EPL 2014/15 - Game Week 26

Commercial greed and stupidity is going to hit us again. The greed part will always be there but I hope the stupidity stops. I am talking about the TV right issues next season. We who love soccer and the English Premier League are the most suffered lot. We need more competition to get things to be better. Can we be forever at their mercy?

I started with Starhub when they had the EPL and paid like $26 for a few channels including sports which included the soccer. Then soccer became a separate channel and cost like another $26 but because I like Discovery and National Geographic channels I kept the faith and bore the brunt. As if more than $50 a month is not enough, EPL was lost and migrated to Singtel. I kept Discovery and NatGeo and also the different sports, Euro and the Golf Channel and added EPL back from another telco that has the same father but different mother. That costs me another like $56. 

More than a hundred dollars for soccer that used to be free, for soccer that given the entire bundle, you probably only watch selected teams and matches, missing all the ungodly hours at 3am for Champions League, possibly falling asleep during the 0130 hours games, etc., why do we want to continue with this abuse and see Rooney and company throwing money to reclaim land. It's like a first love gone bad. Still love her, hard to let go due to the passion, the long relationship and the memories. Maybe better to cut the ties and take the medicine for the pain sooner than later. I need to find a strong reason to continue if they proceed to keep on increasing prices.

Villa v Stoke - Villa was really bad when they lost to another poor performer Hull. They made the toothless Tigers like sabre-toothed ones. Stoke surprising crashed at home to Man City, otherwise they were doing quite well. There is nothing to choose when you look at their historical results. Villa have not scored for such a long time that when they scored a goal against Chelsea, few people believe. Under new manager Tim Sherwood, they came alive to defeat Leicester in the F.A. Cup while Stoke faltered spectacularly to Blackburn 1-4. They have conceded 8 goals in their last 2 matches. Draw. 1-1.

Chelsea v Burnley - The Blues are in championship form. They could score late goals like the one Willan did to Everton in the 89th minute. Just one goal is enough. In five previous meetings, Chelsea won four and drew one but the consolation is that Burnley tended to score at least a goal when they played Chelsea. With Danny Ings it is possible. No wonder some are looking at signing him and he is really only 22. However, Diego Costa will be back and he needs to make up for lost time in the scorer's chart. 3-1 

Palace v Arsenal - Under Alan Pardew, Palace can score and they led Liverpool in the F.A. Cup and lost. The Gunners bounced back to beat Leicester then went on to dominate and beat Middlesborough in the Cup. Palace had never beaten Arsenal for a long time. Their last four meetings were all won by Arsenal in their London derby. The trend should continue. 0-2.

Hull v QPR - For Hull to have held Man City 1-1 away and then had Villa beaten 2-0 represented a strong and major improvement. They must have got back some mojo. QPR stemmed their rot too with a surprise 2-0 away win at Sunderland. They should cancel each other out with a draw which is their most frequent result in the past. 1-1.

Sunderland v WBA - Sunderland remained unbeaten for awhile but fell badly at home to QPR and got soundly beaten by Bradford 0-2 in the F.A. Cup. The Baggies are playing well after a good 2-0 win over Swansea. Besides, WBA seems like Sunderland's boogie team. It looks like a draw but I pick WBA to ace it because they were impressive in that 4-0 spanking they gave West Ham in the Cup. 1-2.

Swansea v Man Utd. - The Swans seemed to have fallen down a rung of late. They have beaten the Red Devils a couple of times when Utd were good but this Utd are not good. Unfortunately Swansea have been rather bad. Man Utd. did not impress but seemed to still get results. Swansea had beaten Man Utd. at Old Trafford last year. I think they miss the services of Wilfried Bony and Man Utd. is due a loss. Well, maybe a draw? Would that surprise you? Was David Moyes better actually, especially when he didn't have the money? 1-1.

Man City v Newcastle - It is not easy to win at Stoke but City just did it. 4-1. The Magpies have not lost in three. The most recurring theme in these matches are two goals. 2-0 to City three times and 2-0 to Newcastle once. This will be the fifth. City just can't afford to not secure full points. Aguero must strike again. 2-0. 

Spurs v West Ham - Harry Kane, the name is worth a goal. Some people said that he resembled Alan Shearer. I do not think so. Harry Kane is a lot better than that. He has raw pace and power, good in both feet and great in the air. He has an instinct and he is fearless! John Terry, Gary Cahill and Per Mertesacker are still suffering from recurring nightmares. In their last five meetings, Tottenham won two times and West Ham won three. The Hammers are very good now but White Hart Lane is now White Hot Lane and I have a soft spot for Hurrican Harry Kane. More than that the Hammers crumbled and melted at the Hawthorns and went down 4-0 to WBA. They have no Andy Carroll. Spurs may have lost to Liverpool but they shall be back especially with Harry Kane. 2-1.

Everton v Leicester - Everton are improving with their performance but not the results. In previous results since five times ago, they won one each and drew three. You have to feel for the Foxes as they do not play that badly but they can't finish off a game. They surprised Tottenham at White Hart Lane with a win so they could do that here. Draw. 2-2.

Southampton v Liverpool - The Saints are sitting higher up but Liverpool are the team in form having remained unbeaten for 13 league matches and have a superior record against Southampton. Both teams don't do draws when they met the previous five times and the Saints have only won once. Sturridge is scoring, even Balotelli has scored but Liverpool have a midweek game in the Europa against Besiktas which they won 1-0. Watch out for the youngster Jordon Ibe who tormented Everton when he played. This boy has a bright future. Also expect Raheem Sterling and Coutinho to sparkle. Raheem Sterling could be the biggest thing in the EPL, for Liverpool and England. He will be an even greater player if he learns when to keep calm and slow down a bit in the scoring areas. It should be close. 1-2.

(Liverpool v Beskitas):
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=877471225628803&pnref=story

Wishing you a very Happy Lunar New Year!