Premier League recap - QPR top while Arsenal slip

QPR is the only team that is unbeaten after three games with the squad getting a 2-0 win over Norwich away from home to become the early leaders after Steve Claridge and Les Ferdinand both scored a goal to get the win and open a two-point advantage over three teams.

One of those teams will be their next opponent after they got held to a 1-1 draw against Everton which also a booking to Matt Jackson which sent Everton down to ten men. Tottenham and Crystal Palace also recorded wins to stay in the leading pack.

For Southampton and Ipswich, they both lost to stay on no points from three points after they both lost to Coventry and Sheffield Wednesday respectively while for Arsenal they got their first point when they conceded a late goal against Manchester United with Brian Mcclair getting a goal in the 79th minute.

The teams will take a break during the mid-week break with the Coca-Cola Cup starting for the lower tier teams in division 2 and 3.

Steve Claridge was in with a goal as QPR defeated Norwich 2-0

Coventry	2-0	Southampton
Crystal Palace	2-0	Manchester City
Liverpool	1-1	Wimbledon
Nottingham Forest	1-1	Everton
Tottenham	2-0	Blackburn
Ipswich	0-2	Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield United	0-2	Chelsea
Norwich	0-2	QPR
Manchester United	1-1	Arsenal
Aston Villa	1-2	Leeds

In transfer news, Scott Mean was the biggest mover during this week as he went to Cardiff from Bournemouth for 200 thousand pounds while Paul Brazier was the biggest mover from a top tier club as he went to Stockport for 150 thousand.

Premier League recap - Hat-trick has been created.

Midweek fixtures are sometimes a pain to play and for all of England that was exactly the case with the twenty teams having to play their first mid-week fixtures of the new league. The big news to come from the mid-week fixtures coming at Highbury with Vincent Samways becoming the first person to score a hat-trick in the Premier League as he led Tottenham to a 3-2 win over Arsenal in what was a disappointing day for Pål Lydersen.

But the main match of the midweek was between Leeds and Manchester United with the teams being first and second in the previous season. With the battle firmly in the balance, it was Lee Chapman who scored for Leeds United as he gave the champions, their first points on the board with a 1-0 win. The other Manchester team in City got themselves two from 2 with a 2-1 win over Ipswich as they were joined with QPR and Nottingham Forest who also got wins to join them on six points.

Vincent Samways playing against Arsenal where he scored a hat-trick.

Blackburn	1-1	Sheffield United
Southampton	1-3	Nottingham Forest
Manchester City	2-1	Ipswich
Leeds	1-0	Manchester United
Arsenal	2-3	Tottenham
Wimbledon	1-1	Crystal Palace
QPR	2-1	Liverpool
Everton	0-0	Coventry
Sheffield Wednesday	0-0	Aston Villa
Chelsea	1-1	Norwich

Premier League recap - The start of the new league

Aston Villa is the opening round from the opening weekend with Garry Parker and Dean Saunders getting onto the score sheet as they defeated the more fancied team in Arsenal with the result being a 2-0 win for them. But the first goal of the new league was, in fact, an own goal with Kevin Moore putting the goal in his own net to give the first win of the new league to Crystal Palace.

In other Saturday games that were played all around England, Blackburn easily defeated Coventry 1-0, QPR defeated Ipswich 1-0 which also saw the first red of the new league being given with Geraint Williams being the casualty. Niall Quinn became the early leader of the goalscoring charts as he scored two goals in giving Manchester City a 3-2 win over Sheffield United.

In other matches, there were wins for Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Everton over their respective opponents while we saw our first draws with Norwich and Sheffield Wednesday playing a 2-2 draw and Tottenham/Chelsea ending in a 1-1 draw.

Crystal Palace	1-0	Southampton
Manchester United	0-1	Everton
Sheffield United	2-3	Manchester City
Ipswich	0-1	QPR
Norwich	2-2	Sheffield Wednesday
Aston Villa	2-0	Arsenal
Coventry	0-1	Blackburn
Liverpool	1-0	Leeds
Tottenham	1-1	Chelsea
Nottingham Forest	1-0	Wimbledon

Kevin Moore became the first player to score in the Premier League but it was an own goal.

