that by being Tottenham fans they probably know a cunt when they see one as they hang out with about 35,000 or so every other week. This actually stopped the abuse which I guess means people who really are cunts can't stand being called one.

As for Spurs, I think they will beat Fulham, they are due a win and Jermain Defoe owes a lot of people who brought him in for last GW's double-bubble in fantasy only to be repaid win a measly four points from two games......... That's like giving a homeless man a bed to sleep in and wake up in the morning to find he stole all your cornflakes and pooed in the sink.

Football Guy's verdict 2-0

Wolves v Liverpool

Even though I've predicted otherwise (see above) there is a chance that Liverpool could be in 4th spot by the end of the night, wouldn't that be a funny twist to all those fans from Spurs, Villa and City who had been slagging of Liverpool for being a shit team over the last couple of months. Kinda reminds me of this time when I slagged of this kid at school for having a shit hat when I was wearing odd shoes.

If I wanted to be harsh on Liverpool I'd say that without Torres and Gerrard the rest of their team ends up playing like a better form of Wolves, but having read that back to myself I'mpretty sure I slagged of Wolves by calling them a shit Liverpool.

Football Guy's verdict 0-2

Aston Villa v Arsenal

It's a good thing I won't have to see Cup Arsenal for another year, that guy really pisses me off! Cup Villa now, there's a entertaining guy, you know you are in for a good time when he's about.

I expect Arsenal to play better than they did Sunday, but considering they will have a bunch of much better players playing I'm sure they will be capable of meeting my expectation. From a fantasy standpoint I'd go with Cesc as Captain. From a "How confident as I Arsenal are going to win" standpoint I'd put money on Villa.

Having said all that I'm going to go with a draw just so I've covered as many bases as I can just incase the game is called off.

Football Guy's verdict 1-1

Blackburn v Wigan 

Did you know that League Blackburn have only scored 23 goals in 22 games whereas Cup Blackburn has managed eight goals in four games (only counting matches against top flight opposition) Why does it seem everyone's cup team is more fun than Arsenal's?

Regardless I feel pretty confident that some of the goals that Cup Blackburn have been scoring will start to rub off on League Blackburn and when that does they will be good enough to beat the likes of Wigan. Now if only there was someway to know for sure I'd be a very rich man and would totally be kicking ass in this years prediction league, but as their isnt I'm gonna go with my gut....... And that's usually shit.

Football Guy's verdict 3-1

Chelsea v Birmingham

OK Birmingham, it's been fun. We've all enjoyed your run of good form but like all good things it must come to an end sooner or later and as you might have guessed I think it's going to end Wednesday night at the hands of 3rd placed Chelsea who will probably be back top come late Wednesday.

Don't think it's will be a beating mind you, but it's going to be a Chelsea win. Lampard or Anelka for fantasy captain would not be a bad choice, Didier Drogba would be though as he is not back from the ACN yet and therefore would be as likely top score as either me or you.

Football Guy's verdict 2-0

Everton v Sunderland

I'll keep this one short -

Everton Good

Sunderland Bad

Football Guy's verdict 3-1

The Rest

Right, first off here are the Footy Doc's predictions -

Portsmouth 1v1 West Ham

Wolves 0v2 Liverpool

Bolton 3v1 Burnley

Tottenham 2v0 Fulham

Aston Villa 1v1 Arsenal

Chelsea 1v0 Birmingham

Blackburn 3v2 Wigan

Everton 3v1 Sunderland

Next up we have JamrockRover -

Portsmouth 2 - 2 West Ham

Wolves 0 - 2 Liverpool

Bolton 3 - 1 Burnley

Tottenham 1 - 1 Fulham

Aston Villa 1 - 2 Arsenal

Chelsea 1 - 0 Birmingham

Blackburn 3 - 2 Wigan

Everton 2 - 1 Sunderland

And finally,  the SportBoys -

Portsmouth 1 - 2 West Ham

Wolves 1 - 2 Liverpool

Bolton 3 - 1 Burnley

Tottenham 2 - 0 Fulham

Aston Villa 2 Arse 2

Chelsea 2 Birmingham 0

Blackburn 2 Wigan 1

Everton 3 Sunderland 1

Oh and let's not forget Lawro! -

The End

Hi and hello Football Fan's, it's your old pal Roko The Football Guy. What's going down? I hope all is well wherever you are! It's a miserable wet morning here in London which has kept me from being in my usual bright mood........... But I can take solace in the fact that I'm probably feeling a lot better than Sir Alex is this morning after Super Carlos Tevez reversed United lead last night in the Carling Cup semi final.

