On the Recap: GW4 Quickie(s)

Might somewhat related to his hair I guess

Based on the current premiership table order:-

Top Four
MANU - Captain Rooney is imminent;
MANC - You bet Dzeko hattrick is coming next;
CHE - Sturridge, the future star is born;
NEW - Exceptionally good defense, bad offense;

Europa Spots
STK - I said it again, beware of them;
LIV - Where is Sebastian Coates?;

The Rest
WOL - Hopeless without Jarvis;
AST - Famous faces outperformed;
WIG - Not exactly a loser with the penalty save;
EVE - Can only rely for Baines's points;

QPR - Needing time to gel, SWP was dangerous;
ARS - Same as above, Gervinho is back;
WBA - Looking to be Stoke Mach 2;

BOL - Playing defensively at home is a mistake;
TOT - Successful debutants triggering the potential;
SUN - Gyan's loss will be painful for them;
NOR - Midfield need to get creative;

Relegation threatened
FUL - New signing may affected the flow;
SWA - Still impressive even with the costly impressive error;
BLA - Defense is improving but still unreliable;

Wait for the GW5 forecast next!; Do you agree with me???

On the Recap: GW3 New Resolutions?

The 'real' solution has arrived

These points will make or break your season. Beware!...You have been warned...

a) Nasri arrival may effect Silva's output (interestingly Silva had no assists since GW1);

b) Taarabt only suitable playing down below (not justified with all QPR's new guys);

c) Arsenal's new signing (ParkCY) already makes his move (scoring a hattrick in WC qualifier);

d) Beware or always be wary of Stoke;

e) Tevez will surely disrupt the City frontline (same with others if they are starting to get busy);

f) Everybody thinks that Arteta is a sure starter while Benayoun is not;

g) Anybody dares to wait on Torres time-bomb? (Patience is running out for Nzog also);

h) Malouda looks to be unfavoured while Hilario no-go was justified enough;

g) Baines becomes the only massively influenced kicks taking (expensive) defender in EPL;

h) Unexpectedly, Fulham's defense and offense are becoming hard to guess;

i) I'm not telling you anything regarding certain blokes such as Rooney, AYoung & Dzeko;

j) Fancy some proven old timer? Mr. Adebayor with no VDV;

k) For those who are not playing for values aka wildcarding (like me), the way forward will be the international injuries and fixtures factor;

l) Something worth noting: Our former fantasy darling Fabregas has won two cups by scoring three goals in three games including in the recent international, that's a little harsh don't you think?;

On the Recap: False Hope GW2

More is yet to come

I see many got burned by Torres/Aguero/Another QPR demolition this weekend...Looks like another typical lesson of never chase last points case...but never fear, its a risk worth taking in terms of fantasy...Gameweek 2 EA Sports PPI Index is out...

BP Rumblings

- If you are doing more than score a goal you are entitled to get something ie Bent, Jarvis regardless of playing time ie Suarez

- Marauding wing backs are the way forward ie Bosingwa, De Laet

- Commanding center backs have a higher chance in a highscoring match ie Kompany & Cahill as well as marshaling the team to an away clean sheet ie Taylor

- Goalkeeper can only rely on save points to increase their points based on the new system

- The highest position keeper didn't receive any (Hart, 29th) while Krul (33th) managed to get some, followed by Reina. All excelled in an away assignment

- Again, missing a penalty doesn't necessarily affect a player especially those who involves in the engine room ie Watson

Wrong U-turn

- Failed one week wonder captain Aguero and highly anticipated tormentor (1st in captain poll) back to his old self (Torres). Same with fantasy captain risk Everton's Cahill

- Dont see it coming, Magpies prevailed in the Tyne-Wear derby with a rare cleanie

- No repeat of last week QPR demolition, a surprising away win with a clean sheet and this all happened when most of them were infected by a virus in front of the new Malaysian owner!

