More Than Life Or Death

Friday's Rumours. 26th Jan 07

2007-01-26T12:24:00.000-08:00

It’s been about a month since this site was up.

22men would like to thank all guys who have supported us. We promise to do better for you guys. Here’s an add-on to our site, a forum. http://z6.invisionfree.com/22men/index.php
Here goes for today’s rumours. As the transfer window is coming to the final stages, many clubs will be looking to strengthen their squads with last minute buys. This is the period where flukes come frequent.

First up, Ronaldo has moved to AC Milan. This means that a new Trim and Fit programme will be installed in Milan. 22men feels he will regain his form at Milan. It was a good move for him.
Meanwhile, we see that 2 clubs are set to bring back former EPL players. Struggling Hornets are going to offer Ray Parlour a chance to return to the EPL. This might prove to be a good move as 22men thinks what Watford currently need is experience. Why? The reason is that we feel Watford has got players capable of running but not capable of making intelligent runs. Next, Wigan boss Paul Jewell is ready to bring ex-Spurs man Thimothee Atouba back to the EPL from struggling Hamburg. Due to inadaptability, left-back Thimothee Atouba was unable to succeed in his previous career and had to leave.

Here are some forever on-goings. Real Madrid will offer £35m to Man Utd in the summer for winger Cristiano Ronaldo. To be more persuasive, Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy has been “forced” by his board to urge him to join him in Spain. Also related to Manchester United, Bayern Munich will make their decision whether to sell Owen Hargreaves by next week. 22men hopes it will get through this time so we do not have to bug our readers further on him. Here’s 1 more related to Manchester United. Arsene Wenger is set to open his cheque book on Gareth Bale who is rumoured to go to Old Trafford. As you can see, he does not usually sign cheques unless youngsters are involved. He stills holds on to his “youngster policy” or rather not. Arsenal are also trying to scupper another Manchester United's transfer plan by bidding for midfielder Aldo Duscher. Alex Ferguson sure deserves our pity as Arsenal has been bombarding on his team’s transfer and Goal Post.

Previously we see that Stuart Pearce is interested in Mido and Martin Jol is interest in Sylvain Distin. In today’s rumour, we see that the 2 managers are going to make an exchange between the 2 of them. If this transfer goes through, Stuart Pearce will be blessed with one of the strongest aerial attack.

Fulham's Papa Bouba Diop has snubbed a £4.4m move to Wigan. Chris Coleman must be feeling that he is the most unlucky manager as the players that he wants to leave won’t leave and players that he does not want to leave is leaving. Elsewhere, we see that Newcastle fluke, Albert Luque is wanted by Spanish clubs, Villarreal and Racing Santander. We feel he should leave as soon as possible for the sake of his career as he does not fit into the EPL style of play. The Spanish league should suit him.

Lastly, LKW’s hated player Julio Baptista is on his knees. He wants Wenger to make an exception and sign him permanently instead of other youngsters. Poor Baptista.

That’s all for today’s rumours.

Wednesday's Rumors. 24/01/07

2007-01-24T06:23:00.000-08:00

Occasionally from time to time something happens that just shocks and baffles everyone around. A mystifying decision that either will be viewed as a piece of brilliance or a moment of stupidity, from time to time an absolute shocker happens. And good gosh, what do you know, Manchester United are interested in Owen Hargreaves! Apparently, the decision will be made by Thursday for the transfer. That sly old fella, Sir Alex Ferguson, never letting us know about his plans, eh?

To prove this case further, Alessandro del Piero has revealed that Ferguson had previously made a move for him last summer to add firepower to his squad, but the Italy veteran turned the offer down as he was too loyal to Juventus. Awww. Now how often do you see that? Give the man a handclap. Man Utd, though, would probably be better off trying to polish their wonderkids into wonderplayers, something that Ferguson isn't doing with Giuseppi Rossi. The Italian youngster has failed to break into the first team after impressive displays this season and will spend this season entirely on loan away from Old Trafford.

Oh well, if SAF isn't interested, at least the Italian Big Four are. AC Milan, Inter Milan, Roma and relegated Juventus are rumored to be wooing the youngster. The transfer will undoubtedly be subjective to Rossi's performances at his former club Parma, where he is now on loan at.

A few streets across at the City of Manchester Stadium, Stuart Pearce is trying to sign Egyptian bad-boy Mido to his squad, giving a brand new life to his nickname "Pyscho." Mido has fallen out of favour with Martin Jol recently after quarreling with him, and he will seize this opportunity with both hands. Another addition to the Sky Blues Pearce is considering is AZ Alkmaar left-back Tim de Cler.

Somewhat dubiously, Alan Pardew is looking to sign the "cousin" of Clarence Seedorf, Stefano Seedorf. Discounting the fact that the angle-hungry tabloids would definitely have picked up on this player if he was any good at all, there is still the fact that Pardew had famously once rubbished Arsene Wenger's accomplishments and accused him of underdeveloping English football. Bollocks to that, Gunners cry, as they pick up the newspaper and read the news of Pardew's interest in Sheffield Wednesday's Madjid Bougherra.

Meanwhile, Middlesborough boss Gareth Southgate, when not trying to be a James Blunt lookalike, is apparently singing "You're Beautiful" to West Brom's Zolten Gera. Provided Gera doesn't mind the breakingly bad falsettos Southgate will eek out, Gera will provide excellent quality to the Boro midfield. Jeremie Aliadiere, though, is rumored to be more into that zingy dang-dang boom type of French rap club captain and French youth idol Thierry Henry prefers, and won't take well at all to a sappyly sweet guitar ballad. Just as well that Southgate isn't that much into him too, after all. "Goodbye, my lover," sings a mournful Middlesborough home crowd sick of Mark Viduka's antics at the edge of the BMI cliff.

In the aftermath of Andrei Shevchenko's freescoring delights against poor Wycombe's Ricardo Batista, the relationship between Jose Mourinho and Roman Abramovich seems to be on the mend again. This means good news for those waiting anxiously to prove the law of supply and demand: i.e, Premiership clubs demand adorably high prices that has everyone in spastic jerks of laughter and Chelsea supply more reasons to work that six-pack by paying them. Bolton's Israeli defender Tal Ben-Haim could therefore very well be making the move from Bolton's penalty box to Chelsea's bench, where he shall join the likes of Shaun Wright-Phillips in snivelling about how one Ukrainian gets all the lucky breaks.

Bolton fans however shouldn't worry too much, as Ben-Haim's possible replacement, Anthony Gardner, reckons he's the man to take on the likes of Thierry Henry, and proudly proclaims he enjoys the battle of wits everytime he takes on the Frenchman. Oh dear, that nasty fat man Martin Jol must be driving them mad over there if they are turning masochistic now.

-Hacjience Yukona

Asean Championship SemiFinals

2007-01-23T07:48:00.000-08:00

A match that could have gone either way went neither way as it turns out, as Singapore finished the match with ten men after captain Aide Iskandar was sent off for a laughable second yellow card.

The Lions were missing two first-teamers against Malaysia tonight as S. Subramani's injury paved the way for Hafiq Osman, who had sparkled in the crushing 11-0 demlition of Laos to fill in at rightback, while the till-now in form Mustafic Fahrudin's suspension meant that defensive midfielder Isa Halim was called upon to anchor midfield. Singapore had lined up with a more attack-minded 3-4-3 formation, with Khairul Amri, Noh Alam Shah and Indra Sahdan providing the firepower for the Lions, but it was Malaysia who dominated the opening exchanges of the game. Eddy Helmi's cross delivered immediately after kickoff was put out for a corner, and a defensive lapse in the 5th minute allowed Nizarudin Yusof through, but he was bravely stopped by Lions custodian Lionel Lewis who made the clearance after rushing out. Singapore's passing was looking nervous and edgy, and when chances came, such as Noh Alam Shah's wide shot in the 16th minute, they failed to convert. Singapore were nearly punished in the 19th minute when Nizarudin was let through, but he was ruled offside.

For all of Malaysia's chances, however, Singapore missed a big chance to strike the early blow in the 41st minute when a dancing Indra Sahdan slipped a slicng through ball into the heart of the Malaysian defence to Khairul Amri's feet, only to see the forward completely fluff the shot.

The halftime team talk must have fired up the Singapore team as they came back in the second half stronger and more dominant. For all of their aggression, though, it was Malaysia who struck first blood. A moment of magic came about in the 57th minute when Hardi Jaafar received the ball back after having given it to a teammate from a throw-in. The shaven midfielder proceeded to stun the fans and Lionel Lewis alike with an amazing curler from the left wing that somehow swerved over and away from Lewis at full stretch into the top right corner. The number 10 for Malaysia almost scored a double goal in the 64th minute when he unleashed an identical shot from nearly the same position that somehow swerved just wide.

Singapore equalised in the 73rd minute when Isa Halim pumped an inch-perfect cross into the box. Noh Alam Shah somehow ghosted past his marker in a fine display of off-the-ball movement before leaping to meet the ball with an emphatic header that left the Malaysia keeper stunned.

Nine minutes from time, Malaysia nearly won the match when Eddy Helmi fired in a shot after dribbling into the box, only to see Lionel Lewis save superbly with his knees. Controversy struck in the 89th minute when Aide Iskandar was derisively sent off for a second yellow card for reentering the field without the referee's permission. The Lions captain's look of incredulity underlined the dubious nature of the decision, and further amusment was to be derived after the referee could not properly decide whether to allow a broken corner flag to be replaced deep into added time, restarting and pausing the timing alternately. The match finally ended 2 minutes later than announced, and the reputation of one Wang Da Xue is undoubtedly in question with FIFA's refereeing section.

