Premiership predictions

Another weekend of the Premiership is here and things are getting really exciting at the top of the table.

Sports Trader makes its Premiership predictions.

The Chelsea / Liverpool clash is being dubbed as the "Make or Break" fixture - particularly for Liverpool - but we've got some interest in the Manchester United / Everton fixture which we believe could surprise....

Saturday fixtures:

Bolton v Tottenham - Draw
Middlesbrough v Blackburn - Middlesbrough win
Fulham v Portsmouth - Fulham Win
Arsenal v West Ham - Arsenal win
Hull v West Brom - Hull win
Aston Villa v Wigan - Villa win
Man Utd v Everton - Draw

Sunday fixture:
Chelsea / Liverpool - Chelsea win

We're looking for a draw in the Manchester United / Everton fixture and that would throw the championship wide open.

If Liverpool go down and the rest of our fixtures play out correctly, the Premiership will read as follows:

1. Manchester United - 51 points (23 games)
2. Chelsea - 51 points (24 games)
3. Aston Villa - 50 points (24 games)
4. Liverpool - 48 points (24 games)
5. Arsenal - 45 points (24 games)

Helluva interesting table if it plays out like this....

Doping in sport seminar

Andreea Răducan, a world renowned Romanian gymnast made headlines in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games when she was stripped of her gold medal shortly after the Olympics concluded. It was later revealed that she tested positive for pseudo-ephedrine.

Austell Laboratories will be hosting a series of seminars to discuss the topic of inadverdant doping in sport in South Africa. Find out more information here.

Martin O'Neill on the 1-0 victory over Portsmouth

artin O'Neill was delighted with the immediate impact of goal hero Emile Heskey - but revealed he was lost for words when it came to congratulating him.

He told AVTV: "Emile's goal was a great finish and it was a super display from him.

"He had never played with Gabby before but I thought there was an instant rapport.

"It wasn't just his fantastic finish - I thought he helped Gabby out enormously. I was delighted with his overall performance.

"He was great, particularly when you consider he doesn't know the team at all. I was delighted for him.

"When he came off, I just said: "Brilliant Emile!" I haven't got the word power of a Wordsworth, Milton or Chaucer, so I just told him he was brilliant."

While MON was obviously thrilled by his new signing's all-action display, he was also glowing in his praise of a host of claret and blue heroes.

He added: "There were loads of brilliant performances - Carlos Cuellar and Zat Knight to start.

"Luke Young at left-back was terrific and the captain Gareth Barry was fantastic.

"His opening 20 minutes set the tone for the game. He was going in and winning challenges he had no right to win.

"Stiliyan Petrov was excellent and James Milner was fantastic - absolutely fantastic."

Sigh

I see that Aston Villa were held 0-0 in their FA Cup fixture away to Doncaster....

C'mon guys - DONCASTER?!

How sad - We really should have won it - every extra game we have to play this season is going to count against us. Should have done better here but hopefully with the home fans behind us next time we should annihilate them....

Go Villa

Villa signs Heskey

Aston Villa have confirmed the signing of England international striker Emile Heskey as manager Martin O'Neill's first signing of the January transfer window.

Heskey joins Villa on a three-and-a-half year deal from Wigan Athletic and links up again with his former Leicester boss.

O'Neill told Aston Villa fans: "I am absolutely delighted. He has been a brilliant player for a number of years and this is great news. "It gives us all a big boost - the football club, myself and the players."

Heskey will wear the number 18 shirt.

It's an interesting signing in that he has been something of a journeyman in the last few years. He didn't exactly shine for Wigan, but that may be a a function of how Wigan performed as a team rather than weaker performances from him. On form he could be a great addition to the Aston Villa line-up to support Agbonlahor upfront.

He definately brings some muscle which gives Martin O'Neill a bit more room to work.

Will see how he does...

Liverpool up for sale?

I see that the global financial crisis is starting to bite big time and now both owners of Liverpool - George Gillet and Tom Hicks - are looking for somebody to buy out their stakes.

Once again a big name English club is being linked with some mega rich names out of the Middle East - Definately a changing new world order!

