Posts Tagged ‘Jermain Defoe’

Another one of those crazy things happened on the way to the forum proclamations in the FA cup on Sunday. Yes indeed Aston Villa and Crystal Palace tied at two all.

Palace is on the verge of bankruptcy. Palace went into administration. They were deducted ten points. This deduction sent them to almost the rear end of the League Championship table. 

On top of that, the players and managers were not sure if they would have a job at weeks end.

The unthinkable happened. Crystal Palace pulled a miracle out of their hat with a hard fought two all tie Aston Villa.

The heroes of the match were Johannes Ertl and Darren Ambrose. Both men ripped the twines to send Villa back home for a do over.

The money earned from the do over will go to pay off Crystal Palace’s 30 million dollar debut.

The Eagles two all tie with Villa is one of the great feel good stories of the FA Cup. Crystal Palace last played in the EPL 2004-05 season.

The Eagles had a great chance to advance to the quarterfinals when Darren Ambrose’s sniper laser shot from thirty yards out beat Villa keeper Brad Friedel dead to rights.

Villa had other thoughts. Stiliyan Petrov swooped down on the Eagles “D”. He scored in the 87^th minute to save Villa’s bacon.

Villa manager knew this baby against Villa would be a nutcracker. So, Martin O’Neil started his best players.

Bolton and Tottenham tied at one all.

Fulham shut out Notts County 4-0.

Spurs were outplayed for 80% of the match but they had a golden opportunity to win this baby in the 72^nd minute. Instead, it was choke city by Tottenham’s Tom Huddlestone. He fired a perfect shot into the belly of Wanderers keeper Jussel Jaaskelainen.

Give me break Tommy me boy. You wear the choke collar perfect. I mean my main man you telegraphed the shot from a mile away.

Jermain Defoe should have taken the PK but he wore the choke collar a week earlier.

Not to give Defoe too much grief for he was the one who nailed the equalizer in the 61^st minute.

This goal saved the Spurs hide from getting the early heave-hoe. Now it is back Spurs house at White Hart Lane for a do over.

Do overs are great aren’t they.

All in all, it was crazy FA Cup weekend.

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We will find out how the race for the top spots will shake out after Wednesday’s play in the EPL.

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On Tuesday Man City took care of business by shutting out Bolton 2-0. Tevez ripped the twines in the 31^st minute on a well-placed PK. Adebayor netted a goal in the 73^rd minute.

This win keeps City in touch for the race for the final Champions League slot.

City has 44 points.

Let’s get to the good stuff.  Man U and Aston Villa are tied one all at half. Villa found the back of the net first in the 19^th minute. The Red Devils “D” fell asleep on a corner kick. Man U miss played an easy ball that allowed Villa’s Carlos Cuellar to noodle home the winner.

The Red Devils found the answer in the 23^rd minute. Nani fired a wicked crossing ball into the box. Giggs gathered that puppy in from just outside the left post. Giggs fired. Whamo, bamo, the ball slams off of Villa defender James Collins. It’s in the back of the net. Own goal by Collins. It’s all knotted at one all.

Nani makes a really stupid move in the 29^th minute. He makes a dumb challenge on a ball in the Villa offensive end of the pitch. Nani attacked the ball low with studs up and the ref gave him the heave-hoe.

I think it should have been a yellow but I can see why the ref gave him the red.

This could be the match changer. Time will tell.

There are forty-five minutes left.

Chelsea and Bolton are one all at the half. The Blues have had a ton of trouble on the road.

Liverpool and my Gunners are tied zero-zero at the break.

Arsenal’s Bendtner had the best scoring opportunity of the match in the 26^th minute. He just could not pull the trigger. This could come back and bit us in the butt. We will see.

Finally we scored. After several near misses and bad finishing skills, Abou Diaby nailed the header in the 72^nd minute. Rosicky set up the goal with sublime cross.

Arsenal is up 1-0.

Man U and Aston Villa are still deadlocked at one all. The Red Devils have had most of the possession in the second half. Man U just missed on at least three scoring chances. All of them were by Wayne Rooney.

Not bad for being a man down.

Chelsea and Everton are tied at one all as well.

It is all over but the shouting. Man U hangs on to tie Aston Villa at Villa Park one all.

