Toyota Football Fever Show 9

What the UK papers said this week?

1) Football’s Gnash of the Day

Striker Jermain Defoe amazingly bit the arm of Javier Mascherano after being brought down by the West Ham midfielder last weekend during their Premiership game at White Hart Lane.

Defoe’s face was contorted with anger as he put the bite on , but it seems now that Defoe is unlikely to face any further punishment for his strange attack.
Mascherano felt the incident was “an unexpected and outrageous attack”, but Tottenham manager Martin Jol was happy to label Defoe's actions as no more than a "comical nibble".

2) Hammer Horrors in Training Bust-up

ALAN PARDEW’S reign as West Ham manager has been dealt two more hammer blows. He is already reeling from the Carling Cup shame at Chesterfield, but it emerged Marlon Harewood and Nigel Reo-Coker were involved in a training ground bust-up just hours before Tuesday’s 2-1 Saltergate humiliation.

Striker Harewood and his skipper blew their tops during a practice session after Harewood lost possession of the ball, triggering an angry tirade from England Under-21 midfielder and captain Reo-Coker.

The two team-mates then let rip with a furious finger-jabbing exchange for several minutes as home truths were aired about the team’s plight at the foot of the Premiership and dire form.

3) Planet Hollywood Mogul buys into Toffees

Millionaire Planet Hollywood and Hard Rock Café founder Robert Earl bought 23% of Everton shares this week from outgoing director Paul Gregg for about £9 million.

And Earl has promised to bring his friend Sylvester Stallone to Goodison Park. “Sylvester Stallone absolutely loves soccer and I spoke to him about the deal last night.

“He said he wants to come. He has just finished the last Rocky film and will be in England next January/February to promote it so, hopefully, he will be able to come up for a game then.”

Earl has recently been involved in setting up a Planet Hollywood resort and casino in Las Vegas, and with “super casinos” set to be introduced in the UK, this may be the reason he has now decided to move into a football club.

4) Southgate finally earns contract

GARETH SOUTHGATE is finally about to be handed a contract as Middlesbrough boss by chairman Steve Gibson.

The rookie manager has been operating for three months on his old playing contract, but his job prospects were boosted by back-to-back home wins over Everton and Newcastle, results which have convinced Gibson he is the right man to lead the club on a full-time basis.

Boro must still overcome a vote of Premiership chairman next month before they rubber-stamp Southgate’s appointment — because the former England defender does not hold the relevant coaching badges.

Southgate had been worried about his lack of a contract, as Alan Curbishley was linked with the job.

5) EastSvender

SVEN GORAN ERIKSSON has been offered the chance to return to English football as the next manager of West Ham.

Current Hammers chief Alan Pardew faces the axe after his side's humiliating Carling Cup exit at Chesterfield made it eight defeats in a row and another loss against Blackburn on Sunday will mean his immediate departure and the money-men who aim to take charge of the Upton Park club by the end of next week held secret talks with the former England boss Eriksson last Sunday about replacing Pardew.

Israeli hotels billionaire Eli Papouchado, who will supply the bulk of the £100million to underwrite the consortium headed by Iranian-born Kia Joorabchian, sounded out Eriksson in Tel Aviv. The pair had a long meeting at an exclusive restaurant in a meeting brokered by Israeli superagent Pini Zahavi.

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Quotes of the Week

"To receive a bite was the worst thing that has happened to me since I came to England," says Argentinean misfit Javier Mascherano. ‘warming the bench for a team that hasn’t scored in the league for over 700 minutes’, obviously doesn’t qualify.

"I shave my chest. It's my biggest grooming secret. And I used to be a soap and water guy but now I use moisturiser" Chelsea bloater Frank Lampard showing he’s a real man.

"It seems like the devil is always trying to get God's child. People can keep trying to bring me down but they will never catch me" Portsmouth’s Lomana Lua-Lua is either getting a little over concerned, or has been taking lessons from Eric Cantona.

"Stephen Hunt has taken an absolute battering over the last week for his supposed challenge on Petr Cech". Steve Sidwell comes down in support of teammate Stephen Hunt, who obviously now knows how Petr Cech’s skull feels.

And a special retrospective quote by Alan Pardew from August 31st…

"What a fantastic day for West Ham United Football Club. Not only am I excited by the arrivals of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano. I have no doubt that this deal will give us a real chance to compete with the very best teams in the Premiership and in Europe.” … well to be fair, Chesterfield definitely aren’t one of the very best in the Premiership or Europe.

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Last Weeks Premiership Results

Wigan 4	Man City 0
Heskey (2) Dunne (o.g. 4) Camara (65) Valencia (67)

Report: Steve McClaren missed a masterful performance from Emile Heskey as Wigan put their early-season misery behind them at the expense of hapless Manchester City, whose fans turned on them at the end of a 4-0 rout. The England head coach had been due to visit the JJB Stadium, but McClaren called off his trip about an hour before kick-off, and missed the former England man’s performance.

