James Wants More Games

...David James has claimed he will never retire from International duty. James (38) is seeing some impressive 'keeper's coming through in the ranks with Scott Carson, Robert Green, Ben Foster and of course Paul Robinson all staking a claim for a starting place.

Places are all the more important now as the World Cup next year could well be James' last chance to display his abilities at such a level. Ever since Paul Robinson's moment in Croatia, he has seemed second and third fiddle to the England set up and Fabio Capello is seemingly sticking with the Portsmouth stopper.

In all honesty, it seems like David has been around from the beginning of time, and what a career he has had, earning a rather comical nickname in "Calamity James" for his unpredictable moments of madness on the football pitch, which over the years has seen his team concede goals.

he is now an integral part of the Pompey set up and is doing very well with them, winning the FA Cup with them last May. He'll need to keep in form and stay injury free if he wants to be in the squad heading to South Africa next Summer. Speaking to BBC Radio, he had this to say on his England future,

"I'll never give up on playing for my country, but there will come a point when some people will wish I would. As long as I'm fit and capable to play in the Premier League then I'll put myself forward for England selection and I think that's only right," said the man of many hairstyles.

James has made over 550 appearances in the English game and has won close to 48 first team caps for his country.

Written By: Keano!

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O'Neill Backs Two Tier League

...With recent reports suggesting that Celtic and Rangers maybe added to the Premier League creating a two tier league, many have been split on the decision on whether to allow them into the worlds supposed greatest league.

Martin O'Neill, former Celtic manager, today claimed that he was in favour of the proposal and would relish the chance of playing the two teams from up North. Theres no doubt about it, but Celtic and Rangers are in a league of their own in Scotland and should they wish to test themselves against the best, then they need to be up against top opposition.

Speaking to Aston Villa's official website, O'Neill had this to say on the matter.

"My personal thought is that Celtic and Rangers would enhance the Premier League, Glasgow is a phenomenal football city - Celtic house 60,000 and Rangers house 50,000. I'm not sure about Rangers but I know Celtic's capacity could go from 60,000 to 80,000 overnight, without a doubt," O'Neill said

"When I was manager of Celtic a number of years ago, there was some talk of both teams joining the Premier League in some capacity. There was mention of them being put in the Championship too, or maybe even lower down than that, and then making them work their way up through promotion. If forced to do that, they would eventually get to the top and end up as monumental players in the Premier League."

So O'Neills feelings toward the matter are unquestionably in favour of it and you would imagine other managers such as Sir Alex Ferguson having managed up there before would see it in the same light.

There are slight concerns though. With the way the FA are so easily pushed around by Sky TV these days for fixture changes and times, who knows what clubs may have to travel. Last Monday saw Portsmouth travel from the South Coast all the way to Newcastle and fans alike, which let me tell you, isn't something one would plan for a Monday evening. Who's to say Portsmouth, Fulham or any of the Southern clubs would face long journey's on a weekday to Glasgow?

Having said that, its widely expected that the FA will have the matter on the agenda for their AGM coming up in June.

Written By: Keano!

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Webb Admits Mistake

...After a cracking 45 minutes from Manchester United last weekend which saw them turn around a 2 goal deficit, into a stunning 5-2 win, most will be remembering the game for the awarding of a penalty in the early stages of the second half, which no doubt changed the game and drastically improved United's momentum in the game.

Since, Howard Webb has said he was wrong to award the penalty to Michael Carrick who appeared to nick the ball away from an on rushing Gomes, but to be taken down by the Tottenham Hotspur stopper. Replays have proven that despite Carrick getting a slight nick to take the ball away, Gomes did in fact get finger tips to the ball, making it a very good piece of goalkeeping.

Webb was slated after the game by rival fans and questioned intensely in the media spotlight. Webb, supposedly England's best referee, had probably altered the scoreline himself and handing United a key to open the doors Tottenham had set up. Theres no doubt about it, Spurs were in dream land. How many teams have a 0-2 lead going into the second half at Old Trafford? Not many is the answer.

Speaking to the BBC, Webb had this to say on the incident,

"I've looked at it again and I think it was a mistake but we make these decisions honestly. It's not always easy to see the way the play pans out from pitch level."said the 37 year old."

He went onto add,

"I could see the Manchester United player touch the ball and saw him get clattered by the goalkeeper but didn't see the extra deviation from the goalkeeper's fingers touching the ball.

I'm disappointed as I always strive for perfection. I'll look at the tape in detail later in the week and try to avoid it happening again in the future. I never want to have a negative impact on a game and I get no pleasure from not reaching the high standards we set ourselves. But show me a man who's never made a mistake and I'll show you a man who's done nothing."

Question is, did Webb hand United the Title?

Written By: Keano!