It was far from a brilliant game but one man stood out amongst the crowd. I'm not entirely sure if he really is a man or some sort of cave-dwelling neanderthal, either way, the guy has got as much heart as I've seen in a player in a long time and the more I watch him the more I'm developing a severe man-crush Sir Charles of Eastlands. How can you not love the guy? Not only is he an amazing footballer but unlike most who we see plying their trade week in and week out he actually seems like he gives a crap everytime he steps out on to a football pitch and I don't think there is a team on the planet who would not want him playing in their colours........... Well, apart from this guy.

"Fergie, sign him up, Fergie, Fergie sign him up" was the chant of choice last night in the Manchester Derby and any United fan who fails to see how big a mistake it was for them not retain the services on the Ugly-Argie are either severely bitter, or have very little footballing knowledge. The highlight for me last night was as Tevez was waiting to take the penalty just before halftime Wayne Rooney, the man who the Red half of Manchester swear blindly is twice the player that Carlos is, was talking to him obviously trying to put him off. Did it work? Not a chance! Tevez smash the ball straight down the middle and turned to Rooney and motioned with his hands in a "Keep Talking" manner....... What a Guy!!   

The match itself was far from being a classic and I'm quite surprised it ended only 2-1 considering how dreadful the defending was on the night but it has set up a mouthwatering second leg next week that has rekindled interest in a competition that has been devoid of interest for years and for me there's only one man to thank...... Super Carlos Tevez!

Pele

If Nostradamus is know to be a great predictor of the future, then Pele must be the Anti-Nostradamus. He's so bad at predicting this that he actually has the power it seems to make the opposite occur. The ultimate Reverse-Jinx man. So after reading this morning that he tipped Spain to win the World Cup this summer I've already tried to flog my bettering slip which has with you know who as the Champions!

Basically Spain are now destined for a first round exit and it's going to be a Argentina v England final...... Mark my words, NO, Mark Pele's words!!!

Midweek Predictions

As Lawro is not doing any predictions for these two league games tonight I thought I'd throw my 2c worth in just for fun. I'll also put Jamrocks in as I have those too but again, they don't count towards our season battle.

Arsenal v Bolton   

Well considering Arsenal just beat Bolton 2-0 away I'm pretty confident of another win for the Gunners tonight.

The two starting lineups I'm guessing will be unchanged although Arsenal might have Theo and Denilson available again.

A two goal win would see Arsenal go back top of the league for the first time since the opening day of the season and considering they were 11 points behind a little over a month and a half ago it's been quite a remarkable turnaround. I think they will do it!

Football Guy's verdict 3-1

Jamrocks Verdict 3-0

Liverpool v Tottenham

I win for Liverpool tonight would be a massive boost for the ailing Red Giants. For all the talk of how shit they are three points tonight would put them just a point behind Spurs and City and a point ahead of Villa. Yes I know two of those clubs would have a game in hand but still, they would be in the mix and judging by the way people are talking about Liverpool you'd think they were battling to stay in the league!

It's hard to back Spurs to win this match considering they failed to beat Hull at home at the weekend but maybe playing away on the break will suite them more as their defence has been pretty good of late and will all know the attacking threat that Liverpool are missing. I expect it to be tight and I expect a slim margin of victory for the home side.

Football Guy's verdict 1-0

Jamrocks Verdict 2-0

The End

Be back tomorrow football fans,

Football Guy   

HI and hello football fans it's your old pal Roko The Football Guy, whats going down? I hope all is well wherever you are! I've had a pretty rough weekend due to battling a nasty sore throat and an unstoppable cough. The cough has proved to be the more annoying of the two as it's prevented me from sleeping and as regular reads will know, sleep is something I normally don't get enough of! The good news is though that I feel much better today, so much so I might be able to have a conversation over the phone at work today without sounding like Darth Vader having a asthma attack!

Anyway, enough of my problems, lets get stuck in to this weekends action.

Anytime you score seven.......

