The Pendleton Panther

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Arsenal football club may have a new owner in the coming months. US billionaire Stan Kroenke has recently bought another 427 shares in the club at a cost of 5.8 million dollars, bringing his total number of shares to 29.6% of the club valuing the club at 870 million dollars. According to club rules once a person reaches 30% stake in the club they need to submit a bid to take full ownership of the club. Mr Kroenke acquired the stock from the estate of the late British industrialist Ernest Harrison. “I do not know what Kroenke will do,” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. “All I know is the rules, that if he gets to 30%, he has to make a bid for the club. At the moment, he flirts with the 30, but is not there. “I do not know what his intentions are; I have not spoken to him about it.

Manchester United is a football team in England. They are one of the best teams in the world. But these days they are losing a lot of their spark.  One of their top players called Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United this summer and moved to Real Madrid.  Ronaldo was one of the top goal scorers for the top premier league team, and since he left Manchester have struggled to win matches.  They recently lost to Burnley, who have just been promoted from the Coca Cola league.  Manchester United need to buy some more players who will be able to win them matches. See video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAIgWGCYGJU

Manchester United began the day in second place in the Barclays Premier League on goal difference. However, they had the comfort of knowing they had played two less games than their rivals. They were facing a Spurs side who have come a long way from their days at the bottom of the table at the start of the season. The first half was dismal for United as they fell behind two goals to nil with Tottenham scoring twice in three minutes to give the Red Devils something to think about. The second half was an entirely different story as the 76,000 plus fans packed inside Old Trafford rallied behind their side to fuel a scintillating comeback that looked completely off the charts. Ronaldo and Rooney bagged a brace each with Berbatov rounding up the scoring in a timespan of about 22 minutes leaving their opponents flabbergasted. It is often said that a win is a win but this result can act as so much more than just another three points looking to Tottenham’s north London rivals Arsenal on Wednesday.

This weekend Manchester United lost yet another game. After losing to Liverpool last week, no one expected a loss to Fulham F.C. Although Manchester United played Fulham away from home, most people expected a win. Fulham’s first goal came in the 18th minute from a penalty kick. The kick was awarded after Scholes deliberately handled the ball in the box. Danny Murphy converted the kick. Manchester United had several chances including a header by Ronaldo and an unbelievable clearance off the line after a shot by Rooney. With only a few minutes left, Zoltan Gera scored Fulham’s second goal to secure the victory. He finished in spectacular fashion as he controlled the ball and volleyed it in exemplary fashion giving Dutchman Van Der Sar no chance. Ironically, Manchester United defeated Fulham 4-0 at Craven Cottage only a couple of weeks ago. This is United’s second loss in a row in the Premier League and it leaves them only 1 point ahead of Liverpool.

Manchester United has been in incredible form, not only in the Premier League, but also in the Champions League. They had seemed to be cruising in the league until this past Saturday. Manchester United played a home match against Liverpool in what everyone knew would be a very heated game. No one, however, would have ever predicted the final outcome of 4-1 in Liverpool’s favor, especially considering the match was played at Old Trafford. The start was bright for United as Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty midway through the first half. However, it was all downhill from there. Torres scored 5 minutes later as a simple long ball over the top beat United’ defense and Torres finished coolly one on one with Van der Sar. Just before the end of the first half, Evra clearly brought Gerrard down in the box and Gerrard placed his penalty neatly in the bottom right corner. In the 77th minute, Fabio Aurelio scored a well placed free kick after Vidic was sent off for being the last man and fouling Gerrard who was in on goal. To add to United’s misery, Dossena scored a route 1 goal. Pepe Reina took a goal kick and Dossena ran onto it and lobbed it over Van der Sar. It was a weekend to forget for United, but the real test will be how they respond to this loss. They are still 4 points clear of Liverpool and Chelsea with a game in hand. The title is still theirs to lose. P

Luiz Felipe Scolari was sacked yesterday according to the club’s website which stated that “Luiz Felipe Scolari has been dismissed as manager of Chelsea Football Club with immediate affect”. The website claimed that the move had been made by the club in order to ” maintain a challenge for the trophies we are still competing for”. Scolari is the third Chelsea boss to be sacked in only a year. He started the job only 8 months ago in June of 2008. Chelsea are fourth in the Premier League but are yet to be knocked out of the Champions League or the FA Cup. Until Chelsea can find a new manager, Ray Wilkins will fill Scolari’s spot. Scolari’s spokesperson is blaming Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, for the loss of his clients job. Aramovich had apparently ran out of patience with the Brazilian manager and wanted results fast, hopefully he finds them with lucky number four otherwise he will be running out of men to hire.