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City To Swoop For Eto'o

...After the mega deals talked about last Summer and last January by Manchester City, the latest star on their list is one Samuel Eto'o. The Barcelona ace in arguably the best form of his life has been tagged at around 40M and reports from both Manchester City and Barcelona make things appear like this move could well be on this Summer.

Eto'o decided against leaving Barcelona when his former team mates Ronaldinho and Deco parted with the La Liga leaders. Should he end up moving to Eastlands, he'll be joining up with Robinho who stated he does want to stay with the richest club in world football.

BBC understood that club officials met with each other on Monday lunchtime to discuss club relations, and in the midst of all of that, the possible transfer of the Cameroonian arose.

Manchester City were citing deals to bring world figures such as, Cristiano Ronaldo, Buffon, Gerard, Lampard, Terry, Fernando Torres and Kaka to the club with tags around 100M on most of the players listed.

Either way, I feel personally that a mega deal will take place this Summer involving Manchester City, and with reports leaking the way they are at the current stage, the Eto'o looks like a fairly good bet.


Check back here for all the latest news.

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Di Michele To Remain A Hammer?

...Italian, David Di Michele, is keen on a lengthened stay at The Hammers after a good season in London.

The man on loan from Torino has added 4 goals to his name in 27 appearances for Zola and he wants to get more out of the club, stating that he wishes to remain for a few years. Speaking to the clubs official website, David had this to say on his stay at the club,

I would love to stay at West Ham for a few more years. I am surprised how well I settled down in London. My wife and my children as well, we could not have asked more. It's has been a good season for me. Maybe I should have scored a few more goals, but I am very satisfied because I played much more games than I expected.

...and on the rest of the current season, his hopes,

We are still in the position to get the qualification to the Uefa Cup, which would be unbelievable. There are still four games, we all are confident we can do it.

West Ham are indeed in an impressive position after flirting with Relegation not too long ago, and should they get a few good results from their remaining games, the the Europa League could well be calling upon them in 2009/2010.

Four games left for Zola's men include;

Stoke City (A)
Liverpool (H)
Everton (A)
Middlesbrough (H)

Written By: Keano!

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Newcastle Set For Relegation?

...Newcastle United, one of the supposed "big" teams in the country could well be playing their stuff in the Championship next season after their bid to stay clear of the drop zone took a massive hit last night at St. James' when a dogged Portsmouth side held the Barcodes 0-0. Michael Owen and Martins had fantastic chances to score during the game, but Pompey did show signs of really making it a rotten night.

Current Table









From BBC Sport


So as you can see, they are really in trouble and will need what many are predicting, 3 wins from 4 remaining games. And those games aren't the sort you'd want when needing the points at the business end of the season.

Liverpool (A) - Liverpool still pushing United the distance will want to keep up the pressure
Middlesbrough (H) - Like The Toon, are in danger of going down, they will need the points too
Fulham (H) - I'd be amazed if they didn't win this. Fulham are in limbo at this stage of the season
Aston Villa - (A) - What a fixture to have to have at this stage of the season. Tough isn't the word

So lets say push comes to shove and Newcastle do end up going down, what next? Mike Ashely, seen downing a pint amongst supporters earlier in the season on the right, what will he do. A few weeks ago, he was the scourge of the city and it seems that the Shearer appointment has earned him some lea way with the Geordie's. Will he look to sell for a lower price (Previously estimated at 200 million) or will he look for his full fee?

Shearer has only taken the job, and he had 8 games to get a team not working at all out of the drop zone, which even for the best isn't enough time I think. Time will tell although I really fear for them in the coming weeks. The scoreline will almost certainly be against them at Anfield at the weekend, so I wouldn't so much read into the result as the performance. If they can put in a strong solid shift, and only loose by a goal or even nick a point, then that would give them the confidence for the clashes with Middlesbrough and Fulham. Middlesbrough for the record have a daunting game with Manchester United, and although the Riverside has been a stumbling block in recent seasons for the current Champions with 4-1 and 2-2 scorelines fresh in the memories of Boro fans, surely they won't be capable of a shock result against United?


Newcastle's game with Liverpool on Sunday will be streamed on Premier League Chat as will the Boro tie with United on the Saturday.


Written By: Keano!

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The Magic of Hiddink

Title: The Magic of Hiddink

Enough has been said by various journalists and pundits about the impact Guus Hiddink has had on Chelsea since he arrived here. I think the best way to illustrate just the enormity of his impact is to take a look at how desperate things were before Abramovich brought him in, and just how exactly he's managed to turn us around.

Celebrate After Arsenal?

Title: Celebrate After Arsenal?

It maybe too early, although after the weekend, coming back from two goals down and ending up thrashing Spurs at home, I am now extremely confident that the Premier League trophy will be staying in Old Trafford for the third season running.