-Hacjience Yukona

Tuesday's Rumours 23/01/07

2007-01-23T07:35:00.000-08:00

Tuesday Transfer Rumours

Manchester United wants his sweet/deadly/super/out-of-the-world left foot to replace out-going Gabriel Heinze…
Tottenham wants anything that is English…
Arsenal wants anything that is young…

And there we have 3 clubs fighting for Garethhhhhhhhhhhhhhh BALE!!!

Manchester United can offer him a Premiership trophy (most likely)…
Tottenham can offer him a place alongside supposedly other next big things…
Arsenal can offer him… Well, Arsenal is late. So they wont get the boy.

Instead, Bale has decided to go straight from Heaven to Hell (Saints to Red Devils). 22men.blogspot.com wishes him good luck.

Next up, we have St Etienne defender Fousseiny Diawara holding talks with Bolton boss Sam Allardyce. Well, 22men.blogspot.com doesn’t really know much about the player. We are guessing he is old, African, weird hairstyle, mean and very physical.

Also, Tottenham have struck a £3.3m deal for Benfica defender Ricardo Rocha - plus the Portuguese club will play Spurs in two friendly matches, with Benfica receiving all profits from the gate receipts and television money. Last heard, Tottenham fans have decided to boycott the match so that Benfica would not receive any gate receipts.

Jose Mourinho is again leading his army to raid Porto. This time, for Ricardo Andrade Quaresma Bernardo. Porto is holding him hostage and is demanding a £14m ransom. But it seems destined to fail as the Chelsea gaffer is not on good terms with the sugar daddy. Hence, no money for the gaffer, no money for Porto, and no move to London for Quaresma.

22men.blogspot.com’s tip to Jose Mourinho: Try sucking up to Andriy Shevchenko.

Anton Ferdinand has decided to stay with new pals Kepa Blanco and Lucas Neill instead of joining Titus Bramble and co. That’s not much of a choice for Anton there, but nevertheless, he made the right one.

Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp made Lomana LuaLua train an extra hour before holding talks over whether he would be doing his backflips at Fratton Park in the future. Apparently, this is a tactic employed by the Pompey boss. ‘This would make the player tired and accept to any demands!’ said a gleeful Redknapp, followed by evil laughter.

Info Bits: LuaLua's baby son Jesus died of pneumonia on January 20th 2006 while he was away on African Nations Cup duty.

Lastly, Cookie Coleman's Black 'n' White Army has £1m in the bank. He would split it into half, dividing it between Celtic forward Shaun Maloney and Preston keeper Carlo Nash.

Monday's Rumors 22/1/07

2007-01-22T08:54:00.000-08:00

If football was compared to cards, then Aston Villa would definitely never be near the best, therefore explaining why he is going for second best option, Hearts midfielder Paul Hartley. Martin O’Neill is said to have tabled a £1m bid. Watford youngster, Ashley Young (pretty redundant surname), is also set to complete a £9.65m move to Villa. Martin’s good looks and charms seem to have won the battle over namesake Jol’s fatty pies, with no better example than Andy Reid, and also stolen Young from under the noses of Alan Curbishley.

Middlesbrough striker Massimo Maccarone is wanted by a trio of Italian clubs; Torino, Empoli and Siena. Maccarone has decided that staying in Boro’s reserves as about as fun as going out with Alan Pardew, not very fun at all, therefore increasing speculation that he might return back to his motherland. Funny. I thought that they were famed for their pizzas rather than noodles over at Italy.

Southampton are determined to stay in the media spotlight for as long as possible, considering they have been like Paul Scholes to England ever since their relegation. Boss George Burley is once again saying he is prepared to lose left back Gareth Bale, even though most of the rest of the world takes it as a certainty. Fascinating indeed.

Newcastle are being very cheeky, offering Titus Bramble plus £9m for West Brom defender Curtis Davies. Perhaps they should blindfold West Brom’s boss to ensure that the deal goes through. Better still, use some of the £9m for Brambles plastic surgery and West Brom could actually be interested.

Wigan hope to get a loan move for South Korean winger Lee Chun-Soo, and also hope to have a £5m offer for Fulham’s Papa Bouba Diop accepted. Papa will definit-lee be wanting to show Wigan fans “Who’s your daddy.”

Blackburn are also trying to get 2 new defenders, Hertha Berlin’s Chris Samba, and Liverpool’s Stephen Warnock. With a name like Samba, it seems unconceivable that Blackburn would ever get him as it goes against their team ethics. Warnock is the subject of a £1.2m bid, something that Rafa Benitez would definitely consider after not playing him for most of the matches.

In other not so interesting news, Hull City is keen to get Derby midfielder Seth Johnson, while Wycombe striker Jermaine Easter is at the centre of a transfer battle between Manchester City and Blackburn. Pretty much a no brainer, as Blackburn thugs do not look the sort to treat Easter bunnies the right way..

And that’s all for today’s rumors.

-yx

Sunday's Rumors 21/01/07

2007-01-22T07:33:00.000-08:00

First up, Manchester United are apparently trying to entice Cristiano Ronaldo into a match-winning performance at the Emirates Stadium by offering to double his wages in a 100k per week contract deal. This deal comes on the heels of a string of blazing displays by the fleetfooted winger who has tormented fullbacks this season and who is a definite candidate for Player Of The Year. How reliable is this information? 22Men has no idea, but it is surely more reliable than the news that Sir Alex Ferguson is set to sign Gareth Bale for the 789654th time.

Also, in an apparent bid to make David Beckham feel even more unwelcome at United than he already is, Ferguson is trying to sign the man who broke his metatarsal just before the 2002 World Cup, Aldo Dusher.Talking about Beckham, he could be about to set a precedent for fading former England stars to head to cross the Atlantic for a lucrative big-money move to the US. Liverpool legend, Robbie Fowler, could be heading to the MLS in a bid for regular football, er, soccer, something he is unlikely to get under Benitez.

If Benitez has further reason to rub his reputation in mud, he will look no further than trying to sell Steven Gerrard to Juventus when they return to the Serie A. Gerrard will, of course, be delighted to join a club who will start the season without European football and with no likelihood of the championship. Of course. Definitely.

But hey, Benitez can't be that bad, not when he's just masterminded a 2-0 victory over Chelsea,
who are apparently trying to make up for their defensive shortcomings of late by signing Oguchi Onyewu. Who? Exactly. 22Men reckons Chelsea will be better off securing the futures of their superstars such as John Terry, Frank Lampard and Michael Essien, who are appearing unconcerned about Jose Mourinho's rumored departure.

Within the same city, City rivals Tottenham and Arsenal are also busy in terms of transfers, not
least Spurs, who have led the list for most number of unfulfilled rumors. This time, its winger
Damien Duff they want. Meanwhile, Arsenal player Jeremie Aliadiere could Ex-Arsenal player Jeremie Aliadiare as it is rumored he is leaving for Middlesborough. Another ex-Arsenal player Matthew Upson is trying to contain his disbelief after finding that he's rated a disgusting 8m. Heck, even top striker Djimi Traore costs less.

-Hacjience Yukona

Saturday's Rumours. 20th Jan 07

2007-01-20T01:16:00.000-08:00

Today seems to be one of the rarest days when those who spread rumours are on an off day. The rumours are pretty few. Let’s start,

The Manchester United Owen’s saga restarts. Manchester United is reported to be very confident that their 20 million bid for Owen Hargreaves will be accepted. Despite Manchester United’s confidence, Bayern Munich still insist that they will only allow the England midfielder to move to Old Trafford in the summer. Also, this saga is restarted by Owen Hargreaves himself. It was him who claimed that Manchester United had launched a 20 million bid for him. I wonder why Bayern Munich wants a player who wants to move so much. In addition, 22menlifeordeath.blogspot.com is telling Owen Hargreaves, “Please stop showing off how much u are worth.”

Elsewhere, Blackburn skipper Lucas Neill is not only on the shortlist of Rafael Benitez, but also David Moyes, Alan Curbishley and Glenn Roeder. Where will he fight next? We think Anfield is a better choice.

Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp is set to bid for Auxerre defender Younes Kaboul. The price tag is 6 million. Will Portsmouth be the best port in the world? Their defence and attack is already strengthened by new purchases Lauren and Djimi Traore respectively. Let’s hope the best for their attack.

Meanwhile, Wigan boss Paul Jewell is struggling to remain active in the transfer window. He has made 1.1 million bid to sign Lee McCulloch from Rangers and the Daddy from Fulham. He is Papa Bouba Diop. (Papa = Dad = Father)

Glenn Roeder has declared his interest in the boy who only used a scissors (scissors kick) twice in his career. Here’s an interesting fact. On January 20th, Newpaper (a Singapore local newspaper) reported that Crouch should not be played against Chelsea because he slows down the attack. However, after the match that is 21st of January, the same local newspaper reported that Crouch was the key to Liverpool’s win.

Lastly, Middlesbrough and Aston Villa are making a move for Garry O'Connor.

That’s all for today, short and simple.

Friday's Rumours. 19th Jan 07

2007-01-19T16:53:00.000-08:00

The Belgravia Group have recently announced that Newcastle United will no longer have the chance to spend in this transfer window as they have ruled out the possibility of grabbing St James Park. I still do not get it why so many people, not just rich old men but also players, are interested in Newcastle. Anyway, what does this withdrawal mean? This simply means that rumours of player transfer regarding Newcastle United will have low credibility. However, the rumours still continue to spread. Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder has been given the green light to make a £10m bid for West Brom defender Curtis Davies. According to the traffic light dictionary, this means that this transfer is not true as the red light, which follows right after the green light, means stop to the vehicles. Also, Newcastle United is set to make a move for West Ham defender Anton Ferdinand, who might have similar genes as Rio Ferdinand. Will Anton join his brother to at the top ten highest transfer fess paid in the league? Rio, you had better teach your brother how to price himself as high as u.

