Once again, Manchester United had to come from behind to win it. It is getting to the point where United only burst into life when the clock ticks into its thirtieth minute and the opposition are a couple of goals to the good.

Their last three home games have followed a similar pattern; a clumsy and careless start is followed by an opposition goal which stuns the crowd. From that moment, United slowly click through the gears and find an equaliser. Then, as if the first third of the game is erased from their memories, they go on to control the match with ease and effortlessly cast aside the opposing team. Obviously, the 3-2 defeat to Tottenham didn’t  the trend. However, Tottenham will be the first to tell you that they were fortunate to leave Old Trafford with their three points intact.

Last Saturday, Stoke silenced Old Trafford with a second minute opener. They then should have capitalised on United’s dreadful start by going two up, but Jonathan Walters was foiled by David De Gea. A few minutes later, Robin Van Persie’s inch-perfect cross found the forehead of Wayne Rooney who guided it into the back of the net. The game was as good as gone after that for Stoke save for a Michael Kightly goal that was swiftly ruled consolatory by another Rooney goal.

Likewise, the first twenty minutes of last night’s Champions League match against Braga was a similar affair. Alan handed Braga the perfect start with a header after less than two minutes. It was Braga’s first attack of note and they benefited from poor marking in the Man United box. Eighteen minutes later, Michael Carrick was turned inside out by Eder on the left flank, and a low drive into the box was directed in by Alan once more to make it 2-0.

The second goal seemed to have awoken the giant as Braga’s strict and rigid defending was undone by Van Persie and Kagawa before Hernandez headed home. Normality returned to Old Trafford with that goal, and when the referee blew the whistle to signal full time, the score-line read 3-2 to the home side.

That Man United have trailed in eight of their twelve games this season is no coincidence. There is no single root cause to explain the issue. Rather, it is a combination of factors.

Firstly, defensive errors have riddled United’s start to the season. Last night, Alex Buttner failed to press Alan when he headed in the opener, and then Michael Carrick showed that he is no centre back when he allowed Eder to turn him and cross for Alan with ease. Rio Ferdinand has been labelled as ‘over the hill’ by large sections of the media, a decline that Gareth Bale highlighted when Spurs won at Old Trafford just under a month ago. Patrice Evra has also come in for criticism recently, in that his advancing years is having a dramatic effect on his marauding style and his ability to deal with pacy wingers.

United are also suffering from a lack of options currently available at centre back. Phil Jones and Chris Smalling have been unavailable all season through injury, whilst Nemanja Vidic’s recurring knee injury means it may be some time before he is fully fit. The fact that Smalling and Jones are back in training is a big boost for Ferguson. Smalling in particular seems to have a great chance to stake his claim in the starting XI with the absence of Vidic and the concerns over Ferdinand. Likewise, the versatile Phil Jones can fill in at right back and therefore provide cover for Rafael, though the Brazilian has been United’s most impressive defender this year.

Finally, there seems to be a lack of bite in the midfield. Michael Carrick is the only defensive minded midfielder that Man United possess. Darren Fletcher arguably fits that category, but it will be a while before he is fully ready to influence United’s season.

During the summer, Ferguson bought in Shinji Kagawa in order to revitalise his side’s attack and to pose more of a threat through the middle. Along with Van Persie, Kagawa has been given every chance to cement his place in the first team. This may have come at a cost to United’s defensive balance. The midfield diamond that Ferguson is fielding is much more attack-orientated than his usual formations. His preferred midfield quartet at the moment seems to be Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley, Shinji Kagawa and Wayne Rooney. Of those four, only Carrick offers midfield cover for the defence. Rooney and Kagawa are obviously attack-minded, whilst Cleverley’s game is centred more around supplying an incisive pass rather than neutralising an opponent’s attack The likes of Anderson and Paul Scholes also lack the defensive nous to protect the backline, so at times the back four are very exposed. The new attacking thrust explains why Man United lead the way in the goalscoring charts so far this year, but it is also the reason why they have conceded a worryingly high number of goals.

Once Ferguson has a fully fit defence to choose from, opposition goals may well dry up. Their attacking might means that a porous defence may not have as big an impact on United’s season as it should, but the manager would be the first to tell you the key to the success of every team he has built at Old Trafford lies in a resolute and unforgiving backline.

Three games into the new season, and Liverpool is already in a state. It’s hardly a shocking revelation. In fact it’ll be easier to reflect over the past few years and pinpoint a time when they were not in crisis. Once again, the bane of the supporters is the club’s owners. Following the closure of the summer transfer window, Liverpool fans recoiled in anger at the removal of Andy Carroll and the lack of a replacement. In an instant, a realization dawned on the Liverpool faithful: Where are the goals going to come from? All of a sudden, Andy Carroll has been depicted as an acclaimed goal scorer and a vital component of the Liverpool squad despite the fact that for the previous eighteen months he was the laughing stock of English football having contributed a measly six league goals in his brief Anfield career.

In perspective, Liverpool had a fairly successful transfer window. Since Brendan Rodgers was assigned his post as manager in June, he has steadily gone about eradicating any remnant of the ill-fated reign of Kenny Dalglish. Key players during King Kenny’s tenure have been shipped out. Charlie Adam was sold to Stoke on deadline day, Jay Spearing was shipped out on loan to Championship side Bolton, whilst Dirk Kuyt and Maxi Rodriguez moved to Turkey and Argentina respectively to join Carroll on the outgoing list. Rodgers then went about stamping his own mark on the club and signed Joe Allen, Fabio Borini and Nuri Sahin, among others. The first two players Rodgers knows very well; Allen was a star of last season as Swansea broke tradition and claimed an excellent mid-table position in their first season in the top flight, and Borini impressed Swansea when on loan from Chelsea during the Swans’ promotion year in the Championship. On paper at least, you have to agree that Allen, Borini and Sahin represent an upgrade for Liverpool.

Therefore, Brendan Rodgers has a strong side to play with. A top six finish is certainly within their grasp, whilst a top four spot is not wholly impossible. The Reds have a strong spine with which to work with. Pepe Reina, Martin Skrtel, Daniel Agger, Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez represent a solid base to a team that should be much more competitive than what they have offered so far.

The fans do have a right to be unhappy with the poor start to the season. The 3-0 opening day defeat to West Brom immediately placed pressure on Rodgers, though they did improve in the following game to champions Man City. However, the defeat to Arsenal yesterday suggests that Liverpool lack the guile and steel to really challenge the top sides in England. Arsenal was in a similar state to Liverpool going into the game. They had yet to score in the league and put in two limp performances against Sunderland and Stoke in the build-up to the match at Anfield. Despite that, they outplayed Liverpool and deserved the win. That should be cause for concern for the Liverpool coaching staff.

The poor start means that Brendan Rodgers is already feeling the heat. You sense that he could be another Roy Hodgson in the making. After the international break, which is well timed from Liverpool’s point of view, they face Man United at home. A win against their hated rivals would get the fans behind Rodgers and inject confidence into the team to get their season going. A defeat, however, would turn the Kop against the manager even more, and the owners will inevitably come in for more abuse regarding their leadership of the club.

Regardless, the club owners and the current manager cannot be held accountable for the troubles at Anfield. Fenway Sports Group, led by John W. Henry, gave Dalglish over £100m to spend during his reign. He squandered it by over spending on the likes of Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing. FSG certainly didn’t help matters by selling Fernando Torres on the final day of the 2011 winter transfer window, but surely Dalglish could have recruited a better replacement than Andy Carroll?

In any case, the end result was an appalling 8th place finish and the sacking of the Liverpool legend. Rodgers has inherited a side short of morale and in desperate need to placate the supporters. Henry and his consortium shouldn’t have to release an open letter to the fans explaining their actions over the summer, but such is the drama at Anfield that every move is scrutinized and compared to glorious times gone by when the club were the cream of Europe’s crop. Unless Rodgers is given the time and space to reverse the club’s fortunes and get them performing once more, starting with a top 6 finish this season, Liverpool will continue to be stuck in the mire with finger pointing being the more prevalent sport than football at Anfield.

The appointment of Andre Villas-Boas by Daniel Levy may have more financial connotations to it than it does football. The Portuguese was a free agent and thus Levy did not have to spend millions in compensation fees. Secondly, AVB’s failures at Chelsea and his young age meant that he could hardly command hefty wages and his pay-packet is unlikely to be much larger than the one Redknapp would have been taking home, if at all.

Despite all that, Villas Boas’ appointment can be justified from a footballing perspective. He is a very tactically astute manager. This is in stark contrast to Redknapp, whom Rafael Van Der Vaart claims would put the starting eleven up in the dressing room twenty minutes before warm up on match day and say: “You play left or right, work hard, have fun and show the fans your best.” This is obviously a simplistic view of Redknapp’s tactical nous, but it could hardly be any more different to Villas Boas. AVB supposedly spends hours mulling over certain issues in his sides line-ups, researching his opponents and obsesses over every movement on the training field. Come kick off, every player knows his exact role he is expected to play down to the last detail.

The current Spurs squad would be very appealing to Andre Villas-Boas. It is packed with fast, skilful players that fit like a glove into his preferred system of a high pressing 4-3-3. At Porto, his players mastered this system to devastating effect, winning the Portuguese League in unbeaten fashion and lifting the Europa League in his first season in charge. He got the most out of Porto’s most talented individuals such as Hulk, Moutinho and Fernando.

In short, Porto’s tactics were not unlike Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. Starting from attack, every player pressed and closed down the ball to force the opponent into a mistake. The backline pushed high up the pitch to reduce the space the opposition had to manoeuvre, whilst the midfield was a mixture of hustlers and playmakers.  When the ball was won back, Porto’s attack would widen, their full backs would burst forward in support and their centre forward would take up the “number 9” position to finish off attacks.

Tottenham can play a very similar system to that of AVB’s successful Porto side. The key however is if Spurs can keep hold of Luka Modric and successfully sign Emmanuel Adebayor. Daniel Levy is a very shrewd businessman, and will not let Modric leave for a penny less than his asking price. If Real Madrid is unwilling to match Levy’s price, Modric will stay for at least another season. The same thing happened last summer with Chelsea when AVB highlighted the midfielder as the missing piece of his jigsaw. As each day passes the likelihood of Modric staying increases, and the Croatian is professional enough to work hard on the pitch and remain focus on Tottenham’s aims should he have to stay at White Hart Lane for another year. In the case of Adebayor, he is a striker that Spurs desperately needs. Jermain Defoe is not good enough to bag 25 goals a season, and the Togolese footballer showed last season that he can be very clinical when he wants to. Villas Boas’ side needs a proven goalscorer, and Adebayor could benefit immensely from the crossing of Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon.

In central midfield, Spurs seem to have a natural balance. Luka Modric is the chief playmaker and the clubs most important player. He will be crucial in the transition between the defense and attack, whilst alongside him will likely be Scott Parker who will kick-start attacks with his harrying and tackling (after he recovers from injury in four weeks). Sandro is one player who could benefit from AVB’s preferred line up. Giving his defensive and attacking capabilities, he is a versatile player and could fill the role required in any midfield position. In support will be the likes of Tom Huddlestone, Jake Livermore as well as new signing Gylfi Sigurdsson. Defensively, the two full backs of Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Kyle Walker are both very quick and more than capable of aiding attacks, though the defensive sides of their games need to improve.

Spurs’ major issue seems to be a lack of depth. Should one of their wingers pick up an injury, Danny Rose is likely to deputize and he is not good enough to help push Spurs to a top 4 finish. In central defense, the club may feel the loss of Ledley King. Jan Vertonghen seems like a good signing, but his cover comes in the shape of William Gallas who is on his last legs at 35, or youngster Steven Caulker who is yet to make a competitive appearance for the club.

So long as Levy accepts a top 4 finish as satisfactory, Villas-Boas may be given enough time to reap the rewards of his system. The pressure at Tottenham will likely be easier to handle than that of Chelsea. Arsenal will be their rivals for the last Champions League spot, and Spurs have shown over the past few seasons that they can compete with the best. If all goes well this year, Villas Boas could easily find himself back in the Champions League and can really put his managerial abilities to the test. On the other hand, should a repeat of his Chelsea fiasco take place, his reputation as a top-level manager will be in tatters, and Levy’s hard work in developing Tottenham into a top four side will be undone in an instant. It’ll be interesting to see if this gamble pays off.

As a staunch Manchester United fan, I have waited with bated breath for the best part of a fortnight awaiting news that Lucas Moura, the latest teenage sensation from Brazil, has finally signed for the club and has announced his desire to wrest back the title from Manchester City. Imagine, then, my utter dismay of reading that Paris Saint-Germain have gazumped United in the bidding war and have agreed a transfer fee with Sao Paulo for the wonderkid.

On paper, it seems like a no-brainer for Lucas. On the one hand, there is Manchester United; perhaps the biggest football club in the world with a fierce tradition and strong European credentials who play in the strongest league in Europe. Then there is PSG, runners-up in the weak French league to Montpellier, fourth seeds in the latest edition of the Champions League and a history that stretches all the way back to 1970. The chasm between the two clubs on the pitch could hardly be bigger.

Now let’s talk figures. A controlling stake of PSG was brought by the Qatari Investment Authority (QIA) in 2011. The QIA is Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, which essentially means that everything the state earns is invested into this fund. Therefore, PSG’s owners have the potential to pump £100 billion annually into the club. This means that PSG manager Carlo Ancelotti can sign effectively any player that is willing to move to Paris, play in an under par league and be paid mammoth wages in return. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Thiago Silva have already agreed to do just that this summer. They join the likes of Javier Pastore and Thiago Motta amongst a pool of talent worth €200m.

Manchester United are at the other end of the financial spectrum. Financially, they are in dire straits. They are owned by the notorious Glazer family who seized control of the club in a leveraged takeover in 2005. Depending on what figures you trust, the Glazers have taken nearly £800m out of the club since 2005 and have saddled them with debts that currently stand at £420m. The highlight of the summer for the fans of Manchester United was not the unveiling of a marquee, multi-million pound signing, but the announcement that the club were to float on the New York Stock Exchange in order to raise funds to pay off the debts. Under the Glazers, the transfer strategy has changed dramatically. United used to dominate English football with big-money signings. Nowadays, young and talented players are recruited with the aim of selling them on in the future for a tidy profit. The likes of Javier Hernandez, Chris Smalling and Nani are testament to this. United can however pay out when they want. Shinji Kagawa moved to Old Trafford for £17m last month, for example, but they simply cannot compete with the oil rich juggernauts of PSG, Manchester City and Chelsea.

With Lucas Moura moving to Paris, he will no doubt be earning wages that match his large fee. At 19, his potential is considered to be massive. He has represented Brazil 15 times already at such a tender age, and some consider him to be a better prospect than Brazil’s young darling Neymar.

The Moura deal just goes to highlight the importance money possesses in today’s modern footballing world. Just over a decade ago, Roy Keane shocked English football fans by demanding £52,000 a week to stay at United. In comparison, Danny Welbeck had a solid debut season last year, and was rewarded with a deal worth nearly £50,000 a week. One final comparison: Zinedine Zidane smashed the world transfer record in 2001 when he moved to Real Madrid from Juventus for about £45m. Zidane is considered the best player of his generation, and one of the all-time footballing greats. Today, that fee would probably get you a decent centre midfielder who is on the back of an encouraging debut season, or a goalscorer in a mid-level league who banged in a mighty 20 goals last year. One thing is for sure, Lucas Moura is under immense pressure to succeed when he moves to PSG. Should he be the next Denilson, however, then the €45m fee would merely be a drop in the ocean for the clubs wealthy owners. Or should that be a drop of oil?

The future of soccer is unsustainable. You know its morals are wrong when you watch Samuel Eto’o, a multiple Champions League winner and one of Europe’s most deadliest strikers, move to the war torn region of Dagestan to play for FC Anzhi Makhachkala for wages of £350,000 a week. Closer to home, Wayne Bridge, a one-time England international, cannot even make it to the Manchester City bench yet he takes home a reported £90,000 a week. Over the last two seasons, he has amassed twenty-three league games for West Ham and Sunderland, and in the process he has earned £8.6 million. Something has to change, and fast.

So the fixtures are out, not long after the completion of the 2011 season.  Here are some of the matches I’ve circled and already entered on my calendar.   In a month or so we’ll find out which of the first few matches are moved to Sunday kickoffs, and who gets the early and late Saturday kickoffs in the ‘primetime’ television spots.

Opening Week — August 13

Swansea gets the toughest assignment of the promoted sides, starting at Man City. Norwich has a winnable match at Wigan, and only the newest London side, QPR, opens at home, against Bolton.  The champions start their defense at West Brom, while the pick of the week is probably Liverpool v Sunderland, a match that has provided terrific entertainment over the last few years.

Matches between the big clubs

Arsenal v Liverpool gets us started on Gameweek 2, in a match that could very well be moved to Sunday August 21.  Spurs might get the late kickoff Saturday the 20th when they go back to “the scene of the crime” with Nani and United at Old Trafford.  Arsenal visit United in week 3 in a humongous clash on the 27th or 28th of August with City at White Hart Lane the same weekend.  Chelsea also have an early trip to Old Trafford this season, visiting on the 17th or 18th of September in Gameweek 5.  The massive first clash has United at Anfield on October 15/16 in Gameweek 8.

Big Derbies

Sunderland v Newcastle in Gameweek 2 August 20
Gunners @ White Hart Lane  as well as Everton v Liverpool on October 1
West Brom v Wolves October 15
Man United v Man City October 22
Chelsea v Arsenal October 29

Holiday Fixtures

With a Sunday Christmas, the teams are scheduled to play on Monday Boxing Day Dec 26, then on New Year’s Eve Saturday and again with New Year’s fixtures on the Monday January 2 bank holiday.    The pick of those matches looks like Man City v Liverpool on January 2.  Fulham has derbies at Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day and then home to Arsenal on the 2nd.