Premier League Predictions - The top 10

Welcome to Part 2 of our Premier League predictions and two days we predicted our bottom six teams that will be battling for relegation, here they are if anyone wants to remind themselves:

11. QPR
12. Coventry
13. Crystal Palace
14. Norwich
15. Sheffield United
16. Blackburn
17. Chelsea
18. Ipswich
19. Wimbledon
20. Southampton

Now we see who will be in our top 10 and possibly take out the 1992-93 English Premier League title and create history.

10th - Everton
Manager: Howard Kendall
Last Season: 12th
Transfers: In - Craig Forrest (Ipswich, 450k), Adrian Littlejohn (Sheffield United, 1.1 mil), Out - None
Why: Bringing in a youngster by the name of Littlejohn will definitely help them in the forward line as well being a midfielder too. Add to the fact they brought in a Canadian goalkeeper who has played for his country and they should do well to get up there.

9th - Manchester City
Manager: Peter Reid
Last Season: 5th
Transfers: In - Gary Brazil (Fulham, 90k), Julian James (Luton Town, 200k), John Colquohn (Sunderland, 90k), Out - None
Why: After finishing so high up last season, we expect them to slip a little bit as we are a little bit confused on some of the signings that they have brought in. But with a strong defence that guided them to fifth, I think that it would be a fair prediction to put them here.

8th - Tottenham
Manager: Doug Livermore
Last Season: 15th
Transfers: In - None, Out - David Howells (Leeds, 600k)
Why: Some might think that this is being generous to the bias that I have with Tottenham but hear me out with a good squad already and being tight knick that they are, I think that they can do better than they performed last season when they dropped to 15th.

7th - Nottingham Forest
Manager: Brian Clough
Last Season: 8th
Transfers: In - Kenny Sansom (Brentford, 150k), Paul Bernard (Oldham, 300k), Out - Jason Kaminsky (Fulham, 100k)
Why: Bringing a familiar face in Kenny Sansom has to be useful for a team that has strengthen their midfield over the summer. But the prediction is problematic as maybe they might need to bring some youngsters into the rank here.

6th - Arsenal
Manager: George Graham
Last Season: 4th
Transfers: In - Carlton Fairweather (Wimbledon, 150k), Michael Cheetham (Cambridge, 250k), Out - None
Why: I do think that bringing in these two players hasn't really strengthen their squad but after performing good last season, I think that they will be able to continue their good form and lead them into a top 6 finish like the pundits are predicting.

5th - Aston Villa
Manager: Ron Atkinson
Last Season: 7th
Transfers: In - Andy Edwards (Southend, 100k), Paul Kitson (Derby, 1.3 mil), Steve Hayward (Derby, 150k), Out - None
Why: The signing of Paul Kitson from Derby is a big move that has led them to the services of him and for a price tag of 1.3 million pounds, he has to fire and I think he will to get them into the top 5.

4th - Leeds
Manager: Howard Wilkinson
Last Season: 2nd
Transfers: In - Richard Evans (Bristol Rovers, 200k), David Howells (Tottenham, 600k), Out - Garry Kelly (Coventry, 100k), Melvyn Sterland (Chelsea, 100k)
Why: This is going to be controversial here but I do think that they were lucky to get the title from Manchester United. This season it will be something of a misguided step for them as they are going to fall down into 4th place.

3rd - Liverpool
Manager: Graeme Souness
Last Season: 6th
Transfers: In - Mark Stein (Stoke, 300k), Kevin Ratcliffe (Cardiff, 50k), Out - Lee Jones (Manchester United, 350k)
Why: Signing a regular goalscorer and another international player to the ranks for a cheap amount is only going boost confidence that they are going to do well this season and I think that they will be in the title hunt but fall short around about March.

2nd - Sheffield Wednesday
Manager: Trevor Francis
Last Season: 3rd
Transfers: In - Dean Wilkins (Brighton, 100k), Jon Gittens (Middlesborough, 600k), Out - None
Why: With the additions of Wilkins and Gittens to the squad, this might be some good inclusions to the squad which might be enough for them to challenge for the title but like Liverpool will fall short as the main core of the team is going for another round.

1st - Manchester United
Manager: Alex Ferguson
Last Season: 2nd
Transfers: Gavin Johnson (Ipswich, 1.5 mil), Lee Jones (Liverpool, 350k), Out - None
Why: After falling short last season, I do think that they have the potential to take out the title and win the league for the eighth time.

