As the Premier League season draws to a close the destination of the Premier League trophy is the hot topic of conversation. The title race is now certain to be going to Manchester after Tottenham's collapse but it remains to be seen which Manchester club. Since the turn of the year United have been in great form and have taken control of the title race despite a tough run of games which included games against Spurs, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal. City have been less impressive and defeat to Swansea and a draw with Stoke has seen them surrender the lead they've held for so long and allowed their neighbours to take control. The final few games for each team suggests that United are the more likely to win the title with their next five games all seeming very winnable before their showdown with City on April 30th. United face Blackburn, QPR, Wigan, Everton and Aston Villa and after the City game they face Swansea and Sunderland. City on the other hand have got a tricky string of games. They face very tough games with Sunderland and Arsenal and any points dropped from those two could hand United a commanding lead. Before playing United they have a tie with West Brom and then away trips to Norwich and Wolves. Their final two games are away to Newcastle and finally home to QPR. If City do manage to win the league then they will have earned it. The three point gap at the moment coupled with the easier run in gives United the advantage.
I don't think City have done themselves any favours with the way they've handled themselves in the media in recent weeks and I think it plays into Sir Alex Ferguson's hands. The Scot is a master of mind games and the fact that City have resorted to these tactics could be seen as an act of desperation as the title seems to be slipping from their grasp. Fergie has clearly stated that he's up for the battle "I've got plenty of ammunition" and history shows that Fergie usually wins these battles. Rafa Benitez, Kevin Keegan and Arsene Wenger can testify to that. In his recent press conferences Fergie has spoke of how the return of so many of his players has aided their good form and the fact that more are still coming back can only help the side. City on the other hand need to forget all mind games and forget everything outside of winning football matches. The truth of the matter is if City don't beat Sunderland this week and Arsenal next week they could find themselves out of the race. United face Blackburn and QPR which should be six points which, without counting City's games, would be nine point gap. So just to stay three behind they have to beat the in form Sunderland and an Arsenal side on a seven game winning streak. Personally I think United will win the league as City have left themselves to much to do with the calibre of opposition they have to face. The only way they could win it is if United slip up and City find themselves within three points when the sides meet at Eastlands and then beat United.
I think United will look to play well enough in the coming weeks to leave the derby match with little or no meaning. They will want to wrap the title up on City's own ground to erase the memories of the 6-1 thrashing they got from Mancini's men earlier in the season. With players like Nani, Jones and Cleverly coming back and players like Young and Valencia playing out of their skins it looks like Fergie's side do indeed have the ammunition to kick on and win the title. It should be a very exciting few weeks at the least and I for one can't wait to see the conclusion of one of the most competitive seasons in the history of the Premiership.
Tuesday 27 March 2012
Wednesday 21 March 2012
Miami Masters Tennis
This week the ATP tour lands in Miami, Florida for the second Masters 1000 tournament of the year. Players have very little break between this and last weeks Indian Wells tournament. Last week I said Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic would again square off in the final and it looked like it would happen until the semi finals where John Isner stunned Djokovic in a third set tie break and then Roger Federer beat Nadal in straight sets. Federer went on to beat Isner in the final to continue his good form. Since last years US Open where Fed suffered a heartbreaking semi final defeat to Djokovic he has only lost twice, once to Nadal at the Australian Open and then to John Isner in the Davis Cup. His form has been exemplary of late and he has to be considered as the favourite for the title here in Miami again. Somehow I don't think he will be the last man standing come the end of the week. I think fatigue has got to set in with Federer soon and last week there were signs of it against Thomas Bellucci when he was brought to three sets. There has to come a day soon when he just can't find rhythm on his groundstrokes. His shotmaking in the past months has been second to none but he can't possibly keep that up and although he has been playing well I still don't think he has the ability to match Nadal and Djokovic when it really matters. His win over Nadal last week should have been more convincing considering the circumstances. It was Nadal's first outing since the Australian Open and he was still able to compete with Federer, who has played and won three title since Melbourne. The conditions suited Fed to a tee. The extreme wind is usually music to Nadal's ears but playing Roger that's not what he needs. Federer was striking the ball superbly and was able to hit through the wind while Nadal's usual tactics of breaking down the Federer backhand weren't possible due to the severity of the wind. Instead of kicking up high and causing Fed problems the ball sat up in front of the Swiss star and allowed Federer attack Nadal off both wings. If they meet again this week in Miami and the conditions are perfect then Nadal will fancy his chances of gaining revenge.
This weeks draw has placed Federer and Djokovic in the same half while Nadal and Andy Murray are paired in the bottom half of the draw. The top half seems to be the more difficult to progress from with players like Juan Martin Del Potro, David Ferrer, Mardy Fish, Nicolas Almagro and Andy Roddick in that section. Del Potro had a very disappointing week last week after he again lost out to Roger Federer, for the third time in the past few weeks. It wasn't so much the scoreline and let's be honest there is no shame in losing to Federer but it was the manner of his defeat that worried me. He lacked energy on the court and never looked like hitting through Federer which for a man of his power is very worrying. I think he will have a stronger week this week and should progress to another quarter final at least with potential clashes with Marin Cilic and David Ferrer looking difficult on paper but I expect him to progress from those matches and make it to a potential quarter final with Novak Djokovic. Djokovic himself will look to improve upon last weeks performances where he was less than impressive in making the semi finals and his loss to John Isner was very un-Djokovic like. He faces a match with Marcos Baghdatis in the second round and that looks like being a very interesting match. Baghdatis took a set off Novak at his best last year at Wimbledon and will fancy an upset. Should Djokovic progress he could face Troicki and then a match Gasquet or Lopez. Nicolas Almagro is on I think could have a very good week here. He faces very winnable matches with Donald Young, Fernando Verdasco and then a possible match with Mardy Fish and I think he will win through to face Roger Federer in the quarter finals. Realistically Federer could only lose to Andy Roddick or Gael Monfils and in my opinion I think this week he might be suspect to an upset. Roddick could push Fed but I think Monfils is the man who may take him down and don't be surprised if Monfils does manage to beat Federer and go on to make semi finals. Should Federer make it to the semis he could face a blockbuster clash with Djokovic which would be very entertaining and could provide us with an idea of just how good Fed is playing. Personally I think Federer and Del Potro will face off yet again although Djokovic cannot be discounted too easily and Monfils has got a real chance of upsetting Federer.
The bottom half is where Nadal and Murray lie and we also see Fernando Gonzalez play his final event as a professional. Unfortunately the draw hasn't been kind to Gonzo, although he can't complain seen as he made the draw himself. A first match with Nicolas Mahut will text the Chilean while Thomas Berdych awaits in the second round and if he managed to win that then he will have a final tournament to remember. David Nalbandian is looking to have another big week and a second round match with Janko Tipsarevic is going to be thrilling with Tipsarevic's energy being tested to the max by Nalbandians shot making. The winner of that is likely to face Aleksandr Dolgopolov where I would expect Nalbandian to win but if it's Tipsarevic I think Dolgopolov will come through while Thomas Berdych should beat any of those players. I expect Andy Murray to again be beaten early and this week I think Milos Raonic is the man who will take him down. Raonic was brilliant last week and despite under-performing against Federer he still took a set and competed at a very high level and this week I think he'll go one step further and beat Murray. The winner of Murray and Raonic is going to face Gilles Simon, Jurgen Melzer or Robin Haase. Simon is the likely man to progress but Haase can on his day beat any of those players but of late he hasn't been at his best. Rafa Nadal should comfortably progress from his part of the draw and only the winner of the potential clash between John Isner and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga stands between him and the semi finals. In the semis he could face Murray but if I am write in saying Murray will be upset then I think he'll face either Raonic or Berdych.
In the end I expect to see Nadal back in the Miami final looking to win his first title since last years French Open. There he will hope to face Federer in normal conditions to avenge last week or Djokovic to avenge the last year of losing to the Serb. Other potential finalists are Del Potro, who needs to really improve on last weeks form but is very capable, Gael Monfils, who needs a lot of luck to make it there but I think could have a very strong week or the man I mentioned earlier Nicolas Almagro who has the ability and has been playing well lately. I hope we see Djokovic and Nadal start up there rivalry again and I still think Nadal will overcome the obstacle Djokovic is providing and I think we may have that as Djokovic has to play better this week and knows that beating Del Potro and Federer would put the thought back into everyones head that he is back at his best. Federer will fancy a meeting with the Serb to try erase last years US Open defeat but I don't think he'll relish playing Nadal again after Nadal pushed him last week despite unfavourable conditions. At the end of the week I expect Nadal to be holding the trophy aloft after a very entertaining week of tennis.
