Latest Results – Saturday Review: Sunderland shock Spurs and all other Scores

Aston Villa 1 - Liverpool 2

A stunning free-kick just three minutes from time by Steven Gerrard gave Liverpool a 2-1 win at Aston Villa in their Premier League opener on Saturday night. It had looked that Villa had done enough to claim a draw when Barry fired home a penalty in the 85th minute, but Liverpool captain Gerard ensured that they got their title aspirations to a decent start and slotted home a brilliant 25-yarder shot.

Sunderland 1 - Tottenham 0

Earlier in the day, Roy Keane’s Sunderland shocked Spurs with a 1-0 win at the Stadium of Light. Michael Chopra delighted the Desi followers of the game along with the thousands of Sunderland fans as he side-footed a goal in injury time.

West Ham 0 - Manchester City 2

Sven-Goran Eriksson claimed victory in his first competitive match as a club manager in England as Manchester City beat West Ham 2-0 at Upton Park.

Eriksson’s new signings shone through as Rolando Bianchi tapped home the opener following an amazing run by Elano. Geovanni slammed in late to ensure the victory.

Everton 2 – Wigan Athletic 1

Everton claimed a 2-1 win over Wigan Athletic at Goodison Park thanks to a 26th-minute header by Leon Osman and a 75th-minute goal by Victor Anichebe.

Antoine Sibierski pulled one back for the Latics from close range in the 80th minute but Everton held on for the victory.

Bolton 1 - Newcastle 3

Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce made a stunning winning return to his old club Bolton as his team secured a comprehensive 3-1 win at the Reebok Stadium.

The game was pretty much over by half-time as Magpies were up by 3-0 at the break. The first goal came via a free-kick from Charles N’Zogbia. Martins smashed in an acrobatic second. He scored his second in the 27th minute.

Anelka slotted in a goal in the 51st minute after some clever work by Kevin Nolan – but it proved to be nothing but a consolatory goal.

Middlesbrough 1 - Blackburn 2

Middlesbrough started their campaign badly after throwing away a one goal lead. A curling Stewart Downing free-kick gave them the lead and Blackburn were dealt a massive blow when McCarthy had to be carried off on a stretcher after suffering a head injury early in the second half. However, his replacement Roque Santa Cruz scored the equaliser when he headed in David Bentley's cross from the right (63).

The winner came from young striker Matt Derbyshire in the 79th minute.

Derby 2 - Portsmouth 2

Newly-promoted Derby made a lively start to their campaign with a 2-2 draw at Pride Park against much fancied Portsmouth.

Matt Oakley netted the first for Derby with just 4 minutes having passed. Benjani Mwaruwari equalized for Pommies before new-signing John Utaka gave them the lead. The lead was very short-lived as defender Andy Todd equalized for Derby via a spectacular diving header.

Season Preview - Newcastle United

Last season: 13th, 43 points; UEFA Cup last 16; FA Cup third round; Carling Cup fifth round

Transfers:

In: Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough, free); Joey Barton (Man City, £5.8m); David Rozenhal (Paris Saint-Germain, £2.9m); Geremi (Chelsea, free); Jose Enrique(Villarreal, €9.3m); Claudio Cacapa (Lyon, free); Alan Smith (Manchester United, €9m)

Out: Scott Parker (West Ham, £7m); Titus Bramble, Antoine Sibierski (both Wigan, free); Lee Clark, Pavel Srnicek, Craig Moore, Olivier Bernard (all released)

Official Website: http://www.nufc.co.uk/

Official Kit:

Newcastle have definitely been one of the biggest under achievers in the Premiership. Though they have featured twice in this decade in the top 4 (4th in 2001-02 and 3rd in 2002-03), it’s been all downhill ever since capping off with a relatively miserable 13th position (2006-07) for a team of their caliber.

The coming of Sam Allardyce will mark a new phase for the Magpies. If he can achieve what he did at Bolton with a pretty ordinary team, at St James’ Park – then Newcastle would definitely be a force to reckon with.

Big Sam has made a couple of pretty good purchases in the summer, with Alan Smith and Joey Barton coming in. Being able to convince Martins and Owen to stick on ensures that they don’t lack fire-power up front. Letting Scott Parker go might still prove to be a big mistake and there are chances Kieron Dyer might be off soon too. Geremi and Rozehnal are trademark Allardyce purchases and both would blossom this season.

Schedule via English Soccer Talk:

Newcastle kick-off the season against Sam’s old boys Bolton. Things are fine up until the winter holidays – which might not be the happiest for Newcastle this season. October-November brings four home games, but difficult ones in Everton, Tottenham, Portsmouth, and Liverpool. Trips to Reading and Sunderland won't be easy, nor will a game at Blackburn on December 1.