So there you have it, my predictions for the English Premier League and with the league getting underway tomorrow, it will be interesting to see if these predictions will hold up across the entire season.

Premier League Predictions - The bottom ten

As the Premier League is only four days away from being played, we look at our predictions in who might finish top spot and who will get relegated. First, up will be the relegation contenders with our bottom seven.

20th - Southampton (Last Season: 16th)
Manager: Ian Branfoot
Transfers: In - Zero, Out - Matthew Bound (Southend, 150k), Derek Allen (Scarborough, 40k), Iain Dowie (Millwall, 700k)
Why: After only scoring 39 goals during the entire league seasons, you expect that it might not be enough to hold them for the season that is coming up, especially with the league going to twenty teams and with no players being brought in, I don't expect them to do well at all.

19th - Wimbledon (Last Season: 13th)
Manager: Joe Kinnear
Transfers: In - Zero, Out - Carlton Fairweather (Arsenal, 150k), Gerald Dobbs (Sunderland, 200k)
Why: The squad is very thin and with them losing two more players from the squad in the name of Fairweather and Dobbs, I don't see them doing particularly well enough to survive the drop.

18th - Ipswich (Last Season: Winners of Division 2)
Manager: John Lyall
Transfers: In - Mark Stimson (Newcastle, 150k), Out - Craig Forrest (Everton, 450k), Gavin Johnson (Man Utd, 1.5 mil), Gary Thompson (Newcastle, 300k)
Why: As the team that has been promoted, I rarely do have confidence that teams will do to survive the drop. Especially when they almost lost the promotion spot to the EPL in the month of April. So I am sorry but despite the signing of Mark Stimson, it's going to be a challenge for them.

17th - Chelsea (Last Season: 14th)
Manager: Dave Webb
Transfers: In - Mel Sterland (Leeds, 100k), Out - None
Why: My thought with me putting it here is that maybe it might wrong with the squad being very thin up the back and midfield. I do feel like that maybe they should have brought in more players to fill that hole.

16th - Blackburn (Last Season: Won in Playoffs)
Manager: Kenny Dalglish
Transfers: In - None, Out - Frank Talia (Rotherham, 250k)
Why: They really should of the need to go back in the transfer market as they only just qualified through to the top division by the virtual of a playoff which is not a good sign for this team. Let's hope that they can survive in the top tier.

15th - Sheffield United (Last Season: 9th)
Manager: Dave Bassett
Transfers: In - Bernie Slaven (Port Vale, 100k), Dean Yates (Notts County, 300k), Out - Adrian Littlejohn (Everton, 1.1 mil)
Why: Losing Adrian Littlejohn to Everton could be something that might regret down the line as he looks like he has a chance to going to one of the better clubs thinking that he might have potential in him. In response, they have brought in a 33 and 25-year old which might help but maybe there could be a spot for them.

14th - Norwich
Manager: Mike Walker
Last Season: 18th
Transfers: In - Ceri Hughes (Luton Town, 450k), Out - None
Why: On the service, this should be a team that should survive of the drop as they have brought in Ceri Hughes from Luton Town for 450 thousand. This should really set things in with the fact that Mark Robins will properly be protecting the sticks for Norwich here.

13th - Crystal Palace
Manager: Steve Coppell
Last Season: 10th
Transfers: None
Why: The only team who hasn't made a transfer over the winter period and that might come back to bite them as they need to score goals to at least try and avoid the dreaded drop that some people are predicting them to happen.

12th - Coventry
Manager: Bobby Gould
Last Season: 19th
Transfers: In - Gary Kelly (Leeds, 100k), Malcolm Allen (Millwall, 750k), Out - Terry Fleming (Bristol Rovers, 100k)
Why: Personally, I do feel like that they have some good deals in bringing some players in the top tier to get game time with Malcolm Allen properly going to get some game time while they brought the youngster in Gary Kelly which is properly going to be good for the future.

11th - QPR
Manager: Gerry Francis
Last Season: 11th
Transfers: In - Steve Claridge (Cambridge, 300k), Nicky Law (Rotherham, 80k), Out - None
Why: Despite the early issues of possibly losing players, they have kept their players that they want to have. This is going to be useful for Francis as its nothing worse then a minimal squad that would be underdone if injuries not go your way.