More than halfway into the 2008-2009 season of the Barclays Premier League, defending champions Manchester United have claimed the lead in the point standings. After dominating English and European club football last season, winning the Premier League and Champions League, the red devils got off to a bit of a slow start to the current season. During the first few rounds of the season, they were a bit cold and suffered some losses and draws that should have been easy victories for the defending champs. The experienced and extremely talented team, United, picked things up around the halfway point in the season and have created a winning streak. They have been victorious in their last 6 league games and will hopefully keep that streak going. They are currently two points ahead of second place Liverpool and have played one game less than them. The Red Devils will continue their Champions League title defense later this month when they face Liverpool in the first round of the knockout stages.

Brazilian World Cup winning manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has been sacked by Chelsea FC with immediate effect. Recent results have caused Chelsea to fall to fourth in the league table and their performance at the weekend didn’t help the situation much. Their 0-0 draw with Hull City marked a new low for the club as the home fans booed them off the pitch. Angry fans had asked for his sacking, demanding former star striker Gianfranco Zola to take over in his place. Zola is currently manager of West Ham United and he seems to be doing a great job. His assisstant manager Steve Clarke arrived at West Ham after leaving his post at Chelsea. The Blues will be managed by assistant manager Ray Wilkins before a new manager is appointed. The names being brought up to take up the vacant managerial birth are those of Guus Hiddink and former manager Avram Grant. Grant was sacked by Chelsea in the summer after failing to win a trophy for the club despite doing a decent job. This stutter in Chelsea’s season may end up ruling them out of the title race this season.

Manchester United thrashed West Bromwich Albion five-nil in Tuesday night’s round of fixtures. Two goals from  Ronaldo and one a piece for Berbatov, Tevez and centre back Vidic sealed the deal in scintillating fashion as the Red Devils stretched their legs at the top of the table. The manner of the victory is a strong signal to the chasing pack that they need to pick up their pace if they wish to catch the defending champions. United are chasing their third Premier League crown in three seasons and they are certain favourites to lift the trophy come the end of May. Even though they are slow starters in August, they are known to move up a gear in January. Even though they are missing a number of first team regulars including Wayne Rooney, United were unstoppable against a hapless looking 10- man West Brom lineup. It is looking extremely positive for Sir Alex’s men as they head for their third title in three years.

This past weekend was a huge weekend for Manchester United and Chelsea in the Premier League. Chelsea played away at Old Trafford. They lost 3-0 to Manchester United. Vidic opened the scoring for United with a goal just before the half. In the second half, Rooney and Berbatov scored to complete the 3-0 win. Arsenal also defeated Bolton Wanderers 1-0 on a goal from Bendtner in the 83rd minute. Elsewhere, Liverpool tied Stoke City away from home. At the top of the table sits Liverpool with 46 points. Below Liverpool is Chelsea with 42 points and Manchester United with 41. Manchester United however, has 2 games in hand which will put them top of the table if they win both.  Next week’s big fixtures will be Chelsea at home to play Stoke City, Liverpool at home to Everton and Manchester United to play Bolton away from home. This will help determine positions at the top of the table. At the moment, Tottenham, Blackburn and West Brom sit at the bottom of the table. Also, Cristiano Ronaldo was voted FIFA World Player of the Year this past week.