This weeks draw has placed Federer and Djokovic in the same half while Nadal and Andy Murray are paired in the bottom half of the draw. The top half seems to be the more difficult to progress from with players like Juan Martin Del Potro, David Ferrer, Mardy Fish, Nicolas Almagro and Andy Roddick in that section. Del Potro had a very disappointing week last week after he again lost out to Roger Federer, for the third time in the past few weeks. It wasn't so much the scoreline and let's be honest there is no shame in losing to Federer but it was the manner of his defeat that worried me. He lacked energy on the court and never looked like hitting through Federer which for a man of his power is very worrying. I think he will have a stronger week this week and should progress to another quarter final at least with potential clashes with Marin Cilic and David Ferrer looking difficult on paper but I expect him to progress from those matches and make it to a potential quarter final with Novak Djokovic. Djokovic himself will look to improve upon last weeks performances where he was less than impressive in making the semi finals and his loss to John Isner was very un-Djokovic like. He faces a match with Marcos Baghdatis in the second round and that looks like being a very interesting match. Baghdatis took a set off Novak at his best last year at Wimbledon and will fancy an upset. Should Djokovic progress he could face Troicki and then a match Gasquet or Lopez. Nicolas Almagro is on I think could have a very good week here. He faces very winnable matches with Donald Young, Fernando Verdasco and then a possible match with Mardy Fish and I think he will win through to face Roger Federer in the quarter finals. Realistically Federer could only lose to Andy Roddick or Gael Monfils and in my opinion I think this week he might be suspect to an upset. Roddick could push Fed but I think Monfils is the man who may take him down and don't be surprised if Monfils does manage to beat Federer and go on to make semi finals. Should Federer make it to the semis he could face a blockbuster clash with Djokovic which would be very entertaining and could provide us with an idea of just how good Fed is playing. Personally I think Federer and Del Potro will face off yet again although Djokovic cannot be discounted too easily and Monfils has got a real chance of upsetting Federer.
The bottom half is where Nadal and Murray lie and we also see Fernando Gonzalez play his final event as a professional. Unfortunately the draw hasn't been kind to Gonzo, although he can't complain seen as he made the draw himself. A first match with Nicolas Mahut will text the Chilean while Thomas Berdych awaits in the second round and if he managed to win that then he will have a final tournament to remember. David Nalbandian is looking to have another big week and a second round match with Janko Tipsarevic is going to be thrilling with Tipsarevic's energy being tested to the max by Nalbandians shot making. The winner of that is likely to face Aleksandr Dolgopolov where I would expect Nalbandian to win but if it's Tipsarevic I think Dolgopolov will come through while Thomas Berdych should beat any of those players. I expect Andy Murray to again be beaten early and this week I think Milos Raonic is the man who will take him down. Raonic was brilliant last week and despite under-performing against Federer he still took a set and competed at a very high level and this week I think he'll go one step further and beat Murray. The winner of Murray and Raonic is going to face Gilles Simon, Jurgen Melzer or Robin Haase. Simon is the likely man to progress but Haase can on his day beat any of those players but of late he hasn't been at his best. Rafa Nadal should comfortably progress from his part of the draw and only the winner of the potential clash between John Isner and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga stands between him and the semi finals. In the semis he could face Murray but if I am write in saying Murray will be upset then I think he'll face either Raonic or Berdych.
In the end I expect to see Nadal back in the Miami final looking to win his first title since last years French Open. There he will hope to face Federer in normal conditions to avenge last week or Djokovic to avenge the last year of losing to the Serb. Other potential finalists are Del Potro, who needs to really improve on last weeks form but is very capable, Gael Monfils, who needs a lot of luck to make it there but I think could have a very strong week or the man I mentioned earlier Nicolas Almagro who has the ability and has been playing well lately. I hope we see Djokovic and Nadal start up there rivalry again and I still think Nadal will overcome the obstacle Djokovic is providing and I think we may have that as Djokovic has to play better this week and knows that beating Del Potro and Federer would put the thought back into everyones head that he is back at his best. Federer will fancy a meeting with the Serb to try erase last years US Open defeat but I don't think he'll relish playing Nadal again after Nadal pushed him last week despite unfavourable conditions. At the end of the week I expect Nadal to be holding the trophy aloft after a very entertaining week of tennis.
Tuesday 20 March 2012
Upcoming Posts
Haven't been on in the past week so I'm going to make up for it in the next few days. Later on tonight I'll be previewing the Miami Masters which begins this week. I will also look at the Champions League quarter final draw and who the main contenders are for the prestigious trophy. Tomorrow night I'll be looking at the run-in of both Manchester clubs as City face a tough run of games as they try to close the gap on neighbours United. I'll also look at the relegation battle and what teams are likely to face the drop. There will also be two special articles looking back at the careers of both Fernando Gonzalez and Ivan Ljubicic who both retire in the coming weeks, Gonzalez this week in Miami and Ljubicic next month in Monte Carlo.
Sunday 11 March 2012
Indian Wells Sunday Preview
Sunday's play at Indian Wells sees six of the top ten seeds open their campaigns at the first Masters 1000 event of the year.
Rafael Nadal returns to action in the second match on Stadium 1 against Leonardo Mayer. Nadal will look to play his way into form early this week after a long break after the Australian Open and a match with Mayer is a perfect way to start . He shouldn't be in any danger of losing this one and should be able to get back into a rhythm. I would see Nadal winning this one in two straight sets with the second one being considerably easier than the first.
Preceding that match on the main court is Juan Martin Del Potro who takes on the confident Marinko Matosevic, who made his first ever final on the tour last week in Delray Beach losing to Kevin Anderson. Despite that confidence it would take a monumental effort for him to defeat the in from Argentine. Delpo has won sixteen of his twenty matches this year and of his four losses three were against Roger Federer. This one should be a victory for Del Potro but he does have tendencies to drop sets early in tournaments as we seen against Llodra in Rotterdam and Mannarino at the Aussie Open so it's hard to say whether he will win in straight sets or not.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will take to court looking to continue his 100% record over fellowe Frenchman Michael Llodra. Tsonga has won all four meetings between the two and won't want that to end here. Llodra's natural serve and volley game doesn't match up well with the power and athleticism of Tsonga. Tsonga has had a good start to the year and will see an opportunity to go far this week and will not lose this one. I would say Tsonga will win it, probably in straight sets.
Roger Federer opens his campaign against American Denis Kudla in what should prove an easy match for the Swiss star. The pair have never met and one would imagine that with the form Fed is in we won't be seeing an upset here. Federer has won titles in Rotterdam and Dubai since his loss to Nadal at the Australian Open and will be hoping to make it three titles in a row by winning here. Federer will relish the late start under lights in Florida and will look to impress the crowd as he gets his first win of the tournament. Federer to win in comfortable straight sets.
Another man in form is Spaniard David Ferrer who is the only man to have won three titles so far this year and his only loss of the year came to Novak Djokovic at the Aussie Open when he pushed the Serb to his limits before eventually succumbing to the class of Djokovic. He takes on the potentially tricky Gregor Dimitrov in his first match. 20 year old Bulgarian Dimitrov had been hotly tipped to make it to the top of the game and has been slowly progressing but not at a rate that would suggest a future top ten player. Dimitrov has lost three matches this year; 7-6 in third to Donald Young, 7-6 in the third to Kevin Anderson and 6-0 in a fifth set to Nicolas Almagro. Those results are very good for a young player but the form of Ferrer doesn't provide any optimism for Dimitrov. Ferrer will be looking to go far again this week and should win this one.
Other matches today include an intersting tie between Feliciano Lopez and Marcos Baghdatis. Both are very capable players and although Baghdatis is a much more accomplished player I think Lopez will reap the rewards from his serve on the American hard courts. In form Milos Raonic opens his campaign with a match against Carlos Berlocq. Raonic is due to meet Federer in the third round and he will be looking forward to that one to test his form against a top five. He won't want to lose early and ruin his chances of that meeting and so I think he'll win this one comfortably. I also expect Jurgen Melzer to defeat Thomas Bellucci, David Nalbandian will defeat 24th seed Marin Cilic, Tommy Haas will defeat 26th seed Marcel Granollers. There should also be wins for Fernando Verdasco, Xavier Malisse, Janko Tipsarevic, Aleksandr Dolgopolov, Nikolay Davydenko and Denis Istomin.