On Thursday, I will post the top half of the draw as we see who I think will be winning the first ever Premier League at the end of the season.

Transfer News - August 1-7

With the Charity Shield game being played and ending in a 1-1 draw, we look through the transfers of the week as the countdown to the Premier League start of the 1992-93 season.

In what was a quiet week across English football with the biggest transfer being for Iain Dowie as he went to the second-tier side Millwall in what some are predicting to do well in the first division as they claim the international signature. Neil Thompson is another player who is heading to the second tier as he signed for Newcastle for 300 thousand pounds. Melyvn Sterland is a rare player who is heading to a top tier team from Leeds to Chelsea for 100 thousand.

The other big transfer was the movement of Kevin Ratcliffe as he came back to the top division from Cardiff City as his contract was snapped up for only 50 thousand. It might be interesting to see if this will be a worthy investment.

Iain Dowie in Southampton colours as he is moving to Millwall.

Player	Out	In	Price
Gavin Johnson	Ipswich	Manchester United	£1,500,000.00
Paul Kitson	Derby	Aston Villa	£1,300,000.00
Adrian Littlejohn	Sheffield United	Everton	£1,100,000.00
Malcolm Allen	Millwall	Coventry	£750,000.00
Iain Dowie	Southampton	Millwall	£700,000.00
Andy Barlow	Oldham	Portsmouth	£600,000.00
David Howells	Tottenham	Leeds	£600,000.00
Jonathan Gittens	Middlesbrough	Sheffield Wednesday	£600,000.00
Ceri Hughes	Luton Town	Norwich	£450,000.00
Craig Forest	Ipswich	Everton	£450,000.00

Transfer News - July 18-July 31

As the season is starting to get close, transfers have been flying from all across the country with some interesting moves being made during these past weeks.

Week 3 saw the Malcolm Allen being transferred over to Coventry for 750 thousand pounds as he will be leaving Millwall with the international player heading over for one of the bigger deals. Michael Cheetham who will be moving into the top tier with the player heading to Arsenal for 250 thousand pounds. In the lower divisions, Paul Mardon will be heading to the second tier after he was snapped up by Oldham United for 300 thousand pounds.

One player who won't been seen in the top division is Frank Talia who will be down to the third division and to Rotherham club which should be a move to try and strengthen the goalkeeping duties over there. While William Donachie is going to end his career in the fourth tier as he moved over to Hartlepool on a free.

The Welsh international is heading to Coventry for 750k.

Week 4 of the transfer business saw another million pound signing with the 21-year-old player in Paul Kitson being signed to Aston Villa for 1.3 million pounds. The U-21 player could be the player that Aston Villa that might bring them to the top. David Howells and Jonathan Gittens have also both moved to the top division for 600 thousand pounds with Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday grabbing their signatures. Andy Barlow is now the biggest transfer that isn't in the top division with him being moved to fellow first division team Portsmouth for the same amount.

Dean Yates is another mover to the top division as he has gone to Sheffield United from Notts County for 300 thousand while youngster Paul Bernard will be heading to Nottingham Forest for the same amount. It was also during this week that Andy Liddell and Dave Reeves became the first loans of the transfer window when they moved to Scarborough and West Bromwich respectively. 

Paul Kitson playing for Derry County as he moved to Aston Villa for 1.3 million.

It's going to be interesting to see how the transfers are going to occur with next week being the charity shield game between Sheffield Wednesday and Manchester United before the brand new season starts in two weeks time.

Biggest Transfers of the window so far.

Player	Out	In	Price
Gavin Johnson	Ipswich	Manchester United	£1,500,000.00
Paul Kitson	Derby	Aston Villa	£1,300,000.00
Adrian Littlejohn	Sheffield United	Everton	£1,100,000.00
Malcolm Allen	Millwall	Coventry	£750,000.00
Andy Barlow	Oldham	Portsmouth	£600,000.00
David Howells	Tottenham	Leeds	£600,000.00
Jonathan Gittens	Middlesbrough	Sheffield Wednesday	£600,000.00
Ceri Hughes	Luton Town	Norwich	£450,000.00
Craig Forest	Ipswich	Everton	£450,000.00
Neil Adams	Oldham	Barnsley	£350,000.00