Manchester United won the Super Derby against Chelsea in the 21st round of the English Premier League on Sunday night. Manchaster United scored an impressive 3 goals in the game against Chelsea. The Final score was 3:0 and it was largely attributed to the Bulgarian football star Dimitri Berbatov, who assisted in the first two goals and the third goal he scored himself. After an amazing pass from Berbatov, Nemanja Vidic scored the first goal for Manchester United while the second goal was scored by Wayne Rooney. Barbatov totaled it up to 3:0 in the last minutes of the game finishing off  Christiano Ronaldo´s free kick. In the 87th minute Juliano Belleti fouled Christiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo therefore got a free kick, that Berbatov neatly kicked  into the back of Chelsea´s goal. Both teams, Manchester United and Chelsea, played great football, making it a fun game to watch. Manchester United, however, were just better in the second half which led them to their win. The victory against Chelsea sets Manchester United up for maybe winning another Premier League title.

Manchester United have unveiled their new winger Zoran Tosic. He was signed from the Serbian outfit Partizan Belgrade for a fee estimated to be around 10 million pounds. He is a highly regarded player for his national team and has established himself at the age of 21. He is naturally left footed but will have to fight for his place on the left side of midfield with the likes of Giggs and Nani. He will probably not be playing in the first team until the end of February as he needs time to adjust to the physical nature of British football. The manager has said that he needs to become stronger and hopes he can make as big of an impact as Cristiano Ronaldo has over the past couple of seasons. Nemanja Vidic, United’s Serbian center back will help his countryman adapt to life in England. As a United fan, I really hope he does make a positive impact to our side for years to come.

It has been a while since I wrote the last Premier League post. This past weekend, Fulham, at home, tied Manchester City. Arsenal defeated Wigan1-0 at the Emirates with a goal from Adebayor who has finally returned to fitness. Liverpool defeated Blackburn 3-1 away from home with goals from Alonso, Benayoun, and a goal from Gerrard in the 90th minute. Chelsea defeated Bolton 2-0 away from home with 2 early goals from Anelka and Deco. Hull City got back on the right track after beating Middlesbrough 2-1 at home. Newcastle tied Stoke City and Manchester United defeated Sunderland at Old Trafford with a late goal from Vidic. On Sunday, Portsmouth and West Brom tied and Aston Villa defeated Everton 3-2.  Tottenham also defeated West Ham 2-0. This Saturday, Arsenal will play Middlesbrough away from home. Liverpool will play Hull City at home. Tottenham will play Manchester United at White Hart Lane and on Sunday Chelsea will play West Ham at Stamford Bridge.

On Sunday, the seventh, Manchester United played a struggling Sunderland side that they were supposed to demolish. Sunderland had just lost their manager Roy Keane, who is a former Manchester United captain. The stage was set for this match to be an absolute onslaught. The first half played out just as everyone had thought it would. United had dominated possession, passed the ball around like champions and had not allowed Sunderland out of their half of the pitch. However, there was one problem, for all their domination they had failed to score a goal. Sunderland had clearly come to Old Trafford looking to come away with a zero zero draw. They continued to defend throughout the second half and won their first throw- in in Man United’s half of the pitch after 75 mins. At one point late in the match, the possession read 85% United 15% Sunderland. The Red Devils piled on the pressure towards the end of the match and just as it looked like the match would end in a draw, center half Nemanja Vidic scored in the second minute of injury time. He followed Carrick’s deflected shot off the post and shot into an empty net.

This week, there were some amazing results in the premier league mainly because the top 4 clubs of the league were disappointing. Not Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester United could manage a goal in any of their fixtures. Chelsea tied with Newcastle 0-0. Liverpool tied Fulham 0-0. Arsenal lost to Manchester City 3-0. Manchester United tied Aston Villa 0-0. It may be years before there is another scoreless weekend among the Premier League’s top clubs. Portsmouth and Hull City tied 2-2. Bolton beat Middlesbrough 3-1. Stoke beat West Brom 1-0. Tottenham got back to winning after their only defeat last week under Harry Redknapp. What an incredible turn around at the club. West Ham also beat Sunderland and Wigan beat Everton. This next Sunday, Manchester City will play their rivals Manchester United in what will be a heated game as always. Arsenal will also play Chelsea on Sunday. Liverpool play West Ham next Monday. It will also be interesting to see what happens when Tottenham play Everton on Sunday. Will they get another positive result under Redknapp?