2012

United’s visit to the Emirates comes relatively early, on January 21/22 and their Stamford Bridge visit is 2 weeks later on February 4/5.  Liverpool’s Old Trafford trip is also early, on February 11/12.  Spurs are at the Emirates on February 25/26 with Arsenal at Anfield the following weekend.  Man City come to London for their Emirates visit on April 7/8.   The Arsenal v Chelsea derby is later, on April 21/22.

The run-in

A huge late game will be United’s Eastlands crosstown trip on April 28/29.  United then host Swansea before finishing at the Stadium of Light on Sunday the 13th of May.  The season ends earlier this year due to the Euros.  After the derby, City go to Newcastle and host QPR.  Chelsea finish QPR, @ Liverpool, Blackburn.  Arsenal are @Stoke, Norwich, @West Brom, with Liverpool closing @Norwich, Chelsea, @Swansea.  Spurs close with Blackburn, @Villa, Fulham.  A potential season-closing 6-pointer is Wigan v Wolves, with Blackburn v Wigan and QPR v Stoke the week before.  Note that the FA Cup Final will be the 12th of May, so final Gameweek fixtures will be moved; could that result in non-simultaneous matches to decide the title or relegation??

The Championship

With my Hammers relegated to the ‘nPower’, I see that we start life with a very tricky home fixture to Cardiff on the 6th of August.  I’ll be fascinated to see what the kickoff time will be for the September 17 trip to Millwall.  Perhaps 7 am London time?!?  The final Gameweek for that league will be April 28, so that play-offs can be completed in plenty of time for the Euros.

Which matches have you circled?

The love you take

Is equal to the love you make — Paul McCartney

A terrific season comes to an end.  Manchester United has deservingly won the Championship.  We saw tremendous soccer at times from Arsenal and Chelsea and Manchester City, and at the beginning of the season, from Tottenham.  But no one was as consistently strong as Sir Alex’s men.

Here is your definitive guide to the various Sunday scenarios:

For 5th

Spurs qualify for Europe (1) if they beat Birmingham; (2) if Villa beat Liverpool, or (3) if both matches end in draws.  Otherwise Liverpool get the automatic spot.

Relegation

West Ham are relegated and finish rock bottom.   2 of the other 5 (Blackburn, Wolves, Birmingham, Blackpool, and Wigan) go down.  Wolves and Blackburn are the only two who fully control their own destiny as the winner of their match is safe.  If (say) at halftime, Wigan, Blackpool & Birmingham are all getting hammered, Wolves & Blackburn could pass the ball back and forth to each other and both be safe with a draw.  That is the danger for FS+ televising that match.  Blackburn, playing on the road, has a far greater incentive for a draw, given their better goal difference than Wolves.  So if Blackburn draw, the only way they are relegated is if ALL of Wigan, Blackpool, and Birmingham win.  So Blackburn could easily try to park the bus.  If Wolves draw, they would be relegated if 2 or more of Wigan, Blackpool & Birmingham win.  For Blackpool and Wigan, in the Bottom 3, they must get points to have any hope of safety.  If one of them draws and Birmingham and the other loses, the one with the draw is safe.  They really all need to go for wins.  Given who Birmingham and Blackpool are playing, you’d think Wigan just might be safe by beating Stoke without having to run up the score.  If all 3 win, they would all be safe if Blackburn and Wolves draw.  But if there is a winner in that match, then one of Birmingham, Blackpool and Wigan would still go down (assuming they all win) and it would come down to goal differential, with Birmingham on -20, Blackpool on -21 and Wigan on -22 to start the day.

For 3rd

City clinch 3rd if (1) they win at Bolton, (2) Fulham beats Arsenal, or (3) if both matches end in draws.  Otherwise Arsenal.

For Fair Play

England have clinched a 4th team for Europa League, joining Birmingham, Stoke, and Spurs/Liverpool.  It’s impossible to tell, given the range of scores that go into fair play (it’snot just yellow/red cards, but also fan behavior, player behavior, manager behavior, etc.), but it looks as if Spurs might just get it if Liverpool get 5th place.  Otherwise Fulham.  Blackpool has an outside shot.  The ‘winner’ of this competition gets to play up to 6 extra matches starting June 30.  That’s June 30.  If Birmingham are beating Spurs soundly, look for a flurry of Clattenburg cards at the end of the match!

And I conclude with a personal comment.  The roots of this weekly column came two years ago, when, as we started to get more and more EPL soccer available to us here in the US, I struggled each week to find out whether my beloved West Ham would be televised, and if so, when and on what channel.  I love the league too so I tried to figure out the best games, the best derbies to watch, the relegation battles, etc.  There were listings available, first from Oliver T’s wonderful soccertv.com, then at epltalk and elsewhere, but they were sometimes incomplete.  So for me it was a bit of a puzzle to find out the listings, who the commentators were, which station had first and second choice, etc.  I thought there might be other crazy soccer-lovers out there so I offered to the Gaffer to write this column occasionally.  Growing up, I had seen other columnists who would rate the American football games each week and thought I would emulate that style.  This year I ended up doing it for every single EPL match.  And it wasn’t easy.  Mostly because I run a business full-time.  And I traveled a lot.  I wrote this column in Switzerland, in Italy, in California, in Chicago, even in London!  I wrote it on planes, downloading various Fox and ESPN and other web sites before flying, so I could get you accurate information.  In the second half of this year, I figured out how to get advance referee appointments, and added those for each game.  While I made some mistakes, the great thing about the Internet is there are free fact-checkers everywhere!  And I was excoriated for far more than making an error or two.  My favorite comment called me David the Septic Tank; love that one.  But now, as the season comes to an end, so does this column.  I won’t be back next year.  And it’s not just because my Hammers were (deservingly) relegated.  The listings are generally available, the time commitment to write this column well is too high given my work and family constraints, and there wasn’t enough positive reinforcement to compensate. I would love to read such a column going forward, and would be happy to share the ‘secrets’ of the business with anyone interested in continuing the column.  The Gaffer knows where to reach me.

But enough about me.  On to the games!!

****:  Must-see.  Cancel all other activities.  Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***:  Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**:   Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*:    Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Sunday, May 22 (all times EDT)

**** Man Utd v Blackpool, 11 am, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com [Dean]
The reverse fixture was delayed from December to January 25 due to ice/snow, and what a game it was.  The Champions, like they did to my Hammers recently, came back from 2-nil down at halftime to win it, with late goals from Berbatov, Hernandez, and Berbs again to win it in a Tuesday night thriller.  United may play their Carling Cup roster, which will not please Wigan or Birmingham.  Remember Carlos Tevez scoring for West Ham at Old Trafford on the final day of the season, as United prepared to lift their trophy, to ensure safety?  That was just 4 years ago this week.  Can Charlie Adam do the same on Sunday?

**** Tottenham v Birmingham, 11 am, FSC, [Clattenburg]

I had to laugh when I saw the referee appointment for this match.  I believe this is the first time Spurs are seeing Clattenburg since the infamous Nani/Gomes goal.  While it became conventional wisdom that Spurs did not ‘want’ 5th/Europa, it appears that their alternative if they lose this match is to still go to Europe but start in June, they really should try to win this match!  The match in December ended 1-1 with Gardner equalizing late.  A Birmingham win will probably see them stay in the league next year.  Spurs’ inability to beat the bottom teams (they took 1 point of 6 from the abject Hammers) cost them a chance at Champions League.

**** Wolverhampton v Blackburn, 11 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv [Webb]

Blackburn destroyed Wolves in December, 3-nil (just after having been thumped themselves 7-1 at Old Trafford).  We know Wolves will fight for Mick, and some of us neutrals would prefer to see his side stay up, for the humor value alone of his post-match comments.  I’ve outlined the scenarios above:  the winner is safe, they may very well both be safe with a draw, and the loser might just stay up too.  So Fox has taken some chances making this the live match, vs. Stoke-Wigan.  But I’ll be watching, hoping for a back and forth multi-goal battle that goes down to the wire, with results in the other matches making this one incredibly meaningful for both sides.

**** Stoke v Wigan, 11 am, foxsoccer.tv & 1 pm (delayed) FS+ [Marriner]

I don’t think you’ll be able to watch Wolves v Blackburn live and then watch this one on tape-delay and hope to not know the score.  So 4-stars for those with foxsoccer.tv.  You’d have to call it a successful season for Tony Pulis’s boys.  Safely mid-table, a trip to Wembley, and heading to Europe next season!  Wigan fought back well against my we’d-be-safe-if-games-were-45-minutes brigade last week, but they’re going to have to win on the road, realistically, to have a shot at staying in the league.  I don’t know how hard Stoke will fight to ensure a top 10 finish, so Wigan will want to go for it early and hope Stoke concede.  Stoke scored 4 times in the December match at the DW, only Collins & Delap did so in the wrong net and the sides finished 2-2, with all four scored in the first half.

** Fulham v Arsenal, 11 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC, [Atkinson]
Arsenal have a shot, perhaps a long one, at finishing third in this disappointing conclusion to what looked like a bright season.  Fulham may be heading back to Europe and should focus on getting no cards if they want to go.

** Aston Villa v Liverpool, 11 am, espn3.com only [Probert]

Nice turnaround for Dalglish, but they may get to concentrate on the league only next year.  Villa has work to do.

*** Bolton v Man City, 11 am, espn3.com only [Foy]

City will go for 3rd and Bolton will probably put up a fight.  nil-1 anyone?

* Everton v Chelsea, 11 am, espn3.com only [Walton]

Ordinarily a fun watch to match; too bad it was scheduled for week 38.

* Newcastle v West Brom, 11 am, espn3.com only [Halsey]

What a terrific managerial change the Baggies made.

* West Ham v Sunderland, 11 am, espn3.com only [Taylor]

The last taste of the big time before Millwall comes to Upton Park

We’re winding down now, and nearing clarity.  United should win the title after a tremendous display of soccer against their arch-rivals Sunday.  And you can see them claim it with just a point at Blackburn early Saturday morning on the featured ESPN match.  The Champions League spots were sewn up mid-week with City’s revenge win against Spurs, so (if you care) watch Liverpool ensure a return to European football on Thursdays next season if they can do the same.  Meanwhile, City try to lift a trophy and just have to beat Stoke City at Wembley to do so.  That match is on FSC live at 10 am Eastern Saturday morning.

That just leaves the matter of the 3rd team coming up and the three teams going down.  QPR winning the Championship ensures at least 5 London sides again next year, and Norwich joins them.  The process of picking the final team will be decided over 5 matches, all of which will be shown in the US on FS+ & foxsoccer.tv, starting Thursday afternoon with Forest v Swansea.  At the bottom of the table, West Ham’s inability to beat Blackburn has probably cost them £40 million.  Their relegation battle at the DW is still must-watch TV Sunday morning.  We’ll also be watching Wolves visit to the Stadium of Light and Blackpool’s final match at Bloomfield Road.

[Please note that Fox has switched around some of the Sunday matches since I first posted this article.  If you are planning to be out of the house Sunday morning, I would advise recording as many of the matches as you can, in case something gets messed up or they change again.]

****:  Must-see.  Cancel all other activities.  Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***:  Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**:   Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*:    Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Thursday, May 12 (all times EDT)

** Nottiingham Forest v Swansea, Playoff semifinal Leg 1, 2:45 pm, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv [Dean]

The Reds (Forest) squeaked into the play-offs over Leeds via a last day nil-3 thumping at Crystal Palace.  Romantics would like to see them back in the premier league.  The Swans could make it an all-Welsh final if they and Cardiff were to advance.  Swansea were hoping that QPR might be docked points and thus the Jacks would advance automatically but they now need to play their way in.

Friday, May 13

** Reading v Cardiff, Playoff semifinal Leg 1, 2:45 pm, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv [Halsey]

The Royals (Reading) were relegated in 2007 so they are hoping for a reasonably quick return; the Madejski is a reasonably nice 24,000 seat bowl stadium.  Their stadium is only 38 miles west of Craven Cottage.  Meanwhile, Cardiff were so close to returning to the EPL last year, losing in the play-off to Blackpool after twice having the lead at Wembley!  If you’re a neutral this might be a good team to root for, and will almost certainly have the most recognizable names, notably Craig Bellamy, who at times last year was as good as any player in the EPL.  I’ve only given two stars to the first legs as usually the action really heats up in the second ‘half’.

Saturday, May 14

**** Blackburn v Man Utd, 7:45 am, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com [Dowd]

I’ll keep this at 4 stars as we really should watch the match where the Champions are crowned.  It may be anticlimactic (though Blackburn would benefit hugely from just one more point).

*** Blackpool v Bolton, 7:45 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv [Marriner]

Blackpool could win twice and still go down, but this is absolute must-win.

*** Sunderland v Wolverhampton, 7:45 am, FSC [Jones]

Wolves can’t imagine they’ve done enough yet.

* West Brom v Everton, 7:45 am, foxsoccer.tv & 12:30 pm (delayed) FSC/FD [Taylor]

**** FA Cup Final, Stoke v Man City, 10 am, FSC/FD [Atkinson]

Great to see two new teams in this cup with supporters desperately happy to see their side lift a trophy.  City are favorites and have the better players, but Stoke have come through in these big matches.  Let’s hope Etherington & Huth can play.

Sunday, May 15

* Chelsea v Newcastle, 8:30 am, FSC/FD [Mason]

No great reason to watch.

** Arsenal v Aston Villa, 11 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv [Oliver]

Fox missed it again on this one.  A meaningless match at the Emirates in favor of the humongous match at the DW.

*** Liverpool v Tottenham, 11 am, FSC/FD [Webb]

For 5th.  Think it will be red.

**** Wigan v West Ham, 11 am, foxsoccer.tv & 1 pm (delayed, and changed from 5 pm) FS+ [Dean]

Still frustrating (if you don’t have foxsoccer.tv) that Fox won’t show this match live on television, but at least they have now moved it up to 1 pm from the original 5 pm showing, and some of us will be glued to the internet to see it live.   The Hammers destroyed the Latics back in Upton Park way back in November; they will certainly need Parker back to have any hope of staying up.  But this is what relegation battles are all about.  A draw or West Ham win could still see both teams relegated.  With Mike Dean refereeing, high chance of at least one penalty, and a sending-off wouldn’t surprise me.

*** Birmingham v Fulham, 11 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed, and pushed back from 1 pm) FS+ [Walton]

The Blues ensure safety with a home win and a point might just do.

Monday, May 16

*** Swansea v Notingham  Forest, Playoff semifinal Leg 2, 2:45 pm, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv [Marriner]
Tuesday, May 17

** Man City v Stoke, 2:45 pm, FSC [Probert]

Fears of Stoke throwing this match now out the window.  A pretty meaningless match though City might have a chance of catching Arsenal for 3rd.

*** Cardiff v Reading, Playoff semifinal Leg 2, 2:45 pm, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv [Webb]

Three is a magic number
Ya it is, it’s a magic number
Somewhere in that ancient mystic trinity
You’ll get three
As a magic number

The past, the present, the future,
Faith, and hope, and charity,
The heart, the brain, the body,
Will give you three,
It’s a magic number

Three matches to go!
Three teams still to be relegated!
Three teams in the hunt for the final Champions League spot!
And three of the most magical points there ever were in the EPL to be won Sunday tea-time at Old Trafford!

It simply doesn’t get any better than this. You all know what the 4-star match is this weekend.  Read below for the remaining matches…

****:  Must-see.  Cancel all other activities.  Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***:  Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**:   Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*:    Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, May 7 (all times EDT)

**** West Ham v Blackburn, 10 am, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com [Walton]

I was roundly excoriated on this group last week for wondering why on earth ESPN had opted for the meaningless Fulham match when there were much more exciting, better options, like the derby up in Birmingham.  Dempsey, you all replied, Dempsey.  And what happened, of course?  Dempsey didn’t play.  Well, maybe the folks at Disney were reading, because they sure got this one right this week.  Two teams fighting for their lives.  A Black v White showdown.  And it’s simply must-win time for Grant and the Hammers.  This is the must-watch morning encounter.

*** Aston Villa v Wigan, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv [Jones]

Wigan still need points.

*** Everton v Man City, 10 am, FSC/FD [Dowd]

One more win would be enough for City, though with a game in hand, they theoretically could catch Arsenal for 3rd.  The Toffees’ dreams of catching their crosstown rivals is all but dead.

* Bolton v Sunderland, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 4 pm (delayed) FS+ [Friend]

These teams can play attractive football, but not much meaning now.

** Newcastle v Birmingham, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC [Foy]
Birmingham not quite safe.

*** Tottenham v Blackpool, 12:30 pm, FSC/FD [Probert]

Hard to believe the Tangerines had a 3-goal lead and beat Spurs just 10 weeks ago.  The points against Stoke & Newcastle may be precious, but they’re still likely to need another win or two to be safe.  Do Spurs want 5th?  Some of their supporters say not to have any European football next year would be unthinkable — others do not relish the Thursday/Sunday fixtures every week.

Sunday, May 8

**** Wolverhampton v West Brom, 7 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv [Dean]

This is a must watch match.  It would be the biggest win of the season for Wolves if they can beat their arch-rivals in this derby and possibly climb out of the drop zone with some help from Spurs and Villa.  Albion were the one side in the relegation battle to make a brilliant managerial change, and are now safely mid-table.  Gold & Sullivan must be thinking ‘if only’.