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Charlton 0	Watford 0

Report: Bottom club Charlton stopped the rot with a goalless draw against fellow strugglers Watford at The Valley - but under-pressure manager Iain Dowie was left with more questions than answers.

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Chelsea 2	Portsmouth 1
Shevchenko (55) Ballack (57)	Mwaruwari (69)

Report: Andriy Shevchenko finally ended his long wait for a Chelsea goal at Stamford Bridge as the champions moved clear at the top of the Premiership with a 2-1 home win over Portsmouth. Shevchenko struck in the 55th-minute to put the Blues ahead against Portsmouth, and Ballck got the second almost immediately. Portsmouth could not find a way back despite Benjani’s 69th minute consolation.

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Everton 2	Sheff Utd 0
Arteta (13) Beattie (pen. 33)

Report: Everton got back on track after four league games without a victory, with a darting run from Andrew Johnson, resulting in a foul in the box, which helped secure the second goal a key moment in their 2-0 win over Sheffield United at Goodison Park.

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Aston Villa 1	Fulham 1
Barry (pen 26)	Volz (45)

Report: Moritz Volz rescued a deserved 1-1 draw for Fulham on a day of mixed fortunes for Aston Villa skipper Gareth Barry in front of England head coach Steve McClaren. Barry put Villa ahead with a penalty after replacing Juan Pablo Angel as the side's spot-kick taker, but did nothing to stop Volz’s equalizer for Fulham on the stroke of half-time.

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Man Utd 2	Liverpool 0
Scholes (39) Ferdinand (66)

Report: Liverpool were outplayed and at times embarrassed at Old Trafford by a vibrant Manchester United side who are back on top of the Barclays Premiership with an 11-point lead on Rafael Benitez's distraught men after a 2-0 win. In his 500th game for United, only eight players previously have reached that total for the club, Paul Scholes scored a trademark goal from midfield and Rio Ferdinand belted in his first of the season after the break.

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Blackburn 0	Bolton 1
McCarthy (pen miss 88) Roberts (pen miss 90)	Ivan Campo (62)

Report: Jussi Jaaskelainen saved two penalties in two minutes as Bolton secured a remarkable 1-0 victory over Blackburn. The Finland shot-stopper came to the rescue with Blackburn chasing the game after Ivan Campo's opening goal.

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Middlesbrough 1	Newcastle 0
Yakubu (85)

Report: Gareth Southgate savoured more home comforts as Yakubu struck with five minutes remaining to sink north-east rivals Newcastle 1-0 and clinch his side's second Riverside Stadium victory in a week. The Nigerian striker rose highest to meet Stewart Downing's corner from the left and power it past helpless Steve Harper into the back of the net.

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Tottenham 1	West Ham 0
Mido (45)

Report: Tottenham heaped more misery on woeful West Ham thanks to a first-half strike from Egyptian striker Mido. The former Roma hitman scored his first goal for the club since he returned to White Hart Lane on a permanent basis in the summer.

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Reading 0	Arsenal 4
	Henry (1, pen 70) Hleb (39) Van Persie (50)

Report: Arsenal reinforced their claim to be genuine contenders for the Premiership trophy by dismantling top-flight newcomers Reading 4-0. Thierry Henry, who scored twice, Alexander Hleb and Robin van Persie supplied the goals as the Gunners reigned supreme at the Madejski Stadium - the venue where both Manchester United and Chelsea had been forced to battle all the way for points.

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Team of the Week - Wigan Athletic

One of the pre-season favourites for relegation, many felt that Paul Jewell’s side’s bubble would burst this year. They have been putting in some lacklustre performances so far this season to do nothing to dispel those thoughts, but they were excellent against an admittedly poor Man City side at the weekend, with Emile Heskey in particularly good form. Now they must take this form on and put a decent run together.

Player of the Week - Paul Scholes

Despite two last minute penalty saves to ensure his team won at Ewood Park, Jussi Jaaskelainen is not this week’s player of the week. It has to be a man who has been at the centre of his clubs last decade of success, Paul Scholes. Quiet off the pitch, but lethal when on form on it, he is beginning to show signs of his old form after completing his 500th match for his club this week, and even more surprising was that after the match he even gave an INTERVIEW!!!

Donkey of the Week - Rafa Benitez

As a phrase – “European Champions Cup winner’s Liverpool” is beginning to wear a bit thin, and with Rafa’s team’s performances and teamsheets at the moment as confused as a small child in an astrophysics lecture, Liverpool need some of their players to come back into form - preferably playing in their correct positions. Steven Gerrard is apparently becoming disillusioned with life under Rafa, and a move back to the middle for him seems imperative for the Spanish tinkerman’s team to start getting some decent results together.

