Arsenal and Manchester United both held to draws in Premier League

Manchester United and Arsenal were both held to draws in the two games that survived the big freeze.

Arsenal 2-2 Everton
Substitute Tomas Rosicky snatched a point for Arsenal as they drew 2-2 against a battling Everton side at a snowy Emirates Stadium.

Leon Osman headed the visitors into a deserved lead on 12 minutes. However, the midfielder then deflected Denilson's shot past Tim Howard as the Gunners levelled before the break.

Steven Pienaar's breakaway goal looked to have won it with eight minutes to go, only for Tomas Rosicky to grab a crucial strike in added time as Arsenal cut the deficit on leaders Chelsea down to three points.

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Birmingham City 1-1 Manchester United
Manchester United needed an own goal from Birmingham defender Scott Dann to salvage a 1-1 draw at St. Andrews as they missed out on the chance to replace Chelsea at the summit.

Birmingham were incensed referee Mark Clattenburg allowed the equaliser to stand after 63 minutes, cancelling out Cameron Jerome's first-half opener, and he consulted with one of his assistants before correctly awarding the goal.

The Red Devils ended with 10 men after midfielder Darren Fletcher was sent off in the closing stages for a second bookable offence.

The draw enabled Blues to make club history in achieving their longest ever unbeaten top-flight run of 12 games - a run stretching back to October.

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Liverpool get Romanian side Unirea Urziceni in Europa League Draw

Liverpool will play Romanian side Unirea Urziceni in the last 32 of the Europa League.

City rivals Everton have been handed a clash with Sporting Lisbon - a side who topped their Europa League group which also included Hertha Berlin, Heerenveen and FK Ventspils.

Fulham fared the worst of the English sides in Friday afternoon's draw - they must face Shakhtar Donetsk, who won last season's UEFA Cup.

Last 32 draw
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Rubin Kazan v Hapoel Tel Aviv
Athletic Bilbao v Anderlecht
FC Copenhagen v Marseille
Panathinaikos v Roma
Atletico Madrid v Galatasaray
Ajax v Juventus
Club Brugge v Valencia
Fulham v Shakhtar Donetsk
Liverpool v Unirea Urziceni
Hamburg v PSV Eindhoven
Villarreal v Wolfsburg
Standard Liege v FC Salzburg
FC Twente v Werder Bremen
Lille v Fenerbahce
Everton v Sporting Lisbon
Hertha Berlin v Benfica

First legs to be played on February 18 and second legs on February 25.

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Liverpool are not seeded for Europa League draw

Liverpool will not be seeded for the Europa League knockout stage draw which takes place in Switzerland on Friday.

The Reds enter at the round of 32 stage after being eliminated from the Champions League in the group stages.

Liverpool join fellow Premier League sides Fulham and Everton, who are also unseeded, in the draw.

A Uefa spokesman said: "The 12 group winners from the Europa League and the best four third-placed sides from the Champions League are the top-16 seeds."

Liverpool moved into the Europa League after finishing third in their Champions League group, but their poor goal difference means they miss out on a seeding.

Fellow English clubs Everton and Fulham are also unseeded after finishing second in their groups.

Top 16 seeds :
A: RSC Anderlecht (BEL)
B: Valencia CF (ESP)
C: Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)
D: Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)
E: AS Roma (ITA)
F: Galatasaray AS (TUR)
G: FC Salzburg (AUT)
H: Fenerbahce SK (TUR)
I: SL Benfica (POR)
J: FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
K: PSV Eindhoven (NED)
L: Werder Bremen (GER)
FC Unirea Urziceni (ROU) *
Juventus (ITA)*
VfL Wolfsburg (GER)*
Olympique de Marseille (FRA)*

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Sunday Football - Fulham beat Sunderland : Everton and Spurs share points

Fulham striker Bobby Zamora fired his club back into the top half of the table with a 1-0 win over Sunderland at Craven Cottage.

It means Fulham leapfrog over Sunderland into eighth, with their form reliant on home performances: they have not lost on their own turf since September.

