With Fabregas leaving Arsenal following Ronaldo to Spain, what players can we count on to provide that bit of magic and excitement? Gone are the players of the past such as Ginola, Kinkladze, Zola and Le Tissier. Those were the players who would get the crowd on their feet and the kids trying to copy their tricks in the playground on a Monday morning.

Has the Premiership become more mundane with managers not allowing their players to express themselves? Have all the ‘world class’ players left to play abroad? Has the Premiership become less interesting?……only time will tell, but one thing fo sure to keep us interested is a football bet!!

Manchester City 4 – 3 Wolverhampton Wanderers

I did say it was probably too much to ask from Wolves and it was “just.” Coming back from 4-1 down showed a lot guts and determination. I would go as far to say that Wolves deserved the points, but Lady Luck was not playing the game. Mick McCarthy’s team don’t deserve to be sitting in the relegation zone. Whatever you are doing Mick should be working. The question, of course, is why is it not?

Wolves (12/5) meet Liverpool (7/5) on their home turf on Saturday. This should be a difficult one to call given the poor form by Liverpool recently. The odds on the draw are 12/5 so very iffy.

Tottenham 0 – 0 Manchester United

What is it that Manchester United have got that is eluding Wolves and perhaps at least half of the rest of the teams in the Premier League? Their unbeaten reign continues and Harry Rednapp has said that this is not a great United team. Well they have played 21 games in the Premier League this season without defeat. Is it simply that they have an unshakeable belief in themselves? United were severely tested in this match and you might say that Tottenham should have taken the points. However it seems that United are not prepared to take a back seat to anyone.

United (2/1) meet Birmingham City (17/1) at home on Saturday. The draw at 6/1 is worth a punt.

Birmingham City 1 – 1 Aston Villa

Birmingham continued to slide downwards and Aston Villa continue to hover just above the relegation zone with this one all draw. Alex McLeish pointed out the obvious when he said we don’t score enough goals. There is no doubt that the lack of an effective striker is a major drawback and Birmingham will rue the day if this causes them to fall out of the Premier League.

This week-end betting tips

Everton v West Ham

Everton meet West Ham on Saturday with the odds clearly favouring Everton at 8/15 and West Ham at 7/1 and the draw at 100/30. West Ham need to get their skates on if they are to crawl out of the relegation zone. There is still time to do this, but don’t wait too long. The draw is worth a bet. 

Arsenal v Wigan

Arsenal are clear favourites at 2/9 for this tie with Wigan who badly need the points coming in at 16/1. However Wigan are a team who can get the odd result and at 6/1 for the draw this could be worth a look

We finish the week-end round up with a look at the top goal scorers to date 

Barclays Premier League Top Scorers

 Happy punting

Liverpool FC

King Kenny reigns, long live the king. There was not a lot happening on the pitch as far as the Premier League was concerned. Plenty of cup action though and no Liverpool did not progress under, new manager, Kenny Dalglish’s management. A penalty conceded in the 2^nd minute was enough for Manchester United to take this match. A lot is being asked of Dalglish to take a shaky team out of the doldrums. I fear that the Liverpool fans will have to be happy with simply managing to stay in the Premier League this season.

Newcastle United

Newcastle are also not living the dream and they will take no further part in the FA Cup. They were summarily despatched by Stevenage by 3 goals to 1. This was the classic ideal of convincing your team that it your 11 versus another 11. There was no respect for the might of Newcastle, nor their talent. However the talent was in short supply for this game. I have seen this time and again when the big clubs show no respect for the minnows or in this case Stevenage who are sitting 15^th in League Two. Let’s take bets on how far Stevenage will go in this tournament this year.

Derby County

I felt that I had to mention this other pathetic performance by Derby County. Sitting 13^th in the middle of the NPower Championship, Derby should have made short work of non-league Crawley Town. However, again they pay the price for showing no respect to the non-league team. Maybe if the players of Derby County spent less time playing bingo online and more time practicing they could improve their performance! Crawley sitting second in the Blue Square Bet Premier League are in a strong position to secure promotion into the football league next season.

This weekend

Chelsea v Blackburn

Blackburn visit Chelsea on Saturday. At 13/1 Blackburn are not the fancied team. However Chelsea have not been entirely consistent of late. However there is a matter of 7 goals against Ipswich Town in last week-end’s cup game. Chelsea are 30/100 to win and no doubt bolstered by their annihilation of Ipswich. At 9/2 for a draw I would not be surprised if Blackburn pulled this off.

