Premiership 2004/05

[kev316]

Opening day fixtures:

Sat Aug 14 2004
Aston Villa v Southampton 15:00
Tottenham v Liverpool 15:00
Blackburn v West Brom 15:00
Bolton v Charlton 15:00
Chelsea v Man Utd 15:00
Everton v Arsenal 15:00
Man City v Fulham 15:00
Middlesbrough v Newcastle 15:00
Norwich v Crystal Palace 15:00
Portsmouth v Birmingham 15:00

[muffins]

Oooh, thanks for posting. :) That Manchester United v Chelsea game should be good. I wonder what type of team Chelsea will have then hehe.

[Dreamer7]

Lets hope this season will be more competitive than last season. :D

[kev316]

Yup, only 5-6 weeks to go. More live games on Sky Sports this season too!

[muffins]

Yeah, I'd like to see more than just 3 teams in the running for the title. It amkes it more interesting and then the quality should increase because other teams would have to try and raise their level to the top 3's(Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United)level which is high.

[Dreamer7]

BUMP! 3 days left. :) Lets get back into the EPL mood.

[muffins]

Kick off tomorrow! Yay! However, no Michael Owen in the Premiership which will be strange for me. :cry: The fixture of the weekend is the clash between Manchester United and Chelsea.

Last Sunday Manchster United lost 3-1 to Arsenal in the Cmmunity Shield. My dad went but me and my mum went to town to savour the atmosphere and get a match programme. On the way we passed a hotel which Manchester United players staying in for the morning and we saw a few of them like Ryan Giggs and Alan Smith get on the bus. They had a police escort and everything! There were a few Arsenal fans in a car that was passing and they stopped at the lights and saw Alex Ferguson getting on the bus so they booed. It was quite funny actually, even the police officer thought it was funny!

[muffins]

Here are today's results:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/results/default.stm

It was so strange watching Liverpool play without Michael Owen today. :(

[db44]

We had the 'Borough/Magpies game live here in the States... Pretty good way to kick of the season. I'm going to Nevada Smith's today for Arsenal and then the Man U./Chelsea games.

[muffins]

Everton 1-4 Arsenal
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United

Arsenal were pretty brilliant, simple as, but Manchester United I thought were better than Chelsea. A defensive error cost them. Afterwards Jose Mourinho said that Manchester United should have got a point and Alex Ferguson said something like, "I don't need him to tell me we should have got a point." Hehe. :p

[Dreamer7]

Haha, I would love to see what Jose Murinho, Ferguson and Wenger have to say to one another throughout this season.

Bit strange yeah seeing Michael Owen playing for Real Madrid. It was a rather low-key move.

[muffins]

I haven't seen any of today's matches yet as I was watching the Olympics mainly. Britain got quite a few medals today. :) I only saw two goals from the Southampton v Blackburn match when I was flicking around the channels. I will see more of the matches when I see Match Of The Day(yes, I'm so glad it's back!)a bit later. Here are today's results:
Barclays Premiership
Man Utd 2 - 1 Norwich
Charlton 2 - 1 Portsmouth
Liverpool 2 - 1 Man City
Crystal Palace 1 - 3 Everton
Newcastle 0 - 1 Tottenham
Birmingham 0 - 1 Chelsea
Fulham 2 - 0 Bolton
Southampton 3 - 2 Blackburn

And tomorrow Arsenal seek to equal Nottingham Froest's record of 42 matches unbeaten in the top league.

[Dreamer7]

1-1 to West Brom & Aston Villa

Next up Arsenal & Boro.

[muffins]

Wow! What a match! Arsenal were 1-0 up through Thierry Henry and had a couple of chances to go 2-0 up. Then just before half-time Middlesboro equalise. I watched a couple of minutes of the first half and then decided to listen to music for 10 mintues which proved to be a mistake. I'm in the middle of listening to Natasha Bedingfield's 'These Words' and my dad comes and tells me 'Boro are 2-1 up. I just finish listening to the song and my dad comes in again and tells me 'Boro are 3-1 up. I decided to go back out and watch the rest of the match but needed the toilet. As I was going upstairs my dad tells me it's now 3-2! Great, I go away for 10 minutes and I miss 3 goals! When I get back to the match after a couple of minutes it's 3-3. Then I'm thinking Arsenal are going to win it and they do. A couple of minutes later it's 4-3 and 'Boro are absolutely shell-shocked. Quite late on Arsenal seal it and make it 5-3. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this match, even though I missed 3 goals! Arsenal have now equalled Nottingham Forest's unbeaten league record of 42. Amazing!

