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Football Betting Predictions for the League Cup Final 2011: (Wembley Stadium) 

Arsenal – Birmingham City: (Sunday February 27th: 4pm): 

Arsenal contest this league cup final knowing they have not won a trophy since the 2005 FA Cup final when they beat Manchester United on penalties after a bore 0-0 draw. Arsenal have come close to breaking that record since 2005, for instance they reached the league cup final in 2007 but lost 2-1 to Chelsea. They also reached the semi finals in 2008 but were knocked out by Spurs. In other competitions they have reached the Champions League final in 2006 losing 2-1 to Barcelona, an FA Cup semi final defeat to Chelsea in 2009 as well as runners up in the Premiership in 2005 & a couple of third place finishes. So Arsenal will be looking to this game to end their run of no trophies for six years. 

Birmingham won the League cup in 1963 before the final was held at Wembley. They reached the final in 2001when it was held in Cardiff & were very unlucky to lose to Liverpool on penalties after a 1-1 draw (After Extra Time). Blues have reached Wembley several times in the FA Cup final & other lower league competitions. They were runners up in the FA Cup final of 1956 when they lost 3-1 to Manchester City. So Blues are looking to end a jinx of never winning a major trophy at the home of football (The Leyland DAF trophy doesn’t count). 

Arsenal knocked out Spurs away in their first game in this years competition & since then have taken care of Newcastle away, Wigan home & of course Ipswich over two legs in the Semi finals. Arsenal won their last game when they beat Stoke at home on Wednesday to close the gap on Manchester United to one point having played a game more. They also hold a 2-1 lead over Barcelona in the Champions League going into the second leg & are of course still in the FA Cup with a 5th round replay against Orient coming up. They should win that replay & will then face Manchester United away in the Quarter Finals. So Arsenal are fighting on all fronts & it will be interesting to see how they do come the end of the season. 

Birmingham knocked out West ham in the semi finals over two legs & at one point were 3-1 down in the second leg but of course came back. They knocked out lower league teams in the form of Rochdale, MK Dons & Brentford in the earlier rounds before they beat their deadly rivals Aston Villa at home 2-1 in the Quarter finals. Birmingham won 3-2 in the FA Cup on Saturday against Sheffield Wednesday to reach the Quarter finals but are involved in a relegation fight in the Premiership. They are 15th in the table just three points away from the bottom three & lost their last league game 2-0 at home to Newcastle last Tuesday which was a bad result for them. I suspect that Blues will stay up but will lose the League cup final against Arsenal but it will I suspect be close. 

Don’t be surprised if Birmingham take the physical approach towards Arsenal in order to contain them just like Stoke did on Tuesday. 

A narrow win for Arsenal then & how many more trophies can they win by the end of the season? 

Match prediction: Arsenal to win 
Score Prediction: Arsenal 2 Birmingham 1 
Attendance Prediction: 88,000 

Match 1: Aston Villa – Blackburn: (Saturday February 26th: 3pm): 

Villa drew away at Blackpool 1-1 last time out which means that they have now only lost one game in their last seven & the defeat was at Old Trafford against Manchester United. Because they have drawn their last two league games they have dropped down the table to 16th (Below Blues) just three points above the bottom three. However, I think they will be safe as they have improved of late with wins against Manchester City & Wigan away. They are also through to the 5th round of the FA Cup where they play Manchester City away next Week. 

Villa now face Blackburn at home who have a below average away record. Blackburn lost in the FA Cup third round away at Villa when they went down 3-1. Villa also knocked Blackburn out of last years FA Cup & in the League cup when they beat them in the Semi Finals. Blackburn drew their last league game 0-0 at home with Newcastle after they had suffered two defeats to Wigan & Spurs. Blackburn have managed to win at West Brom, Newcastle & Blackpool this season as well as drawing at Manchester City. The list of defeats is long as they have lost at Liverpool, Birmingham, Wigan, Spurs, Stoke, Bolton & Sunderland. 

Villa’s home form is ok with wins against West Ham, Everton, Blackpool & Manchester City. They have managed 5 draws against Manchester United, Chelsea, Bolton, Birmingham & last time out against Fulham. The three defeats at home have come against Arsenal, Spurs & Sunderland. 