After being burnt to black colour, Blackburn defender Dominic Matteo might be joining Championship side Stoke. Let’s hope he do not get choked while at Stoke. Recently, the world’s civilians are saying NO to WAR. However, Blackburn does not agree with that statement and is planning to buy 3rd Liverpool left-back Stephen WARnock for 1.5 million.

Elsewhere, Fulham boss Chris Coleman says he will not give in to unreasonable cash demands by Martin Jol to make winger Wayne Routledge's loan deal permanent. I guess it’s because he has no money as Fulham is one of the poorest in the league. Hence, the sentence should be rephrase as, “…….. will not give in to cash demands by Martin Jol………” But come to think of it. Where the hell did the money gotten from selling your captain went to? Oh I get it, so you plan to get Robert Green as your replacement as Captain. Let’s take a look at Green’s attributes for attacking. Oops, he’s a goalkeeper. Ok, this makes no sense. Moving on, Chris Coleman must had been relieve to hear that Brian McBride has agreed to stay at Fulham by signing a new deal with them. “At least my backup for strikers is stable,” said Mr. Coleman.

Next, we look at inconsistent Middlesbrough who would be trying to solve their inconsistency. Brazilian Fabio Rochemback has released to the media saying that he has good future at Sporting Lisbon and is ready to hold up a platcard that states “No! I do not want to play for Boro.” I feel this is a pity as I like players with nice names. Rochemback, isn’t it nice? Adding on to my “pity”, another Mr. Nice Name, Ugo Ehiogu will complete a move to Rangers on Monday. Why Monday? Have you found a fortune teller to pick a date? I bet your name was picked by one. Also, Southgate’s worry increases as Hearts boss Valdas Ivanauskas says keeper Craig Gordon is not for sale. He’s just good in Scotland, but why does everybody wants him? May be his name is nice, it sounds like Groudon (Gordon). Do you managers play Pokemon?

Reading boss Steve Coppell is looking to make the best buy of the season and has agreed a £100,000 fee for Danish teenager Mikkel Andersen. Again, another nice name. “My name is Mikkel not Mikel,” says Mikkel. Also, West Ham will make a £6m bid for Birmingham's Matthew Upson after having a £4m bid rejected on Thursday. See, this is what people does when they have lots of cash to spend. I bet you are jealous, Mourinho.

Looking to Old Trafford, Manchester United have launched a £9m bid to sign Southampton star Gareth Bale and could loan him back to Saints after signing him. This sounds familiar. Oh, Liverpool did this to sign Mark Gonzalez too. The BLD method is getting famous. “Buy Loan Deal.”

Lastly, we will be looking at the nonsense of Martin Jol’s rumours. Tottenham are bidding £2.5million for Benfica’s defender Ricardo Rocha. Jol is really thinking everyone will get tricked by his January’s Fool Joke. I think it works like this, the more jokes you play the lesser the credibility. Here comes one more. Tottenham are going to sell Teemu Tainio to Aston Villa for money. Yes money, there isn’t anything else besides money. However, Teemu Tainio feels that he is popular not for his skills. It’s because he won the 22men.blogspot.com name of the season championship. His name can be replaced by 2Ts and the first name, Teemu produces one of the most pleasant sound to our ears. Tainio makes him sounds like a Thai Boxer. That concludes why he has the nicest name around and also concludes the end of today’s rumours.

Lalas

Tuesdays Rumors. 16th Jan 07

2007-01-16T07:17:00.000-08:00

Today’s soccer headlines were dominated by the ongoing feud between Chelsea sugar daddy Roman Arkadievich Abramovich and Jose ‘The Special One’ Mourinho. Roman wants to keep his pet (Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko) but Jose is saying ‘No Pets Allowed’. Both of them wants peace and that would come in the form of Tal Ben Haim OR Jorge Andrade. That’s it.

How true is that? 22men.blogspot.com doesn’t know. But moving on, we have the Everton dumping Simon Davies which Fulham would gladly pay £2m for. Well one man's trash is another man's treasure. Everton is also looking to set up a tailor shop, but first, they are looking at the buttons (Joey Barton). Real expensive buttons (£5.5m).

In other news, Ashley Young has rejected a move to sinking ‘ship’ West Ham (by the way, the ‘ship’ he is on is in worse condition) who offered £10m and a £50,000-a-week wage packet. Instead, he wants a move to Tottenham with Callum Davenport and Wayne Routledge heading the other way. However, Davenport and £2m is used as a bait to land Derby midfielder Giles Barnes. And, if the Rams get the money, they would use it on Crewe defender Billy Jones. Confusing? I know.

It seems that everybody is taking turn to reject West Ham with the latest one being Lauren. A smart choice though. As there are many better clubs out there waiting for him, such as Portsmouth, Newcastle, Villarreal, Seville and Lyon.

But West Ham is very persistent in trying to buy players and would try to trump Liverpool in the race to sign Blackburn right-back Lucas Neill by offering better wages. It wouldn’t need a clever person to tell Lucas Neill what to do. I suppose?

Gareth Southgate, the Boro gaffer, wants some Asian cuisine in the form of South Korea striker Lee Dong-Gook and would be wanting/hoping to get it within the next 48 hours.

And oh, did I say Javier Mascherano is moving again, this time to Liverpool? Or Man Utd wants Gareth Bale?

Monday's Rumors. 15th Jan 07

2007-01-15T10:07:00.000-08:00

In today's news,

West Ham are ready to splash the cash on Ashley Young, reportedly having a £10 mil bid accepted. The Hammers have also bidded £4 mil, plus Harewood and Mullins for Darren Bent. All this, just about a week after he said the current West Ham squad was strong enough to stay up. Liar, liar.

Also, Liverpool want to make a bid for Real Madrid's Raul. Perhaps after ruining Morientes reputation, Rafa Benitez still wants to exact revenge on Spain following his forced exit from Valencia. On the bright side, perhaps it could be a plot to make Peter Crouch, also rumored to be leaving Liverpool, look like a class player, hence increasing their chances of getting more money for him.

Rangers could have their bid to land Falkirk's Alan Gow hijacked, with Manchester City, Newcastle, Portsmouth and Wigan all monitoring the 24-year-old.. and some people call Arsene Wenger a voyeur....

Aston Villa are preparing to sell Milan Baros to Lyon. If Lyon, who are still in the Champions League, ever win the CL, they know who not to pass the cup to..

Everton have a very talkative insider as he reveals that David Weir is set to leave for Rangers, Everton are in the bidding for Madjid Bougherra of Sheffield Wednesday, Simon Davis is set to leave the slumps of The Toffees to the slumps of Fulham, and Nigel Reo-Coker is their new transfer target. Of course, Reo-Coker should be unlikely to leave West Ham, especially since Alan Pardew is already gone.

Just a day after saying he would stand by Jose Mourinho, John Terry has already commited his future to the club, signing a £150,000 a week contract. No matter how u look at it, whether maths or common sense, £150k/week > loyalty, anyday of the week. Either that, or Santa Roman has already decided that Mourinho is on his nice list and will buy some new players as presents for him.

Finally, 6 teenage Wigan fans were in tears after the their bus left them at Chelsea. However, being the good Sanitarian he is, Leighton Baines hired a car to sent them home. I understand why they don't like being in Chelsea, scum place that it is, but its probably more likely they are just doing an impression of a certain Portugese player..

And that concludes today's rumors.

Sunday's Rumors. 14th Jan 07

2007-01-14T23:26:00.000-08:00

So the writers of 22Men.blogspot.com have taken a long break from the hassles of the transfer window. I bet you lot are all thirsty for transfer tabloid rumors, aren't you? No? You sodded off to Soccernet, Skysports.com or (horrors of horrors) TribalFootball? Ay, and you lament the lack of club loyalty in football.

First up, West Ham winger Matthew Etherington is reportedly the subject of Fulham's interest, making him the 19876656343rd West Ham player to be linked away from the club. Fulham joins the second longest list in football (the first is, of course, Chelski's haters), the number of clubs trying to sign West Ham players. Neither club nor player have released official statements about this rumor.

Totteham and Bolton are both rumored to be trying to shore up their respective defences as they attempt to sign famous French defender Dijibril Cisse, currently on loan to Marseille, from Liverpool. Cisse's abilty to keep the ball out of the net has been well-documented, and Scousers will fondly remember how he unbelievably stopped a certain goal against Manchester United last season. Tottenham and Bolton will face steep competition from Marseille, for whom Cisse has been in good form recently.

Over at Newcastle, the stock prices of pork-pie companies have soared as Newcastle United attempt to sign Brazillian fattie Ronaldo (not to be confused with Aussie fattie, Mark Viduka, or Italian fattie and whinie Antonio Cassano). The World Cup record goalscorer has been in lacklustre form for Real Madrid, and with his contract ending in May, Glenn Roeder looks set to empty the club's coffers once again.

Meanwhile, Manchester United midfielder cum lost striker Alan Smith has had a 7 million bid from Wigan for him rejected. Smith himself has insisted that he is not leaving Old Trafford, in a touching display of club loyalty. And all around England, Leeds United fans snort their soda through their noses. Elsewhere, Gareth Bale's transfer to Man Utd is apparently in the final stages of completion, giving the rumor of Gabriel Heinze's transfer to Juventus further cred.

Not contented with the signing of versatile fullback Lucas Neill, Liverpool are looking to Manchester for further defensive reinforcements. Relax, Scousers, they're buying from the blue half of the city, not the red. Manchester City defender Sylvain Distin is apparently the subject of interest of interest from Benitez. Chelsea, though, are also rumored to be interested in Distin. No worries, scu*, er, i mean Scouse, if Jose Mourningho continues sulking, he'll have no Russian oil money to throw towards Manchester.