You know I heard that teams that have scored seven goals in a single Premier League game have gone on to win that same game every time?!?!?! Amazing right? I've not gone through the stats but I believe my source of information on that gem........ Seriously though, how many more could Chelsea have scored? It didn't really seem to me like The Blues were trying all that hard yet still crushed Sunderland with ease which can mean only one of two things -

a) Chelsea are secretly better without the likes of Drogba, Essisen and Co.

b) Suderland were super poo

I'm leaning towards answer b as a good side can concede six, but only a super poo side can concede seven!! Shame on you Steve Bruce, shame on you for being super poo!!

Playing bad and winning, trademark of Champions.......

It's a much harped on about thing that real Champions can still win even when they don't play well which I guess can only mean both United and Arsenal should be quite happy with their win's this weekend.

I would go as far as to say United were quite lucky to beat Burnley at home as the visitors had a number of golden opportunities to score against the champions yet failed to take any, which BTW is a sign of a team that will be going down (See Portsmouth season 09/10).

As for Arsenal, they too were a tad lucky, but had it not been for some dodgy officiating that match could well have been over at half time as Arsenal were denied two clear penalties on Cesc Fabregas and The Trotters should really have had a player or two sent off to boot. Any time you pull a players hair and stamp on them you feel that should be a red card, or is that just me?

Should Arsenal and United follow up their weekend wins with victories at home on Wednesday both will leap from Chelsea in the league which will hopefully put some pressure on the boys from Stamford Bridge who's next three games are all very winable.

To finish fourth in the league you have to......

Errr Win? Something none of the chasing teams managed to do this weekend. Liverpool, Spurs and Villa all should have won but City I don't think can have any excuses as they were beaten by a better Everton side on the day. I was actually very impressed by David Moyes's men on Saturday evening, especially in the first half were they completely bossed the richest side in Manchester and brought Roberto Mancini's great start to a screeching halt. I wonder how many people will be bringing in Steven Pienaar in to their fantasy team after his recent good performances?

Liverpool must be hurting the most (again) after letting a invaluable two points slip out of their grasp in stoppage time against Stoke Saturday lunch time. It was a horrible match but Liverpool were more than worthy of three points, especially when you factor in that Lucas should have been awarded no one, but two penalties! I have a feeling that had the same fouls been on a player who the whole league does not deem a complete joke Liverpool would have got the penalties. Also, anytime Rob Huth scores a late equalizer against you self harm can't be far away and judging from the phone call I received from my buddy and Liverpool fan The Footdoc I fear for his safety!

Spurs, again failed to beat a team at home they really should be crushing, but unlike their loss to Wolves a couple of weeks back this game was just unlucky. What can you do when a guy called Boaz Myhill puts in one of the all-time "Rubberman" performances? Seriously I'm sure that guy's going to Hell as the only way a keeper of his call could put in that performance would be if he had just done a deal with the Devil!

As for Villa, they too should view this as a massive missed opportunity, they had enough pressure and chances to win that match but failed, makes me wonder if any of these teams actually wants that fish fourth spot.

To not get relegated you need to...... 

Pick up points at home and that's exactly what Blackburn did beating Fulham 2-0 on Sunday. they rode their luck at times and Fulham were a tad unlucky not to have scored a goal or two themselves especially when Clint Dempsey struck the bar with an overhead kick and as if to punsh Fulham and Dempsey further the American suffered  cruciate knee ligament damage which could well see him missing the rest of the season and this summers World Cup....... It never rains, just pours.

When FIFA 10 predicts a home win......

Back the away team! Those of you who read Friday's preview will know that I simmed the game on FIFA 10 and it predicted a 2-1 win for Wolves. I'm going to give FIFA  a chance to redeem itself tonight when I sim the three Premiership games that are on Wednesday night.

The Football Guy Prediction League

One day I'll be able to look back on all of this and laugh, right now though it's tears all the way........

The scoring system is simple -

Perfect Result = 30pts

Correct Result = 10pts

Wrong Result = -10pts

Here's a look at how everyone did this week -

                          PR       CR      WR      PTS

FootyDoc            1          4         4         30

JamRock             1          3         5         10 

Lawro                 1          3         5         10 

SportBoys           0          4         5       -10

Football Guy       1          2         6       -10

Here's the complete table -

                        PR       CR      WR      PTS

JamRock         28        75       94       650

Footydoc         25        81       90       650   

Lawro              24       74       99       470

Football Guy    15       86       96       350     

SportBoys       16       79      101      250

I just need to start nailing some PR and things will start to change....... Or at least that's what I keep telling myself.......