Villa’s home form should be enough for the three points in this game. 

Match prediction: Aston Villa to win 
Score Prediction: Aston Villa 3 Blackburn 1 
Attendance Prediction: 35,000 

Match 2: Everton – Sunderland: (Saturday February 26th: 3pm): 

Everton had a great win over Chelsea last Saturday in their FA Cup 4th round replay when they won on penalties after a 1-1 draw (AET). Now Everton turn their attention to the league once more as they attempt to start moving up the table. Last time out in the League Everton lost 2-0 at Bolton which was a bad result for them mainly because of the way they played in the game. 

Everton won their last home game against Blackpool 5-3 which improved their home form to 4 wins. The other three wins came against Spurs, Stoke & Liverpool. They have also drawn against Bolton, Wigan, Manchester United & West Ham. The defeats have come against West Brom, Newcastle & Arsenal. It is because of this average home form that Everton find themselves in the bottom half of the table in 14th place just three points above the relegation places. I feel that Everton are in a false placing in the table & that they will turn the corner. 

Sunderland have slumped a bit in recent weeks & lost again last time out when they went down 2-1 to Spurs at home. Sunderland have now lost three games on the bounce. Last time out away Sunderland threw away a 2-1 lead to lose 3-2 at Stoke. Sunderland are 7th in the table & if they are not careful they will miss out on a European place. Sunderland’s away form is better than previous seasons with wins at Chelsea, Aston Villa & Blackpool. They have also drawn at Blackburn, Spurs, Fulham, Liverpool & Wigan. The defeats have come at Manchester United, Newcastle, West Brom & Wolves. 

I think that as Everton’s home form has improved since the new year (Two wins) then they will win this game but Sunderland will probably make it hard for them. 

Match prediction: A home win
Score Prediction: Everton 2 Sunderland 0 
Attendance Prediction: 26,000 

Match 3: Newcastle – Bolton: (Saturday February 26th: 3pm): 

Newcastle won their last game away at Birmingham by the score of 2-0. This result moved them up the table to 9th place which is where I more or less think they will end up come the end of the season. This was a good away result for Newcastle at Birmingham which came after they had drawn 0-0 at Blackburn who are a difficult side to beat at Ewood Park. Newcastle of course drew their last home game with Arsenal 4-4 when they were 4-0 down at half time. 

Newcastle now play a Bolton side who are having a good season & are also through to the quarter finals of the FA Cup after a 1-0 win at inform Fulham last Sunday. It was their second away win in the FA Cup in a week after they had won 1-0 at Wigan in a 4th round replay. The Wigan & Fulham wins were good for Bolton as their away form in the Premiership betting has taken a nosedive in recent months with 6 successive defeats since they won at Wolves 3-2 in mid November. Will Bolton break their jinx at Newcastle? 

Newcastle have improved their home record since the first days of the season. They have beaten Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham & Sunderland. They have also drawn with Wigan, Spurs, Chelsea & of course last time out against Arsenal. The defeats have come against Manchester City, Stoke, Blackburn & Blackpool. 

Earlier in the season Bolton thrashed Newcastle 5-1 & so Newcastle will be looking for revenge & I think they will get it, just. 

Match prediction: Newcastle to win 
Score Prediction: Newcastle 2 Bolton 1 
Attendance Prediction: 46,000 

Match 4: Wigan – Manchester United: (Saturday February 26th: 3pm): 

Manchester United drew away in the Champions League on Wednesday night against Marseille 0-0 away in the first leg of the last 16. They should start as favourites for the second leg. United are also still in the FA cup after beating non league Crawley 1-0 at home last Saturday & should now face Arsenal in the quarter finals at home if Arsenal beat Leyton Orient in their replay. 

United are of course top of the league but the gap has been closed to just one point thanks to Arsenal’s 1-0 against Stoke on Wednesday night. United if they win this game against Wigan should get the lead back to 4 points as Arsenal are not playing due to their appearance in the League cup final against Birmingham on Sunday. 