With the New Year comes an even more difficult stretch of games, one that lasts into the beginning of March and will be the phase Sam Allardyce really needs to get things right. Road games at (in order) Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Liverpool, mixed in with home games against Bolton, Middlesbrough, Manchester United, and Blackburn. If Newcastle can survive that and come out of it with good results, they should easily be assured of a UEFA cup berth. It’s not going to be easy though.

EPL08.com prediction:
League Position – 6
Under-achievers for ages - this is finally going to be a season in which the Magpies will redeem themselves to a certain extent. Mainly because of the genius of Sam Allardyce. They'll need the majority of their players to injury-free though!

Latest EPL Transfer News - Ballack not leaving Chelsea and many other updates

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Newcastle United have signed Spain Under-21 international Jose Enrique from Spanish side Villarreal for £6.3m.

The 21-year-old left-back, who watched the Magpies beat Sampdoria 1-0 on Sunday, has agreed a five-year deal.

Meanwhile the deal between West Ham and Newcastle for Kieron Dyer seems to have fallen apart over valuation. Dyer was all set to join the Hammers for around £6 million but then Newcastle suddenly realized that they had under-valued the player their playe and demanded a further £2million causing West Ham to pull out of the move.

West Ham were pretty furious after the sudden price hike and still seem to be interested in signing Dyer - but will not go above the £6 million mark.

Mido still seems to be in demand. After not being able to agree personal terms with Birmingham there were rumours that he might have to stick around for some more time at Spurs – but Roy Keane is interested in signing Mido for Sunderland as he gets ready for his rookie season as a Premiership boss.

Sunderland face competition from Fulham – who were linked with Mido at the start of the summer, but a move did not materialize.

At Old Trafford, the transfer saga of Gabriel Heinze continues. due back to training with Manchester United today, and he's held face-to-face talks with Sir Alex Ferguson in a bid to resolve the row over his proposed move to Liverpool.

Over at Manchester City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson's is keen to sign a Goal Keeper soon and The Manchester Evening News claims that Scott Carson and Carlo Cudicini are his top targets.

Everton seem to have won the race to sign left-back Leighton Baines. Baines is expected to complete the switch from Wigan on Tuesday after he agreed personal terms and underwent a medical. The deal is around the £5million mark.

Over at Chelsea – who seem to be a little rattled with numerous injuries topped with the FA Community Shield defeat to Manchester United...
Michael Ballack has insisted that he won't be leaving Chelsea and that he has had "no contact with Real Madrid whatsoever". Reports that Barcelona were mounting a fresh move for Frank Lampard have been denied by the Catalans.

At Bolton, Senegalese forward El-Hadji Diouf is heard to be pushing for a move to Lyon. The 26-year-old joined from Liverpool around two years back but has reportedly been considering his future at the Reebok since the departure of Sam Allardyce, who has apparently even made moves to lure him to Newcastle.

Via: Sporting Life

Latest EPL Transfer News – Tevez joins Man Utd, Alan Smith completes Newcastle move and lots more…

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Carlos Tevez joins Manchester United

The Carlos Tevez saga has finally come to an end and Tevez has begun training with his new Manchester United team-mates. He is all set to make his debut next week.

The Premier League ratified a deal which released Tevez from his West Ham contract.

"We are delighted," Ferguson told MUTV.

Tevez's debut will mark the start of a two-year loan period, which gives United the option to complete a permanent transfer at the end. The two-year loan deal is likely to cost United around £5million a year and a statement from Tevez's representative said: "Carlos is looking forward to being a Manchester United player and his ambition is close to being achieved.

The Hammers meanwhile said in a statement: "The settlement ends the current litigation taking place between the respective parties and provides for a £2million fee to be paid to West Ham.”
West Ham chairman Eggert Magnusson was relieved the affair has finally been concluded.

In other transfer news:

Alan Smith completes Newcastle move

Well as predicted by me, Smith completed his move to Newcastle United and is set to replace the midfield role played by Kieron Dyer (Who is in talks with West Ham).

Alan Smith said the time was right to embrace a new era at St James' Park after signing a five-year deal with Newcastle on Friday for an undisclosed fee - believed to be in the region of £6million.

Bolton sign Daniel Braaten

Bolton manager Sammy Lee has completed the signing of Norwegian international winger Daniel Braaten from Rosenborg for an undisclosed fee.

Lee has made a number of new signings since replacing Sam Allardyce towards the end of last season.

Former Aston Villa duo Jloyd Samuel and Gavin McCann have joined at the Reebok stadium. So to have Christian Wilhelmsson and Heidar Helguson.

Ironically - Bolton open their season with a home game against Allardyce's Newcastle.