Rafael Nadal returns to action in the second match on Stadium 1 against Leonardo Mayer. Nadal will look to play his way into form early this week after a long break after the Australian Open and a match with Mayer is a perfect way to start . He shouldn't be in any danger of losing this one and should be able to get back into a rhythm. I would see Nadal winning this one in two straight sets with the second one being considerably easier than the first.
Preceding that match on the main court is Juan Martin Del Potro who takes on the confident Marinko Matosevic, who made his first ever final on the tour last week in Delray Beach losing to Kevin Anderson. Despite that confidence it would take a monumental effort for him to defeat the in from Argentine. Delpo has won sixteen of his twenty matches this year and of his four losses three were against Roger Federer. This one should be a victory for Del Potro but he does have tendencies to drop sets early in tournaments as we seen against Llodra in Rotterdam and Mannarino at the Aussie Open so it's hard to say whether he will win in straight sets or not.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will take to court looking to continue his 100% record over fellowe Frenchman Michael Llodra. Tsonga has won all four meetings between the two and won't want that to end here. Llodra's natural serve and volley game doesn't match up well with the power and athleticism of Tsonga. Tsonga has had a good start to the year and will see an opportunity to go far this week and will not lose this one. I would say Tsonga will win it, probably in straight sets.
Roger Federer opens his campaign against American Denis Kudla in what should prove an easy match for the Swiss star. The pair have never met and one would imagine that with the form Fed is in we won't be seeing an upset here. Federer has won titles in Rotterdam and Dubai since his loss to Nadal at the Australian Open and will be hoping to make it three titles in a row by winning here. Federer will relish the late start under lights in Florida and will look to impress the crowd as he gets his first win of the tournament. Federer to win in comfortable straight sets.
Another man in form is Spaniard David Ferrer who is the only man to have won three titles so far this year and his only loss of the year came to Novak Djokovic at the Aussie Open when he pushed the Serb to his limits before eventually succumbing to the class of Djokovic. He takes on the potentially tricky Gregor Dimitrov in his first match. 20 year old Bulgarian Dimitrov had been hotly tipped to make it to the top of the game and has been slowly progressing but not at a rate that would suggest a future top ten player. Dimitrov has lost three matches this year; 7-6 in third to Donald Young, 7-6 in the third to Kevin Anderson and 6-0 in a fifth set to Nicolas Almagro. Those results are very good for a young player but the form of Ferrer doesn't provide any optimism for Dimitrov. Ferrer will be looking to go far again this week and should win this one.
Other matches today include an intersting tie between Feliciano Lopez and Marcos Baghdatis. Both are very capable players and although Baghdatis is a much more accomplished player I think Lopez will reap the rewards from his serve on the American hard courts. In form Milos Raonic opens his campaign with a match against Carlos Berlocq. Raonic is due to meet Federer in the third round and he will be looking forward to that one to test his form against a top five. He won't want to lose early and ruin his chances of that meeting and so I think he'll win this one comfortably. I also expect Jurgen Melzer to defeat Thomas Bellucci, David Nalbandian will defeat 24th seed Marin Cilic, Tommy Haas will defeat 26th seed Marcel Granollers. There should also be wins for Fernando Verdasco, Xavier Malisse, Janko Tipsarevic, Aleksandr Dolgopolov, Nikolay Davydenko and Denis Istomin.
Wednesday 7 March 2012
Indian Wells Tennis Preview
California plays host to the first Masters 1000 tournament of the year. 96 players will take part in the mens singles event with all the top players taking part. World number one Novak Djokovic is the defending champion and it was here last year he began his streak of wins against world number two Rafael Nadal. Former three time champion Roger Federer will look to continue his good form after winning in Dubai last week and Rotterdam before that while '09 finalist Andy Murray will be looking to avenge last weeks defeat to Federer by going one step further. The main challengers to the top four will be David Ferrer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Thomas Berdych and Juan Martin Del Potro who all have chances of going deep into the tournament. Flying the flag for America will be Mardy Fish, John Isner and 30th seed Andy Roddick who will be cautiously optimistic after beating Roger Federer in an exhibition at the start of the week. Yesterday's draw provided some very interesting ties with quality players in every section. So let's take a look at the draw starting with the top half which is divided into four sections.
Novak Djokovic has been given a difficult task if he is to get back to winning ways this week. He faces a qualifier first and shouldn't face any problem with whoever that turns out to be but he faces a likely third round clash with last week's Delray Beach winner Kevin Anderson, should he overcome Philip Kohlschreiber in his first match. Dangerous frenchman Richard Gasquet could await in the fourth round although he could face a tricky tie with Robin Haase who is likely to relish the hard courts in Florida. Haase should upset Florian Mayer in round two simply because Mayer doesn't have great form while Haase has a huge serve that is likely to get him enough cheap points to progress in the early rounds. Gasquet should have the ability to then beat Haase and face Djokovic in the fourth round.
The second quarter of the top half sees Thomas Berdych as the favourite to meet Djokovic in the quarter finals and I do think he will be the one to make it there despite the threat posed by third round opponent Andy Roddick. I don't think Roddick has got enough to take down the Czech and Berdych is in great form and now consistently competing with the very best. Nicolas Almagro and Kei Nishikori are likely to battle it out for the right to face Berdych in round four and I would see the in form Almagro as the more likely of those two.
The third quarter of the top half contains the top two Americans as John Isner and Mardy Fish are on course to meet in round four and with all due respect to the others in the section they shouldn't face any real problems before meeting each other. Juan Monaco would have a better chance if it was on clay and Julien Benneteau doesn't have enough firepower to compete with Isner's power or Fish's serve and volley. Andreas Seppi might cause one or two problems for Fish if he isn't on his game but I don't see him losing early. Fish and Isner would be a very interesting clash and although Fish is a more mobile player I think Isner has got the game to beat him and progress to the quarter finals.
The final quarter of the top half is where Andy Murray lies. He faces an easy second round tie with either Guillermo Garcia-Lopez or Rui Machado but faces a possible rematch with Ryan Harrison in round three after beating the American at the Australian Open earlier this year. Harrison faces Flavio Cipolla in round one and that will be a real struggle but I think he'll progress to face Victor Troicki and beat the 25th seed to meet Murray. Murray should again prevail from that clash but Harrison could take a set off the Scot. Murray would then face a tricky fourth round tie with either Stanislas Wawrinka or Gilles Simon, both of whom are very capable players. Simon is the more likely winner as he has more consistency than the Swiss number two.
The bottom half of the draw is much more competitive with in my opinion the best of the seeds apart from the top four. David Ferrer is in the first section and should continue his great form and make safe passage to the fourth round to face Juan Martin Del Potro. Neither player should be beaten early on with Ferrer likely to face Ivan Dodig and Denis Istomin while Del Potro is likely to take on Fernando Verdasco in the third round. Del Potro and Ferrer will be a fascinating game with both players playing great tennis this year and both being great competitors.
The next section sees Roger Federer face a very tricky task. A likely third round tie with Milos Raonic would be a great spectacle with rising star Raonic having already won two titles hits year on hard courts and possessing what this year has been the most effective serve on the tour. Federer will have to be at his very best to progress from that one. The winner of that one will face one of four dangerous players; Gael Monfils, Nikolay Davydenko, Thomas Bellucci or the recent Memphis winner Jurgen Melzer. I would imagine Monfils will be too good for the other three and Monfils is in need of a good start to the season and so should be very motivated this week.
The third section is very competitive with Tsonga looking to carry last years form into this year. He faces with Micael Llodra or Ernest Gulbis in his first match. Gulbis is coming into some form and I fancy him to make it through but Tsonga will have too much power for him in the second round. Radek Stepanek is seeded to meet him in the next round but I would be surprised if made it there. I think Xavier Malisse will continure his good run and beat Stepanek before falling short against Tsonga. The other side of Tsonga's section is very interesting with Janko Tipsarevic looking to get off to a good start in the Masters 1000 series this year. He faces a likely second round clash with Bernard Tomic which I don't think he will get through. I think Tomic has got too much creativity and variety for the Serb. The winner of that clash would face either David Nalbandian or Marin Cilic and on recent form that would have to be Nalbandian. Nalbandian and Tomic would be a very interesting clash as the young Aussie's game would be tested against the shot making ability of the ageing Argentine. Tipsarevic would probably have to much stamina for Nalbandian and would chase down everything thrown at him.