United have a poor away record by their standards this season. Yes, they have only lost the once at Wolves (Last away game) but they have drawn far too many games. The list of draws then have come at Bolton, Fulham, Everton, Birmingham, Aston Villa, Manchester City, Sunderland & Spurs. They have won three times at Blackpool, West Brom & Stoke. It is United’s home form that is keeping them top as was proved by their last league game when they beat Manchester City 2-1. 

Wigan won their last home game when they beat Blackburn 4-3. It was only their 4th home win of the season & helps explain why they are in the bottom three. Wigan have managed to draw with Sunderland, Fulham, Stoke, Liverpool & Arsenal but have lost to Blackpool, Newcastle, Manchester City & Chelsea. 

Defeat no 5 at home for Wigan methinks. 

Match prediction: Manchester United to win 
Score Prediction: Wigan 0 Manchester United 2 
Attendance Prediction: 21,000 

Match 5: Wolves – Blackpool: (Saturday February 26th: 3pm): 

Wolves of course won their last home game when they famously beat Manchester United 2-1 to record United’s first Premiership defeat off the season. Only in football could the bottom side beat the top side.

Wolves remain in the bottom three however because they lost at Arsenal 2-0 last Saturday & then conceded a late goal at West Brom, well the last kick of the game, to draw 1-1. They will have been bitterly disappointed with the West Brom result & I’m afraid it could have serious repercussions in their attempts to stay in the Premiership this season. 

Wolves now face Blackpool who appear to have turned the corner after 5 successive defeats. They drew at home with Aston Villa & then had a great win over Spurs on Tuesday 3-1. That result has seen them move up the table to 12th, five points & 5 teams above the drop zone. Blackpool have a good away record this season which is in fact better than their home form. 

They have won at Newcastle, Wigan, Liverpool, Sunderland & Stoke. They have also drawn at West Ham & Bolton but have lost at Chelsea, Arsenal, Aston Villa, West Brom, Everton, Manchester City & Birmingham. 

Wolves home form is the only reason they stand a chance of staying up as their away form has only yielded 5 points. At home they have beaten Manchester United, Manchester City, Birmingham, Sunderland, Stoke & Chelsea. The defeats have come against Liverpool, Wigan, Bolton, Arsenal & Aston Villa. 

I think that as Blackpool will be on a high after their win against Spurs that they will win a close but very open game. I hope so as I am attending the game. 

Match prediction: Blackpool to win 
Score Prediction: Wolves 1 Blackpool 2 
Attendance Prediction: 27,000 

Match 6: West Ham – Liverpool: (Sunday February 27th: 1.30pm): 

Liverpool drew their last game at home with lowly Wigan 1-1 which they will have been disappointed with especially as they were 1-0 up at Half time. Liverpool have won their last two away games at Wolves & last time out at Chelsea. These two wins have increased their away wins to three for the season (the other win was at Bolton). However, their away record is still bad with defeats at Manchester United, Manchester City, Stoke, Spurs, Blackpool, Newcastle, Blackburn & Everton. A long list then but Liverpool have turned the corner since Dalglish’s arrival. They are now unbeaten in 6 league games. 

West Ham seem to be heading for the Championship despite still being in the FA Cup after a 5-1 win against Burnley on Monday which takes them into the Quarter Finals. They also of course reached the League cup semi finals. West Ham have a very poor home record with defeats to Manchester City, Arsenal, Newcastle, Bolton, Chelsea & last time out at home 1-0 to Birmingham. They have managed to beat Spurs, Wolves, Wigan but that is it, just three wins at home. They have on a semi plus side drawn with Fulham, Everton, West Brom & Blackpool. 

I think that as Liverpool have obviously improved under Kenny Dalglish & that West Ham are looking doomed with a bad home record then Liverpool will win this game without too much trouble. 

Match prediction: A Liverpool win 
Score Prediction: West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 
Attendance Prediction: 36,000 

Match 7: Manchester City – Fulham: (Sunday February 27th: 3pm): 

City will be hoping to get back to winning ways after their 2-1 defeat away at arch city rivals United last time out. City are still third in the table but seven points behind Arsenal & eight behind leaders Manchester United. They are more or less out of the title race but should qualify for the Champions League next season which they of course failed to do last season. 