The End

Fantasy Premier League review will happen Thursday as this gameweek is not over yet.

Take care,

Football Guy 

Hi and hello football fans, it's your old pal Roko The Football Guy, whats going down? I hope all is well wherever you are! As you may know if you read yesterdays post, I had a interview at my current place of work for a promotion...... That interview did not go so well.... I joked on my Facebook status that the only way it could have gone worse would have been if I had cracked a few racist jokes, but considering one of my bosses has a skinhead that might actually have improved my chances. Anyway, I'm meant to find out today if I was successful or not a needless to say I'm not holding my breath. In fact I'm not even at work today as I had another interview with Fantasy Premier League which I can honestly say I nailed and will be expecting a call on Monday for them to confirm my appointment (No that has not jinx it!). If I get neither then I always have this guys job to go for!

Speaking of which.....

Stoke v Liverpool

I kind of wrote my feeling about the Liverpool situation yesterday so I won't repeat myself. One thing I will add though is that please don't the fresh Gerrard and Torres injuries as some sort of excuse, you sucked with them and the only difference will be that you suck even more with out!

I think quite a few people out there are going to fancy sticking a few quid on Stoke to win this match as you are getting great odds, but I just think Liverpool will surprise us all but not winning losing.......

Football Guy's verdict 1-1

Chelsea v Sunderland

Chelsea's home record      - P 10 W 9 D 1 L 0

Sunderland's away record - P 10 W 1 D 2 L 7 

I think we all know who's going to win this encounter.

Football Guy's verdict 3-0

Manchester United v Burnley

I've in the past talked about the phenomenon of "New Manager, Great Result" and how powerful a factor it can be. Unfortunately for Burnley this only seems to work when your previous manager was fired for being shit and as far as I know Owen Coyle left to go manage Bolton as he saw it as a better opportunity..... Should Burnley not win another game this season I would not be surprised.

As for United, to call the recent performances mediocre would be kind, well apart from the 5-0 beating of Wigan at home but then again how good is that result when you consider Spurs beat that same Wigan team 9-1? I'm guessing United could do with a good performance and they've got just the opposition to do it against -

• Just lost their manager to another club
• poo away from home

Throw in the fact they beat United earlier in the season which should give Ferige and his boys all the motivation they need to smack up Burnley true and proper.

Football Guy's verdict 4-0

Portsmouth v Birmingham

The same way I think a lot of people will be backing Stoke to beat Liverpool this weekend I think the same will be done with Birmingham to beat Pompey away.

Now I have no reason to tell you not to bet on a Blues win other than the fact that when something seems too easy it usually falls apart. This actually reminds me of the warning I gave everyone after Wigan beat Chelsea. The very next game they faced Hull who had just been tonked 6-1 by Liverpool and had only one league win all season. I told everyone that Wigan would not win that match and low and behold they didn't and I saved everybody thousands of pounds that they were no doubt going to lay on that match had it not been for my timely advice! Did I get a "Thank You"? Not one.....

Football Guy's verdict 1-1

Tottenham v Hull

It seems like months since I last saw Spurs play a game and I had almost forgotton that they existed until I read this. I think it hardly comes as a surprise that "Honest" Arry is being investigated by the police for fraudulent acts, I'm just annoyed that this is ALL they are charging him with as I'm sure he's taken more back-handers then The Wire's Clay Davis and Tina Turner combined.

Speaking of dishonest crooks, Spurs opponents this weekend are none other than Hull and their boss Phil Orange has been a little too quite of late. Maybe he's run out of fake tan and until he gets a new delivery will not been seen in public, or maybe he's realized that 99% of what comes out of his mouth is pure BS and has decided to keep quite...... Yes that would be good news!

Spurs on the whole have beat up on poor teams at home, I say on the whole because they did manage to lose to Wolves and Stoke at home but I think this one will be more like Burnley and Wigan.