What I found really curious was the rumours that the club has been holding talks with Jurgen Klinsmann to replace Rafa Benitez.

Amazing - the club gets to the top of the table and looks a genuine title contender and suddenly you have the speculation mounting that a new manager should be found?! How odd...

5 out of 5 for Villa

Villa showed desire and determination to come from behind against Sunderland and make it five away wins in a row.

It represents their best run of results on the road for almost 11 years.

But they were made to work hard for all three points at the Stadium of Light.

They went in at the break one-down after Danny Collins rose highest to head home in a first half the home side dominated.

But Martin O'Neill's men came careering back after the break - James Milner equalising before Gareth Barry slammed home a penalty to earn the terrific maximum haul.

There was one low spot as Ashley Young was red carded midway through the second half.

English Premiership predictions

Fun and games in the English Premiership and Man Citys somewhat audacious bid for Kaka just adds to the entertainment...

Six points separate the top four sides and any dropped points from here on in are going to be costly.

Sports Trader takes a look at the weekend fixtures and makes its picks:

Saturday 17 January
Blackburn v Newcastle - Blackburn win
Bolton v Man Utd - Man Utd Win
Chelsea v Stoke - Chelsea win
Man City v Wigan City - Draw
Sunderland v Aston Villa - Aston Villa Win
West Brom v Middlesbrough - Middlesbrough Win
Hull v Arsenal - Draw

Arsenal fans won't like it but we're backing Hull to hold them the Gunners to a draw.

Blackburn have had a shocking season but Newcastle have looked sorely off the boil so we're expecting Blackburn to take advantage of home-ground advantage.

Sunday 18 January
West Ham v Fulham - West Ham win
Tottenham v Portsmouth - Draw

Can Spurs' get any worse?!

Liverpool host Everton on Monday and we're calling for the draw...

Absa Premiership weekend predictions

Things are really starting to heat up in the Absa Premiership with only 8 points separating the top 10 teams. The Sports Trader blog takes a look at the fixtures for the weekend and makes its predictions.

Saturday 17 January
Maritzburg Utd v Ajax Cape Town - Ajax win
Free State Stars v SuperSport United - SuperSport win
Orlando Pirates v Golden Arrows - Draw

The big game is Orlando Pirates vs Golden Arrows is likely to be an interesting one. Pirates seem to have hit their stride but we're expecting a stubborn performance from third placed Golden Arrows.

Sunday 18 January
Bay United v Moroka Swallows - Draw
Thanda Royal Zulu FC v Kaizer Chiefs - Chiefs win

Fantasy league soccer

I got the following message from Brent Graham over at SportingWeb and I thought I would see if I could get any of our bloggers involved:

Hi Guys,

If you are getting this I know you or have had enough correspondence to feel as though I do.

The FantasySports English Soccer 6 gets rolling again tomorrow and I have set up a mini league called Pay2Play

The competition involves predicting win/lose or draw on 6 matches each weekend and is real easy to play

To join my mini league Pay2Play you will need to commit to putting R100 into the pool which will go into the pot for the winner(s) of the league – all funds will go to prizes and I will send breakdown next week depending how many guys come on board (I have left it very late)

How do I join?

Log onto www.fs.co.za

Register (if not already)

Enter a team in the English Soccer 6

Capture your predictions

Click on “create or join a mini league”

Look for Pay2Play and enter the password which is money

Even if there are only a few of us it should spice things up nicely for the next few months.

Payment of the R100 will be required by the end of the month – I will send details or collect from those I see.

Head to www.fs.co.za now and prepare to play for second place.

Note: this is totally separate from the FantasySports website

You may invite mates but will need to guarantee their payment

Cheers

Brent Graham

www.sportingweb.co.za

Collymore: Milner Central to Future

Damn it's great watching Villa winning on a week to week basis now. What a team!

Picked up this piece from Aston Villa news column and thought it might make for interesting reading:

Stan Collymore believes James Milner's future may lie in central midfield.

Collymore has been thoroughly impressed with Milner's contribution on the right flank since his multi-million pound from Newcastle.

But the former Villa hero sees Milner as a central star in the coming years.

He said: "I reckon James is set for a long and successful career with Villa.