[Dreamer7]

Arsenal looked as good as ever. Here are the latest results:

Arsenal 3-0 Blackburn
Fulham 0-2 Boro
Charlton 3-0 Villa
Saints 1-2 Bolton
West Brom 1-1 Spurs
Newcastle 2-2 Norwich

Newcastle isn't doing very well. Why didn't they use their new striker? This season looks to be the same as last.

[Dreamer7]

Man Utd is doing pretty badly by their standards. They were lucky to get a last minute equaliser, again.

[muffins]

Arsenal won again and are top, clear by a few points as Chelsea's match ended in a goalless draw with Aston Villa. Liverpool won 3-0! :) Newcastle beat Blackburn 3-0 and Graeme Souness starts his job today at Newcastle.

[Dreamer7]

Arsenal tops.

Chelsea won 1-0 against Liverpool.

Man Utd 1-1 against Boro. Not a great start for Rooney as he did in the CL.

[muffins]

When are Arsenal going to lose? lol It has to happen sometime. Their next game is Aston Villa and if they avoid defeat there then if they tried to go 50 games unbeaten they'd have to try not to lose to Manchester United. Now that would be interesting, as if that game needs any more hype! hehe.

Tonight Crystal Palace beat 10 man Fulham 2-0. It is their first win in the Premiership this season.

[Dreamer7]

They beat Aston Villa and next they will be facing Man Utd. Think more or less it will be a draw.

[muffins]

It could be, but I'm not sure. Fergie has brought up last season's fixture saying it was the worst thing he'd seen in football, or words to that effect. Everton are still third, Bolton are fourth and Middleborough are fifth! Chelsea lost to Manchester City and Newcastle today drew with Charlton. Liverpool made an awesome comeback yesterday, coming from 2-0 down to beat Fulham 4-2. :)

[Dreamer7]

New Drug Scandal - Chelsea player Mutu

BUCHAREST, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Adrian Mutu faced a possible two-year suspension on Monday after his agent Gheorghe Popescu said Chelsea had told him the striker had tested positive.

"Chelsea confirmed to me that Mutu had tested positive but did not reveal the substance. I realised that it concerned a drug, not a doping substance," Popsecu told Reuters from London.

"Chelsea said that the (drug) would not be disclosed under a confidentiality clause," added Popescu, who had flown to London with Victor Becali, who also acts for the player, to meet Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho.

Mutu had earlier in the day protested his innocence and Popescu, speaking to Romania's Radio Total, said: "Of course, Mutu is scared. His fate and his future are threatened.

"He has taken the news very bad. He's shocked but that is normal, it is normal to be shocked," Popescu said on arriving at Heathrow airport.

Popescu said Mutu had confirmed to him that a dope test had taken place at Chelsea's training camp in early October and said neither the club nor the British anti-doping agency had handed him the results.

Chelsea have not commented on the allegations after British newspapers reported in their first editions on Monday that Mutu had tested positive for cocaine.

Popescu said he had recommended to Mutu that he should not wait for a test of the B sample.

"I told him not to ask for the second sample so as not to prolong his agony. I told him that almost always the second sample confirms the first sample. He seemed not to understand what I told him."

Popescu added: "Mutu is destroyed. I told him to assume full responsibility for his actions but he seemed not to understand what it really means.

"We'll discuss his future after we see what Chelsea decide."

The 25-year-old Mutu has endured a torrid time at Stamford Bridge where he has fallen out with Mourinho after playing for Romania against club advice.

After returning to London from Bucharest last week Mutu was handed a hefty fine for making critical comments about his club coach.

When asked last week when Mutu, who is still officially listed as injured by Chelsea despite appearing for his country, would play again, Mourinho said: "At this moment I see that day as a long way off."

Mutu has been involved in several other incidents recently, including losing his driving licence for refusing to present his identity papers to police before Romania's World Cup qualifier against Finland in Bucharest in August.

Gordon Taylor, head of the English players' union, told Sky Sports News: "Things haven't been going well for him...it's not the peak of his career at the moment. It's a matter of some concern because any action will apply internationally as well."
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=313626&cc=4716


------------
Oh no.....why...Mutu is cute. Lol. :p :(

[Dreamer7]

Tonight Man Utd v. Arsenal!

Chelsea 4-0 Blackburn. Not good for Blackburn's new manager.

