Premier League preview
Liverpool’s mouth-watering encounter with Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday is the pick of this weekend’s Premier League fixtures, and you can catch all the action live on Sky Sports 1 & HD1 from 3.30pm.
Last season’s corresponding meeting was arguably the game of the 2008/09 campaign as the pair shared a topsy-turvy 4-4 draw. Sharing the points this time around would do neither manager any great favours as each team aims to gain a significant mental fillip ahead of a congested festive programme.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa make the trip to champions Manchester United, Chelsea are aiming to bounce back against Everton, Tottenham Hotspur tackle Wolverhampton Wanderers, Manchester City head to North West neighbours Bolton Wanderers while bottom-of-the-table Portsmouth meet Sunderland.
Rafa Benitez’s theory that the end of Liverpool’s torrid UEFA Champions League journey could reignite their domestic campaign will be put to the test on Merseyside at the weekend. A midweek defeat to Fiorentina capped off a forgettable European campaign, although there were positives to take as Fernando Torres made a cameo and Alberto Aquilani made his first start for the club. Arsenal should be energised for the clash, after Arsene Wenger rotated on Wednesday. All eyes will doubtless be on Andrey Arshavin after his incredible four-goal haul in this fixture last term, while a win for the Gunners would do much to repair the damage of their recent back-to-back losses.
Chelsea’s slip last weekend has put Manchester United within touching distance of the league leaders. With this in mind, Sir Alex Ferguson will have his troops 100 per cent focused on professionally disposing of Aston Villa. But defeating Martin O’Neill’s men should be no easy task. The fifth-placed outfit are unbeaten in four games and their boss could opt to again utilise the in-form James Milner centrally – a move which proved hugely effective against Hull City. Yet Villa have never won at Old Trafford in the Premier League, while the Red Devils have lost just one of their previous 31 top-flight games on home soil. This should make for an intriguing match-up.
Table-toppers Chelsea were brought back down to earth with a bump when they were undone by Manchester City at Eastlands. And, having been denied during midweek in the Champions League, Carlo Ancelotti’s side have failed to win any of their last three matches – not quite a crisis, but still unthinkable just a week or so ago. However, the Blues boast an imposing record versus Saturday’s opponents Everton: they are unbeaten in their last 23 games against the Toffees in all competitions. Furthermore, Chelsea have not conceded a league goal at Stamford Bridge for 10 hours and two minutes. Yet David Moyes could be optimistic of coming away from the capital with something to show for his side’s efforts, with last weekend’s late draw versus Tottenham likely to have lifted spirits. Also, there is a possibility that Michael Essien’s four-week absence through injury could hurt the Blues even further.
Incredible
Tottenham’s throwing away of three points at Everton last weekend saw them remain fourth in the table, but victory over Wolves on Saturday will ensure they leapfrog North London rivals Arsenal into third, until at least Sunday afternoon. Harry Redknapp will be concerned at the manner in which his Spurs team folded, but will be hopeful of a response versus struggling Wolves. However, Mick McCarthy’s men, who sit in the relegation zone, are in decent spirits having won their first match in nine attempts. The subplot of the clash will be Robbie Keane facing the club where he started his career, but the main storyline centres around the search for a vital three-point haul.
Manchester City finally ended their incredible run of draws, and in some style, as they overcame Chelsea last Saturday to restate their ambitions of competing with the division’s ‘big four’. And victory in their meeting with Bolton Wanderers could feasibly see City climb to fourth in the table, come the end of the weekend. For Bolton, to say that that their manager Gary Megson is under pressure would be an understatement. The team is not performing well, having lost five of their last seven matches. Their form at home has been disastrous while the hunt for a first clean sheet of the campaign goes on. However, Megson can possibly take heart from City having not scored in their last four Premier League trips to the Reebok Stadium. It is but a crumb of comfort for the Trotters.
Portsmouth ensured they did not become stranded at the foot of the standings after Avram Grant recorded his first win in charge last weekend. Next they travel to an out-of-sorts Sunderland side, who invariably perform better at the Stadium of Light than on their travels. Sunderland’s unpredictable form has seen them steadily slip to 10th in the table, while, similar to their opposition, goals have been an issue of late, having scored just once in their previous four fixtures. And the head-to-head record favours the visitors, who have won their last three clashes with the Black Cats.
Stoke City and Wigan Athletic face one another on Saturday lunchtime, live on Sky Sports 1 & HD1. It remains to be seen if James Beattie will start versus the Latics, following his row with manager Tony Pulis and fitness concerns. However, Pulis could sure be tempted to include the striker, who has scored two goals in three Premier League games against Wigan. Despite much praise directed in Pulis’ direction for the job he has done this term and some criticism in Roberto Martinez’s, only three points separate the two clubs. Stoke are arguably favourites, what with their home advantage, while we all remember what happened to Wigan the last time they left Lancashire in search of success.