*** Stoke v Arsenal, 9:05 am, FSC/FD [Halsey]

We all thank Arsenal for finally putting in a great, all-around team performance last Sunday.  A terrific win and one that invariably leads us to recall what might have been.  Having said that, there is still a rather simple scenario where United, Chelsea & Arsenal all finish on 76 points, so Arsenal should be thinking of pumping in some goals as they trail in goal differential right now.  And scoring many may be possible with Stoke thinking ahead a week to Wembley.

**** Man Utd v Chelsea, 11:10 am, FSC/FD [Webb]

THE MATCH OF THE SEASON.  And Ferguson knows it too — just look at his lineup choice for Schalke, though obviously beating the German side at home with his Carling Cup roster was a lot easier than playing at Upton Park.  Howard Webb draws this humongous match.  We can all predict the United lineup based on who didn’t play Wednesday; it will be very interesting to see if Ancelotti again goes with the Drogba-Torres pairing.  Arsenal’s 5-man midfield dominated United’s 4 men — will Ferguson stick with Hernandez & Rooney up top if the Blues drop one of Drogba or Torres?  Chelsea climb ahead of United on goal differential if they manage any sort of victory — then it would come down to how many goals each side could pump in, with United’s last 2 fixtures against relegation threatened Blackburn and Blackpool, while Chelsea face the less bothered Newcastle & Everton.  Would be interesting to see which has the advantage, but we get ahead of ourselves.  United only needed a draw against Schalke but pounded them.  A win all but gives the title to United, while a draw means United will have to beat the relegation sides to ensure the title.  Let’s hope for a great 90 minutes!

Monday, May 9

*** Fulham v Liverpool, 3 pm, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com [Mason]

Liverpool will want European soccer and will feel happy about it given their start.

Tuesday, May 10

*** Man City v Tottenham, 2:45 pm, FSC [Dean]

Not what we neutrals had hoped for.  Remember last season’s showdown and Spurs victory? Spurs can keep very slim hopes alive with an away victory.

Well, we were waiting all year for this weekend, only for Arsene’s men to melt quickly over their last 10 matches.  The only sides the Gunners beat in these last 10 were Blackpool and Leyton Orient!  Now they can hold out some hope for 2nd and play the role of spoiler so that next week’s showdown becomes the match of the season at Old Trafford.  Meanwhile, Spurs still have a chance to return to the Champions League, but will have to beat Chelsea at the Bridge, something they haven’t done in decades, to have a realistic hope.  In the Black & White world of the relegation zone, it’s likely 3 from 6, with the B’s in better position than the W’s.  There are only 4 showdown matches remaining involving the B’s and W’s, with the first this weekend a must-see cracker of a West Midlands derby at St. Andrew’s.

****:  Must-see.  Cancel all other activities.  Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***:  Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**:   Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*:    Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, April 30 (all times EDT)

****:  Must-see.  Cancel all other activities.  Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***:  Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**:   Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*:    Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, April 16 (all times EDT)

** West Brom v Chelsea, 10 am, FSC/FD [Probert]

This year’s great escape seems just-about-assured.  Hodgson almost deserves manager of the year for how he has converted this awful defensive team over the last few weeks.

*** West Ham v Aston Villa, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv [Oliver]

Almost a must-win now for the on-again, off-again, and decidedly off since the second half of the United game, for the Hammers.

*** Birmingham v Sunderland, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 2 pm (delayed) FS+ [Dowd]

McLeish will want points here, with the Stamford Bridge rescheduled match 3 days later.  3 points and they’ll feel reasonably safe.  A loss to the Black Cats and City fans will be nervous about Europe from the Championship.

** Everton v Blackburn, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 9:30 pm (delayed) FSC [Friend]

Still an outside chance for the Toffees to catch their cross-town rivals, but not if Liverpool keep playing the way they did on Monday night.  Blackburn still need points.

*** Blackpool v Wigan, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv only [Walton]

The Bloomfield Road fan support is still terrific, but the team:  not so much.  Neither side has impressed and they may very well both go down.  Huge match, though.

*** Man City v Man Utd, FA Cup Semifinal, 12:15 pm, FSC/FD [Dean]
No Rooney, no Tevez takes a bit away from this one, though it’s still a derby, and still pretty meaningful for both sides.  Those who have followed this column all year know about my weekly dilemma with how many stars to give for City matches.  The usual happened last week when I gave them the extra star for the Liverpool match and they delivered an absolute stinker.  So I’m downgrading back to 3-stars and hoping I’m wrong for the 15th straight week!

**** Bonus match:  Real Madrid v Barcelona, 4 pm, ESPND & GOLTV & espn3.com

Less scarcity value this year, as we will see these teams face off four more times in quick succession (!), but it will be interesting to see how Jose plays this one after being shellacked at the Camp Nou, and thinking through all of the chess moves ahead.  But it’s still must-see TV!

Sunday, April 17

**** Arsenal v Liverpool, 11 am, FSC/FD [Marriner]

Is Liverpool actually back?  Andy Carroll was absolutely terrific Monday.  And I’m not just talking about the 2 goals, but the movement off the ball, the constant darting runs, the genuine understanding he seems to have already established with Suarez.  And the Reds were first to every ball and dominated in every area of the pitch.  And this American owner showed Roman how to buy strikers!

**** Bolton v Stoke, FA Cup Semifinal, 11 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv [Webb]

Both teams will go for it, each in their inimitable style, with not much else to play for in the league save a top 10 finish.

Tuesday, April 19

** Newcastle v Man Utd, 2:45 pm, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com [Probert]

United have gotten good at these quick turnaround matches, with the team depth to take maximum points.  Newcastle may need another point, but they’ll be fine.

Wednesday, April 20

** Chelsea v Birmingham, 2:45 pm, FSC/FD [Jones]

Ancelotti a clear lame-duck?  Chelsea need to finish the season strong and ensure a top 3 (preferably top 2) finish.

**** Tottenham v Arsenal, 2:45 pm, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com [Atkinson]

Both sides have struggled more than you’d have thought to score goals.  “Broadway” Danny Rose to start to get another one for Spurs in this one?  A pretty challenging run of matches for both sides.

Hello again.  We’ve all enjoyed the international break and now the final run-in for this intriguing season, with more attention than I can ever remember to the all-important race to stay in the league!  Any of the teams from Bolton to Wigan could be playing championship football next year, or could finish in the top half of the league.  As we get closer to May, I imagine I’ll be handing out more stars for those relegation races than to matches involving the top 5, depending on how that race plays out for the title and for Champions League spots.  We’ll see if Fox follows suit or sticks with, as they have done this weekend, the traditional US followers for United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.  No four-star premier league matches this weekend, but the full 8 stars have been handed out to the 3 EPL sides playing mid-week soccer in the Champions League.

It’s been a looooong time since the reverse fixtures to these Gameweek 30 matches were played in September.  We have two derbies, a top 4 showdown at Stamford Bridge, and the what-will-happen-next drama of another Sunderland-Liverpool showdown.  Plus two Europe matches requiring big English comebacks.  My star-giving parsimony has ended (for the moment), so forget the early round basketball, and focus in on weekend full of EPL matches!

Remember that starting Sunday we will have a couple of weeks of later (US) kickoffs as we move our clocks forward but Europe does not.

Thursday, March 10 (all times EST)
** Braga v Liverpool, Europa League R16 leg 1, 1 pm, DirecTV 484
Andy Carroll to start?  Suarez is cup-tied and Gerrard is staying home.  Liverpool will be fine with a draw but may do better.

** Dynamo Kiev v Man City, Europa League R16 leg 1, 3:05 pm, DirecTV 481
Anyone want to bet on nil-nil?

Saturday, March 12
** Birmingham v Bolton, FA Cup Quarterfinal, 7:45 am, FS+ [Dowd]
The double and still go down?  It would be fun to see an improved Bolton in a cup semi-final or final given how well they have played this year.

**** Man Utd v Arsenal, FA Cup Quarterfinal, 12:15 pm, FSC/FD [Foy]
The start of 3 straight home matches for the Red Devils, and we’re all fascinated by team selection as they look ahead to Marseille on Wednesday.  Can the Gunners quickly recover from Fabregas’ absurd back heel, RvP’s even more absurd sending-off, and more importantly the fact that they could not even attempt a single shot on Tuesday night in Barcelona?  Arsenal last won here in 2007, and the last time they met here in an FA Cup match, they were shellacked 4-nil.  Park scored the only goal in their first league meeting in mid-December and Rooney skied a penalty over the bar.  Webb cautioned 4 Gunners and no one from the home side.  Still should be the match of the week, and Arsenal really need to find a way to put the ball in the back of the net.

Sunday, March 13 (all times EDT)
*** Stoke v West Ham, FA Cup Quarterfinal, 10 am, FS+ [Jones]
The Hammers are clearly revitalized by Demba Ba and der Hammer.  Add February’s player-of-the-month (Parker), Cole, Piquionne, Obinna, and the team that couldn’t score now is regularly pumping in 3 goals/match.  They did it to Liverpool in an impressive home win and they just did it to Stoke at Upton Park on Saturday.  Now the sides meet again, and Tony Pulis needs to turn something around and do a better job of controlling midfield play.  Opposing managers are countering their long-ball, throw-it-in-the-box strategy, deploying 3 tall center halves, and other than against the woeful set piece defending of the Black Cats, Stoke are having difficulty scoring.  I predict a better, closer match, and maybe even a replay.

** Man City v Reading, FA Cup Quarterfinal, 12:45 pm, FSC/FD [Probert]
Reading won’t be afraid having won at Everton, and they will defend well as a team, but City should have too many weapons.

Tuesday, March 15
*** Man Utd (0) v Marseille (0), Champions League leg 2, 3:45 pm, FSC/FD
Deschamps lifted the Champions League trophy 8 years ago for Marseille, and now tries to win one as manager.  Nil-nil wasn’t what they hoped for at home, but it’s not a terrible scoreline for a tough defensive side.  Can they actually score a goal?  I think we all saw why Vidic is the most important player in the EPL after what Liverpool did to the captain’s side in his absence.  United should advance.

Wednesday, March 16
* Chelsea (2) v Copenhagen (0), Champions League leg 2, 3:45 pm, FSC
Unlikely to be an interesting contest.

Saturday, March 5 (all times EST)
*** Birmingham v West Brom, 7:45 am, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com [Jones]
Birmingham’s season already made with the trophy hoisted at Wembley; they could return a second time!  Just need a few more points to ensure not being dragged down into the relegation scrap.  And this local derby would be a great time to get 3.

*** Arsenal v Sunderland, 10 am, FSC/FD [Taylor]

** Newcastle v Everton, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv [Webb]

* Fulham v Blackburn, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & noon (delayed) FS+ [Clattenburg]

*** Bolton v Aston Villa, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC [Friend]

** West Ham v Stoke, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & Sunday 11 am (delayed) FS+ [Marriner]
I think this is a better match than the Fulham-Blackburn one and am surprised, after what the Hammers did to Liverpool last weekend, that Fox is delaying this one all the way til Sunday.

** Man City v Wigan, 12:30 pm, FSC/FD [Attwell]

Sunday, March 6

**** Liverpool v Man Utd, 8:30 am, FSC/FD [Dowd]
Two angry sides from last week’s losses.  Liverpool were badly outplayed at Upton Park, while United feel they were at the wrong end of numerous calls.  Of course, Rooney should not have even been on the pitch at the Bridge, so hard for me to accept Sir Alex’s complaints.  I don’t think we’ll be seeing Messrs Clattenburg or Atkinson refereeing a key United or Chelsea match.  Berbatov obviously comes back into the side after what he did to Liverpool at Old Trafford, but it’s Suarez salivating about no Vidic, no Ferdinand for this one.  What was Vidic thinking, taking that ridiculous second yellow in injury time?

*** Wolverhampton v Tottenham, 11 am, FSC/FD [Halsey]
This will not be an easy fixture for the visitors, with Wolves still desperate for points.

Monday,  March 7
*** Blackpool v Chelsea, 3 pm, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com [Dean]
And talk about a difficult place to visit.  As Spurs found out, you can have a historic win one night, then have to go to the seaside and battle the tough Tangerines in your next match.

Tuesday, March 8
**** Barcelona (1) v Arsenal (2), Champions League leg 2, 2:45 pm, FSC/FD
A pretty perfect halftime scoreline entering this one.  A shame that one of these sides has to be knocked out so early as each would be fun to see in the quarterfinals. 

Wednesday, March 9
**** Tottenham (1) v AC Milan (0), Champions League leg 2, 2:45 pm, FSC/FD
Bale still struggling to get fit.  Milan are still confident they can score an away goal or two and advance.

** Everton v Birmingham, 3 pm, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FS+ [Walton]
Very disappointing season for the Toffees.

With Europa league continuing, plus FA Cup delayed fixtures and the long-awaited Chelsea v. Man United midweek match, we get 15 matches this week involving EPL teams. Only Spurs sit back and relax this week as the Gunners’ visit to White Hart Lane, to have been the featured ESPN2 match, is postponed as Wenger tries to lift a trophy Sunday at Wembley.

Must-see. Cancel all other activities. Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!

Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live.

Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close.

Only if you’re a die-hard.

Matches shown in chronological order:

Thursday, February 24 (all times EST)

Liverpool v. Sparta

Prague (nil-nil), Europa League leg 2, 5 pm (delayed from 1pm) GolTV

Man City v. Aris

Salonika (nil-nil), Europa League leg 2, 3:05 pm, [can’t find any listings]
Not the most scintillating first legs, but the English sides should be favored to advance with home matches.

Saturday, February 26

Wigan v. Man Utd, 10 am, FSC/FD [Clattenburg]
Surely this is 3 points for the visitors, with their designated referee to boot.

Everton v. Sunderland, 10 am, FS+; foxsoccer.tv [Attwell]
Only 7 points separate these teams, but Sunderland still have an eye towards Europe, while Everton are not yet out of the relegation battle.

Aston Villa v. Blackburn, 10am, foxsoccer.tv & noon (delayed) FSC/FD [Atkinson]
There are certainly 4 worse sides than Villa, but they’ve been dragged down into the muck, and need to win matches like this one!

Wolverhampton v. Blackpool, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & noon (delayed) FS+ [Swarbrick]
2nd premier league start for Swarbrick who has yet to see a goal or call a penalty. This one should be entertaining!

Newcastle v. Bolton, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC/FD [Foy]

Sunday, February 27

West Ham v. Liverpool, 8:30 am, FSC/FD [Halsey]
The Hammers thought they would be playing a couple of hours later at Wembley Sunday, but they blew a big lead at Birmingham.  Now they need points any way they can get them.  Ba & Hitz have looked good in their first matches.

Man City v. Fulham, 10 am, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com [Walton]
After losing the Saturday 7:45 am North London derby to the Carling Cup final, ESPN2 gets a rare Sunday 10 am kickoff, and I expect a strong match. Fulham have not been particularly good this season but they have had entertaining matches and this will certainly be one Mark Hughes will want to win on his return to Eastlands.

Arsenal v. Birmingham, Carling Cup Final, 11 am, FSC [Dean]
There’s maybe only one side I would have wanted to see less than Birmingham City in a Wembley final, but I still give out all 4 stars for Wembley finals.  Will a hobbling Fabregas actually get to lift a trophy?  Arsenal feel they have a realistic shot at 4!

Monday, February 28

Stoke v. West Brom, 3 pm, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv [Oliver]

If you must…

Tuesday, March 1

Everton v. Reading, FA Cup Round 5, 2:30 pm, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv

Chelsea v. Man Utd, 2:45 pm, FSC/FD (and repeated at 8 pm) [Atkinson]
Notwithstanding the blues’ troubles, they are the holders, so this is still the one we’ve been waiting for. Martin let-em-play Atkinson on the whistle, and, like Sargent Schultz, he saw nothing that now rules Mr. Walcott out of small matches at Wembley (and perhaps Barcelona). For once, all of London will be rooting for Chelsea!

Wednesday, March 2

Man City v. Aston Villa, FA Cup Round 5, 2:45 pm (and repeated at 8 pm), FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
Should be a fun cup tie.

Arsenal v. Leyton Orient, FA Cup Round 5 replay, 2:45 pm, FSC [not confirmed]
It’s been a strange run of constant matches for the Gunners, and the injuries are piling up. I guess we’ll know by Wednesday if the “Quad” is still a possibility, but I expect the reserves squad again, especially at home.

Special EPL Viewing Guide this week.  We have 3 make-up EPL matches, 2 FA Cup 4th Round replays, 6 FA Cup 5th Round matches, Liverpool’s return to Europe, and Chelsea & United’s first leg visits to Europe.  So 14 matches involving EPL sides:  that’s good enough for me!

****:  Must-see.  Cancel all other activities.  Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***:  Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**:   Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*:    Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Thursday, February 17

** Sparta Prague v Liverpool, Europa League, 3 pm, GolTV
Should be a nice test for Kenny and the lads.  I’ll start adding stars in the quarterfinals.

Saturday, February 19

*** Chelsea v Everton, FA Cup 4th Round Replay, 7:30 am, FSC/FD
Remember, if Chelsea win, their first United encounter is postponed again, with the result most likely back-to-back matches at Old Trafford and the Bridge in May.

** Birmingham v Sheffield Wednesday, FA Cup 5th Round, 10 am, FSC/FD
We’ve gotten a lot of Birmingham games this year as they’ve done well in the Cups.  Some have come down to the wire, but the soccer is not particularly attractive to watch.

* Stoke v Brighton & Hove Albion, FA Cup 5th Round, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
If you are wondering, due south of London.