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Tottenham lost a two-goal lead and then missed an injury-time penalty to draw 2-2 at Everton.

Jermain Defoe opened the scoring just after the break and the points appeared safe when Michael Dawson doubled the lead on the hour.

But goals from Louis Saha and Tim Cahill levelled the scores before Defoe's weak spot-kick was saved by Tim Howard after Tony Hibbert had brought down Wilson Palacios.

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Bet365 has Arsenal almost certain to finish in top four now

Arsenal's position in the top four was strengthened on Sunday as Aston Villa and Everton fought out a 3-3 draw in the Barclays Premier League.

Arsenal are now nine points ahead of Aston Villa and 10 points clear of Everton having played a game more than both clubs.

The Gunners are 1/16 with bet365 to finish once again with a top-four finish, with Everton 7/4 to finish above Aston Villa.

bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth said: "It was a hugely entertaining 3-3 draw, but a point hardly helps either side in their quest for a top four finish."

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Manchester United to face Tottenham in FA Cup 4th Round

The fourth round draw for the FA Cup has thrown up a couple of high profile games and also a couple of "classic ties" invoking memories of previous years.

In the "Big Games" Liverpool will face Merseyside rivals Everton and
Manchester United will host Tottenham Hotspur in the pick of the ties.

For the giant killers there is the prospect of hosting Premier League opposition as non-league Kettering Town will meet Fulham and giant-killers Hartlepool entertain West Ham.

There is also an east Midlands derby with Nottingham Forest being rewarded for their emphatic 3-0 win over Manchester City with a trip to Derby County.

Last season's finalists Cardiff City will host Arsenal at Ninian Park, a replay of the 1927 final between the pair which the Welsh club won 1-0.

Full FA Cup fourth round draw :
Liverpool v Everton
Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur
Hull or Newcastle v Millwall or Crewe
Sunderland v Blyth or Blackburn
Hartlepool v West Ham
Leyton Orient or Sheffield United v Charlton or Norwich
Cardiff v Arsenal
Portsmouth or Bristol City v Histon or Swansea City
Chelsea or Southend v Ipswich Town
Cheltenham or Doncaster v Aston Villa
West Brom or Peterborough v QPR or Burnley
Torquay v Coventry City
Kettering Town v Fulham
Watford v Leicester or Crystal Palace
Derby County v Nottingham Forest
Birmingham City or Wolves v Middlesbrough

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Desperate Transfer Gossip

In a desperate attempt to try and keep my football blog current I submit to you a selection of bollocky football rumours that will almost certainly NEVER come to pass.

So let's lead off with the Daily Mirror who say :

Wigan have warned Liverpool off a move for midfielder Wilson Palacios by insisting he is worth as much as £18m-rated Gareth Barry.

Everton will make a £7m bid for Switzerland midfield man Goekhan Inler in an attempt to finally clinch their first signing of the summer.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has refused to rule out a move for Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry.

But The Guardian win the worst rumour of the day award for speculating :

Manchester City are investigating the possibility of making Barcelona's Thierry Henry a "box office" signing in January.

It all seems a slice of bullsh!t to me - but I read it - and now you've heard about it too.
;-)

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Premier League Wages and Profits

The Premier League is generating more money than ever but only eight clubs are actually turning a profit says a Deloitte study of the 2006-07 season.

In 2006-07 Premier League clubs' salaries rose 13% - slightly ahead of a median 11% rise in revenue - and the situation is worse in the Championship as average wage increases of 14% outstripped median revenue growth of 3%.

There are startling disparities between the important wages-to-turnover ratios at clubs in England's top two divisions.

The average Premier League figure stood at 63% and the Championship level at 79% but there was a lot of variance. Tottenham had the lowest wages/turnover ratio or just 42%, followed by ManYoo (44%), Arsenal (50%) and then the two Sheffield clubs.

Liverpool stood at 58% and Chelsea was a high 70% - but then with a Russian sugar-daddy normal financial metrics mean little to the Blues at present.