The final section of the draw is where we find Rafael Nadal, making his first appearance since his marathon match with Djokovic at the Australian Open. He opens witha probable clash with Alejandro Falla which will be a good chance for him to get rid of the rust he will no doubt have. Marcel Granollers is his seeded third round opponent but I would expect Tommy Haas to be the one to progress by beating Granollers. Exciting Ukranian Aleksandr Dolgopolov should be Nadals fourth round opponent as I would expect him to beat Feliciano Lopez or Marcos Baghdatis. Donald Young has got a habit of playing his best in front of his home crowd and if he gets on a roll he may well cause Dolgopolov trouble but I would still fancy Dolgopolov to progress.
Looking ahead to potential quarter finals and although it is very difficult to discuss without seeing any of the first few matches I will give my opinion on who I think will be there. I would fully expect Thomas Berdych to make the quarters to face Djokovic and I think the Czech could cause some real problems for the Serb but it's very tough to go against Djokovic and so I expect to see Djokovic to make the semi finals. Andy Murray is a player I struggle to predict with. Last week I thought we would see the defensive Murray and so I thought Berdych would win but he played very aggressively and even beat a below par Djokovic but then we saw a very negative Murray against Federer and so depending on what Murray we see this week he could go very far. If he plays aggressive then he may well make the semis to meet Djokovic again but if not then John Isner is going all the way to the semis. Isner will beat Murray for sure if he doesn't play aggressive and if Mardy Fish beats Isner then it may not matter how Murray plays as Fish has the game to beat Murray as he's shown before. I'm a huge Del Potro fan and I think he will return to the very top of the game this year and it starts this week with a strong showing. I think he'll beat Ferrer (just) and progress to the quarters. Who he will face is puzzling me. Federer is the obvious choice but I do believe Milos Raonic is going to break top ten very soon and start beating the best. Federer played last week and won't have had a lot of time to prepare while Raonic took last week off after an impressive three weeks in a row. Going with my head I would say Federer will progress and face Del Potro where I think the Argentine will end his poor run against the Swiss maestro to make the semis. That said i'm still going to say watch out for Raonic and Federer as the Canadian is going to give Fed a very tough game if not beat him Tsonga is my choice to make quarters from his section but I would keep an eye on both Tomic and Tipsarevic as they both have potential to go far. Nadal is my choice to face Tsonga where Tsonga will be optimistic of beating a rusty Nadal but the fight the Spaniard shows over and over again is undeniable and I think he'll make the semi finals. I'm looking at a Nadal-Del Potro semi final and I think Nadal will overcome the lack of match practice to beat the in form Argentine. I do think Djokovic will be in the final this week. Like I said a few weeks ago the intensity would have been down from Djokovic and Murray took advantage of that last week but we won't have that this week. Djokovic should be firing on all cylinders and looking to start taking the big titles from the very start of the season. If we do get a rematch of Nadal and Djokovic in the final then we will have another epic encounter. I think both players have so much on the line when they play that they bring the best out of each other. Djokovic needs to continue to beat Nadal at every opportunity as a loss would give Nadal such a mental boost he would truly believe he could win anything. Nadal felt he overcame the mental obstacle of beating Novak in Melbourne and will be hoping to prove it this week. I hope we do get another meeting of the two, simply for the exhibition of tennis they always produce. Federer and Del Potro may have a say in this weeks winner to and with the slightest things going their way they could be in the final very easily. Murray has a chance if reproduces the aggression from last week while players like Berdych, Ferrer, Tsonga, Isner and Fish would need a lot to go their way to win the tournament but are capable of upsetting the top players and going deep. Can Djokovic get back to winning ways? Can Murray beat the Serb again? Can Federer continue his run of wins? Is Del Potro going to get to the very top of the game? and is Nadal going to end Djokovic's hold over him? We may well find this week gives us an indicator to the answer to all those questions. It should be a fascinating week of tennis.
Novak Djokovic has been given a difficult task if he is to get back to winning ways this week. He faces a qualifier first and shouldn't face any problem with whoever that turns out to be but he faces a likely third round clash with last week's Delray Beach winner Kevin Anderson, should he overcome Philip Kohlschreiber in his first match. Dangerous frenchman Richard Gasquet could await in the fourth round although he could face a tricky tie with Robin Haase who is likely to relish the hard courts in Florida. Haase should upset Florian Mayer in round two simply because Mayer doesn't have great form while Haase has a huge serve that is likely to get him enough cheap points to progress in the early rounds. Gasquet should have the ability to then beat Haase and face Djokovic in the fourth round.
The second quarter of the top half sees Thomas Berdych as the favourite to meet Djokovic in the quarter finals and I do think he will be the one to make it there despite the threat posed by third round opponent Andy Roddick. I don't think Roddick has got enough to take down the Czech and Berdych is in great form and now consistently competing with the very best. Nicolas Almagro and Kei Nishikori are likely to battle it out for the right to face Berdych in round four and I would see the in form Almagro as the more likely of those two.
The third quarter of the top half contains the top two Americans as John Isner and Mardy Fish are on course to meet in round four and with all due respect to the others in the section they shouldn't face any real problems before meeting each other. Juan Monaco would have a better chance if it was on clay and Julien Benneteau doesn't have enough firepower to compete with Isner's power or Fish's serve and volley. Andreas Seppi might cause one or two problems for Fish if he isn't on his game but I don't see him losing early. Fish and Isner would be a very interesting clash and although Fish is a more mobile player I think Isner has got the game to beat him and progress to the quarter finals.
The final quarter of the top half is where Andy Murray lies. He faces an easy second round tie with either Guillermo Garcia-Lopez or Rui Machado but faces a possible rematch with Ryan Harrison in round three after beating the American at the Australian Open earlier this year. Harrison faces Flavio Cipolla in round one and that will be a real struggle but I think he'll progress to face Victor Troicki and beat the 25th seed to meet Murray. Murray should again prevail from that clash but Harrison could take a set off the Scot. Murray would then face a tricky fourth round tie with either Stanislas Wawrinka or Gilles Simon, both of whom are very capable players. Simon is the more likely winner as he has more consistency than the Swiss number two.
The bottom half of the draw is much more competitive with in my opinion the best of the seeds apart from the top four. David Ferrer is in the first section and should continue his great form and make safe passage to the fourth round to face Juan Martin Del Potro. Neither player should be beaten early on with Ferrer likely to face Ivan Dodig and Denis Istomin while Del Potro is likely to take on Fernando Verdasco in the third round. Del Potro and Ferrer will be a fascinating game with both players playing great tennis this year and both being great competitors.
The next section sees Roger Federer face a very tricky task. A likely third round tie with Milos Raonic would be a great spectacle with rising star Raonic having already won two titles hits year on hard courts and possessing what this year has been the most effective serve on the tour. Federer will have to be at his very best to progress from that one. The winner of that one will face one of four dangerous players; Gael Monfils, Nikolay Davydenko, Thomas Bellucci or the recent Memphis winner Jurgen Melzer. I would imagine Monfils will be too good for the other three and Monfils is in need of a good start to the season and so should be very motivated this week.
The third section is very competitive with Tsonga looking to carry last years form into this year. He faces with Micael Llodra or Ernest Gulbis in his first match. Gulbis is coming into some form and I fancy him to make it through but Tsonga will have too much power for him in the second round. Radek Stepanek is seeded to meet him in the next round but I would be surprised if made it there. I think Xavier Malisse will continure his good run and beat Stepanek before falling short against Tsonga. The other side of Tsonga's section is very interesting with Janko Tipsarevic looking to get off to a good start in the Masters 1000 series this year. He faces a likely second round clash with Bernard Tomic which I don't think he will get through. I think Tomic has got too much creativity and variety for the Serb. The winner of that clash would face either David Nalbandian or Marin Cilic and on recent form that would have to be Nalbandian. Nalbandian and Tomic would be a very interesting clash as the young Aussie's game would be tested against the shot making ability of the ageing Argentine. Tipsarevic would probably have to much stamina for Nalbandian and would chase down everything thrown at him.