Last time out at home City beat West Brom 3-0. City’s home record is good with only two defeats to Arsenal & Everton against their name. On the plus side they have beaten Blackpool, Aston Villa, Bolton, Liverpool, Chelsea, West Brom, Wolves & Newcastle. They have also drawn with Birmingham, Blackburn & Manchester United. So a good home record against away day draw specialists Fulham the next visitors. 

Fulham have improved since the new year & find themselves 13th in the table. They were in the bottom three at the start of the new year so congrats to Fulham for improving. They did however crash out of the FA Cup last Sunday when they went down 1-0 at home to Bolton. Fulham have a good away record which despite only one win at Stoke has yielded draws at Newcastle, Blackburn, Blackpool, Bolton, Wigan, West Ham & last time out away at Aston Villa. 

Fulham drew their last game when they drew at home with Chelsea but it was a game they should have won because they missed a last minute penalty. 

I think City will win as their home form is very good. 

Match prediction: A home win 
Score Prediction: Manchester City 2 Fulham 0 
Attendance Prediction: 46,000 

Match 8: Stoke – West Brom: (Monday February 28th: 8pm): 

Stoke lost again on their travels on Wednesday, this time 1-0 at Arsenal. I suspect they won’t be too bothered as they are into the quarter finals of the FA Cup after beating Brighton easily on Saturday 3-0. They now face West Ham at home which gives them a great chance of making the semi finals for the first time since the 1970’s when they of course had a great side. 

Stoke are happily in midtable where I think they will end come the end of the season. They have a good home record which is why they are happily in midtable rather than fighting off relegation at the bottom. They won their last home game to prove this when they came from 2-1 down to beat Sunderland 3-2. Their other home wins this season have come against Liverpool, Blackburn, Aston Villa, Birmingham, Everton & Bolton. They have also drawn with Manchester City & West Ham. The defeats have come against Manchester United, Fulham, Spurs & Blackpool. 

West Brom managed a last minute & I mean last minute goal against their local rivals Wolves on Sunday to earn a precious point in their relegation fight. They are just above the bottom three by one point. West Brom have a poor away record with only wins at Arsenal & Everton to their name as well as draws at West Ham & of course Manchester United (The only side to prevent Utd from winning at home this season in the league). The list of defeats is long. They have lost then at Liverpool, Chelsea, Fulham, Aston Villa, Blackpool, Blackburn, Manchester City, Bolton & Wigan. Not good. 

Because of West Brom’s poor away record I am obviously going to go for a Stoke win. 

Match Prediction: Stoke to win 
Score Prediction: Stoke 2 West Brom 1 
Attendance prediction: 27,000 

That’s all for this weekend. I will do a preview for the Chelsea Manchester United game on Tuesday night but apart from that see you all next Thursday. 

Douglas Martin 

24th February 2011 

The 2009/10 was a second-rate one for Arsenal by the high standards that the fans have come to accept, but overall it was not a bad year. Arsenal achieved a 13th consecutive year in the Champions League with a young and developing team. That’s a great achievement. The Arsenal team also continued to play some exceptional football.

Arsenal went into the new season with a new facelift, two out and one in during the summer of 2009. We sold two players and only saw Thomas Vermaelen come in  Manchester City clearly had too much spending £25 million for the Adebayor. City and £16 million for an out of sorts Toure

Before the opening day of the season we were widely tipped to miss out on the top four, Liverpool were expected to go one better and win the title for the first time in ages whilst Man City had spent huge amounts from which big things were expected. It didn’t work out that way.

The first game of the season was a tricky one away at Everton, the result was something nobody expected as we handed out a 6-1 beating with Cesc Fabrefas running the show and getting one great goal. A fantastic start to the season for Arsenal football club fans.

Champions League qualification was not yet certain, we to beat over two legs. A muscular performance at Parkhead with Thomas Vermaelen looking like a pillar of strength at the back and slotting into the Arsenal side well. A deflected Cesc strike off the back of William Gallas just before half time and then a late own goal. In the return match Arsenal scored three past Celtic to put us into the Champions League proper.

