Pools tips for this weekend October 2-3

Pick of the draws: There is little to separate Stoke and Blackburn, who both had fine away wins at the weekend. They meet at the Britannia Stadium. Gerard Houllier has made a good start as Aston Villa’s manager and his team are tipped to nick a point at Tottenham, whose Premier League progress has been slowed by injuries. In the Championship, Leicester are in turmoil and will struggle to gain more than a draw at home to Scunthorpe, who tend to punch above their weight. Nigel Clough’s Derby must be in better heart after two wins in a row and can stop Swansea’s run of four consecutive home victories. In Scotland, Falkirk (third in Division One) v Cowdenbeath (fourth) is the most likely stalemate.

Away days: Although Everton have still to win in the Premier League, they are playing better than their lowly position suggests. They may get that bit of luck they need at Birmingham, who are due a setback at home after going a year unbeaten at St Andrew’s. Cardiff can strengthen their Championship promotion challenge by beating Barnsley while Norwich are expected to recover from their surprise home defeat by Hull with a victory at Bristol City. Free-scoring Watford are on course to make it four away wins out of five when they travel to Sheffield United. In League One, Swindon look capable of taking maximum points from their trip to Dagenham & Redbridge.

Homes sweet homes: West Ham can follow up last Saturday’s success over London rivals Tottenham by beating injury-troubled Fulham. Hull may have turned the corner with that away victory against Norwich last Saturday and can see off Coventry. Ground advantage should give Huddersfield the edge over Bristol Rovers in their League One clash while Plymouth ought to benefit from Hartlepool’s long, tiring journey to Devon. Put your faith in Barnet to win the battle of the League Two strugglers against Hereford.

Treble chance (home teams): Stoke, Tottenham, Doncaster, Leicester, Swansea, Southampton, Bradford City, Bury, St Johnstone, Falkirk.

Best draws: Stoke, Tottenham, Leicester, Swansea, Falkirk.

Aways: Everton, Cardiff, Norwich, Watford, Swindon.

Homes: Liverpool, West Ham, Hull, Huddersfield, Oldham, Plymouth, Accrington, Aldershot, Barnet.

Pools tips for this weekend 25-26 September

Pick of the draws: Premier League newcomers Blackpool have already suffered heavy defeats at Arsenal and Chelsea but will surely find Blackburn less formidable opponents at Bloomfield Road. In the Championship, Leeds will have their work cut out at Elland Road against Sheffield United, who are managed by the former Leeds player Gary Speed. Nottingham Forest have drawn all three of their home matches in their surprisingly sluggish start. Don't be surprised if they make it four against Swansea, who are tipped to gain their first away point of the season.  Scotland could provide its fair share of draws this weekend with Hamilton v Kilmarnock (Scottish Premier) and Cowdenbeath v Dundee (Scottish First) the most likely stalemates.


Away days: Ipswich are riding high in the Championship and will feel confident of handing Scunthorpe their third home defeat of the season. Huddersfield's remarkable second-half comeback against Yeovil took them to the top of League One. They are capable of staying there by winning at Swindon. Southend should be too strong for League Two strugglers Hereford while Bradford City are showing signs of emerging from their trough and can climb the table with victory at Northampton.


Homes sweet homes: Watford's 6-1 triumph at Millwall last Saturday was the result of the weekend and marks them out as Championship promotion contenders. They are overdue a home win and will probably get it against Gordon Strachan's Middlesbrough. In League One, Bristol Rovers have not done themselves justice so far but should rectify that when they entertain Notts County. Morecambe can make life more painful for bottom club Barnet. Stockport are on the upgrade and Aldershot have good reason to be apprehensive when they visit Edgeley Park.


Treble chance (home teams): Blackpool, Cardiff, Leeds, Nottingham Forest, Rochdale, Rotherham, Hamilton, St Mirren, Cowdenbeath, Raith.


Best draws: Blackpool, Leeds, Nottingham Forest, Hamilton, Cowdenbeath.