Finally, the rest of the rumors in a nutshell. Deciding the sight of someone gorging on food is more pleasant than the sound of a player whining, Alan Curbishley has offered Nigel Reo-Coker in exchange for Mark Viduka. Poor Charlton can't win anything at all, as they lose the race for Sevilla striker Kepa Blanco to Manchester City. Villa are set to make a 3m bid for West Ham tree Marlon Harewood, while Fuham have offered 10m for Darren Bent. Jose Mourningho has not stuck to his claim that all he needs is the best racist in the world back as he attempts to lure Birmingham and Monaco defenders Matthew Upson and Gael Givet to London.

Hacjience Yukona

-WEE

Arsenal 2, Losers 0

2007-01-14T08:17:00.000-08:00

In a tightly contested affair at Ewood Park, Arsenal showed their class by winning Blackburn 2-0 even with a man down.

In the 12th minute or so, Mr Nice Guy, Robbie Savage 'touched' Gilberto Silva who then dived and retaliated. With a vicious kick that left Savage with a 1 meter high bruise, Gilberto Silva got sent off deservedly while Savage got a yellow card for nothing at all.

Lucas Neil kicked the air and Van Persie tripped over his foot in the 35th minute, which was harsh on Blackburn as Neil did not even touch Van Persie. Van Persie was clearly diving and should've been booked. Kolo Toure's header should not have counted as Thierry Henry obviously did not ask all of the Blackburn players if they were ready.

Blackburn threatened Arsenal with their all so superior dominance and class and had a grand total of about 2 dangerous chances! Such a rarity that is for Blackburn huh..

The Henry goal in the 71st minute was obviously cheating as Henry should not be allowed to dribble past 4 defenders. Blackburn were obviously robbed by Mr. 'no-i-am-not-bribed/freaky smile' Rob Styles and deserved a 102394234-0 win.

MOTM: Robbie Savage, for being an utter c**t.

Thursdays Rumors. 11th Jan 07

2007-01-12T03:34:00.000-08:00

Thursday’s Rumours.

It’s not that we want to keep reporting on Tottenham day in day out. Blame it on Martin Jol. On the headlines today, Martin Jol continues his quest to set a record of highest number of rumours in 1 month. He is set to tempt Manchester United with a 5 million bid for Wes Brown and 50cents for Hash Brown too. However, I can rest assure you guys out there this is definitely not going to be for real.

Next, we shall look into the participation of the Woods family in the transfer window. It seems to me that there has been deforestation going on as our January transfer window hypes up. Alan Pardew is set to plant brother tree Marlon Harewood in his backyard at The Valley at the cost of 4 million and Younger brother Freddy Eastwood would be moving to Portsmouth from Southend if they have enough money to plant this young tree. Being an expensive tree and thus unique, Marlon Harewood is also a target for Paul Jewell. Also, Pardew is looking to buy Sevilla’s unsettled striker Kepa Blanco to keep competition for the striker position fired up. This might jolly well kill Harewood if Blanco partners him in the future as we all know fire burns trees. Furthermore, Alan Pardew seems to have a magic rubber band that is capable of preventing elbow movement. He has made Ben Thatcher one of his transfer targets and it is said that the deal can be finalised as early as tomorrow.

Elsewhere at Manchester, United are linked with a move of bringing star midfielder Xavi to Old Trafford. However, the European Champions wants talented winger Cristiano Ronaldo in exchange. It looks like another miss for Manchester United as Alex Ferguson has previously stated that Ronaldo is not going to dive to anywhere as Old Trafford is already a swimming pool big enough for him. On the other side of Manchester, City has signed highly-rated French midfielder Djamel Abdoun on loan for the rest of the season. It seems like not only Arsenal fancy French but City does too.

9 goals in 2 matches, this might probably signal the end of Jerzy Dudek's carreer at Anfield with Liverpool set to sign 21 year old Sampdoria goalkeeper Daniele Padelli as replacement. Meanwhile, Blackburn are preparing a bid for right-back Paul Konchesky to replace future Liverpool bad boys gonna-be club Lucas Neill. Currently, the club consists of Craig Bellamy and Jermaine Pennant. Will Lucas Neill join them?

Newcastle United is looking to add depth to their defence with interest shown in bringing 19 year old Inter Milan defender Marco Andreolli to St James Park for a walk. Let’s hope he is not the next Jean-Alain Boumsong. Meanwhile, with new found cash through sale of their captain, Fulham manager Chris Coleman is trying to prevent out-of-favour midfielder Alexei Smertin from joining Alan Curbishley and instead, join him at Craven Cottage. “Help me!” says Chris Coleman. Also, Wigan is about to sign Nigerian talented youngster Chinedu Ogbuke on a short term loan deal. It seems like Wigan has shaked off competition from top clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool with Paul “Jewel”. Lastly, former premiership striker Jonathan Stead is set to complete a move to Sheffield United after a 1million bid him was accepted. Will he bring more goals to the relegation strugglers or will he contribute further to Neil Warnock’s relegation woes?

That’s all for today’s rumours.

Lalas

Wednesday's Rumours. 10th Jan 07

2007-01-10T07:57:00.000-08:00

Tottenham seems to be making all the headlines for the rumours today. The Darren-Bent-to-Tottenham saga seems to be unsettling everyone at the club. First up, we have Jermain Defoe worrying about his future at White Hart Lane. Well, that’s purely unnecessary worrying on his part as Ahmed Hossam Hussein Abdelhamid "Mido" would be the one replacing him on the chopping board after falling out with Martin Jol. Another one on the chopping board is Calum Davenport. Martin Jol has been telling everyone that he has made a £3m bid for Deportivo La Coruna defender Fabricio Coloccini. However, Calum Davenport refuses to face up to reality and feels that he would still be at the club next month. Delusional. Also, Jol is favourites to get (his hands on) Ashley Young. Basically, Martin Jol wants everybody.

An injured Darren Bent seems to be what everybody wants this season. But, Newcastle would not get him after announcing that they will not renew their interest in Darren Bent. Sour grapes anyone? Instead, they are looking to kidnap Middlesbrough defender, Chris Riggott, Birmingham defender, Matthew Upson, and West Ham defender, Anton Ferdinand. Watch out Titus Bramble!

After taking a peek at the price tag of Owen Hargreaves, Manchester United have decided that they are not so interested in him after all Instead, they are looking at cheaper alternatives such as Rio Antonio Mavuba of Bordeaux. Versatile bench warmer Alan Smith has told clubs that they are wasting their time in trying to sign him. Exactly! Why sign him when there are better players out there? Meanwhile, Gabriel Heinze surprises everyone with his ability to think as he prefers life in the Serie B than the Premiership and looks set to join Juventus.
Deep wounds have been found in Liverpool FC after the double cup debacle against Julio Baptista and gang. However, Rafa Benitez is not panicking as he knows the perfect way of patching things up. First, he would buy plasters of all shapes and sizes, namely Javier Mascherano (from West Ham), Lucas Neill (from Blackburn) and Sebastian Eduardo Leto (from Lanus). Then he would remove the scars, namely, Stephen Warnock (to Blackburn) and Craig Bellamy (to Aston Villa). Whether it will succeed or fail, nobody knows.

In London, Freddie Ljungberg looks set to quit Baptista and gang (NO, I am not going to say Arsenal) by heading over to Tottenham for cover. However, Ljungberg have said that he would not leave unless Baptista and gang give him £4.5m pay-off for the remaining 18 months of his contract. Basically, Ljungberg is saying, ‘Give me £4.5m or else you would not get Franck Ribery’ as Baptista and gang needs the he income to fund a £15m bid for Francky.

Meanwhile, in Pompey, manager Harry Redknapp has been given the go-ahead by Portsmouth owner Alexandre Gaydamak to strengthen the squad during the transfer window. This would mean a spending spree for Harry Redknapp, and the exit door for bench warmer, Andrew Cole.
Aston Villa wants to hear within 48 hours if they have clinched the signing of Chelsea paperweight Shaun Wright-Phillips. But many sources are saying that Wright-Phillips is contented with his paperweight role in Chelsea and would not be leaving.

Finally, Jose Mourinho and Gerard Houllier will go head to head for Milan Baros; Fulham are ready to waste £2.5m on Charlton winger Jerome Thomas and Celtic contract rebel Shaun Maloney; Reo-Coker doesn’t feel like leaving West Ham anymore; Sheffield United doesn’t have enough cash for Preston striker David Nugent (£6m in case your are wondering); Collins John is forced to join Watford; Nathan Ellington doesn’t want to return to Wigan; Last but not least, David Beckham doesn’t want to leave Real Madrid.

-LKW

Arsenal 6 , Liverpool 3. [Carling Cup]

2007-01-10T05:01:00.000-08:00

Liverpool were hammered 6-3 by Arsenal in the Carling Cup tie earlier today. The match was played at Anfield, Liverpool's supposed fortress, where they had just conceded 3 goals to Arsenal just a few days ago. Arsenal fielded a very much weakened young side while Liverpool fielded a mix of veterans and youngsters.

In the earlier stages of the game, Liverpool controlled most of the possession without really creating any serious chances. However, as with the FA Cup game between Arsenal and Liverpool, Arsenal took the lead against the run of play. Jeremie Aliadere scored a goal after controlling a high ball by Kolo Toure nicely. Jerzy Dudek could not get enough of his hand to it and pushed it back to Ali, who scored a simple tap-in.