** Man Utd v Crawley Town, FA Cup 5th Round, 12:15 pm, FSC/FD
I don’t expect much romance here.  Crawley Town averages 1,822 spectactors at home; it would be quite humorous if they earned a replay!

Sunday, February 20

*** West Brom v Wolverhampton, 7 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
As both were knocked out of the FA Cup and they needed to make up this Black Country derby, this is the sole EPL game on the weekend.  Given the derby and their relative league standings, this might be the game of the week.

** Man City v Notts County FA Cup 4th Round Replay, 9 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
I’m sure Paul Ince will not be welcomed warmly to the Eastlands.  Notts are not far above the League 1 relegation zone and did well to earn this replay.  But City advances.

*** Fulham v Bolton, FA Cup 5th Round, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 11 am (delayed) FS+
Fulham is taking the lead in games decided on late goals.  Dempsey did extremely well to win the late penalty in the Chelsea derby against the run of play, but he looked spent in lining up to take the kick.  Our only all-EPL 5th round match of the week.

** Leyton Orient v Arsenal, FA Cup 5th Round, 11:30 am, FSC
They beat the best team in the world on Wednesday night, and now travel to East London for a derby against a mid-table League One side on Sunday!  Brisbane Road seats 9,271 and average attendance this year has been half that.  They’ll fill the place Sunday tea-time.  A let-down?  No; Arsenal’s kids will prevail.

Monday, February 21

*** West Ham v Burnley, FA Cup 5th Round, 3 pm, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
This one could be entertaining.  They met in the league last year at Upton Park and the Hammers prevailed 5-3!

Tuesday, February 22

** Copenhagen v Chelsea, 2:45 pm, Champions League knockout leg 1 of 2, 2:45 pm, FSC & 5 pm (delayed) FS+

Quick turnaround for London’s 3rd best team.

** Arsenal v Stoke, 2:45 pm, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FS+

The games keep coming for the Gunners.

*** Blackpool v Tottenham, 3 pm, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
This should also be very entertaining.

Wednesday, February 23

*** Olympique Marseille v Man Utd, Champions League knockout leg 1 of 2, 2:45 pm, FSC & 5 pm (delayed) FS+

****:  Must-see.  Cancel all other activities.  Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***:  Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**:   Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*:    Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, February 12 (all times EST)

Teammates now!

I am back with a fresh post for Gameweek 26.  Please note that there were a couple of changes since my Monday posting, including Fox switching the delayed Spurs & Villa matches, and ESPN2 adding the Sunderland-Stoke Saturday morning match.

I’m feeling pretty pleased with my 4-star choice from Gameweek 25, as Sunderland and Chelsea really had a spectacular match.  But this Sunday’s obvious 4-star match may be one of the most-watched ever, with Torres & Luiz scheduled to face Liverpool from the Bridge.  What a great way to start Super Sunday, and you can even see the 4th meeting this season of West Ham and Birmingham to start your morning.

****:  Must-see.  Cancel all other activities.  Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***:  Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**:   Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*:    Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, February 5 (all times EST)

** Stoke v Sunderland, 7:45 am, ESPN2/ESPND & ESPN3.com [Probert]

** Man City v West Brom, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv [Atkinson]
City just not good enough this year to contend, but they’ll be thrilled to hold on to a Champions League spot.

*** Newcastle v Arsenal, 10 am, FSC/FD [Dowd]
Newcastle went down and won at the Emirates, nil-1.  They’ve lost their top striker, so you’d fancy the Gunners to get the revenge win.

** Everton v Blackpool, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 4 pm (delayed), FS+ [Friend]

*** Aston Villa v Fulham, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed), FSC/FD[Mason]
I took a star away from Everton-‘Pool and gave it to Villa-Fulham.  Fox clearly agrees with me as they switched this match to “the Channel” from the less-viewed FS+.  Fulham look like they’re finally making the Cottage a tough place to visit again, like in years past.  Can they do as well on the road?  I hope we can see Dempsey v Bradley in this one!

*** Tottenham v Bolton, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 6 pm (delayed), FS+ [Spurs’ favorite: Clattenburg]

* Wigan v Blackburn, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv only [Dean]

*** Wolverhampton v Man Utd, 12:30 pm, FSC/FD [Oliver]

Sunday, February 6

** West Ham v Birmingham, 8:30 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv [Foy]
Well, some of us knew David Bentley could play, and he showed it with a terrific effort Wednesday night home to City.  Terrible penalty conceded by Vieira; not the makings of a championship side.  The Hammers finally looked terrific, scoring 3 goals, including one from Keane on his debut.  This is an important match for both sides.

**** Chelsea v Liverpool, 11 am, FSC/FD [Marriner]
Pretty big match for Mr. Marriner; Carragher apparently has some unfinished business with Sr. Torres.  Suarez did not score emphatically but the ball ended up in the back of the net on his first breakaway for Kenny.    This one should be fun!

The Black Cats try to win the double on Chelsea...

Well, I think I got the *s about right last week.  Some of you were wondering why United v Birmingham only got 2 * whereas Blackpool v United got 4, but I think you saw which was the match worth watching!!  Remember, these ratings are for neutrals.  With the FA Cup on the weekend, we have two fixtures apiece this week.  I’ve written my customary notes about the first (mid-week) set of matches, and may have time (we’ll see) to do a regular viewing guide for the weekend, but at least you have the times and channels listed below.

For the mid-week matches, as best I can tell, for Tuesday, we get all of the matches, with FSC, FS+ & ESPN2 all going head to head in the 3 pm time slot, with Arsenal, Chelsea, and United all in action.  For Wednesday, however, it seems ESPN gives Fox 2 matches, and then takes all the rest for itself, with most shown on espn3.com only.  So you’ll need that internet connection to get all 10 from Gameweek 25.

I’m going to go out on a limb and call the Sunderland v Chelsea match the pick of the mid-week games.  Ordinarily that would be United-Villa or Arsenal-Everton, but let’s see what the Black Cats have up their sleeve for this one.

*** Arsenal v Everton, 2:45 pm, FSC/FD [Mason]
They’re pretty much all must-win if Wenger has any hope of landing that trophy.  The Cup ties have certainly not been easy for the Gunners, but they are finding a way to advance.  Everton has disappointed this year but can still climb into the top 10.  Arsenal won the prior match 1-2.

**** Sunderland v Chelsea, 2:45 pm, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv [Halsey]
Chelsea was absolutely walloped at Stamford Bridge by the Cats, nil-3.  They are playing better now.

*** Man Utd v Aston Villa, 3 pm, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com [Foy]
The first match was a terrific 2-2 affair.

* West Brom v Wigan, 3 pm, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed), FS+ [Dowd]
Too early to call these 6-pointers?

Wednesday, February 2

** Birmingham v Man City, 2:45 pm, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com [Friend]
This one could be another ugly nil-nil, though Birmingham have made a habit of scoring goals late and often, though not against sides as defensive as City.

*** Liverpool v Stoke, 3 pm, FSC/FD [Taylor]
Did the Reds bite off more than they can chew with their recent signings?  Who will be assigned to handle Suarez?  Kenny will fight to get them a spot in Europe, and maybe even Champions League.

*** Bolton v Wolverhampton, 3 pm, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv [Walton]
Bolton’s strong start has faded, but this match was a terrific one the last time out, won 2-3 by the Wanderers, so let’s hope that we get another good one.

*** Blackburn v Tottenham, 3 pm, espn3.com only [Marriner]
6 goals in the reverse match at White Hart Lane.  Spurs need to keep going (and improve from Sunday’s disaster in the Cup) to hold the Champions League spot.

** Blackpool v West Ham, 3 pm, espn3.com only [Attwell]
For teams that pride themselves on playing attacking football, this reverse fixture was exciting, but no one could score.  The finishing was brutal.  Have the Hammers improved at all?

** Fulham v Newcastle, 3 pm, espn3.com only [Jones]
Fulham has been one of the big disappointments this season, and they need to start showing the kind of soccer they played Sunday against Spurs.  While they are probably going to be safe, 3 points here would go a long way in not seeing them dragged into the relegation battle.

Saturday, February 5

** Stoke v Sunderland, 7:45 am, ESPN3.com
** Man City v West Brom, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
*** Newcastle v Arsenal, 10 am, FSC/FD
*** Everton v Blackpool, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 4 pm (delayed), FS+
*** Tottenham v Bolton, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed), FSC/FD
** Aston Villa v Fulham, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 6 pm (delayed), FS+
* Wigan v Blackburn, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv only
*** Wolverhampton v Man Utd, 12:30 pm, FSC/FD

Sunday, February 6

** West Ham v Birmingham, 8:30 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
**** Chelsea v Liverpool, 11 am, FSC/FD

Note:  my next article will be Monday, January 31, for the 20 matches the first week of February!

****:  Must-see.  Cancel all other activities.  Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***:  Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**:   Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*:    Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, January 22 (all times EST)

*** Wolverhampton v Liverpool, 7:45 am ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com
Wolves won 1-nil at Anfield and Mick’s men will play til the end so keep watching.  [Atkinson]

** Man Utd v Birmingham, 10 am, FSC
Birmingham earned a draw in December.  United should do better at home.  [Jones]

** Arsenal v Wigan, 10 am FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
The previous match finished 2-2 at the DW.  The fixtures are coming fast and furious for the Gunners, and they survived their visit to Elland Road and largely kept many of their key players rested.  With Wigan, you might get 2-2 and you might get 7-nil.  [Friend]

*** Newcastle v Tottenham, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC
Spurs won the last one easily, 2-nil at the Lane.  ‘Arry keeps improving his squad.  Pardew couldn’t quite complete the double over their archrivals.  [Halsey]

* Everton v West Ham, 10 am foxsoccer.tv & 6 pm (delayed) FS+
This was a terrible game at Upton Park a few weeks ago so I’m giving it 1 star.  How Grant is still in charge is beyond me; worse days ahead for the East End boys.  [Walton]

* Fulham v Stoke, 10 am foxsoccer.tv & Sunday 10:30 am (delayed) FS+
If you must.  If I were Fox this is probably the one I wouldn’t have televised, as I think Blackpool v Sunderland is a better game.  [Attwell]

** Blackpool v Sunderland, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv only
More on Gyan’s shoulders for the Black Cats with Bent gone.  Blackpool won the reverse fixture nil-2.  Let’s hope Blackpool can keep Charlie Adam.  You’ll need your internet subscription to watch this one. [Mason]

*** Aston Villa v Man City, 12:30 pm FSC/FD
Darren Bent should rush straight into this side that definitely needs better finishing after they dominated their crosstown rivals but could not put the ball in the net.  Did they hit the crossbar 4 times?  City destroyed Villa 4-nil a few weeks ago and simply must keep winning.  A point is not good enough if they want to content for the title.  Will James Milner get a start and how will he be treated when he returns?  This would have gotten 4 stars if not for Villa’s form and City’s Mancini set-up for road matches.   [Webb]

Sunday, January 23

** Blackburn v West Brom, 11 am FSC/FD
Bit of a strange match for the Sunday television featured match.  Sky controls these things in London, and they only can show each team a certain # of times, so I guess they didn’t want to waste a slot to see United play Birmingham or Chelsea play Bolton or Arsenal play Wigan!  Blackburn won at the Hawthorns 1-3. [Clattenburg]

Monday, January 24

*** Bolton v Chelsea, 3 pm espn3.com
I see ESPN2 showing the Australian Open tennis on their web site.  I presume they’ll add ESPN Deportes for a match as good as this one.  Bolton’s fallen back a bit, but this should still be a good match.  [Foy]

Tuesday, January 25

**** Blackpool v Man Utd, 2:30 pm, FSC
Perhaps stretching it a bit, but this is the match I want to see this week.  I really enjoy the way Blackpool play, and Sir Alex has choices to make about where to play his top 11 over the Sat-Tues matches.  They meet again in May at Old Trafford.  [Walton]

** Wigan v Aston Villa, 2:45 pm, foxsoccer.tv & 4:30 pm (delayed) FSC
No, I don’t really know who the referee is either.  Apparently Jon Moss did get one prior EPL match this season, but he’s mostly handled League 2 and League 1 matches!  [Moss]

** Carling Cup semifinal 2nd leg:  Arsenal (0) v Ipswich Town (1), 2:45 pm, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
Sticking with the referee theme, I don’t quite understand why Mark Halsey, Peter Walton and Howard Webb each get two games this week, while top referees Phil Dowd and Mike Dean get two 4th official assignments but no matches in the center.  I think Arsenal will win this one easily; it’ll be all over at halftime.  [Halsey]

Wednesday, January 26

*** Carling Cup semifinal 2nd leg:  Birmingham (1) v West Ham (2), 2:45 pm, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
The “cup specialist” somehow may have survived to see if he can get the Hammers to Wembley after all.  West Ham not too good at keeping clean sheets (understatement!) so they’re going to have to play.  There will be goals in this match. [Webb]

** Liverpool v Fulham, 3 pm, FSC
A bit of the glamor lost as the postponement means no Hodgson vs. his old side.  Strange, tight table this year means Liverpool is both 4 points from safety and 4 points from a possible return to Europe!  Fulham seem a bit lost.  [Probert]

Alas, I’ll be skiing all weekend, so will have to pick a few to watch on my DVR when I get back Monday night!  Also, please note that after watching the 90 minutes of what City did at the Emirates, along with getting myself geared up for what ended up being a horrendous derby they played against United a few months’ back, I have permanently removed one-star from all Man City matches.  I love watching Tevez, but what Mancini is doing makes their games so unwatchable…

I’ve added the referees assigned in brackets.  It’s interesting how the ‘name’ referees line up with my stars.

****:  Must-see.  Cancel all other activities.  Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***:  Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**:   Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*:    Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, January 15 (all times EST)

*** Chelsea v Blackburn, 10 am, ESPND & espn3.com
Chelsea need to concentrate on finishing in the top 4; this season would be an utter disaster if they don’t qualify.  Simply a must-win game for this aging side.  [Atkinson]

** Man City v Wolverhampton, 10 am, FSC/FD
Hopefully we’ll see the attacking version of City at some point.  The topsy-turvy Wolves beat City 2-1 in October.  [Mason]

** Stoke v Bolton, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
Bolton won 2-1 at the Reebok.  [Oliver]

* West Brom v Blackpool, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC/FD
Another great win in the midweek battle of the ‘pools.  They’re certainly not safe yet, so any points away from Bloomfield Road would go a long way for the Tangerines.  Blackpool also won 2-1 in October.  [Attwell]

* Wigan v Fulham, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 6 pm (delayed) FS+
[Taylor]

*** West Ham v Arsenal, 12:30 pm, FSC
What a confounding season for Wenger and the Gunners.  After deciding they had to lift a trophy this year, with 4 options, this past week, they had huge difficulties with Championship sides, almost crashing out to Leeds on Saturday, and succumbing 1-nil at Portman Road Wednesday night in the League Cup first leg semifinal.  Now they face an unneeded further midweek fixture Wednesday in a tricky visit to Elland Road for the 3rd round replay (DVR alert:  3 pm EST on FSC).  And in the first version of Saturday’s derby they barely beat the Hammers 1-nil.  I suppose they’ll probably play a strong side and thrash Ipswich Town 7-nil to get to Wembley next month, but they sure have made the journey a more difficult one.  Meanwhile, Grant survives due to his being as good in Cups as he is awful in the league.  And Wayne Bridge arrives in the nick of time as the Hammers have no left back who can mark Theo Walcott.  They’ve used center halves in the full back spot repeatedly this season, including in their midweek league cup semifinal win at home over Birmingham.  [Marriner]

Sunday, January 16

*** Sunderland v Newcastle, 7 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
I suppose I could give 4 stars to all 4 matches Sunday, and I know if I were home, I’d be up early watching this one.  The Black Cats will be looking for some serious revenge after the thrashing they took against their arch-rivals at St. James’.  I think Sunderland will win this by a couple of goals.  [Clattenburg]

*** Birmingham v Aston Villa, 7 am, foxsoccer.tv & 11 am (delayed) FS+
I thought the final May derby they played last year was an amazing match, but I have been less impressed by these teams this season.  And the first derby in October saw no goals at all.  And you’re certainly not going to switch away from Spurs-United to watch this one, unless you support one of these sides.  But worth recording and if it’s a good match, watching the last half hour or so straight through. [Webb]

**** Liverpool v Everton, 9:05 am, FSC/FD
Dalglish’s home debut, and what a way to start!  He’s learned quickly this isn’t your father’s Liverpool.  Rafa inherited a great side and pretty much decimated it, with Hodgson making no improvements.  And how many times in the last 5 years have Liverpool played poorly but been saved by a solitary play by their skipper (see FA Cup 2006 and many others)?  Well, a missed penalty and a sending off against their other arch-rivals and there appear to be fewer heroics from Stevie.  Everton was dominant at Goodison and Dalglish will need the sublime Torres who opened the midweek scoring against Blackpool and not the petulant one we saw the rest of the match.  The tackles will be flying!  [Dowd]

**** Tottenham v Man Utd, 11:10 am, FSC/FD
Let’s presume this will not be a Mark Clattenburg match!  (No surprise, it’s actually the dean of England Referees:  Mike Dean.)  This is an important one, for the title race, for Spurs’ desire to return to Champions League.  If Spurs win at home, City could take another (temporary) lead in the title race.

Happy New Year to all EPL lovers.  I’ve written this weekly column from some interesting spots.  This time from soccer-mad Mexico with an extremely dodgy internet connection.  So no time for text per game, just the facts and the ratings.  ESPN takes its outstanding production to the Hawthorns this week to follow United.  On New Year’s Day Fox opts for the live City match against Blackpool and delays the London derby between Spurs and Fulham.  Wednesday night will hopefully be a great match at the Emirates.  Enjoy!

