Super 6 Predictions 07-Nov-09

Aston Villa 2 - 1 Bolton

Blackburn 1 - 0 Portsmouth

Man City 3 - 0 Burnley

Tottenham 2 - 1 Sunderland

Crystal Palace 1 - 1 Middlesbrough

Leicester 2 - 1 West Brom

Get well soon Tarquin!

Beat Viv

Just a quickie as I'm under the weather, but Beat Viv is back again

Since they brought in this new regular format I think I've won 15 quid out of five goes

Free money: good

Stick your own predictions underneath - I'm off to bed

Super 6 Predictions - 31-Oct-09

Here they are, here is my predictions on the Super 6 for tomorrow.

Bolton 1 - 1 Chelsea

Burnley 2 - 0 Hull

Everton 2 - 1 Aston Villa

Fulham 1 - 2 Liverpool

Stoke 3 - 1 Wolves

Sunderland 2 - 1 West Ham

Fire Sale, Everything Must Go

I do think sometimes that the money men in football are a bit unappreciated and misunderstood. However, there are some who have brought their way into the footballing landscape that it is very hard to get an understanding or appreciation of.

Mike Ashley has to be one of those people, because I really cannot fathom the man or his actions, well most of the time anyway.

There are, at least, two sides to every story and with much that goes on in Newcastle in the past couple of years those side to these stories do seem to be poles apart. Unquestionably despite what I and many others took as good intentions in the beginning has been followed by decisions and actions made which have taken the club backwards, fast.

Newcastle is one of those few clubs that no matter what the back-story is, should consider it a huge shortcoming to not be in the top league.

Recently the drama has focused on who the manager will be, with the return of Alan Shearer lasting but a few weeks, and with the only realistic takeover bid being rejected. The story of modern football failure in the big clubs is all too similar, and usually rests with the ego of men who think they know better than the fans.

I saw today that Ashley now wishes to rename St James Park to take advantage of an avenue of revenue that some other clubs have exploited. Surely this decision is a year too late or a year too early to be justified in a maximising of revenue argument? But more serious, and more in keeping with the general feeling is that this is not some new stadium, it already has a name. St James’ Park. It is a part of the tradition and soul of the club that this millionaire has snapped up and plays around with like a child with a train set. In buying the bricks, the club the pitch and the team we have yet another owner who thinks they own the soul of the football club.

What next? Doing away with the famous black and white stripes? A new nickname? What else is up in this firesale?

What must be worse for Newcastle fans is that it would appear they will not be able to force the owner out until they re-establish themselves with a Premier League slot, as it would appear the value of the club has plummeted under the current owners stewardship.

Newcastle’s fans are often described as “long suffering” that seems a bit like an understatement to me right now.

A generation of Fergies?

James Lawton in the Indie has had a go at Ferguson for his treatment of referees (or, his hypocrisy, if you will)

Stating the bleeding obvious you might say, but he's right:

not even arguably the most successful manager in the history of English football, can stand above the game, making his own rules and flaunting his own prejudices. This is what is happening at the moment and what it is doing to the Football Association's campaign to win more respect for match officials is tantamount to rolling it up as though it is a piece of grubby paper and tossing it into the nearest bin.

Ferguson's device, though, of shifting attention from the deficiencies of his team on any passing day with criticism of the referee has done more than wear thin. It is becoming a sustained challenge to football authority – one which recent evidence suggests is hardly likely to be met with any significant force when the FA comes to render its decision on the Wiley affair.

One problem is the grisly prospect of a whole generation of Fergie imitators, men who have swallowed the idea that they should take the best of the great manager and live with the rest.

 
It's an entertaining read, and while we all know it already, I thought it worth posting that the FA really do need to get some balls

Super 6 Predictions 24-Oct-09

After many baron weeks, I surged back with a very solid 3 in 6 last week.

This week, here are my predictions.