Everton 3-2 Norwich. Exciting match!

[muffins]

Arsenal are finally beaten in the Premiership by Manchester United 2-0. A few dubious decisions, I thought it was silly to have Mike Reilly refereeing the match. Newcastle won a thriller though, beating Manchester City 4-3 and Middlesboro drew 1-1 with Portsmouth. Birmingham drew 0-0 but I can't remember who with! I think it was Southampton.

[Dreamer7]

OMG the Man Utd and Arsenal match has not really ended it seems! Now Wenger is asking the FA to check on Ruud cheating. We know how Wenger dislikes Ruud. Ferguson is reportedly thrown at with soup and sandwich by an Arsenal player? Lol! Wow, no longer it's spit, it's soup. Man, why can't these two team be more professional.

I also can't believe Southampton is right at the bottom of the table!

[muffins]

Hmmm. Ruud is probably going to be charged by the FA for his foul on Ashley Cole. And Arsene will be asked to explain his comments after the match. I just thought it was not a good idea to be having Mike Riley referee the match to begin with.

[kev316]

It was lucky that challenge wasnt on Cole's standing leg otherwise there could of been some serious damage done.

Man Utd & Arsenal games. ahhhh the drama!

[Dreamer7]

Mutu was written off by Chelsea, yes he was sacked. Written off value £12 million. Think he should be banned for at least a year.

[kev316]

I saw that coming. However I wonder if they would of done the same if it had been Lampard or Terry?

[Dreamer7]

^I bet think would have kept them like Man Utd for Rio F.

Man Utd and Arsenal are STILL fighting over what happened last week and look at their poor results against lower teams yesterday. Also Ferguson is brigning another matter with Henry to the FA. Oh my please NO. Enough is enough, concentrate on what is to come. If things go like this Chelsea will gain and win the title.

[muffins]

If that palave goes on much longer Everton will be in the title race! They are third and doing extremely well. I doubt they'll stay there for the rest of the season but this is football and nothing is ever certain.

[kev316]

Hope Djibril Cisse makes a speedy recovery. Nasty injury.

[Dreamer7]

^omg, yes. I saw a picture of the incident and his leg literally just snap into two...ouch even I felt the pain. Get well soon.

[kev316]

OMG Santini resigns from Spurs! WTF? They were going pretty well under him.

[Dreamer7]

Lol, over here we have a commercial for all those managers who were sacked or who resigned, I thought it was cool. ;) Now they can add Santini to the list.

Chelsea have overtaken Arsenal!

[muffins]

Yeah, my dad is not too happy about that. Although Liverpool lost to Birmingham and Cardiff drew after being 2-0 up I have reasons to be cheerful. Michael Owen just can't stop scoring for Real Madrid! And Robert Earnshaw got his first Premiership goals on Saturday against Southampton. I hope he can keep scoring and scoring, I've been waiting for him to come through the ranks.

[Dreamer7]

I think this year the EPL is more competitive, so far it is near Christmas and there is no one really leading big.

[muffins]

Yeah, that's true. The way it's going Everton will be in the champion's title race! hehe.

[Dreamer7]

Everton are kicking-ass. Haha, although the don't score loads of goals, they never fail to get full points. What if Everton really win!! OMG! I think I am going to bet on Chelsea winning still.

[muffins]

Liverpool beat Arsenal! Woooohooo!!!! What amazing goal from Neil Mellor! Chelsea are 5 points clear at the top.

[muffins]

Chelsea are still 5 points clear after thumpring Newcastle 4-0 with all of the goals coming in the last half hour. I turned over to see a little bit and thought Newcastle were doing well to keep Chelsea at bay at 0-0 and then all of a sudden it was 4 - 0! Arsenal, Everton and also Manchester United won. Tonight Middlesborough beat Manchester City 3-2.

[Dreamer7]

I am back! Well for now, too busy with school work.

Looks like this place is dying....

Haha, anyways, the EPL is still kicking.

Oh and Happy 2005 to muffins, kev316 and everyone.

[muffins]

I hope you had a good Christmas to you too! I had a load of essays to be in just before Christmas, then I visited my boyfriend and to be honest I've just been too tired to post much. The same in the tennis forum. Chelsea won earlier but so did Arsenal, there is still a five point gap between those two. Manchester United are winning against Bolton at the moment.

[cyane]

Hi everyone !!! Mi ! :p

I hope everyone who posts here from Asia are ok !.