****: Must-see.  Cancel all other activities.  Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***: Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**: Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*:    Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, January 1, 2011 (all times EST)

*** West Brom v Man Utd, 7:45 am, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com
*** Liverpool v Bolton, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
*** Man City v Blackpool, 10 am, FSC/FD
*** West Ham v Wolverhampton, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 12 noon (delayed) FS+
** Stoke v Everton, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 2 pm (delayed) FS+
*** Tottenham v Fulham, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 2:30 pm (delayed) FSC/FD
** Sunderland v Blackburn, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv only
*** Birmingham v Arsenal, 12:30 pm, FSC/FD

Sunday, January 2

*** Chelsea v Aston Villa, 8:30 am, FSC (!)/FD
** Wigan v Newcastle, 11 am, FSC/FD

Tuesday, January 4

*** Man Utd v Stoke, 3 pm, FSC/FD
** Blackpool v Birmingham, 3 pm, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
** Fulham v West Brom, 3 pm, ESPND & espn3.com

Wednesday, January 5

**** Arsenal v Man City, 2:45 pm, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com
** Wolverhampton v Chelsea, 2:45 pm, FSC/FD
** Newcastle v West Ham, 2:45 pm, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC/FD
** Aston Villa v Sunderland, 2:45 pm, espn3.com
** Blackburn v Liverpool, 3 pm, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
** Bolton v Wigan, 3 pm, espn3.com
*** Everton v Tottenham, 3 pm, espn3.com

****:  Must-see.  Cancel all other activities.  Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***:  Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**:   Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*:    Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Sunday, December 26 (all times EST)

** Fulham v West Ham, 7 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
*** Man Utd v Sunderland, 10 am, FSC/FD
*** Blackpool v Liverpool, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
** Everton v Birmingham, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & noon (delayed) FS+
*** Newcastle v Man City, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 2:30 pm (delayed) FSC/FD
* Blackburn v Stoke, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv only
*** Bolton v West Brom, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv only
* Wolverhampton v Wigan, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv only
*** Aston Villa v Tottenham, 12:30 pm, FSC/FD

Monday, December 27

**** Arsenal v Chelsea, 3 pm, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com
A post-Boxing Day derby, and what a critical match for both sides.

Tuesday, December 28

*** Man City v Aston Villa, 10 am, FSC/FD
*** Tottenham v Newcastle, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
* West Brom v Blackburn, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & noon (delayed) FS+
* Stoke v Fulham, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC/FD
** Sunderland v Blackpool, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv. only
** West Ham v Everton, 12:30 pm, FSC/FD
*** Birmingham v Man Utd, 3 pm, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com

Wednesday, December 29
*** Chelsea v Bolton, 2:45 pm, FSC/FD
** Wigan v Arsenal, 2:45 pm, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
** Liverpool v Wolverhampton, 3 pm, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC

8 games of prelude in this penultimate gameweek of the first go-round, and then the BIG ONE.  Clear your Sunday morning schedules because Chelsea-United is one you need to watch live!  From the 4 live 10 am matches, Fox picked Arsenal for the Channel, and Newcastle for Plus, while the Blackburn & Wigan matches are appropriately delayed to the afternoon.  For Sunday morning, Fox chose to delay the Black County derby on Plus to follow immediately the Spurs visit to Bloomfield Road, so the derby will compete with the big match.  Man City is now officially big enough for ESPN2 to carry their Monday night match!  Will we see Tevez?

****:  Must-see.  Cancel all other activities.  Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***:  Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**:   Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*:    Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, December 18 (all times EST)

*** Sunderland v Bolton, 7:45 am, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com
Darke and team off to the Stadium of Light!  And no big 4 squad visiting.  But Bolton and the Black Cats deserve this spotlight match based on play this year.  Sunderland absolutely destroyed them at home last year, though; 4-nil, but, again, Bolton is playing far better, and what a sequence culminating in the American Stuart Holden’s winner last week in Fat Sam’s last action for Rovers.  Bolton could put pressure on…Chelsea, of all teams!

*** Arsenal v Stoke, 10 am, FSC/FD
The inability to score Monday night has made this a must-win for the Gunners, and puts them in a position of rooting for their cross-town rivals on Sunday.

** Birmingham v Newcastle, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
Dream start for Pardew.  The fixtures get tougher quickly.  This should be an interesting test.

* Blackburn v West Ham, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 2 pm (delayed) FS+
Allardyce quickly jumped ahead of Hughton as odds-on favorite to replace Grant.  It’s pretty amazing that Avram has lasted this long, with the Hammers having won 2 from 17.  Hammers’ fans will get an early look at the ugliness of an Allardyce squad.  West Ham have managed just 3 points away from Upton Park this season.  Neither team scored a single goal in their two fixtures last year.  As I wrote once before, do I have to give a star?

* Wigan v Aston Villa, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC
The visiting team won both fixtures last year.

*** Liverpool v Fulham, 12:30 pm, FSC & 5 pm (delayed) FD
Hodgson welcomes back his old club in the featured match.  Importantly, Gerrard is expected to return.

Sunday, December 19

** West Brom v Wolverhampton, 7 am, foxsoccer.tv & 10:30 am (delayed) FS+
Another big West Midlands derby, which will boost it for some to 3-stars.  Odemwingie will not return for the Baggies.  Mick needs some points wherever he can get them.

*** Blackpool v Tottenham, 8:30 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
Could be the most entertaining match of the weekend.  Since ’58, Spurs have lost only once to Blackpool while winning 16 times and drawing 7, but the Tangerines have been in every match save the visits to the Emirates and Stamford Bridge.

**** Chelsea v Man Utd, 11 am, FSC/FD
Sir Alex rolls out Park Ji-Sung for all the big European matches.  He did it again for the Arsenal match Monday night, and was rewarded again.  I’d expect to see him in the lineup at the Bridge.  Winning both these fixtures last year was what gave the Blues the title and they may need to do it again this year.  It was a very physical match last year, with Terry heading in the winner.  Hopefully we’ll see 90 minutes of Drogba and Rooney, with both back in top form!  And after Sir Alex left the pitch screaming at Martin Atkinson last November for awarding the foul on Fletcher that resulted in the goal, the EPL has assigned….Martin Atkinson again!

Monday, December 20

*** Man City v Everton, 3pm, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com
City is as dysfunctional as ever and yet must-see TV.  This should be a terrific Monday night match.  I hope Tevez plays.  The Toffees have actually won on their last two visits to the Eastlands.

In American college football they call it Rivalry Week.  Well, we don’t get all of the traditional rivals this weekend, but we sure do get many.  My stars are flying out like Christmas gifts.  The 4 Birmingham/West Midlands teams square off on Saturday and Sunday, Bolton face neighboring Blackburn, there’s an extremely juicy London derby in the final Sunday match as Spurs host Chelsea, and the game-of-the-week has long-time rivals Wenger & Sir Alex meeting for the first of what might be a few times this year, with the winner going top!  Sit back, relax, get the DVR warmed up, and enjoy the matches!!  Also, please note that 4 of the 5 10 am Eastern time matches can be seen live this week, on ESPN2, Fox Soccer Chanel, Fox Soccer Plus, and Fox Deportes.  FD is showing Everton v Wigan in lieu of Villa/West Brom, and the international English commentators should be available on the secondary audio program.

****:  Must-see.  Cancel all other activities.  Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***:  Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**:   Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*:    Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, December 11 (all times EST)

*** West Ham v Man City, 10 am, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com
There are many candidates for best player in the league this year, but it’s hard to argue that Carlos Tevez has been the most valuable.  City have lost 3 of the 4 matches he has missed, and he misses this trip ‘home’ to Upton Park via suspension for petulantly kicking the ball away last week when he was whistled for a late and meaningless free kick.  Tevez had vowed he would not score the goal last season to relegate West Ham; ultimately this Gameweek 38 fixture last year became meaningless for both sides after West Ham escaped and City lost their midweek match to Spurs for Champions’ League.  Avram’s side’s one-week resurgence took a step backward after another goalless loss away from home to Sunderland and the Hammers remain firmly rock bottom and adrift.  City need a win to keep the race tight at the top.

*** Aston Villa v West Brom, 10 am, FSC
This is a pretty big West Midlands rivalry as Villa is the closest side to Albion.  Houllier may get Heskey back; West Brom is solidly mid-table and want to get points now to secure their position in the league and avoid getting hauled into a late relegation scrap.

* Everton v Wigan, 10 am, FD & foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC
Wigan look to be in big trouble.  They lost twice last year to Everton.

** Fulham v Sunderland, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
Similarly, Fulham need to start getting some points from these home matches.

** Stoke v Blackpool, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 6 pm (delayed) FS+
Stoke’s team is well set up for the winter cold; will Holloway’s attacking system continue to work as we get into the muck and frozen grounds of the English winter?

*** Newcastle v Liverpool, 12:30 pm, FSC/FD
6 managers in 3 years for the Magpies, and this latest move appears to be the stupidest, with Hughton getting a lot more from this motley collection of players than I certainly expected.  Pardew got West Ham promoted and to within minutes of winning the FA Cup against Liverpool, but went downhill as he was unable to do much from there, nor with Charlton.  Liverpool seem to be coming around to Hodgson’s system, and are steadily climbing the table.  Don’t count out Roy’s side yet.

Sunday, December 12

** Wolverhampton v Birmingham, 8:30 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
Birmingham won both these derbies last year, and Mick really needs to nick some points here.

*** Bolton v Blackburn, 8:30 am, foxsoccer.tv & 10:30am (delayed) FS+
Fat Sam’s boys walloped his old side twice last season, winning the two matches by a combined 5-nil.  I think Bolton is far better this year!

**** Tottenham v Chelsea, 11 am, FSC/FD
Spurs won this fixture last year (gorgeous goal from Bale, Terry was sent off, and Defoe even converted a penalty!) and we all know Chelsea are struggling right now.  Unfortunately, we won’t see Van der Vaart, but Lampard may return, and there’s a chance Dawson will return to the lineup for Harry.  The supporters will be up for this one, as will I!

Monday, December 13

**** Man Utd v Arsenal, 3 pm, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com
It doesn’t get any better than this.  Monday night football.  The winner is top of the table!  Ferguson & Wenger do not like each other.  There may have been no better scene last year than Wenger sent to the stands at Old Trafford by Mike Dean, and then standing up there having no idea where to go sit!   Diaby’s own goal gave the Red Devils the 2-1 come-from-behind win.  Nasri was absolutely stunning last weekend.

Fox & ESPN made the right choices this week, though you could argue that ESPN might have gone for the potentially more exciting Man City v Bolton match, or the London derby, but they went with the champions, home to Everton. Remember, record that match and watch it last if you are watching more than one 10 am Saturday match. ESPN2 will show both Chelsea (Saturday) and Liverpool (Monday) this week, and we’re back to all 10 matches televised again, using the Sunday morning delayed spot for Wigan v Stoke. No 4-star must-sees this week, but a few good 3-star matches.

****: Must-see. Cancel all other activities. Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***: Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**: Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*: Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, December 4 (all times EST)

*** Chelsea v Everton, 10 am, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com
Two teams at different ends of the tables, but both needing to improve their performances.  This fixture last year was extremely exciting; finished 3-3 at the Bridge.

** Arsenal v Fulham, 10 am, FSC/FD & 2 am Sunday (delayed) FD
Arsenal might be able to go top of the table Saturday afternoon, even if for a couple of hours.  Fulham didn’t score a goal against Arsenal last year.

*** Man City v Bolton, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv & 10 pm (delayed) FS+
Can you believe the team that looked the most like Barcelona in a couple of goals they scored last week was Bolton, and not Arsenal or Man City or Chelsea?  No more hoof it up to Davies.  City may be locked in another duel with Spurs for 4th; Bolton is trying to crash that party.  I list the delayed times for Arsenal & Man City as for those without foxsoccer.tv and with DVR’s that can only record 2 simultaneous matches, that’s your way to see all 3 of the 10 am games if you’re away from your television.

* Blackburn v Wolverhampton, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 2 pm (delayed) FS+

** Birmingham v Tottenham, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC
A terrific mid-week derby Carling Cup win was marred by the pitch invasion.  Spurs will need to win games like this away if they want to compete for the title.

* Wigan v Stoke, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & Sunday 10:30 am (delayed) FS+

*** Blackpool v Man Utd, 12:30 pm, FSC/FD
This is usually about the time that the bloom comes off the rose for the newly promoted sides; let’s see if Holloway has something up his sleeve to prevent a thrashing by a probably angry United side (see below) that know Arsenal and Chelsea are right behind them.

Sunday, December 5

** West Brom v Newcastle, 8:30 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv

** Sunderland v West Ham, 11 am, FSC/FD
Well, where did that come from?  A 4-nil drubbing of Manchester United to advance to the Carling Cup semi-final and a home win last weekend against Wigan have the East End faithful believing maybe they can escape the bottom of the table after all.  The Hammers managed a 2-2 draw at the Stadium of Light last season.

Monday, December 6

*** Liverpool v Aston Villa, 3 pm, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com
Because it’s Liverpool, ESPN2 makes room on the deuce.  Torres needs to start converting his (many) chances.

Hope everyone had a terrific Thanksgiving. Too bad there’s no real football on Turkey Day.

Not sure why, but fewer delayed matches this week means we only get 8 of the 10 for the first time this season on broadcast television (all 10 of course available if you have espn3.com & foxsoccer.tv). Based on the resurgence of Liverpool and the extraordinary matches Spurs have played this year, I’m going to give all 4 stars to the final match of the week at White Hart Lane Sunday. Villa v Arsenal should also be entertaining in the first match early Saturday morning. And look at the bottom for an 11th must-see match to watch!

****:  Must-see.  Cancel all other activities.  Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***:  Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**:   Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*:    Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, November 27 (all times EST)
*** Aston Villa v Arsenal, 7:45 am, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com
Arsenal are a topsy-turvy team this year, sometimes looking like world beaters, and then in last week’s 2nd half and in their mid-week Champions League match, looking very very ordinary.  Villa didn’t score against the Gunners last year.

** Man Utd v Blackburn, 10 am, FSC/FD
They’re going to find a way to win it after all, right?

*** Stoke v Man City, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
If Man City ever turns the offensive jets on, watch out.  They’re just 3 points off the leaders.

** Fulham v Birmingham, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & noon (delayed) FSC
Two teams declining quickly.

* West Ham v Wigan, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC/FD
Do I have to give this match a star?   Say goodbye, Avram.

** Everton v West Brom, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 6 pm (delayed) FS+
The Baggies are sliding down incredibly quickly.

*** Bolton v Blackpool, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv
Well, this is Fox’s first real scheduling mistake of the season.  I suppose there are very few USA based fans of these two sides, but those of us without foxsoccer.tv are going to miss an attractive football match.  Bolton are playing better than even Spurs right now.

* Wolverhampton v Sunderland, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv
This one probably fine to skip.

Sunday, November 28

** Newcastle v Chelsea, 8:30 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
Chelsea need to win these types of matches to stay level with United.

**** Tottenham v Liverpool, 11 am, FSC/FD
This becomes an important match.  Liverpool want back what they feel is rightfully theirs.  (CL football.)  Spurs advanced easily to the final 16 and may very well win the group to avoid Barcelona and Madrid in the next round.

Monday, November 29
***** Barcelona v Real Madrid, ESPND & espn3.com
Speaking of which…  Yes, you read the stars right.  The only 5-star match of the season!  Barcelona in all their glory and passing, with all of the World Cup heroes, against Cristiano and the Special One.  I still haven’t seen whether ESPN2 is going to carry this match, but they should.  Otherwise, watch or record ESPN Deportes, or find a way to hook up espn3.com, because this could be a great one.  Yes, they are very upset in Spain about this match moving to Monday night (Catalonian elections Sunday), but I saw both Madrid & Barca play mid-week, and they both looked absolutely terrific.  With Barca we get the best of Brazil (two attacking full backs that play more like attacking wingers than English style full backs), Spain (Xavi & Iniesta on the ball are just incredible) and Argentina (Messi).  Madrid is playing amazing soccer too, and it would be shocking if Jose doesn’t have something up his sleeve for this match (witness the two late red cards for time-wasting in their penultimate group stage match; cheeky).  You simply cannot miss el clásico!

The first match is the must-see match this week: the North London derby. It includes the team most hungry for a trophy against the best player in the world right now, Gareth Bale. Yes, I said it. Week in, week out, he’s matching Messi and Cristiano for that spot!

And a word about ESPN’s production values for their Saturday game of the week. They are getting better and better. Not only do we get Ian Darke and co-commentator on location, but we get pregame on-the-pitch interviews with both managers, Disney up-close-and-personal stories with American players or others of great interest, and extraordinary sound and picture quality. My only two quibbles with ESPN right now are:  (1) keep Ekoku off the airwaves, and (2) I pray for the 7:45 am matches, because then the annoying other match goal updates are irrelevant!  As a friend said to me last week, when ESPN has a 10 am match (or when they had the Manchester derby), you have to record and watch that match last, lest it spoils all of the other games!

We’ve now settled down to the standard television pattern for the 10 matches, with  live Man Utd and Chelsea matches at 10, the tea-time 12:30 match live on FSC, and the other 3 matches shown Saturday afternoon on tape (nothing delayed til Sunday this week).  On Sunday morning, we get the FS+ match at 8:30, and then Mark Hughes hosts his old side on FSC at 11.  The pretty entertaining Sunderland v Everton “Monday Night Football” match is again shut out from ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, with only internet access on espn3.com.