There were high figures figures of 80% and 85% at Middlesbrough and Blackburn respectively. Alarmingly, Sunderland's ratio was 90% and Derby's 125%. But the latter two probably reflect the payment of performance-related bonuses to players for winning promotion.

Overall, only eight Premier League clubs showed operating profits, namely Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Newcastle, Reading, Sheffield United and Watford.

If your club isn't on this list then they're spending beyond their earnings - and any downturn in fotoball revenues could hit home hard ...

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Chelsea unhappy with TV scheduling

Chelsea are not happy to being asked to play two Premier League games in the space of 72 hours after their trip to Everton was rescheduled for TV.

The Blues will play Wigan on April 14th and then travel to Goodison PArk to face Everton on Thursday 17th (instead of originally scheduled Saturday 19th).

Chelsea say it gives their title rivals an unnecessary competitive advantage with more time both to recover and prepare. Everton have described the fixture change as an "uncomfortable precedent".

The Merseysiders, who like Chelsea also wanted the match played at the weekend, say in a statement that they fully support their broadcast partners, but hope common sense prevails in the future and sensible alternatives can be reached.

The Premier League have defended the switch, saying: "The compilation of the fixture list is a complex procedure.

"It faces enormous pressure from international match and European competition dates, as well as the need to balance the important requirements of the police and our broadcasters.

"We are also required by the European Commission to televise 138 matches per season, which brings its own inevitable pressures."

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UEFA Cup Outright winner bets.

The UEFA Cup resumes this week for the round of 32 with 24 qualifiers plus the eight Champions League dropouts hoping to win Europe's lessor competition.

According to the bookies, these eight teams can generally be regarded as outside shots a long way behind hot favourites Bayern Munich with strong sides like Atletico Madrid, Tottenham, Everton and Villarreal, who all battled through the group stages of this competition, are seen as the other leading contenders at prices ranging from 8.00 to 15.00

Last year's semi-finalists Werder Bremen are the best priced out of those to have fallen from this season's Champions League at a best of 17.00 at BoyleSports.

In regards to the other UK sides, Bolton have been written off at prices as long as 100/1 while Glasgow Rangers have a quote at 50/1 with Paddy Power while Aberdeen, who face Bayern Munich in the next round, are way out at 500/1.

BEST PRICES :
Bayern Munich 4.35 @ VCBet
Athletico Madrid 10.00 @ Interwetten
Tottenham Hotspur 12.00 @ Interwetten
Everton 14.00 @ Interwetten
Fiorentina 17.00 @ Canbet
Villarreal 17.00 @ VCBet
Werder Bremen 17.00 @ BoyleSports

or get the latest UEFA Cup odds at BookieLabRat.com

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Chelsea take first step towards Carling Cup final

Chelsea have the upper hand over Everton after the first leg of their Carling Cup semi-final thanks to a 2-1 success.

The Toffees looked to have forced a draw at Stamford Bridge but a late header from Shaun Wright-Phillips went in off Everton defender Joleon Lescott to give Chelsea the advantage.

The bookmakers now make Chelsea 1.33 to progress to the final and 2.10 (Ladbrokes) to lift the trophy while Everton are 9/4 to turn things around and 8.00 (Bet365) to win the competition outright.

Wednesday night sees Arsenal and Tottenham in action in their last-four first leg with the Gunners 3.75 second favourites (BetFred) for the silverware and Spurs 4.50 (Eurobet).

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FA Cup 3rd Round : Upsets galore

Scottish midfielder Gary McDonald's first-half strike gave League One Oldham a famous 1-0 FA Cup third-round triumph against mighty Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday.

The League One side, over 50 places below the Merseysiders, fully deserved their victory after a battling performance.

Everton fielded a much-changed side, and McDonald's 25-yard cracker on the stroke of half-time was enough to beat them.

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Michael Mifsud scored twice as Coca-Cola Championship club Coventry booked their place in the fourth round with a memorable 4-1 win over Blackburn at Ewood Park.

