Can The Magpies Fly In The Premier League.

Can the Magpies fly in the Premier League again or have their wings been clipped with key losses? In recent times the Toon has lost some key players that helped them achieve their success in the Premier League last season. Such names include  - Jose Enrique, Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton and the most notable Andy Carroll.

A Concerned Alan Pardew Watches On.

With such a mass exodus and nothing incoming I am left to wonder what is Alan Pardews plan? Or even if he has one. But there is definitely funds available from the previous transfers, so why not spend it? Newcastle is far from an established side in the Premier League and can not get complacent. But with the transfer window closing and the next one not until January, it could indeed be a long and damaging four months.


But I May be wrong and maybe Alan Pardew has a method to his madness with Newcastle starting this season undefeated with wins against Sunderland and Fulham and a draw with Arsenal only conceding one goal. But with three tricky games coming up against QPR, Aston Villa and Blackburn the start could go south or indeed they could double what they have already achieved.


Either way Alan Pardew will be hero or villain at the St James Park and with clubs showing a low tolerance to managerial failures in recent times who knows what might happen.

Michel ' The Spot Kick Stopper ' Vorm

I have a lot of views on football but one of them certainly is that goalkeepers don't get the credit they deserve. I don't think people understand or appreciate the difficulty behind goalkeeping or respect goalkeepers enough.  Especially those who have not reach dizzying heights and global fame like Iker Casillas, Peter Cech & Oliver Kahn.

One goalkeeper who has not made dizzying heights just yet is Michel 'The Spot Kick Stopper' Vorm, who did not earn that nickname easily. Michel Vorm is a 27-year-old Dutch goalkeeper pulling off his heroics for Premier League new-boys Swansea. He earned this nickname during his time at Utrecht where it was a common occurrence that Vorm would save the penalty, and the penalty taker would doubt him. If a penalty were given against Vorm the crowd would rise to their feat and chant "You won't beat the Super Vorm ", and it was rare that anyone did.

Michel Vorm has been handed the problem of being in the wrong era, being stuck behind the likes of Edwin Van Der Sar and Maarten Steklenburg. Though Vorm has still played seven matches for his country with great distinction conceding just two goals. If he was not behind such greats as mentioned above, there is no doubt he would have played many more games for his country and Michel Vorm would be a household name..

A Diving Vorm Watches It All The Way

Michel is now giving his services to Swansea in the English Premier League and hasalready made a direct impact. Though they lost the match 4-0, Vorm kept a rampant Manchester City at bay until the second stanza. Manchester city had an astounding 26 shots on target with Vorm saving 19 of them. In the next two games against Wigan and Sunderland he kept two clean sheets, giving Swansea two nil all draws. He also saved a penalty in the game against Wigan.

After Vorm caught my eye against City I was a fan instantly. I did my research and have watched countless amounts of his saving and shot stopping antics. If Swansea is to survive in the Premier League, Michel Vorm will be a massive influence and a key factor. Even if they don't, he will salvage a lot of respectability for Swansea.Though if they do get relegated I don't see Michel Vorm going to the Championship

Perwho?

Until I really started to get to know one of the players in my football team, I knew nothing about Peru. Or in fact football in Peru, As I got to know him his love for Peru and Peruvian football slowly started to emerge and my knowledge about Peru and Peruvian football expanded.

For example, I never knew players including Juan Manuel Vargas, Jefferson Farfan, Claudio Pizzaro and of course Nolberto Solano came from Peru. I also had no idea about the passion for football in Peru or the success they have achieved in the past such as winning the Copa America twice.

After looking into Peruvian Football, I have come to the conclusion, they don't get the credit they deserve. They are a part of a South American contingent that includes heavyweights such as Brazil & Argentina and other teams such as Paraguay, Chille, Uruguay, Ecuador, Colombia & Venezuela. So it's understandable for someone to miss a team like Peru in such names.

Paolo Guerrero Celebrates A Goal In The Copa America

However, things look to be changing with them achieving an impressive third without stars Jefferson Farfan and Claudio Pizzaro in the 2011 Copa America finishing ahead of teams such as Brazil, Argentina & Chile. Peru's last World Cup appearance was way back in 1982 and with some good football and a bit of luck Peru is looking forward to breaking the drought and return to the biggest stage of them all.