Aways: Tottenham, Ipswich, Huddersfield, Southend, Bradford City.


Homes: Birmingham, Coventry, Derby, Norwich, Watford, Bristol Rovers, Crewe, Morecambe, Stockport.

Pools tips for this weekend 18-19 September

Pick of the draws:  Fulham, even without their injured England striker Bobby Zamora, are a good bet to maintain their unbeaten record at Blackburn. Mark Hughes, the Fulham manager, will be doubly determined to do well on his return to his old club. Reading have yet to lose on the road in the Championship and should keep that run going at Middlesbrough, who have been mediocre. 

Rochdale are surprising everybody in League One, where they are unbeaten away. They are tipped to keep that record intact at MK Dons. Although Southampton have been boosted by the appointment of former Scunthorpe boss Nigel Adkins as manager, they will probably have to settle for a point against Colchester at St Mary’s. Two high-scoring teams in League Two, Burton and Crewe, meet in what is likely to be another stalemate.

Away days: Manchester City’s performances have been better than their results so far. They can rectify that at lowly Wigan on Sunday. Newly promoted Dagenham & Redbridge are finding life tough in League One and visiting Bristol Rovers are not expected to show any sympathy. Table-topping and free-scoring Peterborough can enhance their promotion credentials with victory at Exeter. Bournemouth are worth a punt at Oldham while in League Two Gillingham will be confident of gaining that long-awaited away win against out-of-sorts Bradford City.

Homes sweet homes: Everton’s marvellous comeback against Manchester United at Goodison Park should inspire them to their first win of the season against Newcastle. West Bromwich finished strongly in their draw against Tottenham last Saturday and a repeat of that form would see them end Birmingham’s unbeaten run. Take a chance on Hull upsetting Nottingham Forest while Swansea, formidable on their own ground, are fancied to beat managerless Scunthorpe. In League Two, Chesterfield, who host Cheltenham, are a good bet to make it four home wins out of four.

Treble chance (home teams): Blackburn, Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Preston, MK Dons, Plymouth, Southampton, Barnet, Burton, Dundee.

Best draws: Blackburn, Middlesbrough, MK Dons, Southampton, Burton.

Aways: Manchester City, Bristol Rovers, Peterborough, Bournemouth, Gillingham.

Homes: Everton, Tottenham, West Bromwich, Barnsley, Hull, Swansea, Bury, Chesterfield, Oxford.

Pools tips for this weekend 11-12 September

Pick of the draws: Manchester United have begun well but Everton beat them convincingly at Goodison Park last season and, despite a poor start in the Premier League, are capable of holding them to a draw at the same venue this time. A draw is also within Blackpool's reach at Newcastle, with both promoted teams showing signs that they may survive in a higher division.
            
Notts County have come alive in League One and can continue their improvement at Charlton, who have lost two in a row. I have a hunch that Oldham, who are thriving under new manager Paul Dickov, will end Peterborough's 100 per cent home record, while in League Two don't be surprised if Barnet, who got off the mark in style against Cheltenham last Saturday, gain their first away point of the season at Lincoln.


Away days: Ipswich are worth backing to add to Portsmouth's gloom. Huddersfield, last season's League One play-off semi-finalists, should have too much firepower for Leyton Orient. Tranmere, who were surprising 1-0 winners over Peterborough last Saturday, are equipped to carry on the good work at Yeovil, who have slipped into the relegation zone. An improving Oxford are strongly fancied to beat Hereford, who have not won since the opening day of the season.


Homes sweet homes: Fulham to halt the early progress of Wolves at Craven Cottage. Scunthorpe's impressive home form should account for Bristol City, who are struggling to adjust to the sudden departure of manager Steve Coppell. Promoted Rochdale have surprised a few people and can continue their climb up League One by defeating Walsall. Swindon, 3-0 winners against deflated Southampton in the Johnstone Paints Trophy last week, are a good bet to do it again when they meet in the league.