The Sky Blues, who dumped Manchester United out of the Carling Cup earlier this season with a 2-0 win at Old Trafford, were in good form against Premier League opposition and never looked in danger of losing the lead given to them through Mifsud's crisp volley after 34 minutes.

They doubled their advantage after 64 minutes when Zurab Khizanishvili was adjudged to have fouled Leon Best in the penalty area and defender Elliott Ward coolly stepped up to fire past Brad Friedel.

Dele Adebola added a third from 18 yards before David Bentley scored a consolation five minutes from time for Mark Hughes' beleaguered side.

Mifsud added a fourth in the dying stages as Iain Dowie's side celebrated a memorable day.

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Chris Brandon scored nine minutes from time to secure another cup shock as League One Huddersfield beat Premier League Birmingham 2-1.

Luke Beckett handed the Terriers a dream start as he poked home from close range after just four minutes but Garry O'Connor levelled for Blues 15 minutes later.

Huddersfield never looked out of place against their more illustrious opponents and Brandon slotted home from close range late on to book their place in the next round.

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Holders Chelsea were made to work hard for their 1-0 victory over neighbours QPR at Stamford Bridge.

They scored the only goal of the game after 39 minutes in fortuitous circumstances as Claudio Pizarro's shot cannoned off the post before rebounding into the net off the back of Rangers goalkeeper Lee Camp.

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In other games :

Manchester United progressed as goals in the last 10 minutes from Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney saw off Aston Villa 2-0 in the evening kick-off.

Bolton left out a string of first-team players, including Chelsea target Nicolas Anelka, and were made to pay as David Carney's solitary strike put Sheffield United through.

Dave Nugent's third goal for Portsmouth secured a 1-0 win over Ipswich, who had Liam Trotter dismissed in the first half.

Paul Scharner's first-half header, Paul McShane's own goal and a neat strike from David Cotterill helped Wigan cruise past Sunderland 3-0 at the Stadium of Light.

David Wheater's second-half goal ensured there was no upset at Ashton Gate as Middlesbrough came from behind to see off Bristol City 2-1.

Two replays required :

Stephen Hunt matched Dimitar Berbatov's brace as Reading secured a 2-2 draw with Tottenham, who had Tom Huddlestone dismissed for violent conduct.

Manchester City and West Ham will meet again after a dour goalless draw at Upton Park.

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Moyes needs convincing Arsenal were better?

Arsenal surprised as lot of people yesterday by battling back from a goal down to beat Everton 4-1 at Goodision Park.

The win moved Arsenal to the top of the Premier League - 2 points clear of Manchester United - to see in the New Year.

However, Everton manager David Moyes says that he thinks that Everton were the better footballing side during the game.

He said: "For all the stuff talked about the way they play, it was not their usual type of goals that beat us. We cannot hide that we made mistakes for the goals, but I will take some convincing that Arsenal were better than us.

Moyes continued "It was us who played the football and Arsenal who went direct. I'd find it hard to view it differently."

Of course what Mr Moyes is ignoring is the fact that on a cold, wet Merseyside night Arsenal scored four goals away from home to win by some margin.

Both sides had 10 shots, although Arsenal were more accurate with a 7-3 advantage on target - however the biggest difference was in the accurate finishing and quality defending.

For all the talk that Mr Moyes offers about the Everton style of play - the passing movements only really happened after Everton were 1-2 and then 1-3 behind, and Arsenal allowed the Toffees to play in the middle 3rd of the pitch.

Yes - Everton did make more passes - when they were losing on the scoreboard and Mr Moyes ignores the key areas of the game in his assessment.

The league table is NOT ranked according to possession stats - if it was then Arsenal would be runaway champions - instead it's ranked according to match results and goals scored and conceded.

Arsenal made one defensive mistake (and were punished) while Everton made half a dozen - and at the top level that's far too many to expect to win.

Quite simply Arsenal were better because they scored four times while playing away from home - and that's usually enough to win any game ...

(unless of course you are Reading)

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