Premier League: 2012/13 season review so far

As we approach the buys Christmas period of games, we look and review at the past few months in the Barclay's Premier League.

picture: dailymail.co.uk

Having claimed the title so dramatically last May, Roberto Mancini's Manchester City went into the season looking to defend it. Since August, City have only lost the once in the league to rivals Man United to end their long undefeated run at home. The defeat did not come as much of as a surprise as City's current defensive situation has not been anywhere as secure as last year. Mancini's summer signings included Matija Nastasic, Jack Rodwell and Maicon whereas Alex Ferguson brought in the class of Robin Van Persie from Arsenal. The difference in quality of signings between the clubs has told over the early months of the season which currently sees United sit six points clear of their city rivals.

Every year we see a surprise team who upset the odds and this year was no different with West Brom. New boss Steve Clarke got off to the perfect start as he faced his old side Liverpool on the opening day of the season. A 3-0 home win then saw the Baggies take points of Spurs, Chelsea and Everton to sit in the top four. The loan signing of Roman Lukaku from Chelsea has proved an excellent acquisition as he and strike partner Shane Long have seen the pair score 12 goals between them. Inconsistency in the last few games though has seem them since drop down to seventh.

At the bottom of the table, newly promoted Reading have been lurking in the bottom three since August which has seen them only win once all season. Their poor form currently sees The Royals sit bottom of the league with only nine points, six from safety. Brian McDermott's side have struggled to keep clean sheets, particularly at home which has seen them leak 36 goals so far. Alongside Reading are QPR who under new manager Harry Redknapp have started to look more of a team than under former manager Mark Hughes. Rangers had gone 16 games without a win, the longest in Premier League history, until recently when they recorded a 2-1 win at home to Fulham.

picture: football365.com

Hughes was the second manager to lose his job in the current season, after the surprising sacking of Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo. Di Matteo only spent six months at Stamford Bridge having won the Champions League and FA Cup as caretaker manager last year. Poor results and performances saw him laid off and Rafa Benitez brought in as an interim manager until the end of the season.

The Christmas period will be critical for some clubs in how their seasons will take shape. In particular at the bottom, Reading and QPR will need to pick up some consistent form if they are to avoid the elusive drop at the end of the season. The race for the title will once again go close and alongside the two Manchester clubs, Chelsea are still within a shout of challenging. The top four places are again too close to tell currently and a number of clubs will fancy their chances of making the Champions League places.

Final Table Predictions:
1: Man United
2: Man City
3: Chelsea
4: Arsenal
5: Tottenham Hotspur
6: Liverpool
7: Everton
8: West Brom
9: Stoke City
10: West Ham Utd
11: Newcastle United
12: Fulham
13: Swansea
14: Norwich City
15: Sunderland
16: Aston Villa
17: Southampton
18: Wigan Athletic
19: QPR
20: Reading

Capital One Cup: Fourth Round Draw

The newly named Capital One Cup continued this week as we saw the third round of the competition take place. This round saw the remaining seven Premier League clubs enter the fray including current holders Liverpool and Premier League winners Manchester City.

picture: whoateallthepies.tv

It was City though, who surprised everyone as they were beaten 4-2 at home by Aston Villa after extra time at the Etihad Stadium. Roberto Mancini fielded a strong side which included Kolo Toure, Jack Rodwell, Mario Balotelli and Carlos Tevez. It was the Italian striker that opened the scoring in the game after an excellent through pass from James Milner. It was another former Villa man in the City line up, Gareth Barry, who scored a deserved equaliser for Villa as he put through his own net after good work down the right from Andreas Weimann. An Aleksander Kolarov free kick and a Gabby Agbonlahor goal in the second half, saw the game go to extra time. It was Villa though, who took the initiative in extra time as goals from Charlies N'Zogbia and Gabby Agbonlahor gave Paul Lambert and his Villa side a surprise victory away from home.

Another shock in the third round of the competition came at Elland Road as Championship outfit Leeds United beat high flying Everton 2-1. The game was largely dominated by Leeds who could have easily scored more. They opened the scoring in the first half as Aidan White was given time and space to beautifully curl home. David Moyes fielded a strong line up which included Steven Pienaar and his side should have been level when Steven Naismith headed wide from 3 yards. Leeds effectively ended the game in the second half as midfielder Rodolph Austin flicked home after a well worked free kick from the left. A late Sylvain Distin header made an exciting end to the game but the Premier League team were unable to take the game to extra time.

picture: theguardian.co.uk

Having beaten Stoke in the last round, Swindon were at it again causing another upset beating Championship team Burnley 3-1 at home. They were joined in the fourth round by Bradford, who came down from two goals down at home to Burton to win the all League Two clash 3-2 after extra time. Arsenal and Chelsea set up their Premier League clash beautifully on Saturday, as they both hit their opponents for six. The Gunners faced League One Coventry City at home and two goals for Theo Walcott and a first goal for Olivier Giroud, saw Arsene Wenger's side came out 6-1 winners. Chelsea fielded a strong side against Wolves and that was evident as they beat the Championship club 6-0 at Stamford Bridge.