Manchester City v Wolverhampton Wanderers

This is probably too much to ask from Wolves. Come on Mick think of Stevenage. Manchester City are 1/3 while Wolves are placed at 11/1 and the draw sitting at 9/2. My theme for the week-end is that it is simply 11 men versus another 11 men. Don’t measure your standards by what you perceive theirs to be. Enough of the psychology go for the draw at best.

We finish the week-end round up with a look at the top goal scorers to date

 Happy punting.

The Weekend Results

Wolverhampton Wonderers 1 – 2 Wigan Athletic

Wigan had this match sown up in its first 20 minutes. Hugo Rodallega scored in the 9^th minute with Tom Cleverley taking the 2^nd goal in the 20^th minute. Mick McCarthy’s team are beset with injury problems and the Premier League is not a forgiving place to be under such circumstances. Wolves hit back in the 87^th minute through Steven Fletcher but it was a case of too little too late. Although Wolves dominated the possession it did not stop them leaving the pitch at the final whistle with the fans booing ringing in their ears.

Fulham 1 – 3 West Ham United

This was the other relegation zone fixture with both teams desperately needing points to move them out of their perilous position at the bottom of the league. However it was Fulham who took first blood in 11 minutes through Aaron Hughes. However, as I said last week, West Ham needed to dig in to get the points. This is exactly what they did replying in the 37^th minute through Carlton Cole. Nine minutes later and one minute into extra time Frédéric Piquionne made it two in the 46^th minute. Cole wrapped the game up in the 73^rd minute to secure the much needed points for West Ham. Fulham’s manager Mark Hughes left the ground to shouts of “Hughes out.”

Coming Week-End Choices

The week-end fixtures if it happens will look like this for me.

Birmingham City v Arsenal

This will be a tough match for Birmingham at 5/1 on. Arsenal now sitting third in the table have become a much sharper team of late and are fancied at 8/11 and 3/1 for the draw. The relative positions in the league and stats say it all. Alex McLeish will need to pull something out of the hat to get a share of the points in this match.

Stoke v Everton

This is the battle for the middle ground with only 2 points separating the teams. Everton will leap-frog Stoke in their positions if they can grab a victory at 15/8 to win. Stoke, on the other hand can increase the points difference to 5 with a victory at 9/5. This will be a close run thing with draw being forecast at 12/5. So a tight forecast for what will be a tight game.

We finish the week-end round up with a look at the top goal scorers to date

Have a good new year and happy punting.

Yes you read it correctly. These are the full Premier League results for last week-end. Only two games survived the extreme and unusual freezing and blizzard conditions.

Sunderland 1 – 0 Bolton Wanderers

The result sums up the positions of both teams in the Premier League with Sunderland sitting 6^th and Bolton in 7^th place. Danny Welbeck made a fine header in the 32^nd minute to give Sunderland the points and to leap-frog Bolton from 7^th to 6^th place before a crowd of 35,101. Sunderland travel to Manchester for their Boxing Day match with Manchester United. Man Utd are clear favourites at 30/100 with Sunderland at 12/1. The draw could be a possibility at 5/1. Bolton Wanderers meet West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day in what should be a close fought match. Bolton are favourites at 6/5 with West Brom on 3/1. The draw at 5/2 is worth a bet.

Blackburn Rovers 1 – 1 West Ham United

Blackburn should have made a better job of this fixture given their relative positions in the Premier League. Blackburn are 12^th while West Ham are at the bottom of the league. In other words this is a pretty good result for West Ham. However sitting at the bottom of the league is not a good place to be. You only get a view of everyone else’s back side. Blackburn scored first though Ryan Nelsen in 51 minutes. West Ham responded in the 78^th minute through Junior Stanislas. As you might appreciate, the Blackburn fans were not best pleased. Caretaker manager Steve Kean did not improve his prospects of landing the full-time job at Ewood Park. Blackburn meet Stoke at the week-end with both team sitting 12^th and 13^th respectively. Blackburn are 5/4 favourites with Stoke on 12/4. The draw at 12/5 is worth consideration given Blackburn’s slip-up this week-end.

Coming Week-End Choices

The week-end fixtures if it happens will look like this for me.

Blackpool v Liverpool

As you know I have been following both of these teams and my loyalty is a bit divided for this match. Liverpool are just ahead of Blackpool at 9^th and 10^th place respectively. This is a close match on paper with Liverpool favourites at 4/5. Blackpool are 4/1 and the draw is forecast at 3/1. This Premier League is so up-in-the-air and Liverpool are still fragile that this game could go any way. I would go for the draw on this occasion, if it happens.