- New tactic or resting Suarez? Suarez replacing ineffective Carroll like to like

- Formica was not starting for Rovers but Salgado is Salgado

- Unexpectedly Malouda on the bench and Drog seems to be in limbo

- The familiar Everton's faces started badly especially the expensively overrated Baines, slightly see that coming but dont sell your Evertonians yet

- Arsenal loss, blame it on the inevitable Frimpong's red

- Newcastle defenders are looking good on the cheap same with De Laet

- Welbeck the new star was born, young Devils defense are very resilient at home

- Nzog was too quiet, no Villa's clean sheet and special mention to Gabby

- Klasnic the unexpected star, replacing Elmander with ease

- Michael Vorm continues his fine form and save a penalty

- Wolves strikeforce looked potent with RJohnson as a new captain

- Fulham away misery is set to continue, very busy with European commitment

Spot-On Spotter

- West Brom managed to scare again but still lost, the goods will start to roll next

- AVB sluggish win

- Another Rovers relegation battle

- A high scoring top of the table clash (City & Bolton), they really know how to score

- Depleted Gunners took a good beating, it will get even worse if they fail for Europe and the upcoming visit to hell (Old Trafford)

- United won it handsomely, don't ever underestimate their record at home, Rooney is a beast

- As predicted, Swans vs Wigan & Canaries vs Stoke all end with a draw

- Bent back to what he do best

- Silva looks to be a season keeper 

On the Recap: Overrated Weekend GW1

You know who

The bonus points by EA is out...Very surprising indeed...We can detect some trend here...Link

Bonus Points Rumblings

- Best player on the pitch is not the bonus points darling ie Given, Moses

- Bad mistakes ie own goal or missed penalty may not affected the index, its the overall performance

- Some attacking wing backs and defensive midfielder who have an eye for a goal might benefit from the score

- Out of this world performance is needed for goalkeeper to get listed on the first page

- In terms of nil-nil scoreline (0-0), credit for defenders are a lot more than the keeper

- Creative players (any position) who creates for others may be the key to unlock the bonus code

As you all probably know, Official Fantasy Premier League has issued a statement that due to the major glitch in their website ans system during the weekend, they are introducing an extra wildcard this week to soften the complaints and dissatisfaction among the managers. Another significant rule tweak is admin for the private league can make a decision to start the point accumulation from Gameweek 2 ala H2H league where you can determine the starting week. Honestly, its a bless in disguise and I do feel for the managers who got it right on the first weekend. Give some credit to those who planned early!. I think I would decide not to reset the official fantasyonthego league or else we can have a poll. Please leave your comments if any. Here's the related statement by the Official FPL followed by the Gameweek 1 recap:- 

1. Receive unlimited transfers

No points will be deducted for any transfers you make up to the Gameweek 2 deadline (11:30 BST on Saturday 20th August 2011). If you have already made transfers and had points deducted, these will be restored to your overall total by midnight on Tuesday 16th August 2011. If you have already opted to play your wildcard, this too will be restored at the same time.

Wrong U-turn (Where Expectations Goes Unexpected)

- AVB not winning and Torres preferred than Drog 

- Liverpool draw the game they should win

- Defensively strong at home (in the Championship), not in the premiership for QPR 

- Tarrabt choice not justified (yet) same with Nzog

- All United first team defenders are out, Smalling & Jones to the rescue

- Penalty taker aka fantasy powerhouse Kuyt on the bench

- Suarez played, missed the penalty and get the full bonus

- Rodallega & Albrighton on the bench, overdefensive tactics?