Liverpool were stunned but not for long. Useless Alex Song, who once again showed why people that are mentally slow should not play football, gave away a cheap freekick which Aurelio of Liverpool took. The shot was punched by Alumnia and went to Garcia who somehow kicked the ball to Robbie Fowler, leaving him with a simple tap-in. After that goal, old man Robbie was pretty much anoynomous, showing why old drug addicts do not go along with scocer. Arsenal became worried and started making careless mistakes. It seemed like a matter of time before Liverpool scored.

However, a few minutes later, Arsenal scored. In the space of 5 minutes, Arsenal scored a quick fire treble through Julio 'Fatty' Baptista, and Alex Song. The Beast as Baptista is known, got a freekick when a Liverpool player hit his face. It was a little cheap, but justified and Fatty curled the kick over the wall, leaving Dudek helpless. Baptista got a tap in a few minutes later after good work from Ali, while Song scored a goal when he was standing aimlessly in the L'pool penalty area. It was 4-1 to The Arsenal at halftime and the Gooners seemed to be in cruise control. Liverpool were booed off the field, though that probably had more to do with Dudek instead of the rest of the team.

Fatty missed a penalty, practically the only shot that Dudek got his hands to throughout the match. He was not to be denied his hattrick though and scored his third from a long range effort. It was 5-1 to Arsenal, a totally unexpected scoreline. Pool scored 2 goals soon, through a Stevie G volley and a Sami Hyppia header, making it a tense finale with the score at 5-3. Arsenal scored a fourth through Fatty, making it safe and the match was effectively over.

Pool fans may complain that the referee was shocking in his decision making, but the magnitude of the victory speaks for itself. Arsenal were more clinical and this in turn, led to their victory.

In addition to the loss, Pool had 2 players off injured, Gonzalez and Luis Garcia, making it a very bad day for Rafa Benitez indeed. In the postmatch interview, Rafa seemed close to tears, feeling very sorry for the Anfield faithful who seem to sing YNWA just to console themselves after a loss.

All in all, Arsenal seemed to be playing to frustrate me as all three goal scorers had just been recently criticized by me. All that was missing was for Justin Hoyte to pop up with a goal and prove that I am indeed a total retard. Even Fatty was made to look like a class player while Song showed that he could pass the ball decently. It was a sad day for the doubters but a good result for the fans. Ali- howeveryouspellhisname- looked like a smaller version of Robin vanPersie today.

MOTM: Jerzey Dudek. Dudek deserves props for drawing comparisons to one of the forgotten legends of football, Massimo Taibi. Congrats , Jerzey.

Tuesday's Rumors. 9th Jan 07

2007-01-10T02:20:00.000-08:00

Surprisingly, Martin Jol has decided to take a sabbatical from the transfer mill today, presumably taking to the runmill instead in an effort to lose weight. In contrast, Manchester United are dominating the tabloids. First up, the Owen Hargreaves saga seems to be halting to a stop as Bayern Munich have apparently demanded a fee of as high as 25million from Manchester United. Glazer being Glazer, this is equivalent to threatening to bomb Old Trafford should the transfer occur. Further more, Bayern have also revealed to the media that they will only release him at the end of the season, meaning Man Utd might have to look elsewhere for midfield reinforcements, such as Bordeaux midfielder Rio Mavuba. Should the transfer go through, Man Utd fans will be keeping their fingers crossed that Mavuba will not suffer the fate of the man so good they named him twice:Eric Djemba-Djemba.TNNNNBT( The Next Next Next Next Big Thing) Gareth Bale's agent has also reportedly stated that Bale is happy at Southampton and has no intention of moving to Old Trafford, meaning that Bale is confirmed to be turning up at Carrington next week. This could very well piss off former Manchester United Fan's Player of the Year Gabriel Ivan Heinze, who has been unable to make him way into the team lately to to Patrice Evra's fine form and is rumored to want a transfer to AC Milan.

Over at Anfield, the supposed fortress of Merseyside(except when Martin Atkinson is refereeing), Rafa Benitez is said to have secured the service of Phil Jagielka for 9million and also looking to sign Javier Mascherano from West Ham. FIFA, however, are supposedly unwilling to allow the transfer to go through as Mascherano would then have played for 3 clubs in 6 months. No worries, though, as Benitez has reportedly threatened Sepp Blatter with his infamous martial art skill of inducing giddiness, the long lost Crouching Tiger Rotating Crouch skill.

Meanwhile, Alan Curbishley is ready to splash his transfer budget on Arsenal’s Freddie Ljungberg and right-back Lauren and also Boro’s Mark Viduka in hopes of saving West Ham from relegation. Elsewhere, Arsene Wenger is said to have launched bids for both Marseille's Franck Ribery and Ajax's Ryan Babel in order to boost his side’s firepower. 22Men.blogspot.com however recommends the club does not do so for their own safety,as George W. Bush might just bomb the newly-built Emirates Stadium on the accusation of possession of weapons of mass destruction.

Also, Sheffield United, Blackburn and Portsmouth are racing to sign Belgian Al Rayyan striker Emile Mpenza to increase their goal tally. Chelsea is also rumoured to be preparing to swoop for defender Josip Simunic, who currently holds the record of highest number of yellow cards received in a match.
Manchester United full-back Phil Bardsley has joined Aston Villa on loan until the end of the season. His presence in the team would probably allow Olof Mellberg to revert back to centre back. Also at Villa Park, Milan Baros’s future at the club is looking set to end as manager Martin O'Neill has stated that he will consider any suitable offers coming from any clubs for Baros, probably as he is aware that he will never be able to win any trophies to satisfy Baros's fetish for breaking them. O’Neill is also set to make Liverpool’s Craig Bellamy move clubs again with a 6million bid. Bellamy is reportedly delighted O'Neill has finally made the move for him. In a recent interview with FourFourTwo magazine, he said,

Aston Villa are one of the best clubs in Europe. I am confident I can win all the trophies I want at Villa.

In other news, Santa Claus and Batman have finally come out of the closet and are reportedly getting married.

Finally, Chelsea loudhailer, oops,manager Jose Mourinho is apparently about to be replaced by highly respected manager Guus Hiddink as relations between Mourinho and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has apparently hit an all time low. This might be highly credible if it is true that Abramovich has reduced Mourinho’s transfer budget from 2 billion pounds to 1 billion. Jose Mourinho has angrily stated that he cannot expect to compete with the best clubs in Europe in the transfer market if his transfer budget is only 10000% of theirs instead of 20000%.
That’s all for today’s rumours.
Lalas/Hacjience Yukona

Monday's Rumors. 8th Jan 07

2007-01-08T23:35:00.000-08:00

Once again, Tottenham Hotspur are at the hub of the January transfer window as manager Martin Jol seeks to turn averagely good players into spectacularly average players. First up is Charlton striker Darren Bent, who is reportedly the subject of a 10m pound bid from Jol. This deal, however, will be subject to Bent's fitness, as Jol is reportedly not keen on signing another player just to have him engaging in fellowship with the club physios. Hmm. Should have thought of that before signing Steed Malbranque, Mart.

Meanwhile, struggling West Ham look set to struggle even more as uncontented duo Anton Ferdinand and Nigel Reo Coker look set to leave the London club for Tottenham for a combined fee of 12m. Fellow West Ham alumnus Jermain Defoe on the other hand could possibly wreck his career further by moving over from the White Hart Lane bench to the Stamford Bridge bench, something that ex-Man City player Shaun Wright-Phillips could possibly identify with. Apparently, water supports water, as this unfounded rumor is lent credence by the similarly unfounded rumor that Alan Curbishley is looking to sign Alexei Smertin as well as Tal Ben Haim.

Man Utd's famous ROFL quartet of incompetents looks to be broken up further. Former flop Louis Saha has already broken free of his Utd curse by having been in hot scoring form this season, while Kieran Richardson is reportedly the subject of a bid from Newcastle, leaving us only John o' Shea and Darren Fletcher to hyperventilate at. Meanwhile, rival player Craig Bellamy could possibly be heading to Aston Villa for 9 million, while his ex-teammate Andy Todd must be shaking his head in disbelief as Wigan, Fulham and Portsmouth fight their way for his signature. In other news, the greatest goalkeeper ever, Jesus Christ is rumored to be returning last Christmas.

Luis Figo has apparently decided to end his career in a fizzle(albeit a rich fizzle) as he confirms his transfer to Al-Ittihad. Finally, the protracted Owen Hargreaves saga continues as Bayern Munich insist on a minimum fee of 20m for him. For more details, please check the pre-historical records.

-Hacjience Yukona

WEE

Man Utd 2 Aston Villa 1: Oldies Shine as Kiraly Fumbles

2007-01-07T08:39:00.000-08:00

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Henrik Larsson took Manchester United into the FA Cup 4th round with goals in the second half.

Their goals sandwiched a Milan Baros effort in the 74th following a defensive error. Larsson had earlier put United in the lead with a close range finish on his debut to cap an impressive first game for Man Utd, before Baros equalised later on. Martin O' Neill's side must have had thought they had secured a replay, but substitute Solskjaer broke Villan hearts in the 92nd minute after Gabor Kiraly failed to dive in time to save the Norwegian striker's shot which squirmed underneath the goalkeeper's body.

Larsson had earlier looked threatening in the first half when he had slipped Wayne Rooney the ball in the 12th minute, only to see the England international's effort soar off target. The Swedish was back to threaten the Villan goal 2 minutes later when he sent a header towards goal, only to see the effort saved comfortably by Kiraly, and in the 15th minute an agile turn past his marker following a pass from Rooney saw Larrson unleash a stinging low effort which was once again denied by Kiraly.