Current holders of the cup Liverpool, faced a tricky tie away at West Brom who beat them on the opening day of the league season 3-0. Brendan Rogers young outfit though came away 2-1 winners thanks to two goals from Nuri Sahin. Tottenham, Southampton and Sunderland all eased past lower league opposition and were joined by Man United who came out top against Newcastle United.

As the competition progresses nicely, the fourth round draw was made immediately after the third round and threw up Chelsea v Man United in the tie of the round. Arsenal face a tough tie away at Reading, while holders Liverpool are at home to Swansea which will see Brendan Rogers come up against his former team. Aston Villas reward for beating Man City is a tricky tie away at League One Swindon Town. Bradford are the lowest league side left in the competition and will travel to Wigan, whilst Sunderland will face north east rivals Middlesbrough.

All ties will be played the week commencing the 29th October 2012.

Fourth Round Fixtures:

Sunderland v Middlesbrough
Swindon v Aston Villa
Liverpool v Swansea City
Chelsea v Man United
Wigan v Bradford City
Norwich City v Tottenham
Reading v Arsenal
Leeds v Southampton

2012/13 Premier League: Preview Part 2

As promised we look at the second half of teams in the Premier League and look at their chances this year as well as the transfer activity they have been involved in.

Queens Park Rangers: 

picture: blogs.soccernet.com

After narrowly avoiding relegation last season, Rangers have been one of the busiest clubs in the transfer market. Manager Mark Hughes has brought in a number of players which include South Korean Park Ji-Sung from Manchester United and Junior Hoilett who made the move from Blackburn Rovers. Pre season has been very productive for the London side who have gone through unbeaten winning four and drawing two in their six games. With a squad full of Premier League experience, Rangers will want a higher finish in the league this season and want to establish themselves as a Premier League club.

Prediction: 19th

Reading:

Reading return to the Premier League after a four year absence from the top flight. They achieved automatic promotion last season finishing top of the Championship ahead of Southampton. Boss Brian McDermott has worked wonders at the Berkshire club and has significantly strengthened the squad during the summer transfer window. Chris Gunter has made the move from Nottingham Forest and is joined by forward Pavel Pogrebynak who chose Reading ahead of Fulham who he spent the second half of last season at. Left back Ian Harte is a set piece specialist and has gathered a number of goals and assists since he joined the Royals back in 2010. Strikers Jason Roberts and Adam Le Fondre scored a number of critical goals last year and they will be key if they are to remain in the top flight. 

Prediction: 16th

Southampton:

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The Saints joined Norwich last season in achieving two successive promotions in two seasons. Having looked the favourites to win the league, the Saints were pipped to the title by Reading who they will join in the Premier League this season. Southampton open their campaign away at Manchester City, and will follow up with a trip to Arsenal and a home game against Manchester United. Manager Nigel Adkins paid £7million for Burnley striker Jay Rodriguez who scored 15 league goals for his former side last season. He joins a strong Saints front line with main man Rickie Lambert and fellow forward Billy Sharp expected to score the goals that will keep them in the league. 

Prediction: 20th

Stoke City:

Stoke had a busy season last year competing in four competitions and collecting plenty of air miles. Having finished runners up in the 2010/11 FA Cup, they achieved a place in the Europa League. The Potters made it comfortably past the group stages but their journey came to an end having lost to Valencia 2-0 on aggregate in the round of 32. Tony Pulis's men only managed four wins in the second half of the season meaning they finished in 14th place. The signing of Peter Crouch at the start of the season was a great acquisition by Pulis, and the frontman rewarded his manager by scoring one of the goals of the season against Manchester City. So far Pulis has only brought in three players in the window, Michael Kightly made the move from Wolves, and is joined by defender Geoff Cameron and midfielder Jamie Ness from Rangers. 

Prediction: 9th

Sunderland:

Martin O'Neill brought in a breath of fresh air for Sunderland last season replacing former boss Steve Bruce. Bruce was sacked midway through last year having only won two games in 13. The Black Cats finished in 13th place last season, and fans will want a significant improvement this year. The development of James McLean was something positive to take from last year, with the winger making the Republic of Ireland squad at the end of the season for Euro 2012. Sunderland only mastered 45 goals last season with Nicklas Bendtner their top goal scorer with only eight league goals to his name. If they are to improve on this total this season then O'Neill will need to bring in a centre forward to give them a greater threat upfront. 