Football Guy's verdict 3-1

Wolves v Wigan

I don't really have much to say about this match so I'm going to let FIFA 10 predict the outcome -

I actually created a highlights package for this match and uploaded it to easports.com. Unfortunately it wont run properly so I basically wasted 465 minutes setting all that up.......

In the game Wigan were the better side but struggled to carve out many good opportunities and were beaten by a Kevin Doyle brace.

Football Guy's verdict 2-1 

Everton v Manchester City

It's been as good of a start as you could have hoped for if your Roberto Mancini, four wins in all competitions and only one goal conceded. Problem is that they haven't really played anyone worth talking about but that should change on Saturday when they go to Goodison to face Everton.

Everton very nearly beat Arsenal away last week and should be riding high coming in to this one. I will most certainly be watching (hoping for another Tevez hat trick yet a Everton win!)

Football Guy's verdict 2-2

Aston Villa v West Ham

I wrote last week that Villa must be aching to get back to Premier League action to put right what went wrong over Christmas...... Well they had to wait a little bit longer to pound on someone and unfortunately Hammers fans, that someone is you!

I'm sure West Ham will put up a good fight, I just think Villa at home will have more than enough for them.

Football Guy's verdict 2-0

Blackburn v Fulham

Blackburn of late seem to be suffering with whats affected Stoke for part of this season and Pompey for most of it and that's the dreaded - Can't score, Will Concede - It's a horrible combo and it's a sure fire way to piss fans off. I'm confident that Fat Sam will get things sorted sooner or later and it's just this comment that got me in to a massive argument earlier in the week with The Football Dad. FD reckons that Fat Sam won't last until the end of the season, I say otherwise....... Stay tuned!

Since beating United just before Christmas Fulham have failed to win again in the league, something that will no doubt worry Roy Hodgeson as despite how well Fulham have done so far, all it takes is a couple more bad results to drag them down in to the relegation fight.

Football Guy's verdict 1-1

Bolton v Arsenal

Remember what I was saying earlier about new managers? I can just see Bolton getting a result here and everybody licking Owen Coyle arse like it was a life giving lollypop.

I so far this season have been very successful with the "Reverse Jinx" when it comes to Arsenal matches so why stop now?

Football Guy's verdict 1-1

The Rest

Right, first off here are the Footy Doc's predictions -

Stoke City 0v1 Liverpool

Chelsea 1v1 Sunderland

Man Utd 3v0 Burnley

Portsmouth 1v1 Birmingham

Tottenham 3v1 Hull City

Wolves 1v2 Wigan

Everton 2v1 Man City

Aston Villa 2v0 West Ham

Blackburn 2v1 Fulham

Bolton 1v3 Arsenal

Next up we have JamrockRover -

Stoke City 1 - 1 Liverpool

Chelsea 3 - 0 Sunderland

Man Utd 4 - 1 Burnley

Portsmouth 1 - 2 Birmingham

Tottenham 4 - 1 Hull City

Wolves 2 - 1 Wigan

Everton 2 - 2 Man City

Aston Villa 2 - 0 West Ham

Blackburn 1 - 2 Fulham

Bolton 1 - 2 Arsenal

And finally,  the SportBoys -

Stoke City v Liverpool 2-1

Chelsea v Sunderland 2-1

Man Utd v Burnley 2-0

Portsmouth v Birmingham 1-2

Tottenham v Hull City 4-1

Wolves 1 Wigan 1

Everton 2 Man City 1

A villa 3 West ham 0

Blackburn 1 Fulham 3

Bolton 1 Arsenal 3

Oh and let's not forget Lawro! -

The End

have a good weekend!

Hi and hello football fans, it's your old pal Roko The Football Guy, what's going down? I hope all is well wherever you are! It's an exciting morning for me here in the broom cupboard at Football Guy Towers, I have an interview for a promotion at work and if I get it all my financial worries will be over and I'll be as they say "On Easy Street". OK that might be a slight exaggeration but seriously I want this job very badly and will do anything to get it and I mean A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G. I'll leave it up to your sick little minds to imagine what I'd actually do for this job. 

Speaking of jobs, I know one that might be soon available, it's based in Liverpool (I know...) and it pays very well. Only problem is that there's a lot of pressure and your bosses are pretty incompetent, but if that does not put you off by all means apply here.