"Even though he's only 23, he has a great deal of experience from his days with Leeds and Newcastle and he has added both pace and width to Villa's game.

"Although he won't always have his speed, that shouldn't prevent him from being successful in a different position as he gets older.

"He's a lad who works hard and has a fair bit of guile, and it wouldn't surprise me to see him operating in a central midfield role a bit further down the line."

Premiership picks

Another round of the Premier League is here and Sports Trader makes their picks for the weekend.

Some interesting match ups but few more exciting than the Man Utd clash with Chelsea.

The only real "bogey" fixture would appear to be Stoke vs. Liverpool on Saturday. Stoke surprised Arsenal not so long ago and there is a lot of pressure on Rafa to make sure his side doesn't drop points here.

Saturday
Aston Villa v West Brom - Villa win
Newcastle v West Ham - Newcastle win
Arsenal v Bolton - Arsenal win
Portsmouth v Man City - Draw
Everton v Hull - Everton win
Middlesbrough v Sunderland - Middlesbrough win
Fulham v Blackburn - Draw
Stoke v Liverpool - Draw

Sunday
Wigan v Tottenham - Wigan win
Man Utd v Chelsea - Man Utd win

While Man Utd got a surprise at Derby, we're backing them to win. Neither Ferguson nor the Old Trafford faithful will tolerate anything but a win here and Scolari's side is going to battle to keep his side on top of their game here.

Sports Trader - PSL picks

From the Sports Trader blog:

The SA PSL kicks off again and here are our Premiership picks for the weekend.

There are two cracking games on the cards this weekend. On Saturday Pirates take on highflying SuperSport United while on Sunday its a clash of the titans with Sundowns taking on Chiefs:

Saturday
Free State Stars v AmaZulu - Draw
Orlando Pirates v SuperSport United - Draw
Platinum Stars v Bloem Celtic - Platinum Stars win

The Pirates / SuperSport game looks like a cracker but we're expecting sides to share the spoils here.

Sunday
Mamelodi Sundowns v Kaizer Chiefs - Chiefs win
Thanda Royal Zulu FC v Ajax Cape Town - Ajax win
Bay United v Bidvest Wits - Wits win
Moroka Swallows v Maritzburg Utd - Draw
Santos v Golden Arrows - Draw

We're backing Chiefs to win, simply because there seems to be some unrest in the Sundowns camp at the moment whie Chiefs seem to be back on track.

Ajax should win again which should keep them at the top of table.

Chiefs vs. Sundowns highlight

The South African PSL kicks off again this weekend and the big game of the weekend is without question the Sundowns vs. Kaizer Chiefs fixture.

The question is - whose side is going to be celebrating at the end of this fixture?

I picked this post up off the Kaizer Chiefs website and it made for some interesting reading. It makes for some very interesting reading:

Kaizer Chiefs returns to Johannesburg Stadium on Sunday, a venue they opened in June 1996 to face rivals Mamelodi Sundowns. Ironically, Pretoria based Sundowns are the hosts this time around due to the unavailability of Loftus Stadium.

The Amakhosi are in a celebratory mood after turning 39 on 07th January and are prepared to turn the corner this weekend.

Chiefs are lying on seventh position in the log with 20 points while their opponents, Sundowns are not far off on ninth position with 19 points.

Fireworks are expected to fly when the two sides meet as Club captain, Jimmy Tau acknowledged, “Mamelodi Sundowns is always a tough side to play against and on Sunday it will not be different. We are however looking at starting the year on a high note.

What is better than getting three points against Sundowns? We are ready,” he said. Sundowns won this fixture the last time the sides met last season but since then Chiefs has had an upper hand with victories during Telkom Charity and notable, MTN 8 final in Durban.



“We are aware of the challenges we face as a team this year and we are determined to overcome them. The first half of the season was a lesson for us as a team,” said the Kimberly born defender.

Statistics show that The Glamour Boys have had an upper hand in this fixture over the years with Kaizer Chiefs winning a total of nine out of twenty four games while Sundowns are close having won eight.

However the fact that Chiefs last beat Sundowns in the league on 15 February 2006 should be enough to spur on the Glamour Boys come Sunday.

