Monthly Archives: August 2011
The Premier League: Some things we learned this week
Here’s the next installment of Headers & Volleys alternative look at the Premier League table. This week, Geographically speaking, The Perfect Game, He killed them with their love, What’s in a striker?, Efficiency not productivity the key and of course, the latest instalment of Who is Martin Jol?
Tune in later today for our window watch where we will probably watch a window.
UEFA Champions League Group-Stage Draw 2011/12
UEFA Champions League Group-Stage Draw 2011/12
To see who the English are up against, who defending champions Barca have drawn and where minnows Otelul Galati will travel to for the trip of a lifetime, have a look here!
The Premier League: Some things we learned this week
Here’s the next installment of Headers & Volleys alternative look at the Premier League table. This week, You can’t win anything with kids…, Kick a man whilst he’s down why don’t ya?, Just don’t tell Roman, What week is this? along with the latest installment of Just who is… Martin Jol?
.
Is Arsene Wenger suffering from Chrometophobia?
Chrometophobia: An abnormal and persistent fear of money. Sufferers experience anxiety, despite the realization their fear is irrational, and worry they may mismanage money.
“In Arsene We Trust” the Arsenal fans have always sung. As the singing subsides to be replaced by jeers, fans of theNorth Londonteam are left in disgruntled resignation, hoping their manager, so successful in the past, manages to reinvent himself and his faltering young team. The travails of the team from the Emirates stadium have been widely reported and analyzed as key players have left, and squad players who the manager finally appears to have lost faith in, simply can’t be shifted. Whilst the loss of captain Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona and Samir Nasri to Premier League rivals Manchester City are indeed body blows, more prevalent would seem the lack of willingness of the manager to engage in spending the money that, according to the board of directors, is available. Has Wenger lost confidence in his ability to sign a player who is ready for action now, rather than in five years time? Or is he simply too stubborn to pay over the odds, in an over-inflated market?
The Premier League: Some things we learned this week
Welcome to our new weekly Premier League table update. We’ll be posting the team standings each Wednesday and also imparting some really thorough insight into what is going on behind, in front and to the side of the scenes at each of England’s top clubs. This week; ‘Aguero in ‘can play football’ shocker‘, ‘Military Intervention-on-Trent’, ‘Liverpool’s Tactical Revolution’, ‘Wenger Sees’ and ‘The Steve Bruce Whispers… Episode 1’.
Premier League Predictions
In the time honoured fashion, Headers & Volleys will be joining our blogging brethren in placing our predictions for the coming Premier League season. We will revisit these at the end of the season and take a look at exactly how far off the mark we actually were. Feel free to disagree and give us your Premier League twenty below. Here goes:
Top ten transfers of the summer
by Rob Fielder, from the superb Ademir to Zizinho
Wondering who the top transfers of the summer are? Then look no further, but first the rules that I’ve applied. Anyone can spend £100m to bring a big star in, but the best transfers need to provide value. So I’ve set an arbitrary bar of £20m to see who has spent their money wisely (hence no Aguero, Pastore or Sanchez). Secondly I’ve looked at the suitability of the player for the club. Ashley Young (for instance) might well prove to be a great player, but in a team already blessed with Nani, Valencia, Giggs and Park how much scope will there be for him to succeed? Thirdly I’ve limited the list to just one player per club to make it more interesting.
The summer so far: Stoke City
by Sir Barinold Winston-Smythe
A faint glimmer of hope has lain long upon the horizon this summer. Slowly, as the hazy mornings and sodden afternoons have slipped by, the opening weekend of the Greatest League in Her Majesty’s Commonwealth has stepped towards us. That is, of course, until this week of unparalleled social unrest, of looting, of destruction. It now appears that the rioting of the past few days is set to impact upon the commencement of the season at the top table of English football competition. As of today however, only two teams would appear to be affected – the Hotspurs of Tottenham, and the blue half of Merseyside; Everton.
A team most certain not to be adversely hindered by such ruffian rapscallions however, is my beloved Stoke City. You will note that the worst night of rioting in London fell upon a Tuesday. Stoke however, remained calm, assured and poised for the long throw of justice to be wielded at a first hint of impropriety. As we have heard many times since our triumphant return to and consolidation within the Premier League, Stoke is not a place you’d want to travel to on a wet and windy Tuesday night. Not for the likes of Fabregas, Torres and Modric. And not for the disgusting social warts who besmirched the streets of this country’s finest cities earlier this week.
The summer so far: Norwich City
by James Shiplee
August 13th is finally upon us and Norwich City’s Premier League Survival Push 2012 is all set to get underway at the DW Stadium on Saturday. All that’s left to do is to take a look at the summer activity of the club and what this means for the coming season.
City Manager Paul Lambert, will of course again be integral this campaign. Regarded by many as the best young manager in the country, it’s hard to disagree looking at his achievements in the past couple of seasons. His decisions over the last two years have been great and having made a lot of game changing subs, he has demonstrated he knows how to affect a game from the touchline. His focus on fitness levels, confidence and playing until the last minute showed last year and it will be important to keep this going into the Premier League. Read the rest of this entry
The summer so far: Fulham
by Richard Allen
Where to begin? Mark Hughes? Martin Jol? Europe via the back door? Off-season? What off-season?
First things first: Mark Hughes always felt like someone else’s manager. He did his best to look interested, but there were always undertones there, like he was doing us a favour by managing us: “look, it’s me, Mark Hughes. The Mark Hughes. At Fulham!” When he left to broaden his horizons or to find himself (in Dubai), well, nobody was that surprised or disappointed. At the time of writing he remains unemployed, with all the good jobs having been taken. The job Hughes thought he might get went to Alex McLeish!