However, inside the World Cup Peru doesn't have the greatest record. With their best finish 10th and that being in 1930, they have a record of 15 games, six wins. Three draws and eight losses scoring 19 goals and conceding 31. But, let's not take away from Peru, who is currently ranked 26th in the world and looking forward to qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

However, better times seem to be on the horizon with a rich vein of recent form under new boss Sergio Markarián  add in their excellent young goal keeper Raul Fernandez, Paolo Guerrero in good goal scoring form  and their stars returning from injury they look to be in good shape to tackle the World Cup Qualifiers and have a say in the matter.

Early Days For De Gea.

David De Gea has started in odd fashion for Premier League big boys Manchester United feeling various extremes from week to week be it high or low. However, what does this mean for Manchester United and David De Gea?


It means nothing, not one thing David De Gea is only 20 years old and has been brought to one of the best clubs in the world by in my opinion, the best manager in the world Sir Alex Ferguson and more often than not Sir Alex knows what he is doing. However, regardless De Gea's start to the season is something quite enjoyable to talk about.


Let's talk about the blunders first as I like to finish on a good note.


Blunder Number 1. 


Game - Community Shield match which saw Manchester United defeat Manchester City 3-2.

Poor Defensive Set Up From Manchester United

The Incident - As shown in the picture to the right it comes off a free kick. It is whipped in curling away from De Gea arriving at about the spot. As it's whipped in De Gea comes half heartedly as the Manchester United defence and the City offence rush back towards De Gea. Joleon Lescott gets a nod to it, and it goes over De Gea, who has half committed and is in no mans land.


The Problem - Two things went wrong one of which we can blame on De Gea the other is a mixture of De Gea and the defence. The problem which involves De Gea and the defence is the high line they set, as a goal keeper it is hard to commit to a ball when you have 20 odd men charging at as you come out. This can be put on De Gea as lack of preparation and the defence for the same.


Blunder Number 2


Game - Opening season fixture where Manchester United defeat West Brom 2-1




 The Incident - West Brom's Shane Long has the ball just inside the 18 on a tight angle on his left after a step over and half-beating his man, he hits a soft shot across De Gea, De Gea is slow to react and the ball slides under him as he dives late this makes it 1-1 but United go on to win due to a late winner by new recruit Ashley Young.


The Problem - Lack of focus in not expecting. Long to either beat his man or get a shot on target away, his positing was fine as when he dived, he dove over the ball which almost hit the post and went in. De Gea has top class reactions, so there is no doubt, he would save that nine times out of ten but not expecting the shot and not being ready cost him, I would say.


Blunder Number 3


Game - Manchester United third round demolition of Arsenal.

De Gea Left Wondering

The Incident - Theo Walcott beats Johnny evens and enters the 18 and side foots it at the near post to De Gea, who has his leg partially open the ball skips through his legs into the net.


 The Problem - Other than the obvious I maintain De Gea's problem is his lack of attention at times. I feel he got complacent with the lead United had at the time or may again not have expected the shot but there are no excuses for the goal.


Now let's talk about the good David De Gea has shown us. He in many ways played a crucial role in Manchester obliteration of Arsenal with crucial saves none more important than his penalty save off Gunners skipper Robin Van Persie.

De Gea Saving Robin Van Persie's Penalty.

With the score 1-0 in Manchester United's favour Arsenal are awarded a penalty after Johnny Evans fouls Theo Walcott in the box giving the Gunners a chance to come level. Van Persie chooses wrong, De Gea guesses right and the score remains 1-0. If this goal goes in it could very well have been a different game.


Another crucial moment in the game was De Geas double save denying Van Persie again and then the struggling Russian Andrey Arshavin to keep the gunners at bay and eventually Manchester United would run over Arsenal.


In my opinion, his start means nothing. He is young, and I have faith in the judgement of Sir Alex Ferguson, so I'm not writing him off just yet but only time will tell.

The Real Pirates Of The Caribbean.

Football is rather large already is a fair statement. However, there is one region which is notably getting better and has some very good players who still seem to be ignored. Not only just the Caribbean region but Jamaica in general.


Jamaica being the highest ranked team in the Caribbean ranked at 43 are an exciting prospect for all of football. Much like African teams Jamaica plays a free-flowing football with flair and a smile on their face but always means business. The most-recent team to make the World Cup Finals is Trinidad & Tobago in the 2006 World Cup. However, they have seemingly gone missing sliding down the rankings to 91st.