Kaizer Chiefs vs. Mamelodi Sundowns results since inception of PSL in 1996 – 1997

1996-1997
18 December 1996
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Mooki, Ndlanya) Mamelodi Sundowns 0

1 May 1997
Mamelodi Sundowns 3 Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Mooki)

1997-1998
7 January 1998
Mamelodi Sundowns 0 Kaizer Chiefs 0

25 January 1998
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Masunda, Mooki) Mamelodi Sundowns 0

1998-1999
6 September 1998
Mamelodi Sundowns 0 Kaizer Chiefs 0
30 January 1999
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Mooki) Mamelodi Sundowns 2

1999-2000
21 August 1999
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Makua) Mamelodi Sundowns 1

21 December 1999
Mamelodi Sundowns 3 Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Nomvete)

2000-2001
17 January 2001
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Nomvete pen x2) Mamelodi Sundowns 1 (Chukwu)
7 May 2001

Mamelodi Sundowns 0 Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Evans o.g.)

2001-2002
16 January 2002
Mamelodi Sundowns 1 (Mudau) Kaizer Chiefs 0

7 April 2002
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Nzama) Mamelodi Sundowns 1 (Bapela)

2002-2003
11 December 2002
Mamelodi Sundowns 0 Kaizer Chiefs 0

11 January 2003
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Mushangazikhe 40, Mabedi 84 pen) Mamelodi Sundowns 0

2003-2004
24 August 2003
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Moshoeu, Mayo) Mamelodi Sundowns 0

21 March 2004
Mamelodi Sundowns 0 Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Moshoeu, Kannemeyer)

2004-2005
27 November 2004
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Mbesuma) Mamelodi Sundowns 1 (Ngwenya)

19 February 2005
Mamelodi Sundowns 3 (Masehe, Sapula, Mtombeni) Kaizer Chiefs 4 (Radebe, Mbesuma x3)

2005-2006
15 February 2006
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Obua pen) Mamelodi Sundowns 0

22 February 2006
Mamelodi Sundowns 3 (Dladla x2, Moriri) Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Obua)

2006 – 2007
14 0ctober 2006
Kaizer Chiefs 0 Mamelodi Sundowns 0

3 February 2007
Mamelodi Sundowns 2 (Torrealba, Chabangu) Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Fernandez)

2007 – 2008
14 November 2007

Kaizer Chiefs 0 Mamelodi Sundowns 0

13 April 2008
Mamelodi Sundowns 1 (Josta Dladla 21) Kaizer Chiefs 0

A giant is born

I picked up this news article off the Kaizer Chiefs website and thought it made for an intriguing read for anybody who wanted to know a bit of the history of one of South Africa's greatest football clubs:

“Kaizer XI Run Riot”, this is how the headlines screamed in The World newspaper the following Monday after Kaizer’s boys had routed the Transvaal Coloured Professional Invitation XI 4-0 (on Saturday) and the District Invitation XI 9-1 (on Sunday). Not an elegant headline, an attention grabber that captured the essence of it all.

After these two games, there was no turning back for the Club. For the next 38 years such headlines became synonymous with Kaizer Chiefs. Chiefs entered the game not only with the bang but elegance as well. There is no contradiction in Kaizer Motaung’ statement, “We changed the face of the game,” He is not presumptuous either!

Chiefs have made several firsts in local football more than any other club. The first team to have more full time professional players, the first team to have several players campaigning abroad at the same time (Shaka Ngcobo, Ace Ntsoelengoe, Pele Blaschke were all campaigning in the US at the same time in the 70s), the first team to be registered as a company, the first team to have white registered supporters.

It was Kaizer Chiefs who made a history of sorts in 1975 when they brought out former Brazilian international Jairzinho to this country. The Club continued in the 90 to ‘revolutionarise’ South African football becoming the first local club to have a club house, Kaizer Chiefs Village in Naturena. The giant Club will be the first club to own its shares in its own stadium to be built in Krugersdorp. This all started on the 7th January 1970.

Kaizer, who was plying his trade in America, found his friends and teammates at Orlando Pirates in 1969 sidelined. He played a vital role in the formation of what is currently the biggest sporting brand in the country, Kaizer Chiefs.