This is a huge result. The Red Devils were able to take it to Villa throughout most of the second half.

Yes, it is all over. Arsenal beats Liverpool 1-0.

A huge way to garoto to the guys at Arsenal.

This was a huge three points.

Everton went ahead of Chelsea 2-1 in the 75^th minute. Louis Saha rifled a shot dead center of the box. This shot ripped the twines.

Saha has hit for the daily double for the Wanderers. Louis Saha scored in the 33^rd minute. He had a chance for the hat trick but Saha missed a gimmie PK in the 45^th minute.

Landon Donovan was clearly tackled in the box.

I hope you doubting Gunners fans like apples.

Chelsea lost on the road to Bolton 2-1.

How do you like them apples?

Ain’t it great.

It is still a race for the EPL title after all. All you Gunners nay sayers who were saying it was all over are flat out wrong.

Especially you Frank Lampard who said Arsenal, you are dead in the water.

Not so, fast bucko.

Tottenham lost to Wolves 1-0.

West Ham shut out Birmingham 2-0.

The smoke has cleared.

Chelsea is still first place with 58 points. Man U is second with 57. Arsenal is third with 52. Both Liverpool and Man City have 44 points but the Reds have a better goal difference than City. Liverpool is in fourth place with a plus 16 while City is in fifth place with a plus 15.

Spurs are sixth with 43 points.

Oh what a crazy day.

You gotta love it.

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This is a huge weekend for the sports world. In America, we have the Super Bowl. In England, all us Arsenal fans are gunning for Sunday’s encounter with hated foe Chelsea.

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The Blues had a chance to be eight points up on the Gunners but Chelsea’s tie with Hull City left the door ajar for the Gunners to move within three points with a win at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

The Hull City tie gave Chelsea 55 points.

Arsenal has 49.

This is a must win situation for the Gunner nation.

Fabregas, Arshavin, and his mates need to step up to the plate big time.

It is kick ass and take names time for the Gunners.

Nothing short of a win will suffice.

Nasri said it best. A loss will kill our title hopes. A defeat is not part of our lexicon.

So, true my main man.

The Gunners have had a full week of practice. There were no mid week games. The guys should be rested. Locked, loaded, and we are ready to fire everything in our arsenal at the Blues.

Eduardo will not make the trip.

Theo Walcott will play but Diaby will be a game time decision if he is fit or not.

Lets hope Diaby is ready to go.

I will be holding my breath until mid Sunday morning.

Go Gunners and kick some major butt.

The other matches with title implications are Man U-Portsmouth, Liverpool-Everton, Hull City-City, and Tottenham-Aston Villa.

The Red Devils should not have a problem handling Pompey at Old Trafford but anything is possible. Least we forget what Burnley pulled off at the house that Man U built in the way back machine in September.

I bet the Red Devils fans haven’t.

When Man U wins this will give them 56 points. This will propel Man U into first place in the EPL.

The other big match is Spurs-Aston Villa.

There is a logjam for the final Champions League spot between Villa, Reds, City, and Spurs.

Lets not forget this little diddy. Thirteen points separate Spurs and first place Chelsea. If either Villa or Spurs can go on a huge run and at the same time the Blues stumble a title can be had by Tottenham, Villa, and yes Liverpool.

I am I saying this will definitely happen? No.

But, lets not rule out the possibility of Chelsea faltering down the stretch.

This years EPL title race has been any thing but sane.

Expect in the insane.

There are fourteen games left and crazier things have happened.

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Can lightening strike in the same place? We will surely find out. Leeds United and Tottenham tied one all in the fourth round FA Cup. Who would have thunk it. Surely not me.

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This is one of those feel good stories. Leeds is in the process of a long slow climb back into the EPL.

I love stories like this. Leeds was dropped from the EPL in 2003-04. Then the Whites hit the skids and went belly up.

Now Leeds is top dog in League One.

Leeds knocked off mighty Manchester United in third round FA Cup action.

Now Leeds is in position to knock off another EPL giant Spurs.

Tottenham had a real chance to put the Whites away but Jermain Defoe missed a PK in the 9^th minute.

This wasn’t the real killer.

Jermaine Beckford nailed a PK in the 90^th minute to tie this sucker up at two all.