- Aguero 30 minutes cameo produces a brace and an assist and next for top of the league face off 

- Gamble on Gervinho backfired, clear path for Chamakh

- Bolton scored 4 nil away with Chris Eagles orchestrated the proceeding

- Newcomer Norwich is the only one managed to get a point

- Barton, the bad guy is back

- Surprise to see Elmohamady in the first page of PPI Index

- Berbatov is now behind Welbeck after Rooney & Chicharito

Spot On Spotter (We Can See It Coming)

- No love for Bolton is due to their nightmare fixtures

- Nani chances were limited with Young availability

- Another De Gea blunder, their 2nd keeper might have a chance next

- Villa are tough to break again under McLeish; Agbonlahor, Bent & Heskey played together

- Stoke aggressive play, special recognition to newbie Woodgate

- RVP output diminished without the service of both Fab & Nasri; We need Wilshere 

- Charlie Adam is the new Gerrard, Henderson was substandard

- Swansea's indeed got hammered but put up a significant amount of passes, they can attack!

- Blackburn are not doing very well and then argues of not enough signing

On the Recap: Midweek Hangover

Handsome reward  indeed

Element of suspense surrounds the English Premier League title quest after The Red Devils were denied a victory by Newcastle; Maybe they got a bit carried away after FA Cup loss against City; Rooney & Chicaharito lead the attack; The latter received a yellow for diving; As usual, Sir Alex was fuming with the referee while FA recommended the ref for the FA Cup final, well done sir; Berbatov was amusingly left out due to illness; In terms of fantasy, United defense recorded a rare away clean sheet;

On the Recap: Midweek Formality

The all too familiar heartbreak

The anticipated Champions League semi finals feel like a formality as no real miracle happens on the midweek; I really hope for Spurs miraculous comeback to be honest but the hurdle seemed to high; Some highlights & happenings on the European scene and English Premier League:-

On the Recap: Midweek Thrashers

Its hard to be fans other than them nowadays

Here's some summary on the weekend during gameweek 31 and the midweek European thrashing act; More on the latter next but first thing first;

Red Devils marched to the summit while others crumbled and its more of  their own fault; Hammers almost secured a famous win on the first half but into the second, Rooney's brilliance punished them; So what do us managers manage to get from this?; Rooney over-celebrated in front of the camera and get suspended for two games; Pending on the FA verdict today;

Drog broke his duck but not El Nino; Arsenal's so called possible new champion played but still disappointingly drew a blank; Dalglish's new acquisitions couldn't prevent the loss to their former mentor that also could dash their European ambition; Steve Bruce let his team got beaten impressively by City with five different scorers; Can they do that to Liverpool this week?;

On the Recap: Weekend Mumblings

Can he rallies his troop for the remaining double???

Sorry for the lack of updates, a bit busy and fortunately no premiership fixtures this weekend; A lot of things happened during the midweek but I better start with where I left off when United got beaten by Fergie's old nemesis; Here goes;

United have now lost three games in their last five and that was pretty scary; But all the news pointing to one guy, Nani; First he was foul, cried and stretched off; Then he refused Carragher (the culprit) apology, not satisfied with his club for not supporting him and by the time he got home, he's being sued by his own brother; This guy is such a primadona and I'm not taking his words at all in staying with United for the foreseeable future; By the way, he will be sidelined for a minimum four weeks; Quick fire sale is expected next...

In the space of one month, Arsenal had lost 50 percent of their quadruple ambition and facing another backlash if they lost to United tonight; Maybe its a bless in disguise to be able to concentrate on only the premiership; VPersie managed to register his name in the record book to become the second person who costs the Champs League title for Arsenal (the first one you know who in the final!)...

On the Recap: Saturday Thriller(s)

He deserved some credit but premiership is too cruel

With their stars out injured, Gunners were unable to pass through resilient Sunderland; Do they still have the chance on the title? Can they surmount the challenge on all three fronts? That depend on United result tonight of course; Back to the Saturday notes:-

On the Recap: Midweek Review

Still cockily effective

Congratulations to the underdog of the season for defeating the crushed youngsters in Carling Cup; The Brums deserved it and it was an astonishing feel to most of their stars who are mostly experiencing victory for the first time in the cup final; 

Back to the drawing board eh Gunners?; I wonder why Wenger was too hard to accept that he needs world class keeper and centerbacks; Its even weird when your club has a lot of cash and you still reluctant to spend after six trophy barren years; The Arsenal trophy barren hype does not even compare to 42 years Brums last cup victory!;

He still has a chance for a treble and good luck on Champs League, FA & The League!; By the way, VPersie is confirmed out for the trip to Nou Camp, Nasri is fit, Fab may be rested for that fixture and their life are getting harder with FA replay with Leyton Orient to contend with and Sunderland at home on the weekend; The injury jinx keeps coming back for Arsenal;

On the Recap: Saturday Drubbings

Is it the right time to get him?