****:  Must-see.  Cancel all other activities.  Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***:  Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**:   Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*:    Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, November 20 (all times EST)

**** Arsenal v Tottenham, 7:45 am, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com
Spurs were totally destroyed in this fixture last year, 3-nil, but came back to win the return fixture 2-1 on Broadway Danny Rose’s famous goal.  This is a scintillating fixture given their respective league standings, and some great matchups on the pitch as well.  Spurs’ woeful record away against the “Big 4” continues, now up to 68 matches without a victory at Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, or Man Utd.  One of the can’t miss matches of the season!

** Birmingham v Chelsea, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
A goalless draw last year, and Birmingham will probably put 10 men behind the ball.   It’s been a while since Chelsea won a game in the league.

** Man Utd v Wigan, 10 am, FSC/FD
The race has tightened up at the top.  This should be an easy win for the Red Devils.  It was 5-nil last year.  Some chance we might see a Rooney appearance as he has returned from Dubai and Oregon.

** West Brom v Stoke, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 4 pm (delayed) FS+
Tony Pulis must be the greatest half-time talk manager ever.  Stoke have scored 87% of their goals in the second half this year.  Now what can he do about the first half?

*** Bolton v Newcastle, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC
It’s tight in the middle of the league, so these sides could go either way, but both have played pretty attractive football so far.  I hope to see more moves from Johan Elmander like last week’s amazing goal!  Here’s a bar trivia question that will be very easy for you to win:  which EPL player has made the most tackles this season (74)?  The American Stuart Holden!

* Blackpool v Wolverhampton, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 6 pm (delayed) FS+
Wolves keep beating Blackpool at Bloomfield Road, winning 5 and drawing 4 in their last 9 visits!  But they’ve never met in the Premier League.

** Liverpool v West Ham, 12:30 pm, FSC/FD
This will probably be the Torres show.  First hat trick of the season for him?  The Hammers simply cannot win at Anfield — they haven’t won in 38 visits, last winning in front of the Kop in 1963, before I was born!

Sunday, November 21

** Blackburn v Aston Villa, 8:30 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
Blackburn beat Villa twice last season, but Villa looked strong against United on Saturday.  With so many midfielders injured for Villa, though, Robert Pires is talking about going straight into the starting lineup Sunday.

*** Fulham v Man City, 11 am, FSC/FD
Hughes will want to win this one.  Shay Given probably is back in goal for City.  Neither team has played their best recently.

Monday, November 22

*** Sunderland v Everton, 3 pm, espn3.com only
The Black Cats are on fire, keeping clean sheets, and getting Gyan and his chicken dance untracked.  Bent may be back as well.  Everton remain the yo-yo team.  Perhaps they can re-sign Landon Donovan on loan to kick-start their season, like he did last year.

Well, perhaps I’m just really disappointed by the lack of action and goals in the Manchester Derby, but I’m in a foul mood, and am going to be very parsimonious in handing out the stars this week. No 4-star matches. The picks of the week are probably United visiting Villa Park, and Arsenal’s Merseyside trip to Everton.

****:  Must-see.  Cancel all other activities.  Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***:  Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**:   Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*:    Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, November 13 (all times EST)

*** Aston Villa v Man Utd, 7:45 am, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com
Houllier v Ferguson. Should be fun.

** Man City v Birmingham, 10 am, FSC/FD
City were very disappointing Wednesday night.  I felt they really missed Bellamy, who offered pace and width in the derbies last season.  Milner had a number of really bad touches, and Barry struggled too.  De Jong was terrific.  Tevez had flashes of brilliance but not enough attacking support.  Birmingham are organized, so let’s see if City can break through.

** Tottenham v Blackburn, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
I said to a friend of mine (big Spurs fan) last weekend, that if Kaboul & Gallas are the center half pair for Spurs for most EPL games, they will struggle to finish in the top half of the table.  And Tuesday night they struggled again.  Poor start in the league for ‘Arry.

* West Ham v Blackpool, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 4 pm (delayed) FS+
Blackpool is a bit up the table, but their goal difference is awful, and I’m calling this an early 6-pointer.

** Newcastle v Fulham, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC
Newcastle’s return to the league is going better than planned!

* Wigan v West Brom, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 6 pm (delayed) FS+
6-pointer.

* Wolverhampton v Bolton, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv only
I can’t find a delayed tv listing for this one.  Maybe you can, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.

** Stoke v Liverpool, 12:30 pm, FSC/FD
Top half of the table, and here comes Torres!

Sunday, November 14

*** Everton v Arsenal, 9 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
Don’t look now, but Everton are just 6 points off a Champions League spot.  I was in London last week, and Gunners supporters are convinced that Wenger’s going for Cup trophies and not the league.

** Chelsea v Sunderland, 11:10 am, FSC/FD
A +23 goal differential from 12 matches is quite impressive.

Non-EPL note:  The Milan derby is live on FSC at 2:30 pm Sunday.

We have our first mid-week contests coming up, so I think the approach I’m going to take this season is to list all 20 matches for the week ahead, rather than 2 separate guides, so take a deep breath, and here goes.

If there is one match all year I would give 5 stars to, I think it would be the Manchester derby.  Last year we were treated to four of these, and they were simply extraordinary!!  I certainly hope Tevez is back and healthy.  City may miss Bellamy’s heroics, though Michael Owen got the late winner as the clock ticked on and on.  ESPN2 will be carrying this amazing match.  The Liverpool v Chelsea encounter on Sunday still earns my fourth star for this weekend, for historical reasons.

****:  Must-see.  Cancel all other activities.  Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***:  Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**:   Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*:    Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, November 6 (final day of EDT)

*** Bolton v Tottenham, 8:45 am, ESPN2/ESPND, espn3.com
The third star is for Bale, as there is no better player in the world to watch right now!!  What a win for Spurs on Tuesday night.

*** Fulham v Aston Villa, 11 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
Americans are seeing the continued emergence of Clint Dempsey as a bona fide EPL star.

** Man Utd v Wolverhampton, 11 am, FSC/FD
Wolves did not manage a goal against United last year, though they looked terrific against City last week.

* Sunderland v Stoke, 11 am, foxsoccer.tv & 1 pm (delayed) FSC
* Birmingham v West Ham, 11 am, foxsoccer.tv & 1 pm (delayed) FD
** Blackpool v Everton, 11 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FS+
* Blackburn v Wigan, 11 am, foxsoccer.tv & Sunday 10:30 am (delayed) FS+

Sunday, November 7 (all times EST)
*** Arsenal v Newcastle, 8:30 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
This should be a fun one.  Tough loss for Arsenal mid-week; Newcastle couldn’t have dreamed of a better scenario than what they did to rivals Sunderland.

*** West Brom v Man City, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC/FD
Terrific top-of-the-table clash, though the sides spend a bit differently.

**** Liverpool v Chelsea, 11 am, FSC/FD
Liverpool is only 5 points out away from a Champions League spot!  There was a time when this fixture came too frequently.  Liverpool was blanked by identical 2-nil margins in last year’s matches.  Chelsea are still the team to beat.

Tuesday, November 9
* Stoke v Birmingham, 2:45 pm, ESPND & espn3.com
** Tottenham v Sunderland, 3 pm, FSC/FD

Wednesday, November 10
*** Chelsea v Fulham, 2:45 pm, FSC/FD
** Wigan v Liverpool, 2:45 pm, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
** Newcastle v Blackburn, 2:45 pm, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC
* West Ham v West Brom, 2:45 pm, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FS+

** Aston Villa v Blackpool, 2:45 pm, ESPN3.com
I can’t find any delayed offerings of this match on television.  FSC & FS+ have lots of FA Cup Round 1 matches to show, and still seem to prefer to show “classic” matches over 1-day delayed EPL matches.  I still think they should show matches like this one at 2 in the morning.

**** Man City v Man Utd, 3 pm, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com
The big one, and terrific that we should have Ian Darke live on site for this one.  Hearing that Tevez should be fit and back.  What a derby!

** Everton v Bolton, 3 pm, ESPN3.com

*** Wolverhampton v Arsenal, 3 pm, ESPN3.com

What a weekend we have ahead!  Three big derbies, plus two Champions League sides facing off in the Saturday tea-time match at Old Trafford.

First, please note that in Europe they move their clocks back this Sunday morning, whereas we in America wait an extra week.  So the matches this Sunday, Monday, and then the following Saturday will all start an hour later here than we are used to. So west coasters can sleep an extra hour if you want to watch matches live.

Our 4-star match will be United hosting Spurs Saturday afternoon. No Rooney, but the little pea is on fire, and you know a United game is likely going to come down to injury time. The pick of the derbies might be Villa-Brum, but the tackles will be flying in at Newcastle you can be sure. I can’t find live television for the derby at Villa, but FS+ will have it tape-delayed at 11:30 am ET.

Here’s the viewing guide:

****:  Must-see.  Cancel all other activities.  Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***:  Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**:   Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*:    Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, October 30 (all times EDT)

** Arsenal v West Ham, 10 am, FSC/FD
Not the most exciting derby of the week.  The Hammers started brightly home to Newcastle, then faded and were truly awful in the 2nd half.  They did advance mid-week, however, to the Carling Cup quarterfinal, along with the Gunners.  Terrific win for Wenger’s crew at the Eastlands Sunday.

** Blackburn v Chelsea, 10 am, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com
ESPN had first pick and went for this match over the London derby.  This fixture finished 1-1 last year.

** Wolverhampton v Man City, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
City came and thumped Wolves nil-3 last year. Mancini still needs more consistency if he wants to contend. Tevez has gone home to Argentina again, and there’s even talk the star may miss the mid-week Manchester derby in 2 weeks.

** Everton v Stoke, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC

* Fulham v Wigan, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 8 pm (delayed) FS+

**** Man Utd v Tottenham, 12:30 pm, FSC/FD
United won each fixture last year by identical 3-1 margins.  While there’s been recent talk of the aging stars Giggs, Scholes and Van der Sar at United, this game will still feature some of the best young players in the game:  Hernandez, Bale, Nani, Lennon.  + Berbatov and Van der Vaart.  If Spurs get a penalty, I imagine it will be the mellifluous combination of Van der Vaart facing Van der Sar.  My dictionary says Vaart means speed whereas Sar means tease or nag, so perhaps the Spurs should be favored in that matchup.

Sunday, October 31
*** Aston Villa v Birmingham, 8 am, foxsoccer.tv & 11:30 am (delayed) FS+
This is still the Second City derby, and it’s always one of the most intense matches of the season.  Villa have won 6 of these in a row, and in many of those 6 they’ve won with a very late goal.  The penalty that decided the last one in April was hotly contested, and I have to say I agree with Birmingham fans that Martin Atkinson erred.

*** Newcastle v Sunderland, 9:30 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
This terrific rivalry is also back in the EPL.  I give 50% odds Joey Barton sees red.

* Bolton v Liverpool, 12 noon, FSC
Note the noon kickoff.

Monday, November 1
** Blackpool v West Brom, 4 pm, ESPND & espn3.com
Their league standings don’t reflect this, but it might be an early 6-pointer for two newly promoted sides.  No ESPN2 again.

Eighty games in the books, a cool 300 to go! The 81st and 90th look like the best this weekend with ESPN2 back with Everton visiting a loud White Hart Lane for the early Saturday kickoff. Can Spurs provide 10 additional men to join superstar Gareth Bale? And the one I won’t miss is the Sunday tea time match up in the Eastlands with Arsenal visiting their old friend Adebayor in this battle for second in the EPL. As The Gaffer mentioned previously this week, the early Sunday match is, for the first time, moved from FS+ to the more widely subscribed FSC. Just because of Man Utd? A trend of things to come?

****: Must-see. Cancel all other activities. Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***: Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**: Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*: Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, October 23 (all times EDT)

*** Tottenham v Everton, 7:45 am, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com
Did the derby get the Toffees back to full end-of-season form or was it a one-off? Spurs were exposed in all kinds of ways by the cupholders in Milan, showing they’re still new to top-notch European football. Wouldn’t you want to build a team around Bale, though?

** Chelsea v Wolverhampton, 10 am, FSC/FD (full game repeat at 7 pm & condensed game at 9 pm)
The goals may flow.

** Sunderland v Aston Villa, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv

** West Brom v Fulham, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC

** Birmingham v Blackpool, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 6 pm (delayed) FS+
These two could still end up in the relegation battle, given the strengths of the league, so these are important 3 points.

* Wigan v Bolton, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & Sunday 11 am (delayed) FS+
Fox yet again picks the right match to delay til Sunday.

** West Ham v Newcastle, 12:30 pm, FSC/FD
Two storied teams in the Saturday late match.

Sunday, October 24

*** Stoke v Man Utd, 8:30 am, FSC (full game repeat at 7 pm & condensed game at 9 pm)
The Brittania is never an easy place to visit, and the media will be focused on this one. Will Rooney play again for Ferguson? What a let-down after being up 2-nil against WBA last week.

** Liverpool v Blackburn, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC
A game Hodgson simply has to win.

**** Man City v Arsenal, 11 am, FSC/FD
The best is saved for last this week. We all remember this fixture from last year with Adebayor’s length-of-the-pitch run and demonstration in front of the visiting Arsenal fans. Will he get the start up front again? Arsenal was in form mid-week in the Champions League, but have already dropped 10 points in the league and find themselves 5 points adrift after 8 matches, and have already lost to Chelsea. Fabregas looks ready to return to EPL action in this must-see match.

Does anybody enjoy the international break? Especially after horrendous US and England matches Tuesday, I’m glad to have our beloved EPL back. The 4-star match is, of course, the Liverpool derby, and it’s a bottom-of-the-table 6-pointer to boot! Sorry, West Coasters, you simply have to get up early for that one. The bottom 4 face each other with Wolves hosting West Ham. We get a fun London derby from Craven Cottage, and we see if Villa is ready for Chelsea to visit in the Saturday tea-time featured match. Looks like a great weekend ahead!

****: Must-see. Cancel all other activities. Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***: Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**: Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*: Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, October 16 (all times EDT)
** Man Utd v West Brom, 10 am, ESPN2/ESPND & espn3.com
It’s pretty clear that whenever given first choice, ESPN will choose Manchester United. Their research has told them Americans would rather tune in to watch a bad game with the most recognizable English name in soccer, over, say, a juicy London derby at Craven Cottage. Rooney still can’t find his form, even against lowly Montenegro.

*** Fulham v Tottenham, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
Spurs did not allow Fulham a goal last year, but Fulham always play better at home.

** Arsenal v Birmingham, 10 am, FSC/FD
(Please note that Fox Soccer Español has changed its name to Fox Deportes, so I will now use FD as the symbol for that channel.) With no 7:45 am match this week, we’re back to 3 simultaneous live matches at 10 am Eastern, meaning those of us who are both out of the house and without foxsoccer.tv subscriptions will have to decide which 2 to record. This is probably the one I’ll skip, though it could end up more entertaining then the derby above.

** Wolverhampton v West Ham, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 4 pm (delayed) FS+
A sign of things to come for these 2 teams? We have to wait for FS+ to televise the Boro-Leeds match on tape delay before we can get Wolves-Hammers on tape delay! Avram’s team was much improved in the games prior to the break.

** Newcastle v Wigan, 10 am foxsoccer.tv & 8:30 pm (delayed) FSC

* Bolton v Stoke, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 10:30 am Sunday (delayed) FS+
Fox makes another correct choice on which game to delay all the way til Sunday.

*** Aston Villa v Chelsea, 12:30 pm, FSC/FD
Chelsea lost at Villa Park, 2-1 last year, then got their revenge by pumping in an amazing 7 back at the Bridge. This should be entertaining.

Sunday, October 17
**** Everton v Liverpool, 8:30 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
Kuyt’s serious injury and the loss of Agger just add to Hodgson’s pain, though supporters seem ecstatic at the High Court ruling to oust Hicks & Gillett. Moyes’s team, fortunately back in blue, are on a bit of an upswing, and the tackles will be flying, as always, in this one. The Toffees would have to score 5+ goals, though, for Liverpool to end the weekend rock bottom in the league. Liverpool won both encounters last season without conceding a goal.

** Blackpool v Man City, 11 am, FSC/FD
City needs to win these if they want to challenge seriously for the title.

Monday, October 18
* Blackburn v Sunderland, 3 pm, ESPND & espn3.com
These were both entertaining encounters last season, with 7 goals scored, so perhaps I’ve been too harsh. So enjoy if you’d like.

Wow, what a weekend Gameweek 6 was. The four Champions League sides really struggled, producing a single point amongst them, and Liverpool, even benefiting from a gift goal, could not win at Anfield. (Five demerits to me for not mentioning the exploding balloon match). I doubt any 27-year olds will be assigned for the reverse fixture on March 19. In fact, you can circle that date as all of the matches we saw this past weekend will be reversed for the 19th/20th of March. I imagine we’ll get Chelsea v Man City in the Sunday 11 am match this time (west coast viewers will be happier!) while I’ll bet they give more prominence to Sunderland v Liverpool given the last two meetings. But I’m thinking too far ahead.

Let’s move back to the first matches of October! Chelsea v Arsenal at the Bridge is clearly our 4-star match of this weekend. Spurs v Villa should be very entertaining (3 stars) and the second London derby may provide some end-to-end action too. We have another early season 6-pointer in the early kickoff match, which will be aired on ESPN Deportes & espn3.com, but not on ESPN2 (fishing shows), and we’ll give it the appropriate 1-star. Enjoy your fix, and we’ll be back in 2 weeks after the international break.