Tottenham’s Michael Dawson committed the unpardonable sin when he fouled Beckford in the dying moments of injury time.

The run up. The shot. Just inside the post. GOAL. Now it’s on to Leeds House Elland Road.

Spurs had their chances in their house White Hart Lane.

This was no cigar this time.

Can you say Upset City baby.

We will find out.

Chelsea breezed to a 2-0 win over Preston North End.

The pitch looked like a mud bog.

The match was played at Preston North End’s house.

Reading defeated Burnley 1-0. This gives Reading another notch on their gun belt. First Liverpool now Burnley.

West Brom stopped Newcastle dead in their tracks with a 4-2 win.

The Magpies are currently top dogs in League Championship. 

When the dust settled after Saturdays fourth round FA cup play there were only two upsets. Reading won but I will also call the two all tie between Leeds and Spurs an upset.

This is what makes the FA Cup so much fun.

Surprises always happen.

Manchester United and Hull City was the only clubs to play in the EPL. The Red Devils took the Tigers to the woodshed 4-0.

The Rooney man Wayne Rooney hit for the quadruple.

Was Rooney’s quadruple a warning shot fired at Manchester City?

The crowd at Old Trafford screamed the Glazers must go. They also screamed some other things that I will not print.

It looks like the Philly mentality has hit Man U as well too.

So, be it. But, all real Eagles fans root and cheer for Arsenal.

Gunners fans and Philly fans are kindred spirits.

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We will call this nut cutting Saturday and Sunday. This is when we separate the men from the boys. You gotta love it.

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Man U has a must win situation when they battle Burnley at Old Trafford. Revenge will come into play in this baby. The Clarets knocked off mighty Man U to kick off the season.

Will lightening strike twice?

We will find out.

Rooney and his buds better attack early and often. The Red Devils must strike quickly or they will be in for a long day.

I am gonna tell ya. Manchester United needs to flat defend better. The Red Devils better not give up any cheap goals. Rooney needs to score. If the waste of striker Berbatov plays, he better score. Nani and Anderson need to step up their game and rip the twines.

The spark is missing at Old Trafford.

Man U can be had at home.

They already have one home defeat.

Number two could be later today.

Chelsea has a hot date with Sunderland. The Blues will be missing their best player Drogba.

Plus, the Blues will be missing a slew of other players who are playing in the African Nations Cup.

Can you say Swiss cheese time?

Chelsea needs to defeat the Black Cats.

If not look out for Arsenal, Man U, and the rest are hot on the Blues tails.

Spurs have a huge match with Hull City. Jermaine Defoe needs to have a huge match. Defoe has fourteen goals so far in the EPL.

Spurs trail league leader Chelsea by eight points. Tottenham sits in fifth pace with 37 points.

The match with huge EPL title race implications is Arsenal- Bolton on Sunday.

The Gunners need to get a “W” in this baby if they want to either tie for first or second place in the EPL.

Then the Gunners turn around and get the Bolton Wanderers in a return match on Wednesday.
Oh what fun this will be.

Add into the mix Man City and we have a great wide-open race for the title.

I have this sense we will see some huge upsets this weekend.  I think Man U and Chelsea are going down.

Arsenal will win and move into a tie for first in the EPL.

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This is one of those weird Saturdays. The EPL is off so all we have to talk about is the FA Cup. I find the FA Cup boring. Yes, I know it is the oldest cup competition in the world. 

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The first FA Cup was held in 1871-72.

This pits clubs from all divisions against each other. The little guys have a chance to upset the big boys however this rarely happens. Yes, it makes good copy when it happens.

In the last nine years, one Championship League team made to the finals Cardiff City 2007-08. Cardiff City lost to Portsmouth 1-0 in the final.

One League One side Millwall made it to the 2003-04 final where the Loins lost to Man U 3-0.

The most famous of the little guys who pulled off the big upsets were Wimbledon in 1975 and Telford United in 1982-93. Telford had another one of their magical runs in the 2003-04 FA Cup when they made to the fourth round before losing to Millwall the 2003-04 finalists.

Telford went broke and stopped playing futebol in 2004

With this little diddy as a backdrop, one piece of surprising news came out of FA Cup third round play today. Liverpool and Reading tied one all.

This is a huge upset tie.