Five games past and so far only Everton result was way off the mark...Magpies draw, check...Villa, United, Wolves were victorious as predicted...Here's some interesting notes for Saturday games;

On the Recap: Tuesday Watch

His shot is deadly...Hitzlsperger

The potential double decider is off and United double is on...The likes of Berbs, Roons, Vidics are your obvious transfer next...Beware of the away trips though...

Toffees Triumph...Torres & Co now have Champs League to turn to after losing another penalty shootout...Hiddink might be in placed to replace Ancelotti...Typical Lampard 'supposed to be' winning goal against dramatic aka last kick Baines equaliser...We already knew who gonna win right;D...

Fixture Pileup...Another unnecessary match for Wenger's boys in their quest of quadruple...Arsenal youngsters/2nd string could not hold the League One opponent...Complete the job and the Devils may wait them...

Too Old To Be True...Old timer Vieira scored two goals in their 5 nil romping of Notts County...Both Dzeko and Tevez starred with the exception of cocky Balotelli...They should finish them earlier what?...

Home Sweet Home...Obafemi finally opened his scoring account at home...Alex 'Two Assists' Hleb might lose the chance for a reunion with his old teammates after succumbing to some nasty injury...Comprehensive identical (3-0) home victory for Mcleish's and Tony Pulis's men...Etherington is the 'Hleb' of Stoke after suffering another setback with his injury...Set piece duties will be taken by Pennant for the time being (or permanent?)...Next assignment for them is punishing Gunners at The Emirates;D...

Klasnic Hoodoo...First Wigan and then Fulham, Brums are next on their list of unexpected away wins...Klasnic scored his second goal in two games...The day of dropping Elmander might come soon I believe...

Boring United...Crawley registered a respectable 1-0 loss to the unconvincing home team with wonderkids Bebe & Obertan the main culprit...Fergie had to turn to Rooney for inspiration and what did the boss get?...A yellow... 

Relegation One Pointer...Poor Wolves almost snatched a deserved victory under Hodgson's nose that may determine their premiership fate...The last minute equaliser netted by CVela albeit a lucky one...Baggies have a tough test ahead compared to Wolves... 

Hammering Success...Thomas 'The Hammer' Hitzlsperger is back with a bang and looks set to save them from relegation...Two goals from CCarlton were more than enough to brush off hapless Burnley...I bet on them to survive:D...

VDV Crocked...He looks set to be rested after aggravating his injury for tonight premiership game against CAdam 'One yellow to 2 games ban' Blackpool...Gunners are fully prepared for tomorrow against Stoke while Reading will tackle Everton new found spirit in their FA Cup fifth round match...I love the feel of having the captain (VPersie) for the last game hehe...

***Breaking News***Another Van got injured (RVP) so there goes our captain, poor CAdam yellow and BTW anybody captained him (massive 16 points)? You can't be serious;D...