The final section of the draw is where we find Rafael Nadal, making his first appearance since his marathon match with Djokovic at the Australian Open. He opens witha probable clash with Alejandro Falla which will be a good chance for him to get rid of the rust he will no doubt have. Marcel Granollers is his seeded third round opponent but I would expect Tommy Haas to be the one to progress by beating Granollers. Exciting Ukranian Aleksandr Dolgopolov should be Nadals fourth round opponent as I would expect him to beat Feliciano Lopez or Marcos Baghdatis. Donald Young has got a habit of playing his best in front of his home crowd and if he gets on a roll he may well cause Dolgopolov trouble but I would still fancy Dolgopolov to progress.
Looking ahead to potential quarter finals and although it is very difficult to discuss without seeing any of the first few matches I will give my opinion on who I think will be there. I would fully expect Thomas Berdych to make the quarters to face Djokovic and I think the Czech could cause some real problems for the Serb but it's very tough to go against Djokovic and so I expect to see Djokovic to make the semi finals. Andy Murray is a player I struggle to predict with. Last week I thought we would see the defensive Murray and so I thought Berdych would win but he played very aggressively and even beat a below par Djokovic but then we saw a very negative Murray against Federer and so depending on what Murray we see this week he could go very far. If he plays aggressive then he may well make the semis to meet Djokovic again but if not then John Isner is going all the way to the semis. Isner will beat Murray for sure if he doesn't play aggressive and if Mardy Fish beats Isner then it may not matter how Murray plays as Fish has the game to beat Murray as he's shown before. I'm a huge Del Potro fan and I think he will return to the very top of the game this year and it starts this week with a strong showing. I think he'll beat Ferrer (just) and progress to the quarters. Who he will face is puzzling me. Federer is the obvious choice but I do believe Milos Raonic is going to break top ten very soon and start beating the best. Federer played last week and won't have had a lot of time to prepare while Raonic took last week off after an impressive three weeks in a row. Going with my head I would say Federer will progress and face Del Potro where I think the Argentine will end his poor run against the Swiss maestro to make the semis. That said i'm still going to say watch out for Raonic and Federer as the Canadian is going to give Fed a very tough game if not beat him Tsonga is my choice to make quarters from his section but I would keep an eye on both Tomic and Tipsarevic as they both have potential to go far. Nadal is my choice to face Tsonga where Tsonga will be optimistic of beating a rusty Nadal but the fight the Spaniard shows over and over again is undeniable and I think he'll make the semi finals. I'm looking at a Nadal-Del Potro semi final and I think Nadal will overcome the lack of match practice to beat the in form Argentine. I do think Djokovic will be in the final this week. Like I said a few weeks ago the intensity would have been down from Djokovic and Murray took advantage of that last week but we won't have that this week. Djokovic should be firing on all cylinders and looking to start taking the big titles from the very start of the season. If we do get a rematch of Nadal and Djokovic in the final then we will have another epic encounter. I think both players have so much on the line when they play that they bring the best out of each other. Djokovic needs to continue to beat Nadal at every opportunity as a loss would give Nadal such a mental boost he would truly believe he could win anything. Nadal felt he overcame the mental obstacle of beating Novak in Melbourne and will be hoping to prove it this week. I hope we do get another meeting of the two, simply for the exhibition of tennis they always produce. Federer and Del Potro may have a say in this weeks winner to and with the slightest things going their way they could be in the final very easily. Murray has a chance if reproduces the aggression from last week while players like Berdych, Ferrer, Tsonga, Isner and Fish would need a lot to go their way to win the tournament but are capable of upsetting the top players and going deep. Can Djokovic get back to winning ways? Can Murray beat the Serb again? Can Federer continue his run of wins? Is Del Potro going to get to the very top of the game? and is Nadal going to end Djokovic's hold over him? We may well find this week gives us an indicator to the answer to all those questions. It should be a fascinating week of tennis.
Monday 5 March 2012
AVB sacked, right decision?
Andre Villas-Boas has today been sacked by Chelsea FC after just nine in charge. Last summer Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich paid almost 15 million to prise Andre Villas-Boas away from Porto after a stunning season saw Porto win the Europa League as well as the domestic league and cup double. Villas-Boas spent time as Jose Mourinho's assistant coach at Porto and then followed Mourinho to Chelsea and followed again to Inter Milan. At the beginning of the 2009-2010 season he took charge of Portuguese side Academica where he spent a season before moving on to take charge of Porto. In his year in charge at Porto they went undefeated during the league with 27 wins and just 3 draws and then he became the youngest manager to ever win a European competition. Just a month after Porto's Europa League success, Chelsea announced the appointment of AVB as there new manager with immediate effect. Roman Abramovich paid the 15 million necessary to activate the release clause in his contract.
During pre-season Chelsea won all six games and only conceded one goal and their prospects for the upcoming season looked promising. Unfortunatey for Chelsea the season was not as successful as it seemed it would. A good start to the season seemed to suggest Chelsea had finally found stability and from the beginning of the season until October 23rd they had only lost once in all competitions, a 3-1 loss to Man United. On that day things began to change for the 33 year old manager. Two sending offs and a 1-0 defeat to QPR was overshadowed by the alleged racist remarks made by captain John Terry to Anton Ferdinand. A week later and Chelsea's high line defence was exposed time and again by a struggling Arsenal side. November saw Chelsea pick up just two wins in all competitions while suffering losses to Bayer Leverkusen and Liverpool (twice). They seemed to be back on track with comfortable wins over Newcastle and Valencia before handing Man City their first defeat but since that win on December 12th they have only had five wins. February saw Chelsea throw away a three goal lead against Man United before losing to Everton and then drawing with Birmingham in the FA Cup. A loss to Napoli in the Champions League piled more pressure on AVB and Saturday's loss to West Brom was as much as Abramovich could take and on Sunday Villas-Boas took charge of training before being told he was to be sacked with immediate effect. So the question is was it the right thing to do?
When Villas-Boas held his first press conference it was clear he believed that this was a long term project. He wanted to bring his philosophy to Chelsea. But as we've learned over the past nine seasons Abramovich is a very difficult man to please. Carlo Ancelotti won the FA cup, Premier League and Community Shield but was still sacked. Jose Mourinho won two league title, the FA Cup, two Carling Cups and the Community Shield and he also made Chelsea a force in Europe but he didn't last either. Avram Grant brought them to their first Champions League final where they lost on penalties but days later he was sacked. Luiz Felipe Scolari, Claudio Ranieri and Guus Hiddink have also been there and gone in recent years.
At this stage I think Chelsea needs a complete restructuring. The players have got too much say in what happens at the club and Abramovich is too heavily fixed on winning the Champions League. The players under AVB simply didn't perform to the best of their ability. There is no doubt Villas-Boas is a quality manager as his record with Porto in just one year proves. His attacking style is refreshing and could well have reaped the rewards if Abramovich had been more patient. The fact that Abramovich has now sacked eight managers in nine seasons is disgraceful. There is no stability in the club whatsoever. He went all out to get AVB and it seemed then that he was going to finally bring the stability to the club that is clearly needed. Getting rid of Villas-Boas is only going to be a short term solution. The next manager will have to start all over and try inherit his own style on the squad. The squad is now getting older and very few young players are coming through and so if Abramovich is too finally bring the club to the top he is going to eventually have to spend very big in the transfer markets. Abramovich had two choices after the defeat at West Brom, he could either come out and publicly back Villas-Boas' long term project or come out and back his ageing squad who weren't performing. He chose to back the players and sakc Villas-Boas. In my opinion it was the wrong decision.
I think Villas-Boas proved in the summer he knows how to negotiate the transfer market. Juan Mata was a brilliant signing and has been a shining light in a dark season for Chelsea. Oriel Romeu was an astute signing and looks a top player. Villas-Boas should have been given the time to transform the club. Abramovich should have stuck with him until the end of the season and then clear the dressing room of the underperforming players and bring in those who Villas-Boas believed would fit his philosophy. With the money they have access to he could have bought anyone he wanted. The next manager is now going to have to come in this summer and wait until after the European Championships to see his squad and decide who he wants to keep and what positions he needs to buy. A manager with the policies Villas-Boas has was always going to need a season to see how his side shaped up and where they were weak. I think if he had a world class right back the defence would have been stronger and everything would have been different. Under AVB the full backs had licence to go forward. Ashley Cole had the quality going forward and he never neglected his defensive duties. Alex, Ivanovic and David Luiz aren't good enough centre halfs for a club of Chelsea's stature. The signs were there that AVB was building for the future. Gary Cahill us a quality centre half and would have had a strong partnership with John Terry had Terry been available regularly. Jose Bosingwa was steadily improving at right back and beginning to learn his new role. Essiens return provides a top centre midfielder and AVB might have needed just one central midfielder to provide the stability needed to protect the high line defence and support the three attackers. Sturridge and Mata are top players that have had good seasons and provided Torres with plenty of chances that he squandered. A top striker would get plenty of goals with the attacking style. At times this season we saw what Chelsea can do when they knocked in goals for fun and I think had he been given time to develop his squad this summer we could have seen a strong Chelsea side next season.