Dane Richards Scores For NY Red Bulls.

Some great players have come from the Caribbean in past times such as Dwight Yorke, Shaka Hislop, Robbie Earle, Luton Shelton, Ricardo Gardner, Ricardo Fuller, Dane Richards and Donovan Ricketts. With most Jamaican players, these days applying their trade in the MLS it's clear to see the talent pool in the Caribbean is there much like in Africa, and I feel once a club goes gold-mining in the Caribbean, they could emerge a very happy club.


Another problem is the quality and the number of games Jamaica play. Yes, they feature in the Gold Cup, and they play in the Caribbean Championship. In the Gold Cup, they were more than competitive reaching the Quarter Finals only to be knocked out 2-0 by USA. In the Caribbean Championship, it's not fair they just run riot not losing a game all tournament. In the last year without being disrespectful the only real quality of opposition they have played beside the Gold Cup is Peru and Venezuela and are scheduled to play Ecuador and Colombia in early September. If the Caribbean is to thrive, they need exposure to quality teams, yes they may lose some games on the way but the standard will rise, and these quality players and other diamonds in the rough will emerge.


An exciting prospect for Jamaica is the 2014 World Cup  with already being placed in a pot with USA and two other yet to be qualified sides that range from Haiti, Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, Curacao, Grenada, Guatemala, Belize & St. Vincent and Grenadines. After seeing this, they have a great chance of qualifying with 2 of either themselves USA and any of those two to qualify and bar a minor miracle USA and Jamaica should cruise through to the next stage.


The winners and runners up of those groups go into a group of 8, which should include teams such as Mexico, Costa Rica and Cuba. The top three of the 8 go directly to the World Cup Finals, and the fourth placed team will have a Play off against the first placed team of the OFC in two legs, which will probably be New Zealand, who enjoyed a successful 2010 World Cup not losing throughout the group stage, including a 1-1 draw with Italy which many believe New Zealand should have won.


Whatever happens, I hope Jamaica, in fact, the Caribbean gets the recognition they deserve and maybe just maybe we will see the flair and big smiles of the Jamaican players on the world stage. 

Viva La Bundesliga!

In the world of Barcelona's, Real Madrid's, Intermilan's, Ac Milan's, Manchester United's, Manchester Cities, Chelsea's and now PSG's it's easy to forget about the Bundesliga, though I don't understand why as it seems to be the most competitive notable league.


The Bundesliga is a very well rounded competition each year a plethora of clubs have a chance to reach that one goal that all footballer's and football fans seek, trophies. Unlike Liga BBVA, Serie A and The Barclays Premier League which have all become 2-4 horse races. The competition in Germany is hot, and the action is really starting to heat up.


Let's talk about the teams with a real shot at the Bundesliga, we have Bayern Munich, Bayern Leverkusen, Schalke 04, Werder Bremen. Hannover 96 seems to be a new prospect and let's not forget last years winners and new boys Borussia Dortmund. With each of these teams having a loss already in the early rounds of the competition other than Hannover 96 who have experienced two draws and two wins finding themselves one point off the leaders.


Not only is it amazing the competition is so close the quality of players in the Bundesliga is high as well.
These players include the likes of Mario Gomez, Arjen Robben, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Phillip Lahm, Mario Gotze, Marko Marin, Thomas Muller, Klass-Jan Huntelaar, Raul and Franck Ribery. The talent pool is enormous and this all adds into very exciting football.

Mario Götze Celebrating The Match Winning Goal

There is a particular hype about Mario Götze the 19-year-old attacking midfielder playing for Borussia Dortmund. He set the Bundesliga alight last year with 15 assists and eight goals in 41 appearances, and he has started this years campaign in a similar way scoring one goal and setting up two in the first three fixtures. He has also played seven games for his country Germany and scored one goal, that goal earning him an equal record of the youngest goal scorer for Germany at the tender age of 19 and 68 days old.


The thing I will find fascinating is if Borussia Dortmund can indeed re-capture the form they showed last year to come from nowhere and win the Bundesliga. With a very young outfit they have a certain spark about them, however when these young players come up against the likes of Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, they will be tested. But, one thing is for sure I will definitely be keeping a close eye on the Bundesliga. And with everybody beating everybody it seems like a big puzzle, and when the pieces start coming together I'm sure it will be a mouth-watering prospect. 