On the Recap: Saturday Roundup

The possible double header might be the title decider

No EPL forecast this week but we still have a single 'relegation six pointer' for us to digest; Here some of the quick updates regarding the premiership:-

- Identical away score for both English Europa League hopefuls; Liverpool & Manchester City scored a blank to take the score to their home turf; Its their to lose now;

- A very sweet revenge for Wenger boys against fancy Barca; It makes me wonder whether Fabregas still want to go to Nou Camp if Arsenal win the Champs League?;

- Wigan might be concentrating on the survival quest after surrendered tamely at home to Bolton; Bolton got another away ticket to Craven Cottage tomorrow for the only all premiership FA Cup matchup;

- New manager, new set of defense for West Brom; With Roy in the helm, some defensive stability is expected; They have the best chance against Wolves to begin with; I hope they survive;

- Some fantasy updates; We are facing another blank for the next gameweek if Chelsea win against Everton tonight (Latest***The current score is still goalless on the 70th minute) and United may not have the delicious double; Holding your transfers are advisable at this moment; Cheers ;D;

On the Recap: Wednesday Marching Spurs

Best friends on a mission

So Chelsea hope is really dead eh???50 million pound waste or gain???Poor Drogba, he might be too old for Ancelotti...

- Ancelotti's men almost registered their sixth losses of the season and they have Petr Cech to thank for his last minute penalty save; Unexpected double digit points for him;

- There is a little boundary between hero and zero that separates Dempsey's heroic winning goal and  Dempsey penalty miss; The latter was obviously the most frustrating; A dejavu's case of 'if' and 'if not'; It makes you wonder why Chelsea was so lucky; Drog's has experienced it before, remember?

- David Luiz performed admirably and almost turned himself to a zero (luckily Dempsey got it) with the given penalty;

- Drog showed Torres how to play the right football at Chelsea; Ancelotti needs to do a Mancini (dropping 35 million Dzeko) on his 50 million pound man;D;

- Brums boss blame fatigue for their loss; Mind you that Newcastle just played two away games in a space of three days while they were at home all this while; Maybe they were concentrating too much on the Carling Cup final;

- Currently, The Magpies were the best defense throughout the double fixtures with two clean sheets and registered both on away assignments; Who could have guess that???; Premiership is really weird:D;

- Finally, Spurs managed to beat Milan at the formidable San Siro to put one foot in the quarters with Crouchy golden goal; Gattuso was such a sore loser since I don' know when; They deserved to win and Redknapp tactics were spot on; Best analysis from zonal marking; Congratulations to the Flying Spurs;

- Can The Gunners avenge their comprehensive loss to Barca on that fateful night last year? Stay tuned for the unavoidable action tonight;

On the Recap: Weekend Wonder

Will the real Mikel please stand up?

I totally agreed with soccernet.com; Form is temporary but class is permanent, that summed up Rooney's bicycle kick; It really proved that the Wolves lost was a blip and United can march to this season top unscathed; Poor Ancelotti, he already conceded defeat; Here's the recap;

- Arsenal comprehensive win, check; VPersie captain, check; Walcott misses, check; Barca preparation complete; check; FYI Barca drew with lowly Sporting Gijon; Now that's sweet said Arsene;D;

- We've been here before; Another version of money can buy success with the latest scalp of their local rival; Berbs keep getting out after scoring five and Nani was invincible, never bench him for whatever reason;D;

- The new Torres kept scoring goals nowadays; I am happy with Wigan resilience as they don't deserved to get relegated but Kenny is still the king nonetheless; The true test comes next for Wigan;

- Spurs & Bolton wins; I really didn't see this coming; Spurs second team were hungrier than defensively solid Sunderland; Everton spirit were rather lost against Daniel 'Third goal in third match' Sturridge Bolton; Everton can't rely on their flanks plus Cahill only, don't they?; Arteta was nowhere to be seen (his form of course);

- Tangerines couldn't take advantage with the extra man and received their first point in seven games; Better than nothing right?; But they still dangerously slipping the table; Makoun tackle was really dangerous & good boy CAdam got full bonus and no yellow;

- This one was a spot on, I quoted "Mediocre Steve Kean to guide them to a disappointing draw"; Nothing to say here, the only bright things was Jonas Gutierrez & Fabricio Collocini; They were the hungrier side; Special mention to Paul Robinson too;