As it stands Roberto Di Matteo has got a difficult task of trying to get Chelsea into the top four. If they don't make the Champions League then the quality of manager they can attract will be lessened. Chelsea will now have to search for a new manager to guide Roman Abramovich in his obsession with the Champions League. The further instability that AVB's sacking brings leaves Chelsea searching for a new manager and if Abramovich gets it wrong and gets the wrong man Chelsea will plunge further down the list of top English clubs and may not get back into that top four regularly. Soon enough Chelsea fans have to wonder whether Abramovich is doing whats right for the club anymore.
Villas-Boas will find work again very soon if he wants it and when he finds the club that will give him a chance to implement his philosophies and give him the time to develop the squad he wants we will see what Abramovich missed out on and why his sacking was the wrong decision. Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger were both given the time to prove themselves and as a result brought huge success to Manchester United and Arsenal respectively. They are now two of the best managers of all time and are prime examples of why managers need to be given the time and backing to succeed. I really think Abramovich has got it wrong in sacking AVB and will regret it when Villas-Boas proves his worth at another top club.
During pre-season Chelsea won all six games and only conceded one goal and their prospects for the upcoming season looked promising. Unfortunatey for Chelsea the season was not as successful as it seemed it would. A good start to the season seemed to suggest Chelsea had finally found stability and from the beginning of the season until October 23rd they had only lost once in all competitions, a 3-1 loss to Man United. On that day things began to change for the 33 year old manager. Two sending offs and a 1-0 defeat to QPR was overshadowed by the alleged racist remarks made by captain John Terry to Anton Ferdinand. A week later and Chelsea's high line defence was exposed time and again by a struggling Arsenal side. November saw Chelsea pick up just two wins in all competitions while suffering losses to Bayer Leverkusen and Liverpool (twice). They seemed to be back on track with comfortable wins over Newcastle and Valencia before handing Man City their first defeat but since that win on December 12th they have only had five wins. February saw Chelsea throw away a three goal lead against Man United before losing to Everton and then drawing with Birmingham in the FA Cup. A loss to Napoli in the Champions League piled more pressure on AVB and Saturday's loss to West Brom was as much as Abramovich could take and on Sunday Villas-Boas took charge of training before being told he was to be sacked with immediate effect. So the question is was it the right thing to do?
When Villas-Boas held his first press conference it was clear he believed that this was a long term project. He wanted to bring his philosophy to Chelsea. But as we've learned over the past nine seasons Abramovich is a very difficult man to please. Carlo Ancelotti won the FA cup, Premier League and Community Shield but was still sacked. Jose Mourinho won two league title, the FA Cup, two Carling Cups and the Community Shield and he also made Chelsea a force in Europe but he didn't last either. Avram Grant brought them to their first Champions League final where they lost on penalties but days later he was sacked. Luiz Felipe Scolari, Claudio Ranieri and Guus Hiddink have also been there and gone in recent years.
At this stage I think Chelsea needs a complete restructuring. The players have got too much say in what happens at the club and Abramovich is too heavily fixed on winning the Champions League. The players under AVB simply didn't perform to the best of their ability. There is no doubt Villas-Boas is a quality manager as his record with Porto in just one year proves. His attacking style is refreshing and could well have reaped the rewards if Abramovich had been more patient. The fact that Abramovich has now sacked eight managers in nine seasons is disgraceful. There is no stability in the club whatsoever. He went all out to get AVB and it seemed then that he was going to finally bring the stability to the club that is clearly needed. Getting rid of Villas-Boas is only going to be a short term solution. The next manager will have to start all over and try inherit his own style on the squad. The squad is now getting older and very few young players are coming through and so if Abramovich is too finally bring the club to the top he is going to eventually have to spend very big in the transfer markets. Abramovich had two choices after the defeat at West Brom, he could either come out and publicly back Villas-Boas' long term project or come out and back his ageing squad who weren't performing. He chose to back the players and sakc Villas-Boas. In my opinion it was the wrong decision.
I think Villas-Boas proved in the summer he knows how to negotiate the transfer market. Juan Mata was a brilliant signing and has been a shining light in a dark season for Chelsea. Oriel Romeu was an astute signing and looks a top player. Villas-Boas should have been given the time to transform the club. Abramovich should have stuck with him until the end of the season and then clear the dressing room of the underperforming players and bring in those who Villas-Boas believed would fit his philosophy. With the money they have access to he could have bought anyone he wanted. The next manager is now going to have to come in this summer and wait until after the European Championships to see his squad and decide who he wants to keep and what positions he needs to buy. A manager with the policies Villas-Boas has was always going to need a season to see how his side shaped up and where they were weak. I think if he had a world class right back the defence would have been stronger and everything would have been different. Under AVB the full backs had licence to go forward. Ashley Cole had the quality going forward and he never neglected his defensive duties. Alex, Ivanovic and David Luiz aren't good enough centre halfs for a club of Chelsea's stature. The signs were there that AVB was building for the future. Gary Cahill us a quality centre half and would have had a strong partnership with John Terry had Terry been available regularly. Jose Bosingwa was steadily improving at right back and beginning to learn his new role. Essiens return provides a top centre midfielder and AVB might have needed just one central midfielder to provide the stability needed to protect the high line defence and support the three attackers. Sturridge and Mata are top players that have had good seasons and provided Torres with plenty of chances that he squandered. A top striker would get plenty of goals with the attacking style. At times this season we saw what Chelsea can do when they knocked in goals for fun and I think had he been given time to develop his squad this summer we could have seen a strong Chelsea side next season.
As it stands Roberto Di Matteo has got a difficult task of trying to get Chelsea into the top four. If they don't make the Champions League then the quality of manager they can attract will be lessened. Chelsea will now have to search for a new manager to guide Roman Abramovich in his obsession with the Champions League. The further instability that AVB's sacking brings leaves Chelsea searching for a new manager and if Abramovich gets it wrong and gets the wrong man Chelsea will plunge further down the list of top English clubs and may not get back into that top four regularly. Soon enough Chelsea fans have to wonder whether Abramovich is doing whats right for the club anymore.
Villas-Boas will find work again very soon if he wants it and when he finds the club that will give him a chance to implement his philosophies and give him the time to develop the squad he wants we will see what Abramovich missed out on and why his sacking was the wrong decision. Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger were both given the time to prove themselves and as a result brought huge success to Manchester United and Arsenal respectively. They are now two of the best managers of all time and are prime examples of why managers need to be given the time and backing to succeed. I really think Abramovich has got it wrong in sacking AVB and will regret it when Villas-Boas proves his worth at another top club.
Friday 2 March 2012
Saturday's National Football League games
The Allianz National Football League enters its third round this weekend with some very interesting matches taking place on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Starting with Saturday's division one games where All Ireland Champions Dublin take on Laois looking to win their first game of the campaign after their loss to Kerry and the abandonment of their meeting with Mayo. Dublin will be heavily fancied to pick up the two points in Portlaoise and have named a side with plenty of experience for the trip to Laois. The full forward line of Eoghan O Gara, Mossy Quinn and Diarmuid Connolly will be expected to do the damage inside while stand-in captain Ger Brennan will lead the defence from centre back. Stephen Cluxton has been given a break and will be replaced by Michael Savage between the posts. Despite the abundance of quality Dublin will have I don't think they will have it all their own way against the O'Moore men who had a very good win over Donegal in Letterkenny in their last game. Justin McNulty has done a good job in getting Laois into shape for the league and their work rate against Donegal was outstanding and if McNulty can get his side playing the high intensity game both with and without the ball then Laois may well find themselves competing in the first division and possibly the Leinster Championship. A huge blow for Laois is the loss of David Conway who was instrumental in their win up north last time out and even impressed in their six point loss to Mayo in the opening round. Laois fans can be cautiously optimistic about their chances Saturday night and will look to make home advantage count. The return of the Brogan brothers, Alan and Bernard to the match day squad is a boost for the Dubs and we should see them play some part Saturday. I wouldn't be too surprised to see Laois cause an upset but I think Dublin's more potent attack will give them a slight edge especially with the loss of Conway for Laois and so I think Dublin will get a close win but expect a strong performance from Laois.