Birmingham City have surprised most with their excellent form. Alex McLeish’s side are currently unbeaten in six games while they are seeking a fourth straight win. Should they achieve said feat then they will match their best ever Premier League run. Prior to the start of the season, one would imagine this would have been a fairly routine test for Gianfranco Zola’s West Ham United. Yet, the Hammers are struggling, with their balance between defence and attack yet to click. Away from home, too, they have been poor, having won just two of their last 12 games on their travels and none of the last six. The Hammers will know that defeat is not an option when considering their precarious position in the table.
Lastly, Hull City host Blackburn Rovers at the KC Stadium. The bubble Phil Brown had huffed and puffed to inflate was somewhat deflated by their defeat at Aston Villa. But a return of eight points from a possible 15 is not form of a side heading for the Championship. Blackburn may not have lost either of their last two games, in one of which they held Liverpool, but the fact remains that the goals have dried up. Rovers have failed to hit the back of the net in their previous three outings. Success for the Tigers would prove a huge boost to their survival push, but Blackburn are unlikely to roll over without a fight, in the knowledge they can put some distance between themselves as the danger zone.
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Alberto Aquilani, Alex Ferguson, Anfield, Bolton Wanderers, European Campaign, Fernando Torres, Fillip, Hd1, Hull City, League Leaders, League Preview, Martin O Neill, Old Trafford, Premier League Fixtures, Rafa Benitez, Sir Alex Ferguson, Sky Sports, Torrid, Uefa Champions League, Wolverhampton Wanderers
Bullard gets injury boost
Hull City manager Phil Brown has told Sky Sports News that Jimmy Bullard has not suffered any serious knee ligament damage.
The influential midfielder has been ruled out for six to eight weeks, but that is a boost as there were serious fears he could have suffered cruciate knee ligament damage for a third time in his career.
Bullard suffered his latest injury at Aston Villa on Saturday, and he was visibly upset amid fears his season could have been over before it had barely started.
Bullard only made his comeback from his last injury in October, but his impact was tremendous as he won Premier League Player of the Month for November.
Now scans have confirmed that he has only sprained medial ligaments, which will rule him out until the end of January.
Six to eight weeks
“Jimmy is going to be out between six and eight weeks, a totally separate injury to anything he has had before,” Brown told Sky Sports News.
“It is a grade 2 sprain on his medial ligament, it is not connected with anterior cruciate ligament.
“Whichever way you look – on the negative front we are losing a very good player for six weeks, but on the other side it could have been a lot longer.
“It has been a horrendous day [waiting], but you talk about popularity – the amount of well wishers and people asking about Jimmy, it is fantastic the response to one of the most popular players in the country.
“I am hopeful that Jimmy will be back on the field of play before the transfer window closes – that is what I am looking at and hopefully what everyone else is looking at.
“It also gives us a chance to strengthen his other leg, it hasn’t been a problem but it gives us a chance to strengthen.”
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Amp, Anterior Cruciate Ligament, Aston Villa, Career, Fears, Hull City, Jimmy Bullard, Knee Ligament Damage, Ligaments, Medial Ligament, Midfielder, Phil Brown, Popularity, Premier League, Six Weeks, Sky Sports, Sky Sports News, Sprain, Third Time, Well Wishers
Hull City are for sale, claims report
• Pearson asked to prepare club for sale
• Club’s debt at a ‘manageable’ £9m
Hull City are for sale and the owner, Russell Bartlett, hopes to find a buyer in the New Year, according to a report today. Bartlett has been forced to pay his own money into the club to fund its day-to-day trading and the report says that he has asked the new chairman, Adam Pearson, to prepare Hull for sale.
The report in the Daily Express says that part of Pearson’s brief when he returned to Hull from Derby County this month was to find a buyer. Pearson was heavily involved in a deal that led to Derby being taken over by an international investment group, led by General Sports and Entertainment, four months after becoming the club’s executive chairman in October 2007.
Pearson has said that Hull’s debt is £9m. He has described that as manageable but will try to sell a number of players in the January transfer window to try to reduce the wage bill.
Pearson’s predecessor, Paul Duffen, has told the Express in an interview published that Hull’s financial position is not perilous. “It’s no different to the reality faced by many Premier League clubs,” he said. “I’m pleased the actual debt of Hull has been confirmed at £9m, a wholly acceptable figure on a club turnover in excess of £50m.”
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Categories: Uncategorized Tags: 50m, 9m, Bartlett, Bill Pearson, Daily Express, Day Trading, Derby County, Executive Chairman, Financial Position, Four Months, General Sports, Guardian News, Hull City, International Investment, Investment Group, New Year, Paul Duffen, Predecessor, Premier League Clubs, Turnover
Brown tries to appease new chairman
Olive branch is offered by under-pressure Hull City manager after bold statements start to backfire on him
Phil Brown was lectured on the perils of ego and the benefits of humility last week. The eviscerating message, delivered by his new chairman, Adam Pearson, certainly appeared to have penetrated when, on Friday, Hull City’s manager cut an unusually circumspect figure. Brown definitely appears to regret boasting about “sweet-talking” a woman out of jumping off the Humber Bridge while taking his squad for a walk in late September.