Together with the likes of Thomas “Zero My Hero” Johnson, the late Ewert “The Lip” Nene, Edward “Msomi” Khoza, Ratha Mokgoatlheng and others having toured the country successfully with Kaizer Chiefs XI in 1969, they decided to form what is known today as Kaizer Chiefs.

Kaizer Motaung remembered vividly, “It was on this meeting before I returned to the United States of America that I was pressured not to abandon the Kaizer XI. My father also played a huge role in convincing me, saying, “This will help you to have something to fall back on when you come back from the USA”. We needed strong administration as I was going to be away. I then recruited the late Clarence Mlokoti who was a good administrator. We also had people like China Ngema (currently a Director at the Club). This is how Kaizer Chiefs was conceived,” revealed Motaung.

When Chiefs started, they had their slogan, ‘Love & Peace’ and the brand attracted a ‘Hippie culture’ a while they were winning fans on the pitch with their brand of football. Most Chiefs players, spotted trousers with flares while among the clevers in the township and a majority of ordinary people-trousers had turn ups. Chiefs female supporters also showed traits of more liberalism in their dress sense.

Chiefs founder member, Zero Johnson recalled, “We wanted to be a team with style, not only on the field of play but off the field as well. I suddenly became a ‘dance teacher’ for the players. It was important for Kaizer Chiefs players to be able to dance when there is a call to do so. Fans loved mingling with players and dance so this was a strategy to wow more crowds,” he said laughing.

Life was not as easy though, as Club’s legend Michael Bizzah Dlamini revealed in a television show recently, “There were tough times at the beginning especially financially but we soldiered on. We were determined to take on the best in the country,” Side by side with success, death has been a constant visitor to Chiefs. The deaths of Ewert Nene, former captain, Ariel “Pro” Khongoane in the early 70s were shattering so was the death of the likes of Gilbert Sekhabi, Elkiem “Pro” Khumalo, Clarence Mlokoti and the legendary, Patrick “Ace” Ntsulengoe.

The Boet Erasmus ‘close call’ when player such as Doctor Khumalo, Moses Ngcobo, William Shongwe were pinned to the ground by two walls and the mass of humanity brought dark clouds for the Club. The Orkney disaster on Sunday, 13 January 1991 and the Ellis Park disaster on the 11th April 2001 will forever be remembered as dark moments since the Club’s inception 39 years ago.

Kaizer Chiefs though has always been all about winning from day one. The Club has won more trophies than any other soccer club in South Africa. It boasts with predicted 14 million fans around the country which makes it a biggest sporting establishment in the country and one of the biggest in the continent. The Club continues to grow with fans beyond South African boarders.

As the Club celebrates its 39th birthday, it is hoped that the new generation will match the achievements of some of the legends that turned up for the Club: Patrick “Ace” Ntsoelengoe, Ariel “Pro” Khongoane, Vusi “Computer” Lamola, Johnny “Magwegwe” Mokoena, Teenage Dladla, Lucky Stylianou, Peter B’alack, Johannes “Fetsi” Molatedi, Doctor “Pretty Boy” Khumalo, Lucas “Rhoo” Radebe and many others.

Happy 39th Birthday Kaizer Chiefs!

Source: www.kaizerchiefs.com

Reds sell Pourie to Schalke

Liverpool have agreed terms to sell teenage striker Marvin Pourie to Schalke.
The 17-year-old moved to the Academy from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2007, but despite being a regular on the scoresheet for Hughie McAuley's men, he has not made the breakthrough and looks set to return to his native Germany.

Carlos Tevez

There is a lot of speculation around Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez at the moment with rumours linking him to both Manchester City and Real Madrid.

Tevez has battled to settle at United and despite being a popular choice at Old Trafford from a fans perspective, he can't make himself a regular in the starting lineup.

Throw in the financial crisis and the dent it is putting in the spending power of many clubs and one has to wonder where he's headed.

Do you think it would be a mistake for Sir Alex Ferguson to let Tevez go?