Mayo and Armagh will meet at the Morgan Athletic Grounds, Armagh on Saturday night with both sides boasting an unbeaten start to the campaign. Mayo beat Laois in their opening game and have got a young side this year and will look to build on their impressive outing in last years championship where they defeated Cork before losing to Kerry in the All Ireland Semi Final. Armagh on the other hand had an impressive draw with Cork in their opening game before having a comprehensive win over Kerry two weeks ago. The decision of Paddy O'Rourke to bring Paul Grimley back into the county scene in Armagh looks like bringing the Orchard county back towards the style that saw them have successful championship campaigns on a regular basis under Joe Kernan. Against Kerry they played a very clever game and full deserved their win. Their defence has become very solid this year so far and with that assurance the rest of the team can play with freedom and that allows them to display their ability. O'Rourke spoke during the week about settling the team into the county setup and letting the players establish themselves as Armagh senior footballers which is sure to give all his players the confidence to express themselves. I think Armagh could be a real force this year but for me it all depends on whether Steven McDonnell returns to the county setup. He is currently taking time to consider his inter county future and if he decides to hang up his boots Armagh and the GAA as a whole will have lost one of the best forwards of the past decade. If he returns then Armagh will certainly be a better attacking unit and it could be the difference between Armagh pushing for an All Ireland or not. Mayo on the other hand have got off to a good start and James Horan has already targeted his side winning the League this year. This weekend provides them with a very difficult task but one which I'm sure they'll relish. I think they can take advantage of the fact that Armagh are still without their Crossmaglen contingent as they prepare for another All Ireland Club final. Manager James Horan has found a balance between experience and youth, something which stood them well last year. A return to fitness and form for Conor Mortimor would be a huge bonus for Mayo especially if he could fit into a full forward line with last years stars Cillian O'Connor and Jason Doherty. I think Mayo will edge this one simply because they have a more full strength squad than Armagh at the moment.
Four other games take place on Saturday night with two each in division two and three. Derry will look to win their first game of the campaign when they take on Monaghan in Celtic Park. A defeat would almost certainly condemn them to relegation and so they will need to be at their best against a Monaghan side coming off an impressive five point victory over Kildare two weeks ago. In that one I think Derry will make home advantage count and get a much needed win. The Oak Leaf county will look to talisman Paddy Bradley to get their scores but will need to get more support to him than they did against Tyrone last time out when they were comprehensively beaten. Meath host struggling Kildare Saturday night looking to continue their 100% record. So far they have accounted for Monaghan and Westmeath with ease while Kildare have been beaten by five points by both Tyrone and Monaghan. As was the story last year Kildare are being left to rue their poor shooting and despite chalking up huge numbers of scoring opportunities they can't take enough to make themselves a real force. Should Seanie Johnston get a transfer from Cavan he may provide the missing ingredient as they look to finally beat Dublin and win the Leinster title. This one is massive for Kildare and I think they might just win it and I'm sure Kieran McGeenye will have them full prepared and motivated for this one. Struggling Offaly travel to unbeaten Antrim this Saturday night with very little optimism that they can actually get anything from the game. Offaly football has gone miles back in recent years and they have posed no threat in either game this year and I don't see them faring much better this time out. Antrim have accounted for Sligo and Tipperary so far and will be looking to build on those results and make use of their home advantage. I fully expect Antrim to win this one with a few points to spare. Sligo put their opening round defeat behind them by scoring an impressive 4-14 against Wexford last time out. They have conceded a big total of 1-30 in two games which if they want to make progress this year is much too high. This weekend they will take on Cavan in Breffni Park in what is a massive game for both sides as Cavan will look to win their first game of the campaign. I think travelling Sligo will take the spoils in that one as they have got a stronger attacking unit and the return of David Kelly will be a huge boost for them.
Tomorrow ill be looking at Sunday's fixtures while also looking at Manchester United's trip to Spurs.
Mayo and Armagh will meet at the Morgan Athletic Grounds, Armagh on Saturday night with both sides boasting an unbeaten start to the campaign. Mayo beat Laois in their opening game and have got a young side this year and will look to build on their impressive outing in last years championship where they defeated Cork before losing to Kerry in the All Ireland Semi Final. Armagh on the other hand had an impressive draw with Cork in their opening game before having a comprehensive win over Kerry two weeks ago. The decision of Paddy O'Rourke to bring Paul Grimley back into the county scene in Armagh looks like bringing the Orchard county back towards the style that saw them have successful championship campaigns on a regular basis under Joe Kernan. Against Kerry they played a very clever game and full deserved their win. Their defence has become very solid this year so far and with that assurance the rest of the team can play with freedom and that allows them to display their ability. O'Rourke spoke during the week about settling the team into the county setup and letting the players establish themselves as Armagh senior footballers which is sure to give all his players the confidence to express themselves. I think Armagh could be a real force this year but for me it all depends on whether Steven McDonnell returns to the county setup. He is currently taking time to consider his inter county future and if he decides to hang up his boots Armagh and the GAA as a whole will have lost one of the best forwards of the past decade. If he returns then Armagh will certainly be a better attacking unit and it could be the difference between Armagh pushing for an All Ireland or not. Mayo on the other hand have got off to a good start and James Horan has already targeted his side winning the League this year. This weekend provides them with a very difficult task but one which I'm sure they'll relish. I think they can take advantage of the fact that Armagh are still without their Crossmaglen contingent as they prepare for another All Ireland Club final. Manager James Horan has found a balance between experience and youth, something which stood them well last year. A return to fitness and form for Conor Mortimor would be a huge bonus for Mayo especially if he could fit into a full forward line with last years stars Cillian O'Connor and Jason Doherty. I think Mayo will edge this one simply because they have a more full strength squad than Armagh at the moment.
Four other games take place on Saturday night with two each in division two and three. Derry will look to win their first game of the campaign when they take on Monaghan in Celtic Park. A defeat would almost certainly condemn them to relegation and so they will need to be at their best against a Monaghan side coming off an impressive five point victory over Kildare two weeks ago. In that one I think Derry will make home advantage count and get a much needed win. The Oak Leaf county will look to talisman Paddy Bradley to get their scores but will need to get more support to him than they did against Tyrone last time out when they were comprehensively beaten. Meath host struggling Kildare Saturday night looking to continue their 100% record. So far they have accounted for Monaghan and Westmeath with ease while Kildare have been beaten by five points by both Tyrone and Monaghan. As was the story last year Kildare are being left to rue their poor shooting and despite chalking up huge numbers of scoring opportunities they can't take enough to make themselves a real force. Should Seanie Johnston get a transfer from Cavan he may provide the missing ingredient as they look to finally beat Dublin and win the Leinster title. This one is massive for Kildare and I think they might just win it and I'm sure Kieran McGeenye will have them full prepared and motivated for this one. Struggling Offaly travel to unbeaten Antrim this Saturday night with very little optimism that they can actually get anything from the game. Offaly football has gone miles back in recent years and they have posed no threat in either game this year and I don't see them faring much better this time out. Antrim have accounted for Sligo and Tipperary so far and will be looking to build on those results and make use of their home advantage. I fully expect Antrim to win this one with a few points to spare. Sligo put their opening round defeat behind them by scoring an impressive 4-14 against Wexford last time out. They have conceded a big total of 1-30 in two games which if they want to make progress this year is much too high. This weekend they will take on Cavan in Breffni Park in what is a massive game for both sides as Cavan will look to win their first game of the campaign. I think travelling Sligo will take the spoils in that one as they have got a stronger attacking unit and the return of David Kelly will be a huge boost for them.
Tomorrow ill be looking at Sunday's fixtures while also looking at Manchester United's trip to Spurs.
Weekend's Big Premiership Games
The big game from this Saturday's Premier League action sees Arsenal travelling to Anfield to take on Liverpool in a match where both sides are coming off the back of a great result last weekend. Liverpool will be looking to keep their momentum going following their Carling Cup success but will face stiff opposition from Arsene Wenger's side, who are coming off the back off a great comeback win over bitter rivals Spurs.