The English FA have banned Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba for three matches after an interesting incident took place at Stamford Bridge last Wednesday. During Chelsea’s one nil defeat to minnows Burnley in the Carling Cup, Drogba threw a coin at the away supporters. He apologized for his actions and admitted to his mistake almost immediately after the match. The coin was initially thrown on to the pitch by a Burnley fan and investigations are underway as to who was the real culprit. Drogba will miss Chelsea’s upcoming Premier League encounters against Newcastle United, Arsenal and Bolton Wanderers. However, the ban does not extend to the Champions League and Drogba will be eligible for Chelsea’ european encounter with French outfit Bordeaux. The 30 year old will also have to give up two weeks of wages as Chelsea are not too pleased about his suspension.  He has been out of the Chelsea side throughout this season due to injury and this suspension will make him have to work even harder to get a regular first team place.

Another week in the premier league saw some enthralling clashes. Arsenal defeated Manchester United 2-1 at the Emirates stadium. With Adebayor inured and Van Persie suspended it seemed as though a result against United would be difficult. Nasri, one of Wenger’s summer signings from Marseille, proved to be the difference maker as he scored a goal in each half. 2nd half substitute Rafael scored a brilliant volley for United. It would prove to be just a consolation goal asArsenal hung on for the win. Chelsea defeated Blackburn 2-0 in under some extremely treacherous conditions. Liverpool also won 3-0 at home against West Brom. Hull City suffered yet another defeat after their incredible start to the season as they lost 1-0 at home to Bolton. Harry Redknapp’s incredible turn around at Tottenham continued as his team defeated Manchester City away from home. They are now out of the bottom 3 for the first time this season. As the table now stands, Liverpool and Chelsea are tied for first with 29 points. Arsenal sits behind them with 23 points after their victory over United. United sits in fourth with 21 points, but still with a game in hand. West Brom occupy the bottom spot in the table with 11 points. This Saturday, Liverpool and Chelsea will both play away from home. Arsenal plays will play Aston Villa while Manchester United will face Stoke City.

This past week was a busy period in the Premier League. Last Wednesday, the surprise team of the Premier League, Hull City, suffered a 3-0 defeat to Chelsea. Manchester United beat West Ham 2-0. Arsenal drew four all with Tottenham in the North London derby. That was a thrilling encounter in which Spurs scored two goals in the last two minutes to grab a point. This past weekend, Chelsea won convincingly at home as they beat Sunderland 5-0. Manchester United beat Hull City 4-3 at home. Hull City showed a lot of fight against the champions and they did not go down easily. Arsenal were upset by newly promoted Stoke City and in a top versus bottom clash, Tottenham defeated Liverpool to once again show how close the premier league really is. Since Harry Redknapp’s take over at Tottenham, he has produced 7 points in 3 games. That is a great tally considering Tottenham is bottom of the table and two of those games were against Arsenal and Liverpool. Tottenham now has 9 points from 11 games. This Saturday, the big game is Arsenal vs. Manchester United at Emirates Stadium. Liverpool will be playing West Brom and Hull City will be playing Bolton. On Sunday, Tottenham will play Manchester City and Chelsea will play Blackburn. As things stand right now, Chelsea and Liverpool are tied at the top of the table with 26 points each. Manchester United sits in third with 21 points, but as always, they still have a game in hand. Arsenal is tied for 4th with 20 points. Other teams with 20 points are Aston Villa and Hull City. At the bottom of the table is Tottenham with 9 points. Just above them are Bolton and West Brom which are both tied with 11 points.

Once again the Premier League was in action over the weekend. The big game, Liverpool vs. Chelsea, ended with a shocking 1-0 Liverpool victory. This ended Chelsea’s unbelievable 86-match unbeaten streak at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool won on a shot taken by Xabi Alonso which deflected off of Chelsea’s Jose Bosingwa past Petr Cech. Once again, Hull City won another game, beating West Brom 3-0 away from home. Their form this year has been unbelievable for a newly promoted side. Manchester City also beat Stoke City 3-0. City’s Robinho scored his first club hat trick to secure a 3-0 victory. Manchester United tied Everton 1-1 while Arsenal beat West Ham 2-0. There is now a definitive leader at the top of the table. Liverpool is 3 points ahead of Chelsea with 23 points. Hull City and Chelsea are tied with 20 points each. Arsenal sits one point behind them, closely followed by Aston Villa with 17 points and Manchester United with 15 points. Manchester United still has a game in hand, however. This weekend Liverpool will play Portsmouth while Chelsea will play Hull City which will be a big game to watch. This will determine who sits second or possibly who will be tied with Liverpool for first. Also Manchester United will play West Ham while Arsenal play Tottenham who currently  sit at the bottom of the table.

