The True Picture

Deadline Day

2011-08-31T02:02:00.000-07:00

So, today is deadline day. Players will leave clubs, some will join. One of the main stories so far is that Owen Hargreaves will be joining Manchester City. Is this not a pointless signing considering the amount of midfielders City have already? And lets be honest, those midfielders hardly lack any quality...I'm not saying Hargreaves isn't a good player, because to be fair to the guy when he isn't carrying some sort of injury, he is probably one of the best holding midfielders in the world, but more often than not, he is in the physio room - which is a shame.

Bendtner has been seen at the Stoke training ground. Not a bad signing for Stoke, if I'm honest. He should provide a lot for them. The point that must be raised, however, is this is another Arsenal player leaving the club and when the gunners aren't bringing much in, one must worry that they wont have any adequate cover should any of the main front men get injured. What exactly do they have for cover beyond Arshavin, other than youngsters?

I've never been a fan of Peter Crouch, myself. I've always thought he's a lazy player, and it really annoys me how england or tottenham always get pulled up for a foul on a corner or set-piece when Crouch is going up for a header and places his hands on the shoulder of an opposition player. There is just no need! The man is close to seven foot, he should not need to give himself any more of an advantage. Understandably, he probably doesn't want to jump as he'll snap his legs. Anyway - enough of my criticism, he did used to score on a regular basis for Spurs, and I'm sure some Spurs fans will be sad to see him go as he has done his bit for the club, but right now he's looking to be heading to QPR or Sunderland which seems somewhat of a step down. Remaining on the subject of Spurs, Redknapp is said to be interested in Gary Cahill, but they must sell a few players first..A lot of hype surrounds Cahill, and I can understand why, he would be a fantastic addition to the Spurs side and could be that needed morale boost within the camp. Redknapp doesn't seem to be stopping at just Cahill though! Benayoun rejected an offer from Lille, so the likely option will be Arsenal or Spurs. I don't think Spurs require him as much as Arsenal as they already have some excellent midfielders, and they especially won't need him if they can manage to keep hold of Luka Modric. Arsenal on the other hand are desperate for a midfielder with some quality and he would be an excellent signing for them.

Infact, Arsenal are desperate for quality everywhere on the pitch right now..

Who Will Win The Premier League?

2011-08-27T05:25:00.000-07:00

So another season is well under way. Players have come and they've gone. Some have left on a good note, some on a bad. One of the main cases this year when it comes to transfers are Arsenal, losing two of their best players to Barcelona and Manchester City, respectively. The question is, without Fabregas and Nasri, are Arsenal anything other than an average side? Without a doubt, players need to be brought in. Their squad is significantly small and I don't feel they really cover places across the pitch. Currently they are without Wilshere who is probably one of Arsenals biggest players at the moment. Does that not send alarm bells out? One positive however to Arsenals side is that they may of finally found a decent goalkeeper in Szczesny. The young goalkeeper pulled off a fantastic penalty save against Udinese, and it was quite possibly that save that gave Arsenal the potential to go on to win the match.

Lets take a look at what appears to be another title challenger: Manchester City? No-one can deny that this team, on paper, is probably the best in the league. They have quality all over the pitch. The question is, can they play together as a team? I watched the side against Swansea on the first game of the season, and until the arrival of their 35 million pound signing in Arguerro, Swansea was making them look stupid. They was passing them off the park competely! City, fortunately have extremly strong players in the likes of yaya toure, and kompany which gave them that physical edge against the newly promoted side and allowed them to win the ball back when they could get close enough to the Swansea players. However, for a side that possesses such quality all over the pitch, you'd expect them to be extremly capable of being able to keep the ball and spread the ball over the field without any issues. This appeared to be City's downfall. Passes were going astray constantly and quite often, City found themselves on the backfoot but Swansea were unable to finish and still haven't finished a goal thus far in this Premiership season, which leads me to wonder...If City give passes away to such a better quality opposition such as Manchester United, Chelsea or Liverpool, what will be the outcome then?

Round the corner from Manchester City, you obviously have their closest rivals Manchester United. This side is a completely different look this year. There is no longer that Paul Scholes lurking in the centre of midfield, spraying balls right, left & centre. Tom Cleverly replaces the legend in that position whilst Anderson seemingly takes up the position next to him, and so far this season the pair seem to be forming a good partnership - the same which could be said for the front two, Welbeck & Rooney. The weak links obviously lie in the lack of experience, with the only real exception being Ferdinand & Rooney, who will play key roles in Manchester United's bid for the title this year. Another weak link would obviously be the goalkeeper in De Gea. Is he really Manchester United quality? Is he really a good replacement from Van Der Sar? So far...so bad. They will concede very cheap goals if he continues to play the way he has - doesn't look very confident and is still clearly adapting to the physical side of the english game.

Another team that are always lurking in the top 4 in recent seasons is Chelsea. New manager, new ball game this year. It appears however, that Torres remains upfront despite his lack of goals and his ability to lose the ball so often and dribbling straight into defenders. It also appears that manager AVB favors both Torres & Anelka over Drogba? I don't quite see the logic there. Drogba is obviously in much better form than Torres and can offer more for the side. The constant battle is still going on to see if they can get the signature of Tottenham midfielder, Luka Modric. Will it pull off? I'm not sure. The longer they leave it, the less likely it looks. Potentially, I don't think Chelsea NEED another midfielder, as they have bags of potential in midfield, but may not have adequate cover if Lampard gets injured.

Last but not least and possibly hold their biggest chance of winning the title in recent years is Liverpool! A brilliant atmosphere is emitting round Anfield at the moment. The fans seem to have so much belief in both the manager and the players, its unbelieveable. On the pitch the players seem to be doing the job at the moment, pulling off a huge victory against Arsenal in only the second game of the season, which could be crucial as the season pans out even more. They didn't have the best of starts against Sunderland, but probably did feel they should of walked away with 3 points. It appears Daglish isn't just gunning for the premier league this season either - he wants any silverware he can possibly get hold of as he sent out a strong squad against Exeter, defeating the side 3-1 in the Carling Cup. Liverpool could really be the surprise this year.

My prediction: Liverpool or Man City.

About Myself - Emma Thompson

2011-08-26T06:40:00.000-07:00

I created this blog on the 26th of August, not neccesarily out of boredom but to see what blogging is like. For a while now I've really wanted a place to rant, a place where I can share my thoughts with other people and actually jot my thoughts down on paper. There's a chance I could be called a nerd, a geek and several other names for creating a blogging site such as this, but I'm prepared to let it go through one ear and out the other if it means I feel better.

The majority of my blogs will be based on football, as I'm a huge fan and actually play & coach the sport myself. My previous clubs consist of Preston North End, Everton, Liverpool, Crosby Stuart & my current club which is: Maghull Ladies FC. I'm currently at college (17 years old) studying football coaching NVQ Level 3 which is the equivalent of the UEFA 'B' coaching badge. During my time at Everton & Liverpool, I was coached by UEFA 'A' coaches and I feel as though this is overlooked when I'm having conversations with my male friends about football. They automatically seem to dismiss my opinion as I'm female, despite the fact I've had coaching of a much higher level than they have.

I, myself, hold the F.A Level 1 coaching badge, which obviously includes the first aid and safe guarding children certificates. I also hold the Age Appropriate certificate along with my Sports Leadership Level 2 Certificate and NVQ Level 2 Certificate in coaching football.
Though my main interest lies in football, you can be sure that my blogs will consist of things about my personal life, music & other sports as well as football.

Now lets give this thing a shot!