Seriously, what the fuck is going on at Liverpool if Reading can match them over two games? Reading a Championship team........ Reading, not even a good Championship team! Having watched last nights match I'd say Liverpool got what they deserved and that was unceremoniously dumped out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle. For all their huff and puff and control of most of the possession I find it disgraceful that at home Rafa's men with pretty much a full team out there failed to create a really good chance until 2-1 down in extra-time. Now I know that Torres and Gerrard both left the game in the first half and that no doubt disrupted them a bit but come on! It's fucking Reading!!!! I'm pretty sure Liverpool scored NINE past them the last time they met and they sure are not a better side then they were then considering where they are in the Championship. This is BS and something needs to be done about it.

Now I know it's easy to blame Rafa for what's been going on on the pitch but I for one don't think it's all his fault and a large part of the blame lies with those Muppets who own the club or should I say ruining the club with their total and utter mismanagement, but at the end of the day it IS Rafa's responsibility and with everything that's happened this season this result last night might well be the straw that broke the camels back. 

I personally think that Hick's and Gillett need to get out and get out fast before things really get bad, with rumors of how messed up the financial situation is at Anfield we could very well see Liverpool become the new Leeds if these two pricks stay there any longer. In a ironic twist for Rafa though, that very financial hardship that has hindered his management of the club might well be the same thing that is saving his job at the moment with the powers that be unwilling to buy out the remainder of his £25m contract. I'd say they should bite the bullet if they can and fire him but the problem is who do you replace him with? Any top manager is unlikely to want the job due to all the crap that's going on behind the scenes which means firing Rafa would likely see them end up with someone worse than him and that's not really the point of firing you manager...... Well unless you plan on using Tottenham's "Let's find a good manager" strategy.

All in all it's a pretty grim situation for all concerned and I hope for their sakes that they get it sorted sooner rather than later.

Magic of the Cup?

Well I'd say now that it's finally over....... Wait there's more replays? Crap! Well now that all the games most people cared about are over for the 3rd round all in all it was quite a memorable one. Liverpool and United both lost at home to lower league opposition and Arsenal squeezed past West Ham. The other big boys in the Premiership all went through with relative ease but I guess not every game is going to be fun to watch, just take a look at Tuesday nights game between Coventry and Portsmouth. For large parts of that game I was sure I was watching a Championship fixture....... and not a very good one at that! Pompey got through in the end but the Sky blues shouldn't feel two downhearted, they'll get a chance for revenge next year in the league......... Well that is if Pompey have not gone out of business by then........

Take care

Football Guy     

Hi and hello football fans, it's your old pal Roko The Football Guy, whats going down? I hope all is well wherever you are! As only two games escaped the weather this weekend I thought I'd wait until after the Monday Night game was finished just so it would make this post 33% longer!

The weather situation has really turned into a big joke, last week I vented my frustrations about the Arsenal Bolton match getting called off, now imagine how I feel about have seven out ten games this weekend called off? Not very happy I can tell you! But to be fair to the home clubs in the games that were called off, they all tried their hardest to get the games to go ahead and it seems local councils and "Do-Gooders" are to blame for why the fixture list was so disrupted......... Well apart from Liverpool who openly called for their home match with Spurs to be called off which I think is a disgrace but considering the type of people they have in charge now that I have complained about them I better check my email inbox for propositions of fellatio..... You stay classy Liverpool FC. 

What I liked this weekend -

Classy Carlos

Yep, it must be said that Classy Carlos sure made my footballing weekend (yes I count Monday night as part of my footballing weekend). The little Argie was nothing short of magnificent last night and it makes you wonder with City only seven points back of Chelsea, if Tevez can keep this form going might he single-handedly play City in to the title race?

I still think their main goal should be to make the top four but if they keep up the form they've shown since Mancini took over then being in the title race is going to be a reality. And why not? Arsenal were written off about a month or so ago and they were 11 points behind after losing at home to Chelsea and now they are very much in the thick of it so what's a measly seven points the way the Premiership has played out so far this season?

As for last nights match the writing was on the wall very early on after Samba needlessly gave away a corner 5 minutes in which Paul "I used to be good" Robinson fumbled the resulting cross and Tevez bundled in Benjani's mis-hit shot. Benjani then mis-hit another shot after Micah Richards set him up by basically running in a straight line from his box to the Rovers box and passing to the Zimbabwean who was one on one with Paul "I'm so fat" Robinson and who's scuffed shot came back off the post to fall nicely to the Black Forrest Gump Micah Richards who had kept on running.