Treble chance (home teams): Birmingham, Everton, Newcastle, Brighton, Charlton, Peterborough, Cheltenham, Lincoln, Dundee United, Dunfermline.


Best draws: Everton, Newcastle, Charlton, Peterborough, Lincoln.


Aways: Chelsea, Ipswich, Huddersfield, Tranmere, Oxford.


Homes: Fulham, Manchester City, Cardiff, Leeds, Scunthorpe, Bournemouth, Colchester, Rochdale, Swindon.

Arsenal's World Cup analysis Gunflash 540

Eleven Gunners were represented at this summer’s World Cup in South Africa and the one with the biggest smile at the end of it was midfield maestro Cesc Fabregas, who played a significant part in Spain lifting the Jules Rimet trophy for the first time. The Arsenal captain played the last 35 minutes of the final against Holland. During that period he missed a chance to break the deadlock when one-on-one with Holland’s goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg but typically made amends by creating the winner for Andres Iniesta four minutes from the end of extra time. 


It was somehow appropriate that a mediocre tournament should end with a sterile, ill-tempered match. The harassed English referee Howard Webb issued 13 yellow cards - easily a record for a World Cup final - the second of which led to John Heitinga’s dismissal in extra time, but the red card should have come out far earlier than it did. Holland’s Nigel de Jong and Mark van Bommel committed terrible first-half fouls which deserved instant dismissal but one suspects Webb was under considerable pressure from FIFA’s top brass to keep 22 players on the pitch for as long as possible in this football showpiece.


Arsenal’s Robin van Persie was the first to be carded for a rash foul and his evening failed to improve. Playing as a lone striker, the Dutchman hardly touched the ball for the first 20 minutes and he was forced to feed off scraps for the entire match. I cannot recall a scoring chance falling to Van Persie over the 120 minutes, which was an indictment of the negative way Holland played. Although Holland won every game apart from the final, it was a frustrating tournament for Van Persie, who scored only once - against Cameroon -and was never seen at his best. The Dutch were only four minutes away from taking the final into a penalty shoot-out but this cynical team were not a patch on the sides of 1974 and 1978 who entranced everybody but ultimately lost those World Cup finals to West Germany and Argentina respectively. Sadly, they did not deserve to make it third time lucky. Even their 1970s Dutch legend Johan Cruyff deplored their tactics and said he was pleased Spain won. At least Holland were responsible for one of the goals of the tournament which came from their 35-year-old captain and former Arsenal defender Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who scored from 35 yards in their 3-2 semi-final victory against Uruguay. He would love to have repeated the feat against Spain, his final bow before retiring.


The Spaniards, the pre-tournament favourites, deservedly added the World Cup to their European title of two years ago. They are a fine side, if slightly over-praised by some of the pundits. I do not think they are as appealing or as exciting as the team who won the European Championship in 2008. Fabregas was not first choice for them then and he was not first choice for them here. My view is that Spain would have won both trophies more convincingly if Fabregas had played more often. He is as creative as the Barcelona trio and fellow midfielders Xabi Alonso, Xavi Hernandez and Iniesta and more of a goal threat, as his 19 strikes for Arsenal last season suggest. Spain scored only eight goals in their seven matches, the last four of which ended 1-0. They remind me of Arsenal in many ways. Technically gifted, dominating possession but lacking width and a cutting edge. Their shooting seldom equalled their approach play and it was interesting that for all their fluency against Germany in the semi-finals - probably their best performance - their winning goal came from a corner fiercely headed home by Carles Puyol. 


Nicklas Bendtner was hindered by a groin injury throughout the tournament but still made his mark. He netted in Denmark’s 2-1 victory over Cameroon in the group stage, and it was his fine pass that led to Dennis Rommedahl’s spectacular second-half winner. Bendtner’s tournament ended when Japan defeated the Danes 3-1 in their final group game. 