Kiraly was again the hero in the 31st minute. Cristiano Ronaldo's twinkletoes had mesmerised the Villan defender on the left flank long enough for Ronaldo to send a cross into the box. Rooney had taken the cross niftily on his chest before letting loose with a left foot half-volley, but Kiraly showed good reflexes to deny the United forward. 10 minutes earlier, Rooney had wasted a good opportunity to put United into the lead after a clever flick-on by Henrik Larsson had released him, but Rooney scorned the chance, sending the effort straight into the arms of Kiraly. Rooney was at the centre of yet another denied chance a minute later after Larsson had slipped him the ball in the Villan penalty area, but a hesitating Rooney gave Wilfred Bouma enough time to make an excellent slide tackle to rob Rooney of the ball. A reflexive clearance in the 37th minute also denied Larsson when the Swedish had looked certain to score after Michael Carrick had released Larsson with a stunning lob past two defenders.

United continued to threaten after the break when Wes Brown headed a cross from Wayne Rooney harmlessly over the crossbar. United nearly paid for their earlier wastefulness in the 49th minute when Juan Pablo Angel was found dangerously loose in the box, but the linesman ruled him offside. A good move by United in the 51st minute starting from a throw-in from Gary Neville ended in a shot skewed off-target by Ronaldo after a Giggs pass had found him.

United finally made the breakthrough in the 55th minute after Wayne Rooney cleverly dummied a shot before slipping Henrik Larsson the ball in the penalty area. The 34 year old striker was determined to score on his debut for Manchester United and did just that, drilling the ball high into the net with his right foot.

United were nearly two-nil up 3 minutes later. A surging Wayne Rooney run had culminated in Cristiano Ronaldo being slipped the ball and subsequently fouled outside the penalty area. The resulting Ryan Giggs freekick beat the goalkeeper but failed to evade the woodwork, clipping the crossbar and deflecting over.

United's defending grew slack in the 67th minute after Gary Cahill was givn the opportunity to head over from a corner, and a minute later crminal marking nearly allowed Villa the chance to equalise after Osbourne was found free only for Kuszcak to block his effort. Man Utd would pay for their carelessness in the 74th minute. Milan Baros was astonishingly left unmarked in the penalty area by Wes Brown, allowing Gary Cahill to play a through ball to him for Baros to score.

Henrik Larsson was taken off 4 minutes later for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, following a close header from a Giggs corner that saw the loose ball in the area cleared by Aaron Hughes. United continued to press on for a winning goal, but there was little progress as Aston Villa stoutly blocked shots and made goalline clearances. Rooney nearly came close to putting Man Utd into the next round in the 85th minute, but his stinging drilled shot was tipped away by Kiraly. A good shot by Michael Carrick 3 minutes later in the 88th minute was wide of the goal, and Villa must have thought that they had done enough to draw the game too. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson must have thought so too in the 89th minute when he replaced Carrick with O' Shea, but the announcement of 4 minutes of added time drove Manchester United into a frenzy to score, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer broke Villan hearts in the 92nd as he once again scored in the dying minutes of a cup-tie to win the game for Manchester United.

-Hacjience Yukona

WEE

Sunday's Rumours. 7th Jan 07

2007-01-07T07:58:00.000-08:00

In today's rumors,

Liverpool are ready to snap up Charlton's £15m-rated striker Darren Bent. Rafa Benitez has surprisingly decided to make a move in spite of him saying he has no money to sign young players. The £15m will be of great use to superb manager Alan Pardew, who will have to start looking for a mask after Charlton fans realize that he is leading yet another established mid-table club to mediocrity.

LA Galaxy are also in for David Beckham, who has stirred speculation by turning down a contract offer by Real Madrid. Beckham will find company in Arsenal’s Freddie Ljunberg. Both players are aging right wingers, and earning enough money from their modeling side jobs to be able to quit football.

West Ham are also in a race with Chelsea for Bolton’s Tel Ben Haim. Curbishley doesn’t appear to have much of a chance against the Russian money and will only get Ben Haim if the player values football more than money.

Sunderland appear to be able to snatch Arsenal’s Anthony Stokes right from under the noses of Alan Pardew’s Charlton. Alan has shown his dislike for foreign players and Stokes, who is Irish, could be worried that Alan would bench him just for being a sheep. Stokes may not have much to fear as Pardew is definitely not xenophobic as he has 21 non-english players on his squad, something that he criticized Arsenal for.

Charlton have failed in a bid to land Portsmouth striker Andrew Cole because they cannot match his terms. That is the official statement from Charlton, though u have to wonder if it was because Andrew Cole actually had enough sense to not join a struggling relegation club.

Ronaldo has also been offered, along with fellow Bernabeu striker Antonio Cassano, to AC Milan in the hopes that Milan will actually transform into a Bolton and be silly enough to buy them. Perhaps Madrid could sell the duo as models for weight loss programs.

West Ham have upped their bid for Chelsea winger Shaun Wright-Phillips and are now chasing Arsenal right-back Lauren as well as Man City's Joey Barton. Curbs is also in the race for Arsenal’s Theo Walcott though it is impossible to catch him in a footrace.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho wants Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe to boost his side's assault on the Premiership title. Shorty, as Defoe is known, will provide some English bulldog to Chelsea’s attack.

Sven-Goran Eriksson is set to take over as manager at Marseille and wants David Beckham to join him at the French club. This leads us to wonder if there is more to their relationship than meets the eye, as Sven has said he would buy Mr. Hairstyle if he took over any club.

Finally, Wigan will renew their interest in Man Utd striker Alan Smith by tabling a £6m bid. Wigan have also promised to protect Smith from barbaric ambulance-rocking Liverpool fans. Chelsea are in for Sylvian Distin to solve their defensive problems, Arsenal are once again interested in FRENCH midfielder Franck Ribery (surprise, surprise), doing nothing to solve their reputation as a foreign club. West Ham have upped their bid for Chelsea winger Shaun Wright-Phillips and are now chasing Arsenal right-back Lauren as well as Man City's Joey Barton and apparently any player that has 2 legs, while Gareth Bale will decide in the next two days on his move to Manchester United.

That’s all for today’s rumors.

Saturday's Rumours. 6th Jan 07

2007-01-06T04:47:00.000-08:00

Saturday’s Transfer Rumours

Rumour time!

First up, we have Alan Pardew slapping an £18m asking price on Marcus Bent-clone, Darren Bent (well, they are brothers after all). This might have been seen as a wise move by the Charlton gaffer, but this has put off Chelsea, who is instead looking their way at the-man-who-broke-the-European-Cup-while-playing-with-it, Milan Baros! Jose Mourinho clearly intends to sign poor strikers in order to make Didier Drogba look good. However, this means bad new to Pardew as not many stupid clubs would pay £18m for an average striker. Newcastle maybe!

Meanwhile, both West Ham and Tottenham are interested in the services of the man of the moment, Milan Baros! The man himself was seen donning a white tee in the supermarket this morning, and this has prompted newspapers to report that he prefers a move to Tottenham (you know, white =spurs). Nice logic there! Whatever it is, surely, the last man laughing would be Martin O’Neill.

Next up, Tottenham are again favourites to sign a winger. Guess who is it? He is very young! Yes, you got it! Ashley Young! Martin Jol has insists that he will not be letting Wayne Routledge go the other way. Poor Routledge, once seen as a very bright star, is now nothing but a broken man. An advice to Mr Young from the writers of 22men.blogspot.com: NO! DON’T GO AND HAVE YOUR CAREER RUINED!

All women want to look young, but now, all football clubs (or so it seems) are looking at Young! Everton, Tottenham (also interested in SWP), Liverpool, West Ham (if they fail to get Chelsea paperweight SWP), (insert club), (insert club), (insert club).

Wigan desperately wants Mr my-ambulance-got-rocked Alan Smith on loan.
Smith: No Jewell! I am never ever going toWigan even if I am not playing for Man Utd.
Jewell: Come on Alan, you know you want to play alongside Emile Heskey!
Smith: …

Nigel Reo-coker have decided that he is leaving the Hammers and he will be doing so next week. Tottenham and Bolton are on the lookout and are ready to grab him as soon as he leaves. Whatever it is, it seems clear that he will be wearing white jerseys after January.

Now, for the rest of the news all in one go. Prepare! 3, 2, 1, GO! Charlton want Alexei Smertin, Martin O’Neill wants to hijack the deal, Charlton have made bids for Colchester's Greg Halford and West Brom's Nigel Quashie, Aston Villa poised to sign Phil Bardsley on loan, Birmingham on the verge of signing Larsson (not the former Barcelona man you silly!), Chelsea wants Lucas Neill (so do Liverpool) and Tal Ben Haim.

That’s all for today’s rumours. Goodbye!

Fine fine, there is one more rumour. Manchester United is on the verge of signing Bayern Munich's Owen Hargreaves for the 128739618735123671537216536 time. Oh, £17m by the way.

LKW

FA Cup 3rd Round Sunday

2007-01-05T08:32:00.000-08:00

Everton v Blackburn
The two blue teams goes into the 3^rd Round cursing their luck in having to meet a strong opposition so early in the competition. Blackburn enters the match with good form, having win their last three games while Everton is without a win in the year 2007(I know, I know, its 1 game. But it still counts). David Moyes has insist that the FA Cup is a priority as pathetic Everton has been knocked out early for the past four seasons. I am 100% sure that Mark Hughes would be the one laughing at the end of the match.

Everton (out): Tim Cahill(doubtful), Tony Hibbert, Alessandro Pistone, Nuno Valente

Blackburn (out): Ryan Nelsen, Steven Reid and Jason Roberts

Sheff Wed v Man City
Stuart Pearce, one of the few genuinely likeable managers in the league, faces a tough challenge in the FA cup 3^rd Round. Man City are up against Sheffield Wednesday, a decent team, currently in 11^th place in the Coca Cola Championship. Although inconsistent, they have knocked out some previous big scalps in this competition before and would most likely be really fired up for the match against Man City. Micah Richards of Man City, supposedly the second coming of Jesus if you believe the tabloids, has just signed a new deal, extending his contract. Man City have their fair share of rough players, like ‘elbow-king’ Ben Thatcher and Joey ‘I-will-burn-your-ass’ Barton.