Three Years You Say?

What is a signature, in fact, what is a contract? The definition of a contract is as follows " A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties " If this is the case. How is it players are allowed to leave their clubs mid-contract?


In my eyes, it's simple if you were to sign for my club for three years you would in fact be at my club for three years, and if you don't like it, there is plenty of room on the reserve's bench. As i'm under the illusion once someone signs a contract to a club, they have basically told the club, the league and the fans you will be there doing your best for the specified time at the club. Wanting to leave is fine even being vocal about it is fine, but when you decide to let it hamper your playing time and the quality you offer to the club it crosses the line. While you're at a club, you should give your 100 percent focus and effort into the club from the starting day until the day you pick up your bags and leave the club.


So why is it players like Carlos Tevez, Cesc Fabregas & Luka Modric  demand trades and then not play or perform for the club they are currently serving? Why is it that they let the off-field issues interrupt the onfield business? Why is it, they believe they have a choke hold over the Manager and the club?






The answer to that question is because a contract and signature are worth as much as Zimbabwean currency with players breaking a contract all the time it has become a regular occurance. Clubs and FIFA, in fact, are letting players run the show rather than the clubs so where did we go wrong?

Money, money has taken over club pride and passion this may not be the case for all clubs but for some players, it is certainly  the case. Did somebody mention Carlos Tevez?  Carlos Tevez earns 80,000 pounds a week, was captaining the club and was in a Manchester City squad that seems to be on the brink of a new dynasty so why would you want to leave? He claims family at the end of the day no one knows but Carlos. However, I have a good idea it's money.  Carlos makes more than enough to bring his family to Manchester or in fact, anywhere in England and provide them with a more than good life, a life other can only dream about and yet he acts like a spoiled brat.


As mentioned earlier if a player wants to leave that's fine, but as soon as it starts interfering with their on-field antics that's when you drop that player not give him what he wants sit him on the bench until he decides he will be loyal to his contract, his club and himself as a person and once they do if they do of course they may take their place in the squad.

Want-Away City Player Carlos Tevez Sits On The Bench

One manager which has done this well is Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini in regard to Carlos Tevez. Carlos did not feature in any of the pre-season and has played an accumulated 55 minutes in the first three fixtures. The majority which has come in the last two fixtures after he has realized he is stuck at City for a while and has decided to add himself to the team once more.


In a way I'm glad Tevez wants to stay but in another, he deserves what he's getting, he turned his back on the supporters Of Manchester City, and now he wants back in. But with the likes of Edin Dzeko and the new addition Kun Aguero, flourishing in the striker position and to be perfectly fair they don't look like moving. So get comfortable Carlos maybe grab a nice book for your time and enjoy the Manchester weather from the best seats in the house.

Is It The End My Friend?

Gerrard Slams One Home Against Rivals Everton.

As a young boy when I woke up, I wouldn't turn on the cartoons, I would flick to SBS to watch the Champions League games when Liverpool was a force and Steven Gerrard would be a frequent character and star in the plot.

I miss seeing those old school ' Gerrard Bombs ' hit from 25 yards plus. Another memory, I have was watching Sports Tonight way way past my bedtime and more often than not the Premier League would be on at the end,  and again. I would see Gerrard do breathtaking things with the ball be it dead or in play, I miss seeing the goal keeper cautiously set his wall up inch perfect and then be left flailing to the other side of the goal just for the Liverpool skipper to run to the corner and slide on his knees, arms out to the roaring Anfield crowd.

But sadly in recent years Gerrard seems to have gone missing and when he has emerged, it's been for all the wrong reasons be it pub brawls or a new injury it certainly has been far from needed, and with him only playing 21 games last year and being far from a standout its left me and indeed others wondering have we seen the best of Gerrard and am I to expect a lower standard or any standard at all?

With the Liverpool side thriving under the reign of the new boss Kenny Dalglish with new signings, a strong end to the 2010-11 Campaign and a strong start to the new 2011-12 campaign it looks as though the team may be settled with some young players performing such as Jordan Henderson & Stewart Downing it might be a challenge for Gerrard to get back into the midfield he once owned.

Personally, I hope to see Gerrard  back at his best scoring goals and exciting fans all over the world, but even if he doesn't, what a career he has had and One thing is for sure, at Anfield and on the red side of Merseyside is that Gerrard will never walk alone and will always have a home.