Liverpool should have killed em but the Reds didn’t.

Steven Gerrard saved Liverpool’s bacon when he scored the equalizer in the 36^th minute.

The Royals stink this year. Reading is a step above getting the heave-hoe to League One.

Still the Royals gave the Reds all they could handle and then some.

Liverpool pretty much started their first team. This is not good.

This was the only real scare of the day.

Tottenham cleaned Peterborough’s clock 4-0.  Spurs were led by Niko Kranjcar’s daily double. Jermain Defoe and Robbie Kean each touched the twines for Tottenham.

City escaped with a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.
Benjani Mwaruwari rocket in the 45^th minute was the difference in the match.

Carlos Tevez came close twice to putting the match out of reach but he missed by just that much.

Middlesbrough’s Gary O’Neil had a golden opportunity but he came up just short.

It looks like Mancini is righting the City ship. Three shut out wins under his leadership so far but the jury is still out. City needs to get wins against some quality sides.

You gotta love it.

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My main man Harry woke up. Redknapp started Jermain Defoe and this paid great dividends for Tottenham. Spurs handled West Ham. Tottenham shut em out 2-0.

Goals by Luka Modric in the 11^th minute and Defoe’s powerful volley off his own miss in the 81^st sealed the deal for Spurs.

I just love Defoe’s goal. This showed what kind of a player this cat is. He is the real deal.

Defoe received a great pass from teammate Aaron Lennon. Defoe dribbled through three West Ham defenders. He angles to the center of the pitch. He was just above the half circle when he stopped and popped. The keeper Robert Green blocked the shot. The rebound came straight back to Defoe. He nailed the one time volley. This was all she wrote baby.

Jermain Defoe also had a hand in the Modric’s goal too.

I don’t get this. Instead of six points, Spurs only wind up with four points.

Harry me boy this is dumb but you’re the manager not me.

This is why they pay you the big bucks.

To make dumb decisions like this I guess.

The Blues almost stubbed their toes but eked out a 2-1 win over Fulham.

Zoltan Green gave the visitors a 1-0 lead after four minutes. Green’s lethal shot flat out beat the keeper Petr Cech.

Drogba found the equalizer in the 73^rd minute. Drogba’s header was deadly.

Two minutes later, the Cottagers succumbed to the pressure when Chris Smalling’s own goal in the 75^th minute saved the Blues hide.

I don’t care what Ancelotti tells us the slump is not over. The Blues were as lucky as sin to win this baby. They played like crap.

It could get worse when Drogba, Kalou, and the rest leave for the Africans Cup in January.

Chelsea is a hurting puppy.

This win gives the Blues only two wins in their last six outings.

This is not good.

Birmingham got by Stoke City 1-0.

Blackburn and Sunderland tied at two all.

The first half was a dud but the second half was full of fireworks. Both the Rovers and the Black Cats put on an offensive display.

Darren Bent had the daily double for Sunderland.

Pederson and Diouf ripped the twines for Blackburn.

You gotta love it.

It looks like the guys at Manchester City will play Mancini. City destroyed Wolverhampton 3-0.

Carlos Tevez had the daily double. This cat can flat out take to the rack. Both of Tevez’s goals showed his real passion and power for the game.

Watch out for City looks like they are ready to make a run at the top four.

City is tied with Villa on points. Both sides each have 35 points But Aston Villa is ahead on goal difference.  Villa has a plus 13-goal difference. City is a plus 12.

Oh baby shuffle the cards and lest see where the chips fall.

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Boxing Day in England provided little separation for the clubs at the top of the table. Chelsea’s road woes continued. The Blues and Blues tied at nil-nil.

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The Blues had a tremendous opportunity to separate them from Man U, Arsenal, and Aston Villa but no Chelsea wasted a golden opportunity.

The Blues out shot Blues 30 to 14. Chelsea had only seven shots on goal compared to Birmingham’s two shots on goal.

Chelsea’s mason tendencies are alive and well.

The Blues had 63% possession while Blues had only 37%.

With stats like these, this match should have been a slaughter but it wasn’t.

Birmingham had their chances as well but Blues are happy with the one point.

This is a very disturbing trend for the Stamford Bridge guys.

Chelsea can’t score.

This is bad.