Possibly a close match, but Man City’s class should show and they could ease pass this relatively comfortably.

2-0 to Man City.

Cardiff v Tottenham
Cardiff goes into this fixture knowing that Martin Jol’s side has only won away from home once in the Premiership this term. This would surely boost Cardiff’s somewhat not-so-high morale as they themselves have hit a slump in form recently. Cardiff boss Dave Jones will surely want to win this match as he looks to end their disappointing run of form recently. Meanwhile, Martin Jol looks to end their away-day blues with a convincing win at Cardiff.

Cardiff (out): Willo Flood(doubtful)

Tottenham (out): Ledley King, Robbie Keane and Hossam Ghaly

Manchester United v Aston Villa
Aston Villa must be cursing their luck to have to face Manchester United at such an early stage of the competition. It is reported that Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill wants his team to be the one on the attacking side yet he is concerned about United's ability to score from any area on the pitch. Be prepared to see Larsson and Solskjaer partnering each other in this match. I can see Man Utd advancing to the next round. However, Aston Villa should be able to put on a good fight. 1-0 to Manchester United.

Manchester United (out): L Saha (doubtful)

Aston Villa (out): C Sutton (concussion), S Taylor (knee), T Sorensen (knee) M Laursen (medial knee ligament), L Moore (shoulder), M Delaney (knee)

FA Cup Third Round Saturday

2007-01-05T08:28:00.000-08:00

Birmingham v Newcastle
Championship leaders Birmingham host an improving Newcastle side, which got a 2-2 draw against Manchester United last week. This match should prove to be a tight contest as Birmingham are aiming to carry their league form into this game against a team full of the walking wounded. However, Newcastle has been doing pretty well in cup competitions this season and would surely want to win a piece of silverware, something which they have not done since 1969.

Birmingham(out): Mikael Forssell, Mehdi Nafti(suspended), Cameron Jerome(doubtful)

Newcastle(out): Damien Duff(knee), Charles N'Zogbia(knee), Olivier Bernard (hip), Craig Moore (hamstring), Stephen Carr (foot) and Celestine Babayaro (hamstring) and Titus Bramble(calf)

Chelsea v Macclesfield
Paul Ince, the League Two Manager of the Month for December, would be leading a Macclesfield side that is on hot form at the current moment (unbeaten in last 10 games) to a not so hot Chelsea who has been on a 3 games drawing streak. Macclesfield would no doubt be geared up for the match as winning this match would earn the club a shocking £1million. Paul Ince might look to pile on the attack as Chelsea will be going into the match without their top two goalkeepers Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini, and racist captain John Terry. However, Chelsea should ease pass Macclesfield easily unless they are still in the mood of Thanksgiving.

Chelsea(out): John Terry (back); Arjen Robben (hamstring); Carlo Cudicini (thigh); Petr Cech (skull); Joe Cole (foot) and Khalid Boulahrouz (knee)

Doncaster v Bolton

Bolton have a history of poaching old players from anonymity and bringing them into new depths of mediocrity. Apparently playing to stabilize their place in the Premiership, they are in with a good shout for Europe next season, where they just might start getting cards for their sly fouls. DoncasterBolton off the park. El Hajid Diouf is especially hated by fans throughout the country for his play acting and arrogant attitude. He has also said that fans only boo good players, leading us to ponder if the bad players really get all the cheers. Nicolas Anelka, is on fire, months after moving to his 10923542357^th club and is a very huge threat. are unlikely to pose much problems to them and their best chance of getting something out of the game is to just kick

Moving on to the 4^th round of the FA cup seems to be a mere formality for Bolton, if they put out a full strength squad. However, knowing Sam Allardyce, he would probably field a weakened team just to go against my predictions.

Doncaster (out): Gareth Roberts

Bolton (out): Ivan Campo(suspended), Henrik Pedersen(calf), Stelios Giannakopoulos(doubtful), El Hadji Diouf(doubtful), Kevin Nolan(doubtful) and Quinton Fortune(doubtful)

3-0 to Bolton

Hull v Middlesbrough

Boro are off the pace with only 2 wins in the past 5 games. Struggling near the bottom of the table, they have only Watford, West Ham and Charlton to thank for being worst than them, thus keeping them out of the relegation zone. Hull are in a similar position and honestly, have been crap lately. Relegation to League 1 is a distinct possibility unless they get a sudden streak of luck. Mark Viduka, last seen competing with Fat Ronalo and Frank Lampard in the ‘Who ate all the pies?’ contest, is said to be wanting a move. Honestly, it is easy to understand his position but the problem is, are the interested clubs ready to inherit a very high bill for their future meals? His form is not really impressive, with 4 goals so far. However, this is the perfect stage for him to prove that fat strikers can score.

This is a battle between two teams in the same boat, kind of like Noah’s Ark. However, one team has to be kicked out of this competition, giving new twist to the Bible’s tale. Perhaps, it is time for Hull to ponder, how?

Hull (out): Boaz Myhill (groin), Damien Delaney(suspended) and Dean Marney(suspended)

Middlesbrough (out): Woodgate (knee), Andrew Davies (doubtful) and Chris Riggott (doubtful)

1-1 (Hull wins replay on penalties)

Leicester v Fulham

Fulham are once again flying high, undoubtedly due to ‘Mr. Aeroplane’ Vincenzo Montella, whom they have just signed on loan. They go up against Leicester, a team struggling near the depths of the Championship. Leicester come on the back of a 2-0 defeat by Sunderland that is likely to lower their morale. Fulham have looked impressive at times but are too inconsistent to challenge for Europe and have drawn their previous two games. Boa Morte has just left Fulham for the lights of West Ham. Ironically, West Ham are in the north part of London, exactly the opposite of where Morte’s career seems to be going. Anyhow, this is the FA cup, where upsets are always likely, so Leicester might field a full-strength side in the hopes of getting something out of the game.

With Fulham’s erratic performances thus far, it is hard to see them making this easy on themselves. Papa Diop might want to let Leicester know ‘who’s their daddy’ and could possibly be captain. Liam Rosenior is prone to careless mistakes and could gift a goal or a penalty.

Leicester (out): Elvis Hammond (doubtful), Andy Johnson (ankle) and Momo Sylla (groin)

Fulham (out): Antti Niemi (neck), Papa Bouba Diop, Claus Jensen, Zat Knight, Jimmy Bullard and Ian Pearce (doubtful)

2-1 to Fulham.

Nottm Forest v Charlton

Struggling Charlton go in on the back of a 4-0 drubbing by Arsenal, with morale at a low. Alan Pardew has very little chances of saving the Reds from relegation and will want to try to at least win some silverwear this season. To be honest, Alan is not a particularly good manager as he performs badly in alternate seasons. Alan has just been cleared of an improper conduct charge, which is ironic as he has said he was kind of wrong to behave as he did. The Addicks are appealing the red card decision for Osei Sankofa as they look to have him back in the starting lineup. Nottm Forest^rd in the League One, but unfortunately, are a long way from their old glory days. Their form has been bad recently but they will be looking to bounce back. Grant Holt, their top scorer, is Championship class and could cause some problems to Charlton.

Nottm Forest (out): Kris Commons (hamstring), John Thompson (cup-tied) Danny Cullip (suspended) and Sammy Clingan (suspended)

Charlton (out): Darren Bent (knee), Hermann Hreidarsson (tendonitis problem), Scott Carson (LFC deny them from playing him), Osei Sankofa (suspended), Luke Young, Andy Reid (hamstring)

0-0. (Charlton wins 1-0 on replay)

Portsmouth v Wigan

Harry Redknapp and Paul Jewell goes head to head in this FA Cup 3^rd Round as Paul Jewell looks to get his side, who has been poor this campaign, back on track. Meanwhile, Harry Redknapp is looking forward to this game as he views the FA Cup as a welcome distraction from the pressures of Premiership football. Wigan would definitely need this win as they are looking to regain their dwindling fanbase. However, Wigan is struggling with injury and would need nothing short of a miracle to overcome 6^th place Portsmouth.

Portsmouth(out): Svetoslav Todorov(groin), Lomana Lua Lua

Wigan(out): Arjan de Zeeuw(big toe), Josip Skoko, Henri Camara, Paul Scharner and Luis Antonio Valencia

Reading v Burnley

Reading are surprisingly high up in the EPL, doing a decent job of impersonating Wigan’s tremendous first season. Thus far, they have taken points off the top sides and shown that they are not to be trifled with. Their main weapon is their great teamwork and passion for the game. They rarely let their heads down before the match is over and thus, are now sitting in a spot for EuropeBurnley do not have a single win in their past 5 games and look to be slipping off their mid table spot. Andy Gray is their main threat, with 10 goals so far. Ade Akinbiyi also returns to Burnley after leaving for Sheff Utd just one year earlier, bringing back memories of Rafa Benitez purchase and sale of Fernando Morientes. Seol Ki-Hyeon of Reading has drawn raves from various journalists after joining and with 3 goals, could make this Seol easy for Reading. next season.

4-0 to Reading.

Watford v Stockport

Watford are almost certainly relegated in their first season in the EPL, with manager Adrian Boothroyd saying they will accomplish ‘mission impossible’ and stay in the Premiership. StockportWatford will stick to their direct, physical approach and Stockport might have to show their muscle in this tight match. have had erratic results recently and this will be a tough on to win.