Fulham v West Ham United

This bottom of the table fixture is a must for West Ham. They need to dig in and get the points if relegation is to pass them by. We are almost at the half-way stage and it is time to think about (avoiding) relegation. Fulham are evens for this match with West Ham on 100/30 for the win. The draw is 5/2 and this would be my bet of the week-end. Go for it.

We finish the week-end round up with a look at the top goal scorers to date

Have a good week-end and happy punting.

Newcastle United 3 – 1 Liverpool

Liverpool were effectively blown out of the water in a match were Newcastle set about their business in making this a victory for their deposed manager Chris Hughton. Liverpool were the fancied team with the bookies at 6/5. The feeling was that Newcastle would have enough distractions at 11/4 when Hughton was shown the door earlier in the week. The lesson to be learned here is don’t make assumptions about things. I don’t want to see any of these great team suffer. Come on get back on track the both of you.

Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 1 Chelsea

I said that Chelsea had definitely lost their touch, last week end with the one all draw at home to 15^thplaced Everton. Here we are again away from home to Spurs with a crowd of 35,787 watching yet another draw. Spurs scored first through Pavlyuchenko in 15 minutes. It took Chelsea, late into the second half, again through Drogba to even the score in 70^th minute. Chelsea are at home to Manchester United on Sunday. The odds favour Manchester United at 11/4 with Chelsea on 6/5 and the draw at 12/5. The draw might be an option if you fancy your luck.

Coming Week-End Betting Choices

Blackpool v Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs are clear favourites here at 4/6 on with the bookies. However I think that Blackpool will tough this out. They are 9/2 for the win and I think this will be the bet of the week-end. Alternatively if you are not sure about it, I think the draw at 16/5 is a must to put a few quid in your pocket. We all know that this has been the most unpredictable Premier League start for years. Take my advice and go for it.

Wigan v Aston Villa

Wigan need a result to get them out of the relegation zone. The bookies are predicting a close tie with Wigan at 2/1 and Aston Villa at 7/4 and 9/4 for the draw. Wigan showed their metal against Everton last week end when they held them to a nil – nil draw. This will be a good match. Come on Wigan you can do it.

Sam Allardyce

We saw Chris Hughton go last week-end and the merry manager go-round caught up with Sam Allardyce this week-end. A “shocked and disappointed” ex-manager had fallen out of favour with his new owners over their plan to use Kentaro a Swiss sports agency to handle their transfer deals. However the bookies still have a future for him with to replace Avram Grant at West Ham. However sources close to Allardyce state that discussions have taken place on the matter.

We finish the week-end round up with a look at the top goal scorers to date

 Have a good week-end and happy punting

Newcastle United 1 – 1 Chelsea

Andy Carroll scored in the 6^th minute to put Newcastle into the lead in this match which was more notable for the rumours that Roman Abramovich was about to replace Carlo Ancelotti with Pep Guardiola the Barcelona coach. If this didn’t unsettle Ancelotti then Carroll’s goal probably did. Newcastle sitting 9^th in the Premiership saw the score levelled in the 45^th minute from a Malouda pass which set up Kalou for the equaliser. With other events unfolding in the Premiership over the weekend this result saw Chelsea drop from the top spot for the first time this season.

Manchester United 7 – 1 Blackburn

Only Andy Cole, Alan Shearer, and Jermain Defoe have scored five goals in a Premier League match until Dimitar Berbatov seemingly woke up from his ten game hibernation to join them with five goals against Blackburn in the 2, 27, 47, 62 and 70 minutes. Park (23) and Nani (48) picked up the other two goals. Christopher Samba got Blackburn’s consolation goal in the 83^rd minute. Looking a bit like a tight rugby union score Blackburn withered under this blitz with their fans chanting that they wanted a refund of their ticket money. This result put Manchester United 2 points ahead of Chelsea at the top of the Premiership.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 3 – 2 Sunderland

Mick McCarthy saw his team take victory at Molineux which on paper should have been Sunderland’s for the taking Wolves sitting 19^th in the relegation zone. McCarthy’s players are 100% behind him saying that the win was as much for him as anyone else.

Coming Weekend Betting Choices

Birmingham v Tottenham

Spurs have the clear advantage away to Birmingham and there is no doubt that Alec McLeish’s men will have to be playing above themselves for this tie. Birmingham are 11/4 to win with Spurs 6/5 favourites. The draw is forecast at 5/2. My prediction is Birmingham 1 – 2 Spurs.