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Upcoming Premiership Games

Sheff Utd v Chelsea
Suspensions
Injuries SHF - NONE
CHE - Cech, (Cudicini)
Prediction 1-2 (Actual 0-2)

Reason: This would seem like another game that Chelsea should be expected to grind out three points and maintain their good run, and they probably will. Sheffield United seem to have more fight than the other new boys, but less skill – and they now seem to have settled into the role of relegation battlers, but should give Chelsea a good game here.

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Arsenal v Everton
Suspensions
Injuries ARS - Adebayor, Eboue, Ljungberg, Lauren, Baptista, (Diaby)
EVE - Weir, Hibbert, Naysmith, Pistone, (Valente)
Prediction 3-1 (Actual 1-1)

Reason: Arsenal look in ominously good form, with their flowing football returning and players coming back into form. Everton will no doubt battle at the Emirates Stadium and make it hard for Arsenal, and Andy Johnson will carry a threat on the break, but it is hard to see anything other than another three points for Arsene Wenger’s men.

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Bolton v Man Utd
Suspensions BOL - Nolan
Injuries BOL - Pedersen, O’Brien, Gardner, (Faye)
MAN - Silvestre, Ji-Sung, (Heinze)
Prediction 0-3 (Actual 0-4)

Reason: This promises to be a hugely interesting game, with both teams in great form, but with Man Utd always looking and Rooney due to break his bad patch, I can see Man Utd going on a riot!

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Fulham v Wigan
Suspensions WIG - Pearson
Injuries FUL - Boa Morte, Bullard, Christanval, Crossley, Pembridge, Elliott, Elrich
WIG - Skoko, Taylor
Prediction 2-1 (Actual 0-1)

Reason: Wigan will be on a high after last weeks performance against Man City, but Chris Coleman has his Fulham side playing well, particularly at home and I would imagine that the Craven Cottage advantage will tell with Fulham taking a close game.

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Liverpool v Aston Villa
Suspensions LIV - Dudek
Injuries LIV - Bellamy, Agger, Kewell
AST - Delaney, Samuel, Moore, (Whittingham)
Prediction 1-1 (Actual 3-1)

Reason: This is a game that Liverpool must win – they are already eleven points off the pace in the league. Watch for whether Steven Gerrard is reinstated to his favoured central midfield position, as I feel that with him driving the game Liverpool could prove too much for Aston Villa’s unbeaten record. Without Gerrard firing though, O’Neill’s men should battle for the draw.

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Portsmouth v Reading
Suspensions
Injuries POR - Stefanovic
REA - Kitson, Murty, Mate, Brown, Cox, Halls, Ujah, (Convey)
Prediction 2-0 (Actual 3-1)

Reason: Reading took a bit of a bloody nose last week against Arsenal, and that may have affected their confidence slightly. Portsmouth’s early season success has been built on a strong defence, and I can see Reading having problems scoring here – Portsmouth should win by a couple.

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Watford v Tottenham
Suspensions
Injuries WAT - King, (Carlisle)
TOT - Zokora, Tainio, Malbranque, (Davenport)
Prediction 1-1 (Actual 0-0)

Reason: Watford will be keen to get their first win of the season in this London derby, but are lacking the firepower at the moment. Although with Tottenham still not quite back to their best I feel that Watford will get something out of the game with a draw.

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Newcastle v Charlton
Suspensions
Injuries NEW - Sibierski, Given, Owen, Emre
CHA - Lisbie, Gibbs, (Traore), (Sorondo)
Prediction 2-1 (Actual 0-0)

Reason: Glenn Roeder’s Newcastle have been quite dreadful recently, and without Shay Given to stop the goals flooding in, look dangerously exposed at the back. A home game against the bottom side is exactly what they need at this time though, and I feel that their strikeforce will prove too much for Charlton in a close win.

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West Ham v Blackburn
Suspensions WHM - Konchesky
BLA - Savage
Injuries WHM - Bowyer, Ashton
BLA - Reid, Nelson, Enckelman
Prediction 2-1 (Actual 2-0)

Reason: Alan Pardew is on seemingly thin ground at the moment. West Ham are not only losing, but playing poorly and not scoring as well. Pardew knows that to win the fans back, he needs good performances and he will be desperate for the Hammers to attack against Blackburn at Upton Park. Despite Blackburn’s strength, I can see a win for West Ham here finally.

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Man City v Middlesbrough
Suspensions
Injuries MAC - Dabo, Isaksson, Jihai, (Beasley), (Ireland)
MID - Viduka, Riggott, Christie, Ehiogu
Prediction 1-0

Reason: Man City, and under-fire boss Stuart Pearce have important players coming back into the side for this game. Thatcher returns from suspension and Reyna, Trabelsi, Ireland, Distin and Beasley could well return from injury. These faces coming back in should wipe memories of the horror performance last week and enable City to get all three points against an inconsistent Boro.

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