Hard to predict, will be a tight match with most of the football being in the middle of the pitch.

0-1 to Stockport.

West Ham v Brighton

With both sides struggling in the league West Ham and Brighton will be hoping the FA Cup brings some welcome respite from their dismal campaign. West Ham, last season’s runner-up, would definitely want to improve on last week’s 6-0 thumping by Reading while Brighton have lost their last 4games and would certainly look to improve. With new boy Luis Boa Morte going straight into the team for this match, it is clear that Alan Curbishley is expecting nothing but a win. Dean Wilkins' side will go into Upton Park with real hope that they can do some ‘giant-killing’ as West Ham have already fallen to lower-league opposition in the cup this season as Chesterfield knocked them out of the Carling Cup in October.

West Ham(out): Lee Bowyer(dislocated shoulder), Dean Ashton

Brighton(out): Adam Hinshelwood(knee), Dean Cox(suspension), Nathan Elder(cup tied)

Friday's Rumors. 5th Jan 07

2007-01-05T06:24:00.001-08:00

Charlton have apparently agreed a price of 2.7 million for Arsenal youth player Anthony Stokes. In line of Arsenal gaffer Arsene Wenger's policy of only taking foreign youngsters, Stokes will apparently be the millionth youngster to not make it through from the Gunners' youth ranks.

Not being satisfied with already having ruined the careers of Jermaine Jenas, Jermain Defoe, Wayne Routledge as well as Andy Reid, Tottenham head honcho Martin Jol is reportedly shaping up to have a go at Defoe-clone Darren Bent with 7 million, who has been underachieving Charlton's only decent player this season. Recently sacked-and-hired Charlton manager Alan Pardew has rejected the bid, insisting it is a ridiculous bid for a player of Bent's quality. Just when you think he is showing signs of intelligence, however, he reveals that he will be willing to let Bent go for a price above 7 million, effectively killing Charlton's hopes of making it out of the Premiership gutter. Tottenham are reportedly shaping up for a 7.001 million pound bid.

Anton Ferdinand, who displayed his scoring prowess last week in West Ham's 0-6 mauling by Reading, is reportedly the subject of interest from the Fat Man over at North London, Martin Jol.Highly rated Watford youngster Ashley Young is also reportedly being pursued by Jol, who, in an act of unparalleled benovelence, is willing to release Wayne Routledge as well as Calum Davenport from their misery in exchange. Run, Young, run. While, you're at it, remind Anton to do so too. You know how forgetful he is.

Jol is also reportedly interested in Southampton wonderkid Gareth Bale, supposedly the next Micah Richards(who was the next Theo Walcott who was the next Wayne Rooney), but his pursuit has so far been fruitless as Southampton manager George Burley has refuted any rumors of Bale moving away from the Stadium of Light. Burley will face immense pressure to keep Bale as Premiership heavyweights such as Manchester United and Liverpool are also reportedly turning their heads towards the south.

David Bentley has recently been apparently spotted walking around Old Trafford hopefully. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson's (1986-Forever) interest in Bayern Munich's Owen Hargreaves had been well-documented, and a 20 million pound bid is reportedly on the table. However, in the light of Paul Scholes' unexpectedly good partnership with Michael Carrick, Manchester United's midfield woes are perhaps rather less urgent than they were at the beginning of the season, freeing Ferguson up to pursue a replacement for Ryan Giggs in the form of Bentley as well as TNNNNBT(The Next Next Next Next Big Thing) Gareth Bale to replace aging club captain Gary Neville.

Former Charlton and current West Ham manager Alan Curbishley(whose vacated post at Charlton is now interestingly filled by ex-West Ham gaffer Alan Pardew) is reportedly seeking additions to his squad to help them escape the relegation zone in the forms of Matthew Upson, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Australia international Mark Viduka. All three players are reportedly unhappy at their lack of playing time recently, with Viduka and Upon having publicly pleaded for transfers, while Chelsea flop Wright-Phillips will surely want out of Stamford Bridge despite his muteness. Alan Curbishley was last seen asking Charlton chairman Richard Murray for a 200% increase in the food budget to accomodate the heavy, erm, heavyweight Australian.

That's all, folks!

-Hacjience Yukona

Thursdays Rumors. 4th Jan 07

2007-01-04T07:48:00.001-08:00

Today’s rumors include:

Manchester United and Spurs are aiming to capture Southampton’s highly rated 17-year old left back, Gareth Bale. This is in addition to the reported £17m move for Owen Hargreaves that the Red Devils are planning. And Man Utd fans claim that they cannot compete with Chelski in the transfer market. Wonderful. Spurs, who have prided themselves on bringing English players through the club as compared to their more illustrious French neighbors, are surprisingly buying an English player! The horror of it all.

Juventus have also made contact with Liverpool about the availability of centre-forward Peter Crouch. Liverpool have rejected the approach as absolutely inconsiderable, unless Juventus are willing to pay for Jermaine Pennant's car insurance scheme or pay Pepe Reina for Arjen Robben's hair growth treatment scheme. Also, Crouch is approximately at odds of 100/1 to take growth pills and reach outer space with his height alone, or to end up as the EPL’s top scorer. Any takers?

Jose Mourinho, manager of the Russian Money Machine, has gone on record as saying that people consider Chelsea stupid. Of course, spending £23m on Shaun Wright Phillips to warm the bench is perfectly logical.Not content with merely winning the EPL, Chelsea are now challenging Bolton for the title of Club with Most Overage Players, hence making their move for Roberto Fabian Ayala, of Valencia perfectly logical.

Blackburn Rovers have received bids for their wantaway captain Lucas Neill. Liverpool, believed to be the forerunners for this move, have tough competition to fend off, with Barcelona and Milan reportedly interested. This is in stark contrast to ex-Arsenal player, Matthew Upson, who is begging to be taken away from Birmingham.to no avail.

And to wrap things up, Fulham have accepted a bid from an unnamed Premiership club for Collins John, West Bromwich Albion have confirmed the capture of Robert Koren. Reports of kimchi accounting for 10% of WBA’s expenditure have yet to be confirmed.

And that’s all for tonight’s rumors.

yx.

Arsenal vs Liverpool [FA cup] Match Preview

2007-01-04T07:02:00.000-08:00

Sunday, 1.10am

Liverpool, on a high after their 3-0 victory over Bolton will enter this match the team with superior form and as slight favorites. Arsenal, on the other hand, are unlikely to have any players back from injury, while Robin van Persie and Francesc Fabregas are unavailable through suspension for the big clash.

Steven Gerrard, captain of the Liverpool team, has has thrown down the mantle by claiming that Arsenal are scared to visit Anfield.Apparently, he has already forgotten the 3-0 drumming at Emirates earlier this seasonas well as his disastrous backpass to his Arsenal counterpart,Thierry Henry last season.

Mr VaVaVoom has admited that he should have taken a break earlier;

"The mistake I made was to carry on playing with it. I did get hammered about the way I was playing but it got to the stage where it was stupid to play with it. I had to stop and that's what I did. You see straight away that when I am fresh my legs are better."

Henry's statement is given credibility by the fact that he scored on his return and created two others against Charlton previously. However,the impressive achievement is overshadowed by the fact that Charlton are struggling at the bottom of the table and were without a injured Darren Bent, as well as playing with only 10 men for majority of the game.
Arsenal have never lost at Anfield in an FA Cup tie. The Gunners drew 0-0 there in 1923 and won 2-0 in 1936!
The statistics also show that Peter Crouch, who was reportedly used as a bamboo pole in his time in S'pore, is actually top scorer for Liverpool!

Also, the statistic show that the team which concedes the least goals, wins. Statistics; just wonderful things.

Finally,In other news, Chris Morgan has finally been charged by the FA, making whopping news as they finally get something right. Paul Le Guen has also left Rangers, just mere days after he took Barry Ferguson's captaincy off him. Bad luck, Le Guen, thats just football.

And that concludes the match preview.

Prediction: Will be a tight match, possibly decided by one goal. 2-1 Arsenal

yx

Liverpool VS Arsenal Preview FA Cup 3rd Round

2007-01-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

The match of the century…

An epic battle…

The clash of the titans…

Now, rescale it, a much smaller scale, and there you have it, Liverpool VS Arsenal in the FA Cup 3^rd Round. Certainly the tie of the round, this match will be highly anticipated by fans of both sides, who are hoping their teams would be able to proceed to the next round due to their somewhat poor league form up to date.

Both teams, especially Liverpool, have been widely tipped to give Chelsea and Manchester United a run for their money. But both have been disappointing up to date, with Liverpool 14points adrift of the top and Arsenal 15. Therefore, no doubt both teams would want to look for success in cup competitions.

Last 5 Liverpool
VS Charlton 3-0
VS Watford 2-0
VS Blackburn 0-1
VS Tottenham 1-0
VS Bolton 3-0

Scored 9
Conceded 1

Last 5 Arsenal
VS Portsmouth 2-2
VS Blackburn 6-2
VS Watsford 2-1
VS Sheff Utd 0-1
VS Charlton 4-0

Scored 15
Conceded 5

According to statistics and their last 5 games, both teams seems to be in good form, losing only once out of their last 5. However Liverpool would be the better team (at least according to statistics), winning 4 and conceding only 1. Arsenal looks hot too, scoring 15 goals in 5 games, including a 6-2 demolishing of Blackburn.

With Liverpool looking invincible and unbeaten in all home games (16) this season, Anfield is once again a fortress. This would no doubt give Liverpool a huge advantage and maybe, strike fear in Arsenal.

Form aside, this match will be our first of two cup meetings within three days. Alas, Round One.

Predictions:
1-0 to Liverpool

Signing off,
LKW