EPL Update - Week 15

My beloved Newcastle will be back in the top flight after just one season in the Coca-Cola Championship with five games to spare and now with nine points clear and three games to go they look like they will be Champions which is a very nice surprise considering Chris Hughton was the manager who have only served for some time as an assistant. I am sure many like me fell in love with the Magpies when Kevin Keegan brought them back to the Premier League playing swashbuckling soccer. The passion of the Toon Army surely played a part and it is good to be able to see the majestic sea horses on the crest of their emblem on their black and white strip on Premier League pitches again soon. I mean who else has thrashed Manchester United 5-0? Newcastle was every neutral's favourite club, everybody's second favourite team.


Portsmouth, already relegated helped rekindle the passion of the F. A. Cup when they shot down Tottenham Hotspurs 2-0 after extra-time. Who would have thought that possible with the Cockerels riding high and before they see the daylights from the tunnels, they now have one last fling in a meeting with Chelsea (who clinically finished off Aston Villa 3-0) at Wembley where the top club meets the bottom club to cap their Grand Finale.


West Ham did themselves big favours with a 1-0 win at Upton park over Sunderland and are now four points clear from the drop zone. The Hammers' survival is crucial to English football as they are the cradle that have produced some of the finest talents for England over the years.


I was sure many scoffed at me at the beginning of the new season when I said that Manchester United will not win the League. I have also said that Cristiano Ronaldo will not be the same force at Real Madrid and while Wayne Rooney will be the new star. That was simply because Rooney was often sacrificed at Old Trafford playing out of place as a decoy for Ronaldo. All of these has came true. Soccer has to be played in an effective way not just show boating. Ask Pep how he did it with Barcelona. The Red Devils need a replacement for Sir Alex Ferguson. Maybe I should take over and buy over all the Portsmouth players.


When Liverpool struggled against Fulham over the weekend despite playing at Anfield, they were rubbish if you compared them to past Liverpool teams despite their big 4-1 win over Benfica recently and when Manchester City trounced Birmingham 5-1 they went ahead to fourth with a game in hand at 62 points. Spurs is now fifth having played 32 games at 58 points and Liverpool has 56 points from 34 games. Aston Villa could actually still catch up as they are at 32 games with 54 points and Anfield faithfuls could see their team in seventh place at the end of the campaign. This will probably spell the end of Benitez. Maybe we could get get BreadTalk and Kopitiam to make a joint bid for Liverpool and from next season's Mio TV, you can catch them playing with BreadTalk/Kopitiam emblazoned on the front of their jerseys. Then from points collected from the bread or food purchased, you can exchange for jerseys. If it's not enough, get Fairprice on board and slap the logo on the back if space is insufficient.


I have said early on that this year could be between Chelsea and Arsenal. May be it is still too early to count chickens before they hatch but look at the current standing:


Team Played Points




------- -------- --------
Chelsea 33 74
Man U 34 73
Arsenal 33 71
Man C 33 62
Spurs 32 58
L'Pool 34 56
Villa 32 54


If all came true, I shall become a soccer prophet and John Dykes should invite me onto ESPN and I can pull a few of you along then we can coffee or beer with him. Don't waste time or money punting, you can never win. I have kept the faith and didn't throw away my Newcastle kit. I will be buying Portsmouth kit next, they will be going cheap. These days many people support a certain club because they were already champions. The clubs I love to support were not champions at the beginning just like Liverpool. We have a story, a love story, a link. here it is ...





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