- RHuth almost got a clean sheet plus bonus for me if not for the tower of Zigic even though I predicted a win for Brums;D; Martins still searching for his scoring boots while his replacement (CJerome) was a tactical masterstroke that lead to the winning goal;

- Another 'spot on' prediction for me; Newcastle vs Arsenal Mark II; Baggies wasted a three nil lead and the inspirational speech by Scott Parker rallied The Hammers to the unthinkable Mark II; Be afraid, be really afraid Hodgson; Very funny to pronounce, Demba Ba Brace:D;

- The action continues with the Blues new triumvirate tonight and Brums vs Magpies tomorrow; Long way to go to the end of GW27; Stay tuned;

On the Recap: Sunday To Forget

Is he the new robot sensation? (Crouch Mark II)

I quoted this statement on Friday, "but I really want to see 'the player greater than the club' saga ends with Torres crying;D"; Poor Monsiueur El Nino;

This will soon be like Owen syndrome; He left Liverpool and then they become Champions League champion while Torres left Athletico few seasons ago and his former team was the champion in the Europa League; 

This really proved that chasing big money aka famous transfer to famous club doesn't guarantee you anything; Good luck on the title, Chelsea!; Liverpool beat you without even playing their Torres replacements; Well said Carragher, "We are over you Torres";

Here's a short Sunday recap;

- Unlike Saturday, disappointingly only two goals scored on Sunday;

- Two identical 1-0 win for the away sides and both clean sheets were unexpected;

- Towering Zigic proved his reliability despite slowly being out of favour for The Brums;

- Meireles showed the world he is the new Anfield Torres;

- Torres single handedly did the double over Chelsea when playing for each side; Sounds ridiculous isn't it?:D;

- The fantasy world agreed with his weak debut as Torres price dropped;

- When his interests seem mounting, Robbie Keane might be out injured while The Hammers dropped back to the bottom of the table replacing  the former Invincibles conquerors; 

- So just bring it on, double gameweek!;

On the Recap: Saturday Unthinkables

When complacency had taken its toll. Still don't want to admit your defensive frailties, Mr Wenger?

Mind puzzling comeback, the ugly truth of complacency, The Invincibles sensational scalp, obvious case of never say die attitude, unexpected goals galore...All this weird and unthinkable things happened on Saturday, the birthday of Carlos 'Carlitos' Tevez;

- A staggering 41 goals scored in a single day of the premiership; We still has two fixtures to go mind you;

- Three successful comebacks ended with the home team winning; The Black Cats, Wigan & Everton; Wolves win can be counted also;

- Robert Huth singlehandedly won the game with a brace at home; Not so wise picks for the away double header next;

- Both RVP and Joey Barton netted a brace in their Magpies versus Gunners matchup; Another brace worth mentioned, the formerly unknown James McCarthy of Wigan;

- Two on-form teams cancelled each other out as expected, Villains against Cottagers; Entertaining high scoring draw;

- The saddest person on earth was Arsene Wenger as the true unthinkable happened after leading 4 nil inside 26 minutes;

- You know right away of Gunners fate when Ismael Cheik Tiote unleashed his thunderbolt;

- Spurs replicated their own Bolton-esque version of smash and grab match to win it ugly (credit to out of favour NKranjcar);

- VDV scored two penalties but missed one of it, confused?; Spurs now failed to convert five penalties this season;

- Table toppers Manchester United finally succumbed to defeat against 'table bottommers' to end their unbeaten run;

- Special mentioned to King Louis for his quadruplets (Everton striking crisis, what crisis?) while Blackpool is being dragged closer and closer to the bottom three when playing well;

- The happiest man on earth was the birthday boy Carlitos Tevez who scored a fine hat trick (the best captain decision for me) to cap a deserved win; And now the Manchester derby looks tasty;

- Quite a story when the match of the week is not even started yet...

On the Recap: Weekend Happenings

A bit odd, isn't it???