This weekend the premier league was in action once again.  The co-league leaders, Chelsea, won convincingly in a 5-0 win over Middlesborough. The other league leaders, Liverpool, pulled off another last minute victory against Wigan. Arsenal defeated Everton 3-1 and Manchester United earned a comfortable victory with a 4-0 win over West Brom. Hull city continued their surprising form with a 1-0 victory over West Ham. At the other end of the table, Tottenham Hotspur lost yet another game, this time to the league debutants Stoke City. As of now, Chelsea and Liverpool sit at the top of the league with 20 points each. Hull City still sits in 3rd, three points behind them. Arsenal has 16 points and Manchester United has 14 as they sit in 4th and 5th respectively. Manchester United still has a game in hand. Today, Newcastle United will play Manchester City. As far as I can tell, the good news about that game is that there is a chance someone will win. This Saturday, Manchester United will play Everton away from home. The game to watch for is Chelsea vs. Liverpool on Sunday, which will determine who sits at the top of the table.

This past weekend games were once again put off to a later time due to World Cup qualifyingin the Premier League. Prior to this weekend, the Big 4 (Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea) each received three points except for Arsenal’s shock draw with Sunderland. Manchester United appears to be regaining their form of last season. Ronaldo is, once again, starting for Manchester United and convincing results have finally arived for United, winning comfortably in the Champion’s League and easily defeating Blackburn 2-0 away from home. The Arsenal’s form of late has been shocking, losing 2-1 at home to a rampant Hull City and tying Sunderland 1-1 away from home. Liverpool also pulled off a shock win over Manchester City, coming back from 2-0 down with 3 goals in the second half. The final goal came in the 90th minute from Kuyt. As of now, Liverpool and Chelsea are tied for first at the top of the table. They each have played 7 games and have 17 points. Hull City amazingly sits in 3rd place with 14 points. Arsenal is 4th place, a point behind Hull City. Amazingly, Manchester United is in 8th place with 11 points, however they have a game in hand. In the next few weeks the more notable fixtures will be Arsenal at home vs. Everton, Chelsea away to play Middlesbrough, Manchester United at home against West Brom and Liverpool at home to play Wigan. You can watch Arsenal play Everton on Fox Soccer Channel at 10:30 this Saturday as well as Manchester United against West Brom at 12:30.

It has been a while since the last Premier League post. Unfortunately, this weekend the Premier League did not play any games due to World Cup qualifiers. This was a tough time for those of us who crave the weekly English soccer action. Despite this, games were played last weekend. Most notably, Liverpool drew with Aston Villa and Chelsea drew with Tottenham. Although both Liverpool and Chelsea remain the top two teams in the league, other teams such as Manchester United and Fulham have a game in hand. As of now, the surprise team is Manchester City who have recorded two wins and a loss in the first 3 games. One of their best ever starts to a Premier League campaign. The big game to watch this next weekend is Manchester United and Liverpool. They will be kicking off next Saturday.  Also Manchester City and Chelsea will be playing live on Fox Soccer channel.

The Premier League Season is once again beginning. The summer months have been a difficult time for those of use who follow the English Premier League closely. It is deemed the most exciting league in the world. With players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Adebayor, Berbatov, Giggs, Deco, Ballack, Drogba, Lampard, Terry, Torres, Gerrard and many others, the Premier League is loaded with talent. As of now, each team has played 2 games. Only Chelsea and Liverpool have recorded 2 wins. Former champions Manchester United sit in 5th place with a win and a draw. I am sure this season will be exciting and I am anxious to see who lives up to their hype and who does not. Will Ronaldo repeat the brilliant season he had last year? Will Manchester United dominate another season or will Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool take advantage of the talents they have?  We will find out over the course of the year, beginning this weekend.