Have a great New Year :)

Liverpool !!!! ;)

Eti~

[muffins]

Yeah, I hope everyone from Asia is OK. My condolences out to those there who are not and their families.

[Dreamer7]

Eti!

Prayers and condolences to those affected.

EPL: Chelsea and Man Utd keep up the pressure on Arsenal. Everton loses.

[muffins]

Arsenal just won with a goal from Vieira on the stroke of half time, 1-0 against Newcastle. It's getting very interesting. Newcastle played quite well tonight and had a shout for a penalty.

[Dreamer7]

More controversy!!

Spurs were denied a clear goal aginst Man Utd, if I did not hear wrong.

I think the rules of football are old, I agree that video evidence should be used at these times, esp for a thing like that. I don't think it is hard. Other sports have been using these to make crucial decisions. Also if they can rely on video evidences to punish players for committing a foul or spitting, why not this?

[db44]

I just read about the clear goal... It sounds like it was unquestionably a goal. Regardless of technology, the judges should all be canned if they can't see a ball that clears the goal line by at least a meter.

[muffins]

I'm not entirely sure but I think the linesmen were down the other end of the pitch. I have seen the incident on the news and it was definitely a goal and a bad mistake from Carroll.

[muffins]

My dad is crying into his cup of tea right now because Arsenal just lost 1-0 to Bolton. I saw most of it and basically Arsenal are a shadow of their former selves. Campbell and Henry in particular did not perform very well. All credit to Bolton for hanging on to their lead though. Chelsea won as did Manchester United over Liverpool ( :-( ) Ah well.

[Dreamer7]

Chelsea are still leading and I do think its in their hands. The CL is going to play a big part too.

I guess you all heard about Bellamy and Newcastle's manager. Souness is similar to Fergie but Bellamy's attidue has all along been bad. He insists that he must play all the time which is ridiculous. He should go, Newcastle will only get worse with so many unhappiness around them and they are already not doing good at all.

[muffins]

I have always wondered about Bellamy's apparent attitude problem. Gordon Strachan (who has managed him before) said he loves football and that he needs to be handled correctly. Well, Strachan is a completely different kettle of fish to Souness. Souness is the the type of guy who won't stand any messing and I respect that. Who knows what will happen? It could, of course, all just be paper talk. Thank God it is anything other than the Ferguson Wenger feud which was really annoying me.

[muffins]

Arsenal lost 4-2 to Manchester. I will go so far as to say it is a two horse race now. I don't see how Arsenal can get back into it now. I probably shouldn't write off Champions though lol!
Liverpool came from 1 goal behind to Charlton to win! :)

[muffins]

So, it looks like Chelsea will win it. But the battle between Arsenal and Manchester United for second place is very interesting and the clubs battling for the fourth spot is also intriguing. Obviously, I hope Liverpool get it but well done to Everton, they are doing so well this season and it was good to see their fans so happy after them beating Manchester United. :) The relegation scrap is also in full swing and West Brom could pull off a Houdini act lol! They were rooted to the bottom of the table at Christmas but are now out of the relegation zone by one point. I hope they survive but I don't really want to see any of the teams at the bottom go down.

[Dreamer7]

Oh Man Utd, what happened? Anyways all I can say is Ferguson please retire, lol. Sooner or later you have to let Man Utd go, you know.

[muffins]

LOL, after that result some fans were calling for Sir Alex Ferguson to be sacked. I bet they won't say that if he wins they win the FA Cup! There are rumours that they might sell Ruud van Nistelrooy.

[Dreamer7]

Wow, the relegation scrap is really in full swing! Crystal Palace and Norwich have removed themselves from the bottom of the table for now.

I still want Ferguson to retire, sack is a bit hard for the old guy, hehe. But yes he should still go, whether or not they win the FA Cup.

[muffins]

Maybe, I don't know. I've never really liked him but he is very successful. He will want to go out on a high. Jose Mourinho has been great this season, I've loved his press conferences and post-match interviews. There's never a dull moment while he's around.

It's all change at the bottom of the table. Southampton are now bottom after their 4-1 thrashing by local rivals Portsmouth. West Brom have a game in hand but they have very tough fixtures, including Manchester United and Arsenal.

[Dreamer7]

I think West Brom along with Southampton will be going down. I think Norwich will pull just enough to stay. I don't know, it's a weird feeling. Ha! Fulham also better at least win another game to be safe. Gosh the other time I saw Fulham's manager got so mad like he wanted to punch the referee.