After another double gameweek (it will not end anytime soon), something we can learn from the the midweek games:-

Midweek Lessons

- Raul Meireles and Liverpool defenders are now solid fantasy prospects;

- Wigan slump is back (two losses in two) and their next set of fixtures is not looking very good;

- Houllier knew what he was doing after splashing the cash for Bent;

- Everyone should fear the defensive solidarity of Mark Hughes men;

- Berbatov scored his 19th goal, Drog just scored 29 goals last season mind you;

- United can go all the way now as an invincible champion if they don't crumble during Chelsea double header;  

- Blackpool need Charlie Adam more than he need his club;

Who's in

- Torres suddenly interested to join Chelsea and got his transfer request rejected as Liverpool may get their Hand of God ver. 2 - Luis Suarez;

- Konchesky is on his way back to his old club as Fulham got Kakuta;

- Interesting revelations as Carlos Vela goes to West Brom to challenge Odemwingie and former fantasy favourite Obafemi Martins is back to play for Brums;

- Robbie Keane may ends at West Ham as Adebayor is more than happy to go to Madrid; 

Fixtures Rearrangement

- Birmingham no longer have the so called triple gameweeks on GW27 after fixture rearrangement due their Carling Cup final;

- As a result, three teams (Birmingham, Arsenal & Spurs) got a blank on GW 28 as only Birmingham got back to back doubles sandwiching the blank;

- United will have the only double on GW 28 while Everton share the doubles with The Brums on GW29;

- The plan starts here as the last activation date for the second wildcard is before GW27, use it or lose it;

- GW 25 will commence on this upcoming midweek after the weekend FA Cup matches, stay tuned; 

On the Recap: Return of The Weekend Kings

The fun was short-lived

I think by now everyone already knew the result but here some of the weekend recaps:-

Gunners & Liverpool identical win

- Two former fantasy kings made a comeback; VPersie with a hattrick (exceptional case of chasing last points ;D but I have already consider him since last week for Gunners double) and El Nino with a brace to register King Kenny first win since 19... I can't remember (this phrase really exaggerated his hero status!);

- Wigan could get something if VPersie still injured; Chamakh may be out for a while; Wolves can not muster a back to back wins; Kenny will stick with his new look back four;

Tale of local rivals

- Berbatov scored his third hattrick of the season and DBent still in the scoresheet for his latest debut; United on the rise and City title aspiration might come too early;

- Rooney might score a hattrick to complement his strike partner after Fergie challenge him; Brums thrashing didn't hide Bentley brilliance; Same old Villa rearguard completed the job successfully; 100 million pound striking force can't buy success for The Citizen;

Home sweet home success

- Dempsey hat trick may have to wait after netting another brace even though Fulham have two strikers upfront; Blackburn inflicted a fourth consecutive away defeats for The Baggies; Unexpected clean sheets though;

- Gamst Pedersen comeback didn't materialised while Dunn outshone him, maybe its time to consider his future; Stoke away hoodoo extends to two in a row as Ricardo Fuller unsettled (his transfer saga); After midweek game, Fulham upcoming fixtures look a little bit rosy; Saturday marked West Brom as a relegation hopeful;

Near-fatal stalemate

- Spurs title challenge looked to be over after narrowly avoided defeat against 'Fuming Pardew' men; West Ham almost escape with a win against out of sort Everton;

- From the three bottom club, The Hammers look likely to be safe on the weekend; After Seamus Coleman, now Bilyaletdinov got a fair chance to prove himself; Newcastle are more than capable to survive without Andy Carroll service;

He's in a transfer dilemma

Unexpected Tangerines twist

- Sunderland surprised yet again by winning away to show that Bent was never missed; Kieran Richardson is their new Jack of all trades; Typical Charlie Adam performance with a penalty goal plus some bonus;

- Adam looks set to be absent on midweek after asking to be transfered (already rejected); Sunderland may climb to the Champions League spot soon, very soon;

Latest***The rising champion

- Ancelotti's men mustered their first away win in style since October with four (4) different scorers; The former men staring in this fixture, Essien, Malouda & Drogba all performed without Lampard;

- Don't rule out the former champion, they haven't run out of ideas yet; Bolton are fast becoming like Villa last year, free falling down the table on the second part of the season; 

Three extra fixtures to commence shortly; Expect the big guns to shine again; Stay tuned...