Prediction: 11th

Swansea City:

picture: thesun.co.uk

Brendan Rogers took Swansea to an impressive 11th place finish last season and excellent performances throughout the year, saw him snapped up by Liverpool. His 'Tiki Taka' style of play saw Swansea beat Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal at home and eliminated any thoughts that his team would be favourites to be relegated. The loan signing of Gylfi Sigurdsson was a masterstroke by Rogers as the Icelandic starred in many games scoring important goals. Striker Danny Graham scored 12 league goals and with Scott Sinclair and Nathan Dyer aiding him out wide, Graham will want to better his tally this season. With Rogers off to Liverpool, former Juventus man Michael Laudrup took the reigns at the club and has so far brought in Spanish defender Chico and Spanish striker Michu from Rayo Vallecano during the window.

Prediction: 13th

Tottenham Hotspur:

Tottenham ended last season in fourth place having been title contenders mid way through the season. Due to Chelsea's Champions League final win, Spurs will be playing Europa League football though this year and not in the Champions League. Harry Redknapp was sacked at the end of the season and was replaced by Portuguese man Andre Villas Boas. Striker Emmanuel Adebayor was the top goal scorer for Spurs last season and scored 17 league goals in his loan spell. The Togo man has since gone back to parent club Man City and a deal to keep him at White Hart Lane has yet to be agreed. AVB has so far only brought in two players during the window, snapping up midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson, and defender Jan Vertonghen who signed from Ajax. 

Prediction: 6th

West Bromwich Albion:

Roy Hodgson's decision to become England manager has meant that WBA will start 2012/13 with Steve Clarke at the helm. Clarke spent the last season and a half as the number two to Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool, and was also Jose Mourinho's number two when the 'special one' was manager at Chelsea. Clarke's first competitive game as West Brom manager will be against former team Liverpool as they face each other at The Hawthorns on the opening day of the season. On loan last season, keeper Ben Foster signed permanently for the Baggies from Midland rivals Birmingham City. Swedish frontman Markus Rosenberg has also been brought in from Werder Bremen and will offer a further attacking threat alongside Shane Long and Peter Odemwinge.

Prediction: 17th

West Ham United:

picture: tbhr.co.uk

West Ham made an immediate return to the Premier League coming up through the play-offs. Sam Alladyce's men looked likely to achieve automatic promotion but poor performances in vital games meant they needed to go through the play-offs to get promoted. Alladyce has been busy in the transfer window so far bringing in eight players including goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen and former Wigan man Mohamed Diame both on free transfers. West Ham will be looking to get off to a good start as they face Swansea, Aston Villa and Fulham in their first three games. Led by Kevin Nolan, goals shouldn't be a problem with Ricardo Vaz Te, Nicky Maynard and Carlton Cole all available to play up front. The experience of Matty Taylor and Mark Noble in midfield will help the younger players in the squad and guide the team through the season.

Prediction: 12th

Wigan Athletic:

Wigan made yet another remarkable escape last season avoiding relegation and finishing in 15th place above Aston Villa and QPR. This season will be their eighth successive season in the Premier League and will be manager Roberto Martinez's fourth in charge of the Lactics. The Spaniard turned down the chance to manager both Liverpool and Aston Villa to remain with Wigan. Martinez has been relatively quiet in the transfer market so far only bringing in just the two players. Fraser Fyvie has joined the club from Aberdeen and is joined by defender Ivan Ramis who decided to join Wigan when it looked like he was going to fellow Premier League side West Ham. 

Prediction: 18th

Championship: 2011/12 season review

It may have been a cracking season in the Premier League, but throughout the three divisions in the football league, fans have not been disappointed with the levels of excitement throughout the season. In the Championship we saw Reading crowned as champions of the Championship with Southampton and West Ham joining them in the top flight next year. Joy for some clubs meant tears for others as Portsmouth, Coventry and Doncaster were relegated from the league. The fight for a play off place also took centre stage as a number of clubs fought for a place to give them a chance of promotion to the top division.

picture: football.co.uk

Having been relegated from the Premier League last season, West Ham were strong favourites to make an immediate return to the top flight. New boss Sam Alladyce brought in an array of talent throughout the season which included Nicky Maynard, Kevin Nolan, Matty Taylor and Ricardo Vaz Te. With the added experience, the Hammers had one of the strongest squads in the division. Having hovered around the top two for much of the season, a dip in form saw them slip down to third behind Reading and Southampton, meaning if they were to go up, they'd have to go through the play off's. Having beaten Cardiff in the semi finals, it was Blackpool standing in the way of the Hammers. However a late Vaz Te goal secured victory at Wembley and an immediate return for Alladyce's men.