Sundowns back in training

Mamelodi Sundowns players returned to training on Monday afternoon at Chloorkop under the watchful eye of head coach Henri Michel.

Michel returned to training with fitness trainer Florent Motta while assistant coach Samir Boujarari is expected in the country on Tuesday.

The players went through their paces as they started preparations for the eagerly awaited PSL clash against Kaizer Chiefs where the Brazilians have to win to refresh their championship aspirations.

Sundowns ended the year on a low note after losing to Ajax Cape Town away from home in the last game of the year and a good start to 2009 will do a lot of good to the spirit in the camp.

The second round promises to be grueling with tricky visits to the likes of Golden Arrows, Orlando Pirates, AmaZulu and Moroka Swallows lying in the horizon for Michel and his boys.

Martin O'Neill comments on Aston Villa sneaking in against Gillingham

Martin O'Neill admitted his team got the tough test he expected in the third round FA Cup tie with Gillingham.

Aston Villa snuck in with two goals from birthday boy James Milner lifting his side to a scrappy 1-2 victory...

O'Neill paid tribute to Mark Stimson's League Two side as they gave Villa a real scare during 90 rip-roaring minutes.

O'Neill told AVTV: "It was a really difficult cup-tie. I thought it was going to be tough before kick-off and so it proved.

"If the players hadn't thought they were going to be in a real cup-tie, they knew they were after 10 minutes. It was just an exceptionally difficult game and I am delighted to get through to the next round.

"James opened the scoring for us and I thought that first goal was fantastic. It gave us a lift and kept us going but then they equalised and it was all hands to the pump for us after that.

"Gillingham threw everything at us and the home crowd got right behind their team. They were spirited - so all credit to them.

"We got the winner but we certainly never felt comfortable.

"I am happy to have won and I am pleased for our travelling fans because it was cold out there. I hope the result heats them up as they travel home."

Open transfer window

Clubs appear to be quite circumspect during this transfer window period but here are a couple of the trades that have caught the eye so far:

Wayne Bridge moving from Chelsea to Manchester City
Zoran Tosic from Partizan Belgrade to Manchester United
Adem Ljajic from Partizan Belgrade to Manchester United

Will update this as the new deals are announced....

FA Cup predictions

From the Sports Trader blog:

It's a new year and punters will be raiding their cookie jar as the next round of the FA Cup arrives.

A lot of fixtures to get through so we've decided to highlight some of the big games and the ones we expect might prove to be an upset...

Going to raise the hackles of the United and Liverpool fans but we're expecting United to get shocked by Southampton and Preston to hold Liverpool to a draw....

Saturday fixtures:
Portsmouth v Bristol City
Sheffield Wednesday v Fulham
Birmingham v Wolverhampton
West Ham United v Barnsley
Middlesbrough v Barrow
Hull City v Newcastle United
Hartlepool v Stoke
Chelsea v Southend
Manchester City v Nottingham Forest
Cardiff v Reading
Ipswich v Chesterfield
Charlton v Norwich
West Brom Albion v Peterborough
Torquay v Blackpool
Leyton Orient v Sheffield United
Milwall v Carlisle
Histon v Swansea
Forest Green v Derby
QPR v Burnley
Leicester v Crystal Palace
Arsenal v Plymouth
Kettering v Eastwood Town
Macclesfield v Everton
Watford v Scunthorpe
Sunderland v Bolton Wanderers
Coventry v Kidderminster
Preston v Liverpool

The games we expect to prove upsets are:

- Preston to hold Liverpool to a draw
- Newcastle to beat Hull
- Bristol City to beat Portsmouth
- Crystal Palace and Leicster to draw

The rest look pretty predictable.

Sunday 04 January
Gillingham v Aston Villa
Southampton v Manchester United

Villa to win and Southampton to surprise Manchester United.

Monday 05 January
Blyth Spartans v Blackburn Rovers

Win for Blackburn Rovers....

Interesting times ahead.

Transfer window

The transfer window in the English premiership has opened and its going to be intriguing to see how the world financial crisis affects trades.

Many club including Chelsea and West Ham have been told to sell before buying players and with budgets being cut across the spectrum, I reckon it's going to be an interesting period for all concerned...