On the Recap: Weekend Slugger Fest

Look who's back

To make the recap a little bit interesting, lets compare the forecast with the real outcome of the weekend:-

Comparison format

Result; "On the Forecast prediction"; Honest assessment;

Arsenal 0-3 win, "A tight win nonetheless to send Grant packing"; I expect a high resistance from The Hammers but they surrendered tamely with a bad debut by Wayne Bridge; The revival of Arsenal attacking duo (VPersie - 2 goals, 1 assist and Walcott - 2 assists, 1 goal); Diminished output by Nasri & Fab;

City 4-3 win, "City will win it tight a la Blackpool win when the expected drubbing was way off "; Dzeko debuted with an assist but Tevez scored his fifth brace of the season; Indeed a tight win with Wolves managed to claw back to make it look like a thriller; City bold assessment, their defense had an occasional time off;

Chelsea 2-0 win, "Straight home win or else Ancelotti has to go"; Comfortable win but no easy task for Ancelotti's men; Ivanovic scored big as a central defender, scored 1, assisted 1 and a clean sheet; Drog scored a blank while Anelka got a rare strike; Predictable Rovers loss;

Brums 1-1 Villains, "Brums has the edge but draw is the likely result"; Correct prediction between the two neighbors; A tale of two defenders, both Ridgewell & Collins scored; Bentley the one to watch as he looked set to take the kicks; Villa games seemed improving;

Merseyside Derby 2-2, "High scoring draw for me"; Another correct assessment, a thriller with points shared ; Same points and same games played in the premiership; Meireles & Kuyt netted a goal each with the latter received a full bonus; Everton scored first (Beckford) and temporarily leading with Distin goal; With this form, Everton can scare anybody;

Scoring anywhere for fun

Black Cats 1-1 Toon Army, "The Black Cats will get their revenge"; One of the wrong outcome for me as Sunderland never got their revenge; Newcastle were resilient after Nolan goal; The Black Cats were playing catching up for 90 minutes and Gyan managed to score in the stoppage time (wicked deflection of Bardsley thunderbolt); Newcastle will not be relegated this season;

Spurs 0-0 United, "I see a thriller with non stop action but ends with a draw"; A thriller with no goals in it, what a weird game wasn't it?; Both teams were scoring for fun but suddenly blank!; Nani and VDV were anonymous with the only notable incident was Rafael sent off (There goes my transfer plan for the double!); The real winner are the defenders, the impressive Vidic and the fit again Dawson;

Wigan 1-1 Fulham, "A draw seems too good to be true; I'm banking on the home win though"; The obvious result did happened, a predicted stalemate but I tried not to be so obvious;D Typical performance for the likes of Rodallega (delicate chipped goal), Nzogbia, Dempsey but Andy Johnson broke his scoring duck since two years ago if I'm not mistaken:O, what?;

Potters 2-0 win, "A draw with both teams conceding"; A rather comfortable result for the home team, Bolton concedes yet again while Stoke are currently the most impressive team in the premiership, steadily climb up the table; Etherington was the star man in this fixture to confirm himself as a fantasy darling; Catch him while you can when everybody wonders where is Elmander?

Baggies 3-2 Tangerines, "I go with another draw with both teams conceding"; Thriller master Tangerines almost brought back a point from The Hawthorns; Predictable defense performance for both sides; When he's fit, he will haunt you (A brace from the signing of the season Odemwingie other than VDV of course); Adam got yet another bonus in the middle of the park but Mulumbu received the maximum though;

So, there you have it, predictions with 65 percent accuracy haha see you next week...Double gamers, start your engines...