Birmingham 1 - 1 Sunderland

Burnley 2 - 1 Wigan

Hull City 2 - 1 Portsmouth

Tottenham 3 - 0 Stoke City

Newcastle 3 - 0 Doncaster

Sheffield Utd 2 - 1 Cardiff

If you're playing, let us know your predictions in the comments.

Not For Liverpool Fans..

From: Republik of Mancunia

Damn Chelsea

Here are the current standings - finally I managed to get a result and came top for the week! But I remain over 70 points off the pace, and I left 'ten-points against ruddy Chelsea' James Collins on the bench - brilliant purchase, rubbish tactics, but at least I'm ahead of Dan now

Otherwise, Rich continues his assault on the top spot, coming second this week, and is now within 20 points of early leader Sylvie and he's also top for the month of October - and also watch out for Roy - he's only down there because he missed the first month, he's currently second for the month

Ireland to face France... I think

I'm not 100% sure about this, as the BBC seem to be paying no attention to this live draw (which they advertised), and FIFA, despite claiming to have started 20 minutes ago failed to put up a stream

But here are the tentative play-offs:

France v Ireland
Portugal v Bosnia
Greece v Ukraine
Russia v Slovenia

oh and now the BBC confirm it - I guess they technically published before me

Can't say better than that really - I'd want France or Greece, hopefully they'll both be going out - good luck to Bosnia as well, what are your opinions on the draw?

One thing I must point out is this piece of reasoning from FIFA:

"The top four nations in the draw are seeded according to the latest edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, published on 16 October. France (ranked number 9), Portugal (10), Russia (12) and Greece (16) go into Pot 1. Pot 2 will contain Ukraine (22), Republic of Ireland (34), Bosnia Herzegovina (42) and Slovenia (49).

However, the ranking positions of the unseeded teams does not necessarily reflect their current form, as all four nations have claimed the runners-up spots in their groups with impressive and courageous qualifying campaigns"

So, having just admitted the ranks mean nothing why have you seeded them at all!

Super 6 Predictions - 17-Oct-09

Here are my Super 6 Predictions:


Arsenal 3 - 0 Birmingham

Everton 2 - 0 Wolves

Man Utd 2 - 1 Bolton

Portsmouth 1 - 0 Tottenham

Stoke City 2 - 1 West Ham

Sunderland 1 - 0 Liverpool

Ireland face a challenge

The news is that Ireland will not be seeded for the UEFA play-off draw, they were never likely to be, but still...

I had not actually realised that the teams were not originally going to be seeded - apparently the decision wasn't made until September 29th (obviously I somehow overlooked that before) which frankly smacks of unfairness

As Shay Given said, if FIFA had decided to seed in the first place then fine - but to do it when France and Portugal were looking precarious is a joke, the teams were already seeded once, why should they get a second crack at the whip? Seriously, I want to see some justification - they've all gone through the same process and the 'big' teams have cocked up, now they are rewarded and protected by UEFA/FIFA

I remember when we fell foul of Russia before Euro 2008, there was much hopeful talk of us being given a lifeline - England too big to go down and all that, money from the fans etc... it was complete fantasy of course, but I think we have a bit of a case for our noses being out of joint now

I wish Ireland all the best and they are perfectly capable of beating France, Portugal, Greece or Russia - and Ukraine will be a match for any of those teams, I hope that France or Portugal - by no means in their position because of a fluke, get Ukraine or Ireland - I think Russia would be the biggest test

We shall find out on Monday at 1pm

The prem is back

...And remarkably Stevie G's groin is still injured...

Anyway - I just posted my own predictions for the week at Beat Lawro and I also wanted to inform you that once again Beat Viv is on and the prize is £100 and a signed Kaka shirt (I'd rather have the extra 400 quid, but hey-ho)

This week you get to predict:

Aston Villa v Chelsea
Arsenal v Birmingham
United v Bolton
Sunderland v Liverpool

good luck

Also don't forget Super Six