Cameroon were another country who failed to clear the first hurdle. It might have been different if they had picked Alex Song in their first match against Japan. Instead, Song was confined to the substitutes’ bench as Cameroon lost 1-0 and by the time he did play - against Denmark - they were facing an uphill battle to qualify. Cameroon were the only country who lost every game in the World Cup.


Emmanuel Eboue did his utmost for Ivory Coast but his and his country’s cause was not helped by the negative mindset of manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, especially in their goalless draw with Portugal in the group stage. 


Philippe Senderos, who has since joined Fulham on a free transfer, was still an Arsenal player when the tournament started but he was injured during Switzerland’s startling 1-0 victory over Spain in their opening group match and did not take any further part. That proved to be the high point for Switzerland, for they went on to lose to Chile and were held to a goalless draw by Honduras.


Carlos Vela, the Mexico forward, was another injury victim and disappointed not to be more involved in their campaign, which ended in the round of 16 when they were beaten 3-1 by Argentina.


France was one of the few countries who did worse than England, so it was a World Cup to forget for Bacary Sagna, William Gallas, Abou Diaby and Gael Clichy, although Clichy spent most of his time on the subs’ bench. The hostility between the French players and manager Raymond Domenech boiled over and the ill-feeling was reflected in their listless displays against Uruguay, Mexico and South Africa. When former Arsenal striker  Nicolas Anelka was sent home after a row with Domenech, it looked as if most of the French players wanted to follow him. France finished bottom of their group but were only participating in the World Cup finals because Thierry Henry’s blatant handball which led to the winning goal against the Republic of Ireland in qualifying was not spotted by the referee or the linesman. A great pity, for the Irish would have made far worthier finalists. 


The reputations of two Arsenal players, Theo Walcott, of England, and Samir Nasri, of France, were enhanced by not going to the World Cup. I was one of those who felt that Walcott had not shown enough consistency to earn selection by manager Fabio Capello, but England made such a mess of things that he could scarcely have done worse than any of the first-choice players. Nasri, like Walcott, was downcast after being surprisingly excluded from a French party of 23 to South Africa but must have had mixed feelings after watching his colleagues implode. 


England looked worryingly vulnerable and disjointed in warm-up matches against Mexico and Japan and the feeling that the team had gone backwards since the end of qualifying was confirmed when the World Cup began in earnest. England and Capello fouled up big-time, failing to top a group that included the United States, Slovenia and Algeria and playing rubbish in the process. If England had beaten Algeria or the United States or scored one more goal against Slovenia they would not have had to face the vibrant Germans in the round of 16. However, England played so badly against Germany that they would probably have been defeated by Ghana if the group had turned out differently. 


What sank Capello, who is lucky to still be in a job, was not so much opting for a rigid 4-4-2 as relying on players who were not match fit. Ledley King and Gareth Barry ought to have been left at home while Wayne Rooney was so dire that it was hard to believe he was not hampered by an injury sustained a few months previously. The biggest embarrassment was when Emile Heskey was sent on against Germany with about 15 minutes left and England losing 4-1. Capello’s decision reminded me of 1992 when Graham Taylor took Gary Lineker off with England needing to score against Sweden to stay in the European Championship. That proved to be the beginning of the end of Taylor’s time as England manager. Could Capello suffer a similar fate?


World Cup 2010 will be remembered for the unpopular Jabulani ball and the endlessly irritating vuvuzela. The tournament also saw big-name players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres, Kaka, Rooney, and Steven Gerrard flop. One of the best matches was the third-place fixture between Germany and Uruguay - a game which few felt the World Cup needed. The absence of fear, however, encouraged both teams to be adventurous and it was difficult to recall one backward pass. If only the same could have been said for the rest of the competition. Instead, safety-first proliferated and some countries, notably Greece, Switzerland and Portugal, seemed frightened to cross the halfway line. Incidentally, New Zealand, the World Cup outsiders, were the only country to go home undefeated. Funny old game eh?