The fight for a play off position was as exciting as ever, as a number of clubs fought for a chance to gain promotion to the Premier League. Cardiff City were again in the mix and after finishing fifth, were given the difficult task of facing West Ham. Relegated from the Premier League last season, Birmingham City and Blackpool faced each other in the other semi final. The likes of Middlesbrough and Brighton were amongst the play off's throughout the season, but eventually fell short meaning another season in the Championship for them. It was West Ham and Blackpool who made it through to the final at Wembley, and it was the Hammers who won beating the Seasiders 2-1.

picture: dailymail.co.uk

Despite the excitement at the top of the table, teams lower down the league were fighting it out to avoid relegation. Having been deducted ten points due to administration, Portsmouth were caught up in the relegation scrap. Having put up a valiant effort, Pompey couldn't overturn the deficit and were relegated with fellow sides Doncaster Rovers and Coventry City. Both Doncaster and Coventry spent the majority of the season in the bottom two and struggled to put any form together. Coventry only mastered up a poor nine wins throughout the whole season while Doncaster could only win eight games out of 46. Newly promoted side Peterborough United were relegated the last time they were in the Championship but after some astute signings, Darren Ferguson's side finished with a very respectable 50 points finishing in 18th position. Brighton who were also promoted with The Posh last season and enjoyed a good season, missing out on the play off's finishing in tenth position.

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Scoring an impressive 27 goals, Southampton striker Rickie Lambert took away the golden boot for the Championship. The centre forward continued to show what a finisher he is and guided the Saints to second place where they gained promotion to the Premier League. His goals though, weren't enough for Southampton to claim the title having been favourites to take top spot. They were pipped to the title by Reading whose excellent second half of the season, saw the Royals finish the season as champions. Losing only two of the last 19 league games, Brian McDermott's side enjoyed victories on the road against both Southampton and West Ham. Goals were a plenty throughout the season, as the Championship saw a number of high scoring games. In particular Nottingham Forest's 7-3 win at Leeds, and Peterborough United's 7-1 home drubbing of Ipswich the stand out games.

After another exciting season, next year will be sure to be as entertaining. The Championship will welcome Wolves, Bolton and Blackburn, who were relegated from the Premier League. The division will also welcome Charlton Athletic, Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield after they gained promotion from League One.

Norwich City: The perfect example for newly promoted Reading

After a 1-0 home win to Nottingham Forest last week, Reading secured promotion to the Premier League after a four year absence from the top division. Brian McDermott's side have been hovering around the top of the Championship since late February and were rewarded with promotion after an excellent second half of the season from his side.

picture: espn.co.uk

Now back in the big time, it is imperative that the Royals invest correctly in the summer. With Anton Zingarevich set to take over the club in the coming weeks then the opportunity to bring in players will definitely be available to McDermott. The current side contains experienced players who have played in the Premier League before. Striker Jason Roberts and midfield dynamo Hayden Mullins have both spent long spells in the top division. But with other squad members in line to experience the top flight for the first time in their careers, it is important that they bring in good signings.If we take a look at the sides promoted to the Premier League this from last season, we can look at the success  of bringing in the right players. Take Norwich City for example. Under the guidance of Paul Lambert, they managed an excellent double promotion in just the two seasons. They currently sit comfortably in thirteenth and have not been at any threat of relegation this year. 

picture: blogspot.com

Against the odds the Canaries have impressed this year and thanks to the right signings, they have produced some excellent performances. Norwich brought in a number of lower league players at the start of the season. These included Elliot Bennett, Bradley Johnson, Kyle Naughton (on loan from Spurs) and Steve Morison. Alongside the power of captain Grant Holt, these players have blended wonderfully into the squad. With the limited resources at the club, credit goes to the team who have proved the doubters wrong and will more than likely finish the league mid table ahead of the likes of Aston Villa and Bolton. 

In contrast to this, QPR are struggling and are fighting off relegation. Although this may have something to do with the change of manager mid season, the team have not produced such great performances that saw them champions of the Championship last season. Sacking former boss Neil Warnock has yet to prove the correct decision with the side currently in a relegation scrap. New manager Mark Hughes went transfer crazy in the January transfer window bringing in Bobby Zamora, Djibril Cisse, and Nedum Onuoha. Yes these players may bring in a wealth of Premier League experience, but the lack of togetherness alongside the never ending drama of captain Joey Barton has seen the London side struggle.

We can't finish without mentioning the success of Swansea who came up through the play offs beating Reading at Wembley last season. Thrashed 4-0 away at Man City on the opening day of the season, the Welsh team were odds on to be relegated come May time. But like Norwich, Brendan Rogers side have played some excellent football this year and are well worthy of their continuation in the top flight next year.

Reading have been in the Premier League before and slowly became an established side until performances dropped and were eventually relegated. It has taken them four years to get back to the big time but with decent signings and the odd bit of luck, there is no reason why they can't be as successful as Norwich and Swansea have been this year.