With no Hull player, let alone the official body that monitors the suspension bridge, remotely aware of such an incident, The Observer put it to Brown that the apparently suicidal female was a figment of his imagination. He looked rather sheepish, hung his head and, eventually, said: “No comment.”
Brown’s bold statements, literal and metaphorical, have had a habit of backfiring lately. Indeed, the man regarded, only last year, as a hot managerial property is in real peril of dismissal should Hull slip up at home to Stoke today.
In recent months, he has fallen out with so many first-team players that locals joke about the need for a “naughty step” at the training ground. Now, though, a perhaps belated air of reconciliation pervades the club’s base in Cottingham, where, olive branch in hand, Brown has even restored the dartboard to the players’ lounge and mended the plug on its designer coffee machine.
Earlier this season, Hull’s manager removed that board and arrows before sabotaging the caffeine flow in protest at the under-achievement of a squad that has recorded just three Premier League wins since early December 2008.
“In times of trouble, you close ranks, stick together and stay true to each other, and that’s what’s happening here now,” says Brown, suddenly no longer seeming quite so brashly self-assured.
Admittedly, as Brown reclines on a black leather sofa, wearing a typically sharp suit, accessorised by a brightly striped, open-necked shirt and silky socks bearing the Armani logo, he looks characteristically confident.
Yet the manner in which he constantly fiddles with his wedding ring before peppering his answers with “no comment” suggests this was, at least partially, a superficial facade. It seems Pearson’s withering deconstruction of Brown’s often abrasive and egotistical modus operandi has left him a little chastened – and extremely defensive.
Asked if his recent travails had altered him, Brown replies: “Yes, of course it’s changed me. But I’m not going to tell you what I have learnt. Why would I tell you? Seriously, do you want to be a manager?”
A little earlier, standing outside in the November chill, Hull’s midfielder Seyi Olofinjana confided that Brown had “his own faults” and needed to make “his own improvements”. Pearson’s dilemma is whether he offers the manager time to reform or turns to a potential replacement, such as Alan Curbishley, who, coincidentally, is a friend of Hull’s Essex-based owner Russell Bartlett.
Outwardly, at least, Brown – ironically settling into a new home in Hull after spending a couple of years commuting from Bolton – remains bullish about his chances of staying in situ for the long haul. “Adam is not affected by the fickle side of the game,” he insists. “Adam just sits down with his manager and plans and plots a way forward. That’s what he has done with me. I now understand what he wants from me and he understands what I want from him.”
Even so, Brown acknowledges wins are imperative. “You have these things called matches,” he says. “And they evolve into results that affect people’s mentality towards you – as a manager and as a person.”
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Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Arrows, Black Leather, Bold Statements, Coffee Machine, Cottingham, Dartboard, Figment, Hull City, Humber Bridge, Humility, Late September, Leather Sofa, Olive Branch, Peril, Perils, Phil Brown, Premier League, Pressure Hull, Suspension Bridge, Times Of Trouble
Brown’s Hull future is ‘tricky’ says new chairman
• Adam Pearson refuses to fully back under-fire manager
• ‘We’ll have to see what happens in next couple of weeks’
Hull City’s new executive chairman Adam Pearson has described Phil Brown’s tenure as manager of the club as “tricky” and admitted he may lose the job should results on the pitch not improve soon.
Pearson officially took control at the KC Stadium today, replacing Paul Duffen who resigned from the post on Thursday following Hull’s terrible start to the season. They currently sit in 18th place having won two out of 11 league matches.
It is Pearson’s second spell on Humberside. He first joined the club as chairman in 2001 and remained there until 2007, before leaving for Derby County.
It was Pearson who hired Phil Brown in 2006 and speaking today, he could give no guarantee that the former Bolton assistant manager would not be fired should Hull’s current slump continue. They lost 2-0 to Burnley on Saturday and next face Stoke, at home, this weekend.
“How secure is the manager? That’s a tricky one,” said Pearson, who has at least guaranteed that Brown will be in charge for the visit of Tony Pulis’ side. “I think if we don’t get results then that security goes down. Phil knows that; it’s the business we’re in. It’s been a difficult year and we need to achieve results quickly.
“We’re all in this together but we’ll have to see what happens over the next couple of weeks.
“On a personal note, I am delighted to be back at Hull City as chairman. Hull City is a club I know well and care passionately about. There are obviously significant challenges ahead but with real hard work from me and my staff, allied to the usual outstanding support of Hull City fans, I am sure we will take the club forward again.
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Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Amp, Bolton, Burnley, City Fans, Derby County, Executive Chairman, Guardian News, Hull City, Humberside, Kc Stadium, Paul Duffen, Pearson, Personal Note, Phil Brown, Pitch, Premier League, Slump, Tenure, Terrible Start, Tony Pulis