West Brom v Newcastle

This will be a tough encounter with West Brom sitting at 11/8 to win and Newcastle on 12/5. The draw is the same at 12/5. This is too close to call and I am going for a 1 – 1 draw.

Blackburn v Wolverhampton

Can Wolves repeat their success of last week-end against Sunderland? Will Blackburn have recovered from their hammering at the hands of Manchester United last week-end? One team with their tails up another with their tails between their legs. Blackburn are fancied at 5/6 to win with Wolves coming in at 4/1. A draw will get you 11/4. I’m going to stick my neck out on this one with a result for Wolves – 1-2.

The question is where I start as there was a lot going on.

BIRMINGHAM CITY 1 – 0 CHELSEA

The St Andrew’s crowd (24,357) witnessed something that last occurred 30 years ago. A bit like the appearance of Halley’s Comet in the heavens, Birmingham achieved a victory over Chelsea with a 17th minute goal by Lee Bowyer. This was very much against the flow of play with Chelsea having something like 25 attempts on goal against the 2 attempts by Birmingham. However it only takes a bit of luck and the ball in the back of the net to make all the difference.

ARSENAL 2 – 3 TOTTENHAM

In a similar manner it has been 17 years since Spurs have won away to Arsenal. The Emirates crowd of 60,102 saw some entertaining football as Spurs pulled back from 2-0 down in the first half to score in the 50th minute by Gareth Bale, a penalty in the 67th minute from Rafael Van der Vaart and an 85th minute goal from Younes Kaboul to clinch a well deserved victory.

Betting- Coming up This Weekend

Aston Villa v Arsenal

Aston Villa are 14/5 to win against Arsenal at 11/10 and 5/2 for a draw. Arsenal look good for the victory as long as there are no slip ups.

Bolton Wanderers v Blackpool

Bolton stand at 4/6 for the win against Blackpool who are on 5/1 with the odds sitting at 16/2 for the draw. Blackpool might just upset the apple cart in this match.

Everton v West Bromwich Albion

This could be the match of the week end with Everton and West Brom sitting 16^th and 15^th respectively in the premiership. The betting stands at 5/8 for an Everton win, 11/2 for West Brom and 3/1 for the draw. Could be worth a bet on the draw.

Fulham v Birmingham

Not much separates these two although I fancy Birmingham for this match. The betting stands at 11/10 for a Fulham win with Birmingham standing at 3/1 and 12/5 for the draw. This should be an entertaining game.

As usual I like to keep you up to date with the Top Goal Scorers to date.

Happy betting and have a good weekend.

LIVERPOOL 2 – 0 CHELSEA

A crowd of 44,238 fans watched Liverpool give the Premiership League leaders a 2-0 sting from goals by Fernando Torres in the 11th and 44th minutes. At 3/1 on the betting this was a nice one to get although no one really thought that Liverpool was ready at this stage.

Perhaps the point was made on Wednesday when Liverpool visited Wigan where they were held to a 1-1 draw. However we mustn’t cry over spilt milk. Liverpool are now in 9th position in the league. They should be in more positive frame of mind individually and as a team. It’s nice to see them getting back to where they should be.

FULHAM 1 – 1 ASTON VILLA

This proved to be a tough encounter as expected with Fulham just managing to snatch a share of the points in the 95th minute. The very late equaliser knocked the stuffing out of the Aston Villa players who thought the game was as good as done.

Coming up This Weekend

Aston Villa v Manchester United

Manchester United are the bookies favourites for this match with betting at 4/1 for an Aston Villa win, 4/5 for Manchester United and 11/4 for the draw. However the results of the most recent meetings, below don’t suggest that Man U should be the clear favourites. However the league positions at 2nd for Man U on 24 points and 10th for Aston Villa with 16 points is a more convincing argument.

Most recent meetings

28/02/2010 Aston Villa 1-2 Man Utd
10/02/2010 Aston Villa 1-1 Man Utd
12/12/2009 Man Utd 0-1 Aston Villa

Everton  v Arsenal

Everton are sitting 12th in the league with 15 points and Arsenal are 3rd with 23 points.

We did see a blip in Everton’s performance when Arsenal trounced them 1 – 6 at home for Everton. Arsenal are given the edge by the bookies at 5/4 with Everton sitting at 12/5 and 5/2 for the draw.

Most recent meetings

09/01/2010 Arsenal 2-2 Everton
15/08/2009 Everton 1-6 Arsenal
28/01/2009 Everton 1-1 Arsenal

As usual I like to keep you up to date with the leading goal scorers.

Have a nice week end.