A Third of the Way Done

We are about a third of the way through the Premier League season. It is a busy time of the year with the 2010 World Cup draw about to take place, European competitions gearing up before they close down for the winter and of course the Premier League.

Now is the time of the year that you want to make your mark. You can climb up the ladder with some great performances and the name of the game is consistency. This week throws up some very interesting match-ups.

On Saturday, Tottenham takes on Aston Villa in a battle of fourth against fifth. Soccer betting has this one just about even. Spurs are flying after their 9-1 demolition of Wigan and Villa are a reliable side who always provide a good contest.

Manchester United travel to last placed Portsmouth and anything could happen here. United are just getting into gear and could run riot. Soccer betting has United as unbackable favorites.

Sunday should be very entertaining. Everton hosts Liverpool in what should be a fascinating Merseyside Derby. Decimated by injury, Everton haven’t been the consistent side they have been in years gone by. They are struggling and are a lot better than where they are placed. Liverpool are in 7th spot and having a nightmare season by their standards. They have also been hit hard by injuries and would love nothing more than to leave Goodison Park with three points.

Following this Arsenal hosts top of the table Chelsea. Arsenal just lost to Sunderland and don’t want to lose more ground on Chelsea. The Blues currently have a lead of eight points and there is a world of difference between it being reduced to five or extended to 11. If Chelsea wins you could just about say with certainty that the premiership is down to a two-horse race.

Arsenal used to be the main rival to United for the title but it looks as though they have been usurped by Chelsea. Could it be time that Arsene Wenger moved on? He has been there a long time and could it be up? They are now signing the quality of the player they used to and it won’t be long until reality sets in at the Emirates. Down the bottom end of the table, Wolves, Bolton and West Ham will be desperate to make up to their slow start to the season and to start winning some games.

David Wiseman writes for this blog. He also writes about tennis betting.

Redknapp: Defoe the best England has

Jermain Defoe can score the goals needed to help Spurs upset the football betting odds in the Premier League and lead England to World Cup success.

That is the view of his manager Harry Redknapp, who has heaped praise on the forward after watching him grab five goals in Spurs’ record 9-1 victory at home against Wigan.

Redknapp had Defoe on his playing staff at West Ham and also signed the England striker while manager of both Portsmouth and Tottenham, and claims the forward is the finest finisher in the Premier League.

He has called on England boss Fabio Capello to use Defoe at the World Cup next summer in South Africa, as he is the most natural goalscorer the nation has got. “When you look at England strikers, Wayne Rooney’s fantastic – a complete all-round player – but as a finisher, Defoe is the best out there,” said Redknapp.

Defoe became only the third player in Premier League history to score five goals in a game, alongside Alan Shearer and Andy Cole, and his seven-minute hat-trick was second only to Robbie Fowler as the quickest scored in the top flight.

Tottenham’s annihilation of Wigan sees them currently occupy the fourth spot in the Premier League, which would see them secure Champions League qualification if they finish there at the end of the season.

The form of Defoe will not be good news for fellow striker Roman Pavlyuchenko, who is expected to demand a move from White Hart Lane in the January transfer window as he is unhappy about the lack of games he is getting under Redknapp.

Ngog sees Liverpool getting stronger

Young Liverpool striker David Ngog believes he is becoming stronger as a player and can help his side mount a serious Premier League and Champions League challenge this season.

The French forward has been in the media headlines this week after he was blamed of diving in order to win his side a controversial penalty to save a 2-2 draw at home to Birmingham.

He has played a larger part in the Liverpool first team this season due to star striker Fernando Torres struggling with a groin injury and Rafa Bentiez’s continued faith in him has been repaid with four goals to date.

Liverpool have struggled in the Premier League this season and many experts predict their title challenge is already over as they currently sit 11 points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea, losing eight games in all competitions and also struggling to qualify from their Champions League group.

Ngog deemed his side’s performances this season “unacceptable” and admitted the struggles being experienced can help him grow and develop as a footballer. “If you can come through difficulties in life, it will make you stronger in the future,” said the forward.

“I am not 21 until next April so I have plenty of time to learn more and I couldn’t be learning from a better boss than Rafa Benitez or a better striker than Fernando Torres.”

Benitez recently admitted that Liverpool were looking to put Torres through an extended course of treatment on his groin injury as they hope it will avoid him needing surgery and missing a large chunk of the season, something which would seriously damage their football odds of lifting silverware either at home or abroad.

Fergy Still Cranky

After all of these years, you would think that the competitive juices of Sir Alex Ferguson have some what dissipated. After all he has won the Scottish League three times, the Scottish Cup four times, the English Premier League 11 times, the FA Cup five times and the Champions League twice. Surely someone who has done it all before not just once but many times wouldn’t be so upset about losing to Chelsea.

But maybe that is what is so great about him. That after all this time, he still hates to lose. It is such an anathema  to him that he has difficulty stomaching it and it has nothing to do with soccer betting.

I have no issue with him not wanting to ever lose, I have an issue with him being a sore loser.
Take his comments after the game: “The referee’s position to make the decision was absolutely ridiculous, he can’t see anything. He’s got a Chelsea player (Joe Cole) standing right in front of him and he doesn’t even move.
“That goal shouldn’t have been allowed. It was a bad decision, but there’s nothing we can do about it. You lose faith in refereeing sometimes, that’s the way the players are talking in there. It was a bad one.”
Manchester United get their fair share of dubious refereeing decisions. Some would say a lot more than others. So it comes across as a case of extremely sour grapes for Ferguson to make these types of comments.

You can’t have it both ways. Did he say anything when they were the beneficiaries of an incredibly long injury-time against Manchester City? No of course not.

But someone in Ferguson’s position needs to be a bit more objective. It simply can’t be a case of the referee being a bad one whenever a decision goes against you and being a good one whenever it does.  That show a distinct lack of respect for the opposition.

Manchester United can feel entitled to think they will win every game they participate in. That comes with the territory for a team of their stature. More often than not they do win but in the cases they don’t, they need to show a little bit more humility. They need to doff their cap to whoever has defeated them and say ‘well played’.

What we don’t need is more whinging and complaining. You take the good with the bad and considering how much good and little bad they get – this really shouldn’t be too hard.

David Wiseman writes for this blog. He also writes about cricket betting.