This leaves the door ajar for Man U, Aston Villa, and Arsenal to inch closer to league leaders Chelsea.

You can’t do this. You have to get wins baby.

Road wins are a key. If not you can kiss the title bye-bye.

Tottenham and Fulham tied at zero-zero.

Gomes saved the Spurs bacon in this puppy.

The Cottagers Clint Dempsey, Bobby Zamora, Damien Duff, and Zoltan Gera each had wonderful opportunities to strike for gold but the Brasileiro eraser Heurelho Gomes stopped them cold big time.

The game ball should be awarded to Spurs keeper Gomes for his heroic work in net.

Gomes must have felt like he was a sitting duck on firing range.

Spurs had a great chance to get the full three points by playing Jermain Defoe but no Redknapp decided to bench his top scorer and start Robbie Kean.

On top of that, you wait until the 70^th minute to bring in your money player. Give me a break. Harry me boy you have dung for brains.

This was dumb.

Why did you bench your top scorer?

Are you nuts Redknapp?

He must be.

Fulham killed Man U last weekend. This side is good. Play your big guns. Balls to the wall my main man. Win baby not ties you fool.

This tie may have cost you the title.

We will see.

Chelsea can’t win to save their life. The Blues have one win in their last five matches.

Manchester United has two wins and two losses in their last four encounters.

Yo, Harry, the door is opened.  Bust through it and take control. 

The chances are there. You just have to take them and not sit back and play not to lose. For if, you do this you will surely lose.

The big question I had was this? Will City play for Mancini? The answer is a huge and resounding yes. City shut out Hull City 2-0.

This is a huge win for City and new coach. Mancini.

Martin Petrov and Carlos Tevez ripped the twines for Manchester City.

The table looks like this after the Boxing Day matches. Chelsea is top dog with 42 points. Man U is second with 37 big ones. Arsenal and Aston Villa are third and fourth respectively with 35 points each. This could change when they battle each other on Sunday. Spurs are fifth with 34 points. City is in sixth place with 32 points.

This is it from the far side.

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I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. Today is Boxing Day in merry old England. We have some huge matches on tap for today and Sunday. These puppies will have a lot say on who will win the EPL title. 

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Spurs have a hot date with Fulham. City takes on Stoke City. Chelsea takes a little trip to St. Andrews to battle Birmingham.

Eight points separate the top five cubs. This is not a huge spread but it does give Chelsea a little room to breath or as I like to call it wiggle room.

This is the advantage of being in the catbird seat.

Spurs need to handle Fulham. Tottenham needs to get a full three points. Jermain Defoe and his buds need to find the back of the net. Spurs need to strike early and often if they want to keep pace with the leaders.

Chelsea and Birmingham should be a classic battle. Blues are currently in seventh spot with 28 points. If the Blues don’t watch out Blues could perform a little bit of the Blues Brothers on em and wind up with three points.

For as good as Chelsea is they are very inconsistent. One match the Blues kick butt and the next they eek out a tie or lose.

Maybe this match could be Blue on Blue.

Drogba and the guys need to perform at a top level.

The dog has the edge.

Birmingham is at home and Chelsea’s road record is just a hair over 500.

For one I am very curious to see how City performs after their manager Mark Hughes was 86^th outta the joint. Mancini is the new dude in City. Lets see how Mancini can motivate the players to perform at high level.

Sure, City had some huge holes but Hughes did a good job at getting the players to play for him.

Will Tevez, Bellamy, and Robinho phone in the match or will they play balls to the wall.

Boxing Day will give us all the answers we need on this subject.

The boys from Old Trafford need to put their past crappy performances behind them and win on the road on Sunday.  Hull City will be a very dangerous opponent. The Tigers are a bottom feeder. Man U are not road warriors this year. Manchester United has four road losses already this year. Another one might stick a fork in the dream of a historic four peat.

Rooney, Berbatov, and the rest of the boys need to come out breathing fire. Goals are a must. Hopefully the leaky “D” will stand up and not let Man U down again.

The Gunners and Aston Villa have a huge battle at Emirates on Sunday. This baby is for all the marbles. Both clubs are tied for third. Arsenal and Villa each have 35 points.

Be prepared for both the Gunners and Villa to throw their best Sunday punches. This baby should be a wild one.

I can’t wait.

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