When Liverpool travelled to London last August they struggled to break down the Gunners and it wasn't until Aaron Ramsey's bizarre own goal that they looked like winning the game and that goal only came after Emmanuel Frimpong had been sent off. Luis Suarez sprung from the bench to score a second and add some gloss to the scoreline. Since then Arsenal turned their fortunes around and got themselves back into the race for the final Champions League spot and now look a different side. They went through a rough spell in the last few weeks and hit a new low after a 4-0 defeat to AC Milan and then losing to Sunderland in the FA Cup but a stunning 5-2 win over Spurs last week is sure to add a spring to their step once more. Their defence wasn't good last week but they continuely found holes in the Spurs defence and Thomas Rosicky played his best game in the Arsenal colours for a very long time. He was magnificent. I've never been a big fan of Rosicky but along with Van Persie he was outstanding. Arsenal showed great spirit in the way they fought back and the way they pushed on after equalising to get the win. For many people Arsenal's win overshadowed a special weekend for Liverpool FC. They ended a six year trophy drought when they beat Cardiff in the Carling Cup final. They didn't cover themselves in glory and had to depend on three missed penalties from Cardiff to seal the victory. However the fact that they won it will give them a major boost and completes an incredible year for the club since the return of Kenny Dalglish as manager. They are still in the FA Cup and so there is still a strong chance they could win two trophies this season. I expected Liverpool to have a better year this year, especially with them not being in any European competition. They've disappointed me in the league this season but their cup form has been superb. Their still in with a shout of making the top four but will need a strong end to the season for that to happen. Since Steven Gerrard returned from injury they've looked a proper side. His return to the midfield has been a huge boost to the reds and a strong defence has made them tough to break down. The only fault they've had this year has been their finishing. They failed to score in eight games this year and among those were disappointing results against Stoke twice, Swansea, Fulham and Wigan. If they had a striker who could score twenty goals a year they would be title contenders but unfortunately for them Suarez and Carroll just don't get the goals. All the top clubs have got players that can score at any time in any game ; United have Rooney and Hernandez, Arsenal have Van Persie, Man City have Dzeko, Aguero and Balotelli, Spurs have Adebayor, Van der Vaart and Defoe. even Newcastle and Blackburn have got good goalscoring records from Demba Ba and Yakubu respectively. When these two meet on Saturday one of two things can happen. We could get a huge anti-climax where neither team builds on their momentum and we get a bore 0-0 or 1-0 scoreline or we could get both sides going for the win and plating their best and we end up with a great match. Hopefully we'll get the latter and I think we will get a great game from these two. Liverpool's strong defence will find it difficult to Van Persie and if Arsenal's midfield can reproduce their performance of last week then Liverpool may well struggle. Liverpool on the other hand will be a handful for Arsenal's vulnerable defence. Much will depend on the team selections but I do expect we will see goals in this one and I think Arsenal will pick up where they left off last week and get a crucial win. I think Arsenal will be a serious threat with Walcott, Van Persie and either Oxlade-Chamberlain or Gervinho and with the pace and ability those players provide on the break I think Liverpool's defence will be exposed too often and I don't see them scoring enough to get anything from the game. They don't get enough from Charlie Adam or Jordan Henderson in midfield and they rely too heavily on Gerrard for creation. Andy Carrolls goalscoring record is poor and Suarez not much better and so they don't have that goalscorer to pull them out of danger when they really need it. Reliance on midfield for goals will only get you so far and for me they have to buy a quality finishing forward this summer if they want to compete at the highest level where they belong again. Arsenal on the other hand rely too heavily on Van Persie but with the class he's shown this season they can get away with it and if they could find another consistent goal source they may return to the summit of English football once more. For the remainder of the season both sides will be looking for a good run of results to give them a solid base to lay the foundations for next season and Saturday's result should give us an indicator of which side will carry on their momentum and finish the stronger. Inconsistency is a word that describes both sides but with the pressure Wenger was and is under and the response he got from his players last week I think they will give him another win Saturday. I can't wait to see this game unfold and it's certainly a game you won't want to miss.
Ill be back tomorrow to look ahead to the rest of the Weekends games in the Premiership while also looking ahead to the upcoming Allianz National Football League fixtures.
When Liverpool travelled to London last August they struggled to break down the Gunners and it wasn't until Aaron Ramsey's bizarre own goal that they looked like winning the game and that goal only came after Emmanuel Frimpong had been sent off. Luis Suarez sprung from the bench to score a second and add some gloss to the scoreline. Since then Arsenal turned their fortunes around and got themselves back into the race for the final Champions League spot and now look a different side. They went through a rough spell in the last few weeks and hit a new low after a 4-0 defeat to AC Milan and then losing to Sunderland in the FA Cup but a stunning 5-2 win over Spurs last week is sure to add a spring to their step once more. Their defence wasn't good last week but they continuely found holes in the Spurs defence and Thomas Rosicky played his best game in the Arsenal colours for a very long time. He was magnificent. I've never been a big fan of Rosicky but along with Van Persie he was outstanding. Arsenal showed great spirit in the way they fought back and the way they pushed on after equalising to get the win. For many people Arsenal's win overshadowed a special weekend for Liverpool FC. They ended a six year trophy drought when they beat Cardiff in the Carling Cup final. They didn't cover themselves in glory and had to depend on three missed penalties from Cardiff to seal the victory. However the fact that they won it will give them a major boost and completes an incredible year for the club since the return of Kenny Dalglish as manager. They are still in the FA Cup and so there is still a strong chance they could win two trophies this season. I expected Liverpool to have a better year this year, especially with them not being in any European competition. They've disappointed me in the league this season but their cup form has been superb. Their still in with a shout of making the top four but will need a strong end to the season for that to happen. Since Steven Gerrard returned from injury they've looked a proper side. His return to the midfield has been a huge boost to the reds and a strong defence has made them tough to break down. The only fault they've had this year has been their finishing. They failed to score in eight games this year and among those were disappointing results against Stoke twice, Swansea, Fulham and Wigan. If they had a striker who could score twenty goals a year they would be title contenders but unfortunately for them Suarez and Carroll just don't get the goals. All the top clubs have got players that can score at any time in any game ; United have Rooney and Hernandez, Arsenal have Van Persie, Man City have Dzeko, Aguero and Balotelli, Spurs have Adebayor, Van der Vaart and Defoe. even Newcastle and Blackburn have got good goalscoring records from Demba Ba and Yakubu respectively. When these two meet on Saturday one of two things can happen. We could get a huge anti-climax where neither team builds on their momentum and we get a bore 0-0 or 1-0 scoreline or we could get both sides going for the win and plating their best and we end up with a great match. Hopefully we'll get the latter and I think we will get a great game from these two. Liverpool's strong defence will find it difficult to Van Persie and if Arsenal's midfield can reproduce their performance of last week then Liverpool may well struggle. Liverpool on the other hand will be a handful for Arsenal's vulnerable defence. Much will depend on the team selections but I do expect we will see goals in this one and I think Arsenal will pick up where they left off last week and get a crucial win. I think Arsenal will be a serious threat with Walcott, Van Persie and either Oxlade-Chamberlain or Gervinho and with the pace and ability those players provide on the break I think Liverpool's defence will be exposed too often and I don't see them scoring enough to get anything from the game. They don't get enough from Charlie Adam or Jordan Henderson in midfield and they rely too heavily on Gerrard for creation. Andy Carrolls goalscoring record is poor and Suarez not much better and so they don't have that goalscorer to pull them out of danger when they really need it. Reliance on midfield for goals will only get you so far and for me they have to buy a quality finishing forward this summer if they want to compete at the highest level where they belong again. Arsenal on the other hand rely too heavily on Van Persie but with the class he's shown this season they can get away with it and if they could find another consistent goal source they may return to the summit of English football once more. For the remainder of the season both sides will be looking for a good run of results to give them a solid base to lay the foundations for next season and Saturday's result should give us an indicator of which side will carry on their momentum and finish the stronger. Inconsistency is a word that describes both sides but with the pressure Wenger was and is under and the response he got from his players last week I think they will give him another win Saturday. I can't wait to see this game unfold and it's certainly a game you won't want to miss.
Ill be back tomorrow to look ahead to the rest of the Weekends games in the Premiership while also looking ahead to the upcoming Allianz National Football League fixtures.
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