Via – Sporting Life

Review: Wednesday’s Pre-Season Friendlies. Man Utd lose to Inter Milan…

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Manchester United 2 - Inter Milan 3
Manchester United failed to impress as Italian champions Inter Milan won 3-2 at Old Trafford in a pre-season friendly on Wednesday.
The Red Devils took the lead on 17 minutes through a thumping Wayne Rooney goal.
Sloppy defending allowed Inter back into the game as new signing David Suazo scored from close range and a sweeping move a little later saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic put the Serie A side in front on 27 minutes. Suazo scored his second of the night on 34 minutes.

Hull 1 - Newcastle 0
A 40th minute goal from Dean Marney was enough to give Hull a deserved 1-0 success at home to Newcastle.

Leyton Orient 2 - Tottenham 4
Spurs were in free-scoring mood yet again after recording a 4-2 win at Leyton Orient. Robbie Keane scored 2 while Jermain Defoe and Darren Bent scored one each.

Shrewsbury 0 - Manchester City 2
Man City left it late to record a 2-0 win over Shrewsbury Town at the New Meadow. Bernardo Corradi headed the opening goal on 82 minutes before Paul Dickov scored a crisp second late on.

Galway 0 - Sunderland 4
Michael Chopra scored after just six minutes en route to Sunderland's comprehensive 4-0 win over Galway United.

Stoke 0 - Aston Villa 2
Patrik Berger and Gabriel Agbonlahor scored as Aston Villa won 2-0 at The Britannia Stadium

Bolton 3 - Espanyol 0
Ricardo Vaz Te pounced for two first-half goals as Bolton eased to a 3-0 home triumph over Espanyol.

Huddersfield 2 – Blackburn 1
Luke Beckett's brace condemned Blackburn to a 2-1 defeat at Huddersfield. Jason Roberts netted a late consolation goal for Rovers.

A Glance at Tuesday’s Friendlies:

Brondby 0 - Chelsea 2
Striker Didier Drogba scored twice in the last half hour to give Chelsea a 2-0 win over Danish side Brondby

Other Results:

Everton 2 - Werder Bremen 2
Norwich City 1 - West Ham 2.
Bournemouth 1 - Portsmouth 4
Peter'boro 0 - Birm'gham 3
Barnsley 0 - Wigan 2
Derby 2 - Nottingham 0

Via: Sporting Life

Where is Alan Smith headed to?

What really happened to Alan Smith? He was part of the star-studded Leeds United team which made it to the Champions League Semi-Final some years back. At Leeds he was a teen idol for supporters. Smith was the poster boy for the club for the 2002-2004 seasons, winning the "Supporter's Player of the Year" award two years running, a first in Leeds history.

He was almost single-handedly trying to ensure that Leeds avoided the relegation drop in 2004. But after Leeds were demoted – Smith made it clear that he wanted to move.

His transfer to bitter rivals Manchester United, led to controversy and his exit was marred by accusations of treachery going from hero to villain from the view of Leeds fans in the space of a day. Leeds fans were not angry at Smith for leaving to further his England prospects and fully understood this. Their anger was at him going to the club most hated by Leeds fans.

Smith never did settle down in Manchester. A stint marred with injuries, Smith managed only 7 goals in his entire stay (61 games). With Manchester adding several new players to star in their mid-field, getting a regular playing spot would be highly impossible.

He has reportedly been given permission by Manchester United to find a new club for the coming season and apparently a lot of them are interested…

Everton have apparently made a vacancy for Alan Smith to arrive on Merseyside after accepting a £4million bid from Sheffield United for striker James Beattie.

Apart from David Moyes' side, Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Manchester City and Middlesbrough are all linked with the former Leeds United ace.

Though I wouldn’t mind seeing him play at Newcastle, it doesn’t really make sense as to why Sam Allardyce would be willing to pay £6 million for him. They already have Ameobi, Owen, Viduka and Martins. Unless of course Big Sam feels he might end up losing Martins or Owen before the season or perhaps has a mid-field role in mind for Smith.

Manchester City are considering 7m bid for Smith. With Shakhtar Donetsk beating City in Castillo from Olympiacos, chances of Smith swapping stadiums in Manchester itself is quite a possibility.

Well the bottom line is that Alan Smith is definitely not going to start the season at Old Trafford and any team which pays up anything more than 5m should be able to land him.

Arsenal win inaugural Emirates Cup

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Robin van Persie scored a superb late goal to give Arsenal a 2-1 win over Italian champions Inter Milan and victory in the pre-season Emirates Cup tournament.

Arsenal's hopes of winning the two-day event, played at its Emirates Stadium, suffered a setback in the 62nd minute when Hondura striker David Suazo headed Inter in front.

But Belarus midfield player Alexander Hleb soon equalsied and Van Persie won it with a fine solo goal, firing home an angled shot to match the 2-1 win over Paris St Germain on Saturday.

In other pre-season friendlies, Newcastle United had an impressive 2-0 win over Juventus at St James's Park, while Celtic beat another Serie A side, Parma, 1-0 at Parkhead.

Via - Fox Sports