Benjani actually ended up with three assists for the match, which I guess is not very good news for the validity of "The Assist" as a serious footballing statistic when a guy can fuck up two chances and end up getting praised for being so creative........ I guess it's kind of like being the boss of a big bank, lose loads of money but still get a fat end of year bonus..... Ah being incompetent and still paid mega bucks, that must be the life!

All in all City looked pretty good last night, you can knock the opposition but at least City are winning games now, something they were not doing very consistently under Mark Hughes and that should have quite a few teams above and below City rather worried.

Dastardly Deflections

I guess anytime you equalize in injury time you've got to be happy and I guess that as an Arsenal fan I'm happy that Arsenal didn't lose a game they could easily have, but I'm still not happy that they didn't win....... Does that make sense? I'm confused!

Not to sound like a moaning gooner but I did think large parts of the game resembled a rugby match more that a football match due to the Ref, Peter Walton's rampant insistence on "Letting the game flow". He didn't say that, but I'm assuming that's why he didn't blow for fouls that were quite clearly being committed by both teams. It's not that I think it was a dirty game or that the ref was biased, I just think he allowed it to get TOO physical at times and lets be fair, that's always going to suite Everton more than it's going to suite Arsenal. I also think Arsenal should have had a penalty at 1-1 when Phil Neville almost killed Denilson just inside the box. Now people will argue that he got the ball first but that does not matter according to ex Premiership ref Graham Poll who I was listening to the other day on TalkSport. Basically the rule is that is you make a dangerous tackle or a slide tackle that will definitely result in you taking out the opposition player in a dangerous way  then that is still a foul..... Now it seems to me that Old Phil ticked all the boxes there.

OK rant over, Everton played very well. as well as I've seen them play this season actually and had it not been for two deflected Arsenal goals they might well have walked away with three points, hopefully they can keep this form going in to their next match..... At home to Manchester City.

Dirty Darren Fletcher

OK that's a bit harsh to single him out, yes he go sent off (rightly so whatever Sir Alex says) but he was not the only United player flying around fouling like it was going out of fashion! Both Carrick and Scholes put in their fair share dirty slide tackles that ref Mark Clattenburg kept letting them get away with.

Regardless though of what I think United got away with in the fouling department I've got to say they really were unlucky not to me at least a couple of goals ahead in the opening 25/30 minutes as they completely dominated the most inform team in the Premiership. I think it took about 20 minutes for the ball to enter United's penalty area for the first time!

Having failed to score when in control, United let the initiative slip and fell behind against the run of play to a Cameron Jerome goal 39 minutes. Side Note - for some reason I keep calling him Calvin and it's really starting to annoy me! 

In the second half I'd have to say that Birmingham created the better chances despite United dominating most of the possession and in the end United, like Arsenal, should probably be happy to be walking away from their games with a point. Sir Alex still found time to moan about the ref (I think it's the 6th game in a row he's done that) but thankfully did not complain about the six minutes that were added on at the end....... I'm sure he wanted to though! 

The Football Guy Prediction League

You might have thought with only three games played that not a lot could happen in this weekends installment of the Prediction League......... Well you were wrong. Despite there only being three games our old play Jamrock still managed to get two perfect scores. I think it was the footballing karma Gods way of saying sorry for having him miss the Arsenal Everton game due to his flight to London being canceled Saturday morning.

The scoring system is simple -

Perfect Result = 30pts

Correct Result = 10pts

Wrong Result = -10pts

Here's a look at how everyone did this week -

                          PR       CR      WR      PTS

JamRock            2          0         1         50

SportBoys          1          1         1         30 

Lawro                 1          1         1         30 

FootyDoc            0          2         1         10

Football Guy       0          1         2        -10

Here's the complete table -

                        PR       CR      WR      PTS

JamRock         27        72       89       640

Footydoc         24        77       86       620   

Lawro              23       71       94       460

Football Guy    14       84       90       360     

SportBoys        16       75       96       260

I'll keep my mouth shut........

The End

Speak to ya tomorrow,

Football Guy