We then hammered Portsmouth at home and went up north to Manchester United where a sensational Arshavin strike was canceled out by a Diaby own goal and a Wayne Rooney goal. After that we went unbeaten until the end of November in the league, pounding in the goals and looking very solid.

December was gritty, we had to grind out wins, not pretty, but it showed good spirit in the squad, and we got those results. Cesc Fabregas started coming into his own, scoring goal after goal after goal. Then game the tough run, four games – Villa (away), United (home), Chelsea (away), Liverpool (home). We needed about six points at least from those games to stay in contention, but we only got four, we had had injuries all season and they were starting to affect us, and our season started to flag.

Then came the moment that our season took a turn, Robin Van Persie had played in a meaningless friendly for his country, Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini took out Van Persie and his ankle. Persie was out for seven months.

When Barcelona came to the Emirates it was a great game  45 minutes of fantastic football, yet they still couldn’t score. Then, in the second half they scored two goals in quick succession. Arsenal had a half-fit Cesc and an injury ravaged side, Walcott equalised and we won a penalty in the last minute. Cesc, with a broken leg scored the penalty to make it 2-2. It marked the end of Aresenal’s season, with our best player out for the rest of the season with a broken leg, and Arshavin  out with a muscle injury. The chances of winning the Champions League or the Premiership disappeared.

Injuries, players that were not good enough and managerial faults… are all to blame for a disappointing season. A season that started so fantastically well had crashed in slow motion by the end of the season. A young team, hungry and ambitious had changed by the end. It is easy to forget everything that happened before the last six weeks of the season, but we had remained in touching distance with the eventual winners the whole team. Over the summer investment into the Arsenal squad looks certain. There has been progress over the past year and, should the core of this squad be improved by one or two decent signings, there is a good chance that Arsenal could overhaul the ageing Chelsea and Manchester United teams next season. Lets hope that season 2009/2010 was the last building year before winning some big trophies next season. Arsenal football club fans get ready for an exciting new season.

The newly -built Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban will hold one of the semi-finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup;. The ground epitomises the architectural conception on display in South Africa and takes its design inspiration from the South African flag, with its grand arch representing the unity of this sport-loving nation. The two legs of the arch on the southern side of the stadium come together to form a single footing on the northern side, symbolizing the new unity of a once-divided country.

The 70,000-seater has been specifically designed as a multi-purpose venue and an amphitheatre complete with a cable car which ascends to a viewing platform at the top of the expansive 350m arch, a astounding 106m above the pitch. From this vantage point, visitors can experience spectacular panoramic views of the nearby shoreline and the city. The roof is attached to the arch by 95mm-diameter steel cables. Each seat of the stadium is spacious and well-situated, providing a clear line of sight to the pitch.

It is a world-class and multifunctional arena situated in the center of the Kings Park Sporting Precinct. Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium will be the jewel in the crown of the Kings Park Sporting precinct. The entire area will feature additional sporting arenas and facilities as well as restaurants, shops, play areas for children and a pedestrian walkway linking the stadium complex to the beach.

The stadium was built on the site of the old Kings Park Stadium. Moses Mabhida, the ground’s namesake, was born in Thornville near Pietermaritzburg on 14 October 1923 into a poor family who were later forced off their land. In 1963, Mabhida was asked by Oliver Tambo while working in Prague rallying support from the World Federation of Trade Unions, to come back to Africa to develop the ANC’s armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK). He underwent military training and became the chief political instructor of new military recruits. He later served as the commander of MK

Group matches to be played in Durban

* 13th June – 8.30pm: Germany v Australia
* 16th June – 4.00pm: Spain v Switzerland
* 19th June – 1.30pm: Netherlands v Japan
* 22th June – 8.30pm: Nigeria v Korea Republic
* 25th June – 4.00pm: Portugal v Brazil

You can find more about the 2010 world cup stadiums, the teams and the Best World Cup Bets at www.bestworldcupbets.co.uk and you can even get a totally free world cup wall chart

A tribute to Brian Clough

In December 1986 I travelled from York to watch Newcastle play Nottingham Forest in a 1st Division Game. I had never been to Newcastle’s ground before nor had I seen either team play before but the main reason I was going to the game was to see “Brain Clough’s” Nottingham Forest play.

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