Liverpool may have stuck with us for a lot longer then most would have expected them to, but by the looks of it, we are nearing that wonferful feeling of lifting the tophy aloft in May. Not only that, but we could well seal it at home to Arsenal which for me anyways, would be fantastic after they sealed their Premier League crown a few seaons ago on our patch. Provided Liverpool and United win their games from now, that will be the day where we can let our focus rest soley on the Champions League presuming we are still in it which again is against Arsenal.

So looking at it from a different angle, Arsenal will have a massive say in our season and oh how sweet it would be to wrap up a log hard season with a victory over them at the Theatre Of Dreams


Written By: Keano!

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Hillsborough 20th Anniversary

Title: Hillsborough 20th Anniversary

Wednesday, April 15th will mark the 20th anniversary of one of footballs most tragic events. It is of course the Hillsborough disaster where Liverpool fans were crushed against barriers and fellow fans after stewarding and policing at the area let their guards down.

The FA Cup game between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool stopped mid play, as many thought rioting or crowd troubles had arisen, yet no one could have imagined that those people hoping fences, climbing up walls and desperately trying to escape the mass of bodies were trying to save their lives.

One particular memory I will always hold is that of people being carried away from the crowds on the advertisement boards lined around the pitch, which were used as make-shift stretchers.Below is a list of those who will be remembered during the memorial service. Liverpool FC will be holding a special service at Anfield where everyone is welcome to attend.

John Alfred Anderson (62)
Colin Mark Ashcroft (19)
James Gary Aspinall (18)
Kester Roger Marcus Ball (16)
Gerard Bernard Patrick Baron (67)
Simon Bell (17)
Barry Sidney Bennett (26)
David John Benson (22)
David William Birtle (22)
Tony Bland (22)
Paul David Brady (21)
Andrew Mark Brookes (26)
Carl Brown (18)
David Steven Brown (25)
Henry Thomas Burke (47)
Peter Andrew Burkett (24)
Paul William Carlile (19)
Raymond Thomas Chapman (50)
Gary Christopher Church (19)
Joseph Clark (29)
Paul Clark (18)
Gary Collins (22)
Stephen Paul Copoc (20)
Tracey Elizabeth Cox (23)
James Philip Delaney (19)
Christopher Barry Devonside (18)
Christopher Edwards (29)
Vincent Michael Fitzsimmons (34)
Thomas Steven Fox (21)
Jon-Paul Gilhooley (10)
Barry Glover (27)
Ian Thomas Glover (20)
Derrick George Godwin (24)
Roy Harry Hamilton (34)
Philip Hammond (14)
Eric Hankin (33)
Gary Harrison (27)
Stephen Francis Harrison (31)
Peter Andrew Harrison (15)
David Hawley (39)
James Robert Hennessy (29)
Paul Anthony Hewitson (26)
Carl Darren Hewitt (17)
Nicholas Michael Hewitt (16)
Sarah Louise Hicks (19)
Victoria Jane Hicks (15)
Gordon Rodney Horn (20)
Arthur Horrocks (41)
Thomas Howard (39)
Thomas Anthony Howard (14)
Eric George Hughes (42)
Alan Johnston (29)
Christine Anne Jones (27)
Gary Philip Jones (18)
Richard Jones (25)
Nicholas Peter Joynes (27)
Anthony Peter Kelly (29)
Michael David Kelly (38)
Carl David Lewis (18)
David William Mather (19)
Brian Christopher Mathews (38)
Francis Joseph McAllister (27)
John McBrien (18)
Marion Hazel McCabe (21)
Joseph Daniel McCarthy (21)
Peter McDonnell (21)
Alan McGlone (28)
Keith McGrath (17)
Paul Brian Murray (14)
Lee Nicol (14)
Stephen Francis O’Neill (17)
Jonathon Owens (18)
William Roy Pemberton (23)
Carl William Rimmer (21)
David George Rimmer (38)
Graham John Roberts (24)
Steven Joseph Robinson (17)
Henry Charles Rogers (17)
Colin Andrew Hugh William Sefton (23)
Inger Shah (38)
Paula Ann Smith (26)
Adam Edward Spearritt (14)
Philip John Steele (15)
David Leonard Thomas (23)
Patrik John Thompson (35)
Peter Reuben Thompson (30)
Stuart Paul William Thompson (17)
Peter Francis Tootle (21)
Christopher James Traynor (26)
Martin Kevin Traynor (16)
Kevin Tyrrell (15)
Colin Wafer (19)
Ian David Whelan (19)
Martin Kenneth Wild (29)
Kevin Daniel Williams (15)
Graham John Wright (17)

R.I.P.

Written By: Keano!

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