[muffins]

Hehe, Chris Coleman can get a bit...passionate shall we say. I like him though and I hope he has a better season next year. In tonight's only Premiership fixture Newcastle drew 0-0 with local rivals Middlesbrough.

[Dreamer7]

^He is so young for a manager, don't get angry too often will make you look older. Hehe!

I still don't like Ferguson, seems like few Man Utd players are rebelling a bit against him, who knows? I wonder who dares to join Man Utd if he continues as manager, wahaha.

[Dreamer7]

CHELSEA WINS THE EPL 2004/2005!!!! Congrats to them!!! :)

Tough fight for both 4th place and relegation. Norwich suddenly back to the bottom. =/

[Dreamer7]

Hmm, I am triple posting...but haha. I heard Wenger is interested in signing Beckham? Wenger seems to like Beckham, but I don't know if Beckham will join Arsenal unless he wants to get hell from Man Utd fans. Ha!

[muffins]

Congratulations to Chelsea. West Brom's survival hopes suffered a blow tonight in the shape of a 2-0 defeat at home to Arsenal. It was a tough ask for them to win or even draw that one. They have Manchester United next which isn't exactly any easier. I hope they manage to somehow stay up though. It could all go to the last day of the season.

I hadn't heard about Wenger wanting Beckham lately but I had heard rumours about Michael Owen and Arsenal. That got my dad hoping lol!

[Dreamer7]

OOoh final fight between the bottom 4...anyone who wins stays provided the rest don't. >.<

Everton confirms 4th placing!!! Good JOB!

Arsenal beat Liverpool 3-1.

Latest
Chelsea beat Man Utd 3-1. Bwah!!

[muffins]

Ah well, Liverpool won't be in next year's Champions League. Hopefully they can spring a surprise and beat AC Milan on the 25th of May. :) Well done to Everton but they will need that fourth spot to console them for the embarrassment that was dished out to them last night by the hands of Arsenal. They whooped them 7-0! I didn't see it but my dad said they were awesome and that he had never seen them play like that before, not even when they went a whole season unbeaten in the Premiership. He said it was 90 minutes of pure football from Arsenal with Dennis Bergkamp being man of the match. I just can't get over the huge scoreline! :blueeek:

[Dreamer7]

OMG, I can bet no one in the world predicted that scoreline! That's so embarrassing for Everton after claiming 4th place and all.

Man Utd plague by more takeover issues. What is going on seriously? Why would a man take over Man Utd and try to ruin the club? Chelsea did not experience this problem right with the other guy? :confused:

[muffins]

Well, for a start, Roman Abramovich is a hell of a lot richer than Glazer. Most of the money that Glazer is using to take over Manchester United is borrowed and Manchester United fans are worried that they'll get left with his debt which would result in higher ticket prices, a smaller allocation of money for transfers and money from merchandise would go to him rather than into the club.

[Dreamer7]

Thanks for the info. I wonder who borrowed those money to him then? Ah, the way things are going, Man Utd is just going to be in more trouble, not just because of this guy but the fans too.

Anyways, I read that England is going to tour the US but several players are going to miss it. Well so much for England/EPL fans in the US I guess.

[Dreamer7]

OMG! West Brom survives!!! Wow! Congrats to them but....wth happened to Norwich? Cold feet? I feel sorry for their fans, why must Fulham be so merciless. :(

[muffins]

Wow. I am quite tired after all that! I began the afternoon by watching the Fulham v Norwich game. They went behind and then Southampton were winning and then drawing and then losing and then Crystal Palace were losing and then drawing. At some point when Norwich were 3-0 down I turned over to watch Southampton v Manchester United by which time West Brom were winning. The bottom of the table had changed about 10 times but there was still room for more drama! Crystal Palace went ahead and West Brom basically assured their win by scoring another but at that point Palace were safe. Then Charlton equalised and West Brom were safe again and that's the way it stayed. It was quite a job to keep up with it all. Well done to West Brom who were bottom at the start of today and survived! They were even bottom at Christmas and no-one has ever survived relegation in the Premiership after being bottom at Christmas...until now! Commiserations to Southampton after 27 years in the top flight, Norwich and Crystal Palace. I didn't really want any of the teams to go down as I liked them all for some reason or another.

On a different note, Middlesbrough are in the UEFA Cup next season after drawing 1-1 with Manchester City, Robbie Fowler missed a penalty to give City the win that would have taken them into Europe. Whew...what a day!