**** Must-see. Cancel all other activities. Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
*** Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
** Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
* Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, October 2 (all times EDT)
* Wigan v Wolverhampton, 7:45 am, espn3.com & ESPN Deportes
The away side won each match last year.

*** West Ham v Fulham, 9:55 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv & 10 pm (delayed) FS+
2 great matches last year, with 9 goals scored. Hammers looked terrific Saturday against Spurs, while Fulham’s matches have been exciting.

*** Sunderland v Man Utd, 10 am, ESPN2 & espn3.com
Steve Bruce looks forward to this match and Sunderland look comfortably mid-table. Not all is right for Sir Alex’s boys, especially away from Old Trafford, where they have now conceded 7, though the kids looked good Wednesday night in Spain.

*** Tottenham v Aston Villa, 10 am, FSC & FSE & 6 pm (delayed & condensed to 1 hour) FSC
Look who has 10 points! Both matches ended in draws last year.

** Birmingham v Everton, 10 am foxsoccer.tv & 12 noon (delayed) FSC & 2 pm (delayed) FSE
These two played two draws last season. Birmingham also look comfortably mid-table, while Everton need to pretend it’s April and not October. Like Man City & Villa, Birmingham have only conceded 1 at home.

* Stoke v Blackburn, 10 am foxsoccer.tv & 4 pm (delayed) FS+

** West Brom v Bolton, 10 am foxsoccer.tv & Sunday 10:30 am (delayed) FS+
Not many sides will score 3 at the Emirates (after missing a penalty too!). Bolton had a great game plan against United and deserved their draw. Had Elmander been able to convert, Bolton might have taken all 3 points.

Sunday, October 3
*** Man City v Newcastle, 8:30 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
Newcastle have come back up all pistons firing, but City simply do not concede goals. They have not yet put together the brilliant offensive attack we thought we might get (losing Bellamy took away some of their flair), but they are playing like one of the better Italian sides.

** Liverpool v Blackpool, 10 am foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC & FSE
Hodgson just can’t seem to get it going.

**** Chelsea v Arsenal, 11 am, FSC
No away side has scored at the Bridge, and Chelsea has only allowed the late consolation Scott Parker goal and Tevez’s brilliant finish Saturday this season. You all will remember last season, when Chelsea simply man-handled the lightweights from North London, easily winning both matches without coming close to allowing a Gunner goal. Is Arsenal strong enough to challenge this year? From what we saw at the Emirates against West Brom: no.

Last week’s 4-star match certainly lived up to its billing! And do we already have the goal of the season from Berbatov, just 5 matches in?

This weekend leads off with a fantastic 4-star match, Man City v Chelsea. Ancelotti’s team finally face a stiffer test, after their Wednesday exit from the League Cup, and they have Marseille and Arsenal visiting Stamford Bridge too before the international break. No tea-time (noon for us on the East Coast) Saturday match this weekend, so Fox Soccer Channel has delayed the showing of the Hammers-Spurs derby til noon (die-hards who need to watch live can see it at 10 on Fox Sports Español, though I’ll wait til noon for the hi-def). Look closely for the staggered kick-off times on Sunday.

**** Must-see. Cancel all other activities. Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
*** Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
** Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
* Only if you’re a die-hard

Also, don’t forget to bookmark the most updated version of the Premier League TV schedule for viewers in the United States.

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, September 25 (all times EDT)
**** Man City v Chelsea, 7:45 am, ESPN2 & espn3.com
I love when the best match of the weekend is the 7:45am ESPN match. We get a proper pre-game build-up and a terrific picture from ESPN with better audio than Fox. I’ve heard no further word of whether Ian Darke has now signed officially to call all these ESPN matches, but it would be terrific to have him for this cracker of a match. There were 9 goals in these two fixtures last year, and City won both matches, with red cards, Terry vs. Bridge, some awful goalkeeping from Hilario, and Tevez, Tevez, Tevez. We get some extraordinary matchups in this one: Tevez v Terry, Drogba v Kompany, Milner v his england teammate Cole, Essien v Toure. It should be end-to-end, with an Italian coaching battle on the sideline too. Get up early, make a proper breakfast, and enjoy!

** Arsenal v West Brom, 10 am, FSC & 12 pm (delayed) FSE
It’s probably a sign of the difference in American support for the Gunners and Spurs that Fox picks this match ahead of the Spurs’ London derby for the live 10 am match on the prime channel.

*** Liverpool v Sunderland, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
There were signs of life for parts of the United match last week, but it still feels like Hodgson is trying to work things out. Gyan has started nicely for Sunderland, but the defense has been spotty. The away side did not score in the two matches last year.

*** West Ham v Tottenham, 10 am, FSE & 12 pm (delayed) FSC
Are things actually looking up for the league’s worst team? A well-fought draw at Stoke last Saturday followed by a mid-week League Cup win at Sunderland have the East London side’s fans more optimistic. This derby has been a fun one over the years, including Tevez’s first ever EPL goal (in a game Spurs won 4-3 in injury time), and, of course, the infamous Canary Wharf lasagna match in 2006 that cost Spurs the Champions League. Last year Spurs won at Upton Park 1-2, and I’m still not sure who can mark Gareth Bale.

** Fulham v Everton, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 4 pm (delayed) FS+
* Birmingham v Wigan, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC

* Blackpool v Blackburn, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv (no broadcast)
Notwithstanding the Tangerines’ strong start, I think that Fox got this one correct: if there had to be one of the 10 matches shown only on the Internet, this was the match.

Sunday, September 26
** Bolton v Man Utd, 7 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
United has to start beating the minnows handily, like Chelsea has. Last year, it was nil-4 to Sir Alex.

*** Wolverhampton v Aston Villa, 9:05 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
Another week, another Midlands derby, and Houllier’s league debut. Both fixtures ended in draws last season.

** Newcastle v Stoke, 11:10 am, FSC
Joey Barton vs. the dirtiest team in the league? Could be interesting.

A four-star game is back, and I suppose Manchester United v Liverpool will always be a four-star match, no matter what troubles one team or the other are having. I know the debate will start anew regarding why this match is on Fox Soccer Plus, or how well the FoxSoccer.tv web site can handle the increased traffic. But live, via DVR or on demand, this is still must-see TV. The pattern of 6 live matches and 4 delayed (with one delayed from Saturday to Sunday) continues.

**** Must-see. Cancel all other activities. Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
*** Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
** Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
* Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, 18 September 2010 (all times EDT)

** Stoke v West Ham, 7:45 am, ESPN2 & espn3.com
An early-season “6-pointer” in the prime ESPN spot? That was a huge come-from-behind win for Tony Pulis’ gang upon his halftime arrival against Villa last week. There’s virtually nothing positive to say about the Hammers’ early start. Avram Grant hands over the reins of the league’s worst team for 1 match due to Yom Kippur. Stoke won both fixtures last season. At least they’re each trying to play attractive soccer, which along with the ESPN2 hi-def picture just nicks a second star.

*** Everton v Newcastle, 9:55 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
Everton’s amazing last-minute draw against Man Utd (I knew I should have given that match the 4th star!) didn’t improve their league standing, but it will give David Moyes’ team belief. Now they have to start winning their home games.

** Tottenham v Wolverhampton, 10:00 am, FSC
Wolves won both of these fixtures last year, each by a 1-nil score. Spurs played an extraordinary half of soccer away from home Tuesday night in their first Champions League match, but were let down by poor defending by Assou-Ekotto & Corluka in conceding the two goals.

* Blackburn v Fulham, 10:00 am, foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC
** Aston Villa v Bolton, 10:00 am, foxsoccer.tv & 6 pm (delayed) FS+

* West Brom v Birmingham, 10:00 am, foxsoccer.tv & Sunday 12:30 pm (delayed) FS+
I took all kinds of flak from 2nd city die-hards last year for giving only 2 stars to the last 2nd city derby (Villa v Birmingham). I watched that match last April and I admitted I was wrong. Tackles were flying in from everywhere, the fans were at top decibel and the players were as intense as I’ve ever seen for what I called “a meaningless match” (or words to that effect). So I probably risk significant ire for giving this derby match a low rating. But there are dozens of London derbies that aren’t like Villa v Brum or West Brom v Wolves. So, again, 2nd city die-hards, or those who love any derby, have at it. For neutrals, enjoy the Sunderland v Arsenal match.

*** Sunderland v Arsenal, 12:30 pm, FSC
Sunderland won this fixture 1-nil last season, and Gyan got off to a nice start last week, even if they couldn’t hold the lead.

Sunday, 19 September 2010
**** Man Utd v Liverpool, 8:30 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
United’s dropped points mean they need to win the big fixtures, including the Chelsea matches, to stay in the title hunt. Nothing about Liverpool has looked good this year. Joe Cole should be back for his first of these showdowns. Can Torres fend off his critics and start scoring in this critical fixture? Vidic has always had trouble marking him, with Torres scoring at Old Trafford and Anfield last season. All is not perfect at United either, as evidenced by the two late goals at Everton and the inability to score against Rangers.

*** Wigan v Man City, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 3 pm (delayed) FSE
It’s Wigan as much as Man City that makes this a surprisingly compelling fixture, as Wigan have Jekyll & Hyde offered nail-biting late equalizers and a huge win at White Hart Lane along with disastrous defending in conceding 10 to Chelsea & Blackpool. Which will we see Sunday? Meanwhile, City have only 5 points from 4, heading into the Europe match in Austria Thursday night. They certainly have not quite gelled as a team and we remain far away from considering them title contenders in anything other than pounds spent. If you haven’t watched a match on FSE yet, they show the international feed 99% of the time, but mix in special close-ups of featured Latino players. So Tevez & Alcaraz could be featured for the Latino audience.

** Chelsea v Blackpool, 11 am, FSC
Notwithstanding Blackpool’s strong start (think Burnley last year), they should not put up much of a fight against the league champions.

Once again, all 10 matches are available on television in the US, once again 6 live and 4 delayed. Note the date change on Everton-United; the channels remain the same. I do enjoy getting those early morning matches on Saturdays.

**** Must-see. Cancel all other activities. Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
*** Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
** Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
* Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, September 11 (all times EDT)
*** Everton v Man Utd, 7:45 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv

Fixture moved from Sunday to accommodate Man Utd’s Champions League match against Rangers Tuesday night. The match stays on FS+. Everton won this fixture last year 3-1; Rooney’s return usually makes for a good match.

** West Ham v Chelsea, 10 am, ESPN2 & espn3.com
Because ESPN had been advertising this derby all week, and FS+ the Everton match, they stuck with the same matches even when the EPL moved Everton up a day, so ESPN2 doesn’t get their usual 7:45am time slot. West Ham are off to their worst-ever start, and Chelsea their best-ever. An upset in the brewing? Naaaah. Lampard and Terry, the east London boys, are due back for the Blues.

*** Arsenal v Bolton, 10 am, FSC
The Wanderers may be brought down to earth by an in-form Arsenal side. Contrasting styles could make this an interesting watch, as Bolton play physically and Arsenal pass the ball. But no Van Persie, Bendtner, nor finally maturing Walcott will give Bolton some hope.

** Man City v Blackburn, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
The natives will get restless if City lose two on the hop. City pumped in 6 goals on the Rovers last season. Tevez looked extraordinary with two assists and a goal against the World Champions Tuesday back in Argentina.

** West Brom v Tottenham, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv, 12 pm (delayed) FSC
Spurs should play with a chip on their shoulder after what Wigan did to them and not look ahead to their trip to Germany Tuesday night. The North London side is losing players to England duty though, includng injuries to Dawson and Defoe.

** Fulham v Wolverhampton, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv, 11:30pm (delayed) FSC
Wolves are getting results; every point may matter.

** Newcastle v Blackpool, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv, 8:30 am Sunday (delayed) FS+
They split their fixtures in the Championship last year, with each side winning at home. Newcastle have looked bright, and Blackpool have matched them with a win, a loss and a draw.

** Wigan v Sunderland, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv, 12:30 pm Sunday (delayed) FS+
Perhaps upgrade to three stars if the Black Cats’ latest signing Gyan of Ghana gets the start upfront. Actually, Sunderland’s roster looks pretty strong. And Wigan is fun to watch, as you never know if Martinez’s side is going to concede 7 or upset a Champions League side.

Sunday, September 12
*** Birmingham v Liverpool, 11 am, FSC
We only get one live game on Sunday, and it should be a good one. Both matches were draws last year.

Monday, September 13
** Stoke v Aston Villa, 3 pm, espn3.com
With Gerard Houllier in place for Villa by Monday, he has some raw material to shape over the course of the season. There was only 1 goal in their 2 fixtures last year, so not the most scintillating of matches for “Monday Night Football”.

Granted I haven’t been writing this column for years, but for the first time in my tenure, there simply isn’t a 4-star drop-everything match. So enjoy the late summer fine weather, hang out at the beach or lake or your local soccer field. Queue up the DVR as there are some interesting early-season games, though, and once again, all 10 are available on television: 6 live, and 4 delayed.

**** Must-see. Cancel all other activities. Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
*** Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
** Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
* Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, August 28 (all times EDT)

** Blackburn v Arsenal, 7:45 am, ESPN2 & espn3.com
Arsenal will want to start securing 3 points away from home.

*** Chelsea v Stoke, 10:00 am, Fox Soccer Plus & foxsoccer.tv & again 8pm Fox Soccer Plus
Chelsea are just scintillating to watch, even if this game is likely to be another blow-out. Drogba’s unselfishness may play dividends down the road. There are going to be some awful teams at the bottom again this year, so Tony Pulis need not hit the panic button yet.

** Tottenham v Wigan, 10:00 am, Fox Soccer Channel & Fox Deportes
This game perhaps should have been 1-star, but Defoe was so incredible in this fixture last year, it’s worth a look at the goals, etc. I am not sure if there is an adjective in the English language that can adequately define Wigan’s defending. WHL will be in full voice after Spurs advanced to the Champions League group stage Wednesday night.

** Wolverhampton v Newcastle, 10:00 am, foxsoccer.tv & 6 pm (delayed) Fox Soccer Plus
These two sides are in the top half of the table, so does this match deserve an upgrade to 3 stars? Naaaah; at least one will likely be in the relegation battle as we progress.

** Blackpool v Fulham, 10:00 am, foxsoccer.tv, & Sunday 9am (delayed) Fox Soccer Channel
I thought Fulham was absolutely terrific at times against Man United. Yes, this one is away from Craven Cottage where they have traditionally struggled. And we finally get to see Bloomfield Road as a Premier League venue, upgraded from 12,555 to 16,220 seats.

** Man Utd v West Ham, 12:30 pm, Fox Soccer Channel
West Ham continue to have trouble defending, and they simply cannot put the ball in the net. (They needed an injury-time goal from Parker to advance past Oxford United in the Carling Cup this week.) Meanwhile, Scholes and Berbatov have started strong for the Red Devils; Rooney & Nani not so much.

Sunday, August 29
*** Bolton v Birmingham, 8:30 am, Fox Soccer Plus & foxsoccer.tv
These two are fighting for a Champions League spot at the moment. Will that continue past, say, Week 5? Probably not, but a terrific start for each side. Worth watching.

** Liverpool v West Brom, 10:00 am, foxsoccer.tv; 5pm (delayed) Fox Deportes; 7pm (delayed) Fox Soccer Plus
Presumably the Baggies visting Anfield finally gives the Reds a seriously winnable match.

** Sunderland v Man City, 10:00 am, foxsoccer.tv; 5 pm (delayed) Fox Soccer Plus
City will need all 3 points to justify their expenditures and title hopes. They looked strong enough on Monday night to do so.

*** Aston Villa v Everton, 11:00 am, Fox Soccer Channel
This is the match the schedule-makers singled out as best-of-the-week, with national television in both the UK & the USA. But Villa went from sublime to sub-standard in their visit to St James Park last week. And Everton is off to another slow start.

Gameweek 2 saves the best match for last, one of the rare Monday nighters. Hopefully Martin Tyler will be on the international call again, as he was this past Monday. Man United and Chelsea take to the road, visiting stadiums where they each got pummeled last year, conceding 3 goals apiece.

****: Must-see. Cancel all other activities. Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***: Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
**: Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*: Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, August 21 (all times EDT)
*** Arsenal v Blackpool, 10 am, ESPN2 & espn3.com
Blackpool are ahead of Arsenal in the league table, thanks to a nil-4 drubbing at woeful Wigan last week. Arsenal will probably control possession in this match, in a way that Wigan couldn’t. Blackpool start with 5 of 7 matches away from Bloomfield Road due to construction at their ground to meet Premier League standards, so at least they get their visits to the Emirates, Stamford Bridge and Anfield out of the way while they are still on their promotion high. Let’s see if they are brought down to earth quickly in this featured match.

** Everton v Wolverhampton, 10 am & 6 pm, FSC
Wolves drew both fixtures last year, and David Moyes’s side look like they might be off to another slow start. Tim Howard had a poor World Cup, and his EPL season is off to a worse start given his 14th minute absolute howler that gifted Blackburn all 3 points. Perhaps Timmy was blinded by 10 men wearing hot pink in front of him. He’ll have the regular blue for their 1st home match.

*** Stoke v Tottenham, 10 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv; 8 pm FS+
The fixtures are already coming fast and furious for Spurs, who will at least be happy to be back on natural grass for this visit to the Brittania. This was a good match last year, and let’s face, it, win, lose or draw this Spurs team is fun to watch.

* West Ham v Bolton, 10 am, Fox Sports Español & foxsoccer.tv; 2:30 pm FSC
Bolton won at Upton Park, 1-2 last year, and the Hammers simply can’t beat Bolton. Based on their form at Villa Park last week, they won’t be beating anyone any time soon.

** Birmingham v Blackburn, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv; 4 pm FS+
The home side won this fixture last year by identical 2-1 scores.

* West Brom v Sunderland, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv (& Sunday 10:30 am delayed, FS+)

** Wigan v Chelsea, 12:15 pm & 7 pm, FSC
Although we all remember Chelsea pouring in 8 goals 3 months ago as they hoisted their trophy, how many remember that the Latics pumped in 3 goals to beat Chelsea 3-1 at the DW earlier in the season? Martinez clearly did not work out the defensive problems between May & August, as Blackpool made absolute mincemeat of the Wigan defense. If Wigan could make Marlon Harewood look like an England #1, what will happen with a hernia-free Drogba?

Sunday, August 22
** Newcastle v Aston Villa, 8:30 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
Villa looked terrific at home against an awful West Ham. Now Ireland for Milner changes the complexion. Full stadium expected for Newcastle’s quick return.

*** Fulham v Man Utd, 11 am, FSC
Sir Alex will have revenge on his mind for last year’s destruction at the Cottage, and will field a strong lineup. Dempsey may have earned a start after looking lively as a substitute in game 1.

Monday, August 23
**** Man City v Liverpool, 3 pm, ESPN2 & espn3.com
Certainly the featured match of the week! Each of these sides was fortunate to get a draw in tough openers, and perhaps one will start with 1 point from 2, which would not help Champions’ League causes for the two teams who most want in to that elite club. Will James Milner and Mario Balotelli go directly into the starting eleven? Whoever is on the bench for City, it will be the most expensive bench in EPL history! For 90 minutes, Reina played as well as Joe Hart, who was my player of the week last week, but then fumbled the ball into his own net to give away two points as Arsenal poured forward for the late equalizer.

The Premier League is underway and the two main title protagonists have recorded emphatics wins coupled with extremely impressive performances. Chelsea’s 6-0 victory over West Brom was somewhat of a surprise given their lacklustre pre-season form and disappointing Community Shield display, but Didier Drogba has now declared Chelsea aren’t even ready for the season yet, an ominous warning to the rest of the Premier League.

Title rivals Manchester United though have already captured some silverware and in both competitive matches so far this season have produced two displays of hunger, fight and desire to win. This hunger was typified by Antonio Valencia and Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez, both pressed high up the pitch against Newcastle winning the ball in the final third with both opportunities leading to goals for their side.

The team though is being led by evergreen Paul Scholes and a rejuvenated Dimitar Berbatov.

Scholes has undoubtedly been the catalyst for the victories over Chelsea and Newcastle; he exudes calm and patience before picking that killer pass. He controlled the Community Shield from start to finish finding acres of space in the centre of the pitch, Essien, Mikel and Lampard couldn’t get near him. Sir Alex Ferguson labelled him ‘special’ after the 3-0 victory over Newcastle in the Premier League and few would argue as at 35 years of age, he can still mix it with the best of them.

His age though will inevitably work against him in the long run; he can no longer be expected to play two games a week at the highest level. Despite starting the season brightly, it would be safe to say Sir Alex will be managing his game time to the minute making sure he is fit when it matters.

United’s other star performer has been Berbatov, the Bulgarian enigma. The moody, lethargic and sometime disinterested £30 million man has seemingly sprung to life scoring a delightful chip against Chelsea and a well taken chance against Newcastle. It has not only been his new found liking for goals, his general play has gone up a level, on the face of it he seems happy and enjoying his football but journalist Andy Mitten followed United on their pre-season tour and noted the Bulgarian’s off pitch attitude is still lacking.

Given this he controlled the final third of the pitch in both matches, dropping deep to collect the ball, moving wide to occupy the full-backs and drag the central defenders from their comfort zone, all this then sewn together by his undoubted touch and vision. His partnership with new signing Chicharito looks promising in addition to his link up play with the improved Nani.

Can this form be sustained? Possibly, as on the pitch Berbatov is playing with a smile on his face, the burden he was saddled – the huge transfer fee – seems to have been lifted somewhat. The belief and desire emanating from Old Trafford is clear to see and on early season form only it would be hard to see the title not making its way back to Manchester.

After a terrific summer of World Cup matches, vuvuzela-free Premier League soccer is back! And I will be back too, with your weekly guide to Premier League matches. I intend this weekly column for two different audiences: First, for the person who needs no assistance figuring out which games to watch, they just want to know when and where. Hopefully we’ve assembled the places the US EPL supporter can watch, on the tube or on-line. Second, for those who would like a bit of editing, I’ll try to recommend the must-see matches and why. That might mean introducing you to a great second city derby or reminding you of a rematch of a game that had special import from last year or earlier this year. My ratings system is intended for neutrals; of course, every match is a 4-star must see for someone!

I’ve removed the HD designations this year, as I’m told all matches will be recorded by Sky UK in HD, but, alas, not every carrier has made HD channels available. In NYC, where I watch on Time Warner Cable, we do have HD versions of ESPN2 & Fox Soccer Plus (FS+), but we are told we have to wait til September for an HD version of the main Fox Soccer Channel (FSC). We will typically again get a Saturday 7:45 am (eastern time) match on ESPN2 (and a 10 am ESPN2 match for weeks without an early kickoff), simultaneous 10 am matches on FSC & FS+, and a live 12:30 match on FSC. The 8:30 am Sunday kickoff (no game this week) will again be on FS+ with the 11am on FSC. I think there are only 5 Monday night matches currently scheduled, and they will all be on ESPN2. Then other matches will be shown delayed around 2 pm on FSC & FS+, with one match embargoed all the way til Sunday morning. Fox has been advertising these delayed matches as “debuts.”

Enjoy the matches! Here is my first Premier League viewing guide for the 2010-11 season:

My ratings system:

**** Must-see. Cancel all other activities. Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
*** Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you can’t see live
** Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
* Only if you’re a die-hard

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, August 14 (all times EDT)
**** Tottenham v Man City 7:45 am, ESPN2 & espn3.com
In the reverse fixture that came on last season’s penultimate week, Spurs traveled north and won the 4th-place and final Champions League spot on Peter Crouch’s late goal. No team has more fun-to-watch wingers than Spurs, in Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale, and City’s extraordinary roster of stars (Tevez, Adebayor, new signing Kolarov at left back, Toure, Boateng, and on and on) may make them compelling television all season. Plus a very tough first-team keeper choice for Roberto Mancini: Ireland’s #1 (Given) vs. England’s new #1 (Hart).

*** Aston Villa v West Ham United, 10 am, FSC
Villa’s fortunes have changed markedly with this week’s resignation of Martin O’Neill. Caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald still has some terrific players to work with. And the likes of Agbonlahor and Ashley Young should be reaching their prime. James Milner is still there (for now) and will be tough for West Ham to handle. Meanwhile, the Hammers were simply awful last year, and stayed up only because Hull City, Pompey & Burnley were worse. (Full disclosure: I’m a 20-year West Ham supporter and suffered mightily last year.) West Ham should be better in midfield this year, with Pablo Barrera and Thomas Hitzlsperger joining Parker, Behrami, Dyer, and Collison, and with Avram Grant realizing that Julien Faubert is a winger, not a right back. Goals were at a premium, though, with Carlton Cole struggling with injuries, and Diamanti played in the wrong positions. It will certainly be, ahem, interesting, to see Robert Green’s reception in away matches, and his defense has not improved enough to keep clean sheets.

*** Blackburn v Everton, 9:55 am, FS+ and foxsoccer.tv (also 8 pm delayed FS+)

This one would have been two-stars, but I’ve upgraded it to 3 for Everton’s new away kit alone! If you haven’t seen it yet, take a look on Saturday as it gives a whole new look to the Premier League. Not many changes for David Moyes, whose squad got off to a terrible start last year, but were as hot as any team in the league last spring, beating Chelsea, and both Manchester squads. The Landon Donovan effect? Can Jermaine Beckford keep scoring in the EPL as he did for Leeds? A healthy Arteta would give Everton a strong chance for Europe again. Thy should score plenty of goals, even away from Liverpool. Blackburn will have a tougher time scoring again this year, but a Sam Allardyce team will have plenty of strength and guts and power.

* Wolves v Stoke City, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv; 2 pm (delayed), FS+

* Bolton v Fulham, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv; 2:30 pm (delayed), FSC

* Sunderland v Birmingham City, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv; Sunday 10:30 am (delayed), FS+

* Wigan v Blackpool, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv; no television coverage
Fox only had room for 7 of 8 matches, and with the bookies giving Blackpool an 80% chance of being relegated, they appear to have made the right choice. (Wigan are tipped 3rd for relegation.) For the die-hard, available on-line at foxsoccer.tv.

*** Chelsea v West Bromwich Albion, 12:30 pm, FSC
Great to see the Baggies back up so quickly, and they will probably again play attractive, positive soccer. Di Matteo may have a rude return to Stamford Bridge, though, and if Chelsea pick up where they left off in May, they may be pumping in 7-8 goals Saturday afternoon. (Granted, Chelsea have not looked good pre-season.) Chelsea will have far bigger matches than this one, so we’ll reserve more words for the Champions in later weeks. But they start with about as easy a schedule as one could possibly imagine, and Ancelotti will want 15 points from their first 5 (WBA, @Wigan, Stoke, @West Ham, and Blackpool) before their September 25 showdown at Eastlands.

Sunday, August 15
**** Liverpool v Arsenal, 11 am, FSC
What a terrific Sunday tea-time starter for the season, as these two perennial contenders try to retain/regain their Champions League positions and even contest for the title. Fabregas is still Arsenal’s captain but Arsenal has some questions from the back, notably at keeper, where they continue to look for a Champions League caliber #1, and there are question marks about who replaces Gallas. Will Chamakh get time up front immediately? Can Walcott cement a regular spot in the starting eleven? For Liverpool, the bigger changes are in management, with Rafa finally replaced by Hodgson. The near straight-up Joe-for-Yossi switch is their biggest player change, with healthy and productive Torres & Gerrard the key to their season. Aquilani may be set to show the most improvement under new management and it’s hard to imagine Liverpool having the type of bad luck they had last year (e.g., beach balls creating goals).

Monday, August 16
*** Man United v Newcastle, 3 pm, ESPN2 & espn3.com
A tough opening match for the Toon. It will be interesting to see what opening day lineup Sir Alex throws out, with so many options. We don’t get very many Monday games this year, but this should be a fun one.

The Man Who Still Holds the Key to Arsenal's Future

At first glance, this question looks bleedingly obvious. With their massive fan base, a beautiful new 60,000 plus seat stadium, and their years of success and trophies, Arsenal should be quite clearly considered to be a “big club.” For the past decade and more, they have been considered part of the so-called Big Four, along with Chelsea, Manchester United, and Liverpool. But now that old order is crumbling, and Arsenal are struggling to keep pace with the other big clubs.

Just about three weeks ago, when Tottenham Hotspur beat Arsenal, Guardian pundit (and EPL Talk award winner) Barry Glendenning made an offhanded comment that should really stick in the gut of all Arsenal fans. He stated that of course Spurs should beat us. They spend significantly more money than us on players. He’s dead right. And now it has come to this: Tottenham are on the verge of finally, and perhaps permanently, overtaking Arsenal as the dominant club in North London.

My fellow Gooners. Read that again. That should strike fear in the heart of every Arsenal fan around the globe.

But the numbers and the reality doesn’t lie. Sure, Arsenal has finished above Tottenham for 15 straight seasons. But you don’t get a trophy for that. And now that Tottenham has finally reaped Champions League riches, these days are certainly numbered as well.

Which leads me back to my original question. Can Arsenal continue to call themselves a big club over the long-term without spending the requisite money?

While Arsenal continue to stay amongst the strongest clubs in Europe on the Forbes list, they have definitely fallen behind domestic rivals Chelsea and Man U, and most certainly behind Barcelona, Real Madrid, and perhaps even Bayern Munich. With the rise of Manchester City and Spurs, it won’t be long before Arsenal find themselves behind these clubs.

But the question has to be asked: Why?

When did Arsenal fall behind to the point where they may simply not be able to keep up? Arsenal have sold big players before, most notably Nicolas Anelka. What makes them different now, and why can’t they recover?

1. Inability to Market Themselves, Especially Outside Europe. By all measures, Arsenal play the perfect style to be the most popular club in North America and Asia. They play wide open, attractive football, and their skill and talent makes crowds want to see them play, even in opposing markets. But Arsene Wenger remains very stubborn. As the Gaffer wrote just six months ago, the fact that Arsenal have not gone on such a tour is almost criminal. The fact that Arsenal have also ignored key markets in Asia, while allowing clubs such as Liverpool, Everton, and of course Chelsea and Manchester United dominate that region has been business malpractice by Arsene Wenger.

2. Smart Spending In Face of Massive Debt. This is one that i will credit Arsene for. While other clubs, most notably Manchester United And Liverpool, spent heavily in the face of massive debt, Arsenal actually made a large profit over the last three seasons, selling such luminaries as Adebayor, Flamini, and Kolo Toure. Liverpool, however, have spent freely, adding Aquilani, Torres, and others. That club may pay the ultimate price: if a new owner isn’t found soon, they may become the new Leeds, forced to sell off players and plunge through the ranks of the football league.

3. Lack of development and motivation of some key players. While I will not spend this column harking on the failure of players like Denilson or Theo Walcott to grow at the club level, it is important to note that a number of these young players have not developed in the way we all thought they would. Sure, some of it has to do with key injuries, but this can not be an excuse: it is Arsene Wenger’s job to highlight not just the top talent, but also durable talent. Every manager knows that the Premier League season is long and grueling. The manager must find players up to the task.

4. Lack of depth. Three and four are very much related. Everyone this side of Rotterdam knows that Robin van Persie gets injured. Everyone, that is, except for Arsene Wenger. When RVP is inevitably out for 3-4 months with some sort of calf/knee/ankle/foot injury, Arsene Wenger has no plan B. But the facts don’t lie. When Didier Drogba was out for a couple months, Nic Anelka was there to pick up the scoring slack. Arsenal simply have no other striker option good enough. Eduardo is not the same player he was before the injury; he may never be. Nik Bendtner is just starting to scratch the surface of his talent. At this point, however, he’s simply not a reliable option.

5. Arsene Wenger Himself. This is the one that is really hardest for me to write. But first, a confession. I generally hate all the coaches/managers of teams I root for. I have always disliked Jim Leyland, even when the Tigers made their first World Series in 22 years. My anger toward Lloyd Carr was unparalleled when he was the coach at Michigan. There has only been one coach who I have steadfastly supported: Arsene Wenger. It was hard not to. The man brought trophy after trophy to Arsenal. Every fan swore their allegiance: “In Arsene We Trust,” the banner reads behind the goal. But is Arsene Wenger really deserving of that? The past five seasons don’t lie: While the ship has been sinking, while Arsenal players struggled (especially in goal), Arsene Wenger behaved not like one of the winningest managers in history, but more like Baghdad Bob. “We have utmost confidence in (insert flopping continental keeper name here)” he would say, while that keeper flubbed one or two goals almost every game. Arsene Wenger needs someone to offset him, someone to say to him “Arsene, we really need a new keeper.” “Arsene, Silvestre and Billy Gallas aren’t good enough.” In other words, Arsene Wenger needs someone to tell him when he’s wrong. He’s been wrong on the keeper, he was wrong to not buy depth the last couple years (as stars were likely out of our price range), and he’s wrong not to strengthen the squad at the back and at the front. If Arsene Wenger is unable to notice these things on his own, he needs someone to tell him when he’s wrong. Before it’s too late.

While Cesc may walk now, and Gallas not long after, it is clear that Arsenal have a lot of decisions to make. While a lot of these fall on the shoulders of one man, it is important that he understands that his years of winning have bought him a lot of patience. But a fifth consecutive season without silverware, and a 4th without any sort of final appearance, will see the end of the patience from a lot of fans. While he can point fingers at Barcelona or Chelsea “tapping up” our players, it is clear that Arsene has not done enough to convince our players that their futures lie at Arsenal. In 2010-2011, Arsene has the chance to reverse the bleeding. If he does not, a steady and perhaps irreversible decline may be at hand at Arsenal.

Jordan Acker will continue to love his Gunners no matter what. Follow him on Twitter at @JAcker2L

But Chelsea still needs a result against a hot-and-cold Wigan side. No channel in the US gives us an option of a split screen Chelsea on the left, United on the right, so you have a few options for the simultaneous matches. Watch Chelsea on your big screen with United on foxsoccer.tv broadband on your computer, or DVR them all and switch back and forth. I’ve added the Championship first leg play-off matches for some added weekend excitement. See below for my ratings.

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, May 8 (all times EDT)
Blackpool v Nottingham Forest, 7:45 am, foxsoccer.tv, 12:30 pm, delayed on FS+
The Tangerines were favorites to be relegated at season start, but they clawed their way into the final play-off spot. Romantics would like to see Forest back in the premier league next year. This is leg 1, with the second leg played on Tuesday evening.

Sunday, May 9
Leicester City v Cardiff, 8:15 am, foxsoccer.tv & espn3.com
The Foxes have had a wild ride this past decade, dropping from the Premier league to the Championship, then for the first time ever dropping out of the top two divisions into League 1 just last year. They were promoted right back to the Championship, and kept their winning ways, finishing fifth, with a real chance to get back to the big-time. Many of us last saw the Bluebirds of Cardiff in the 2008 FA Cup Final, where they were beaten by Pompey. (Yes, Portsmouth could win 2 FA Cup trophies in 3 years!)

Chelsea v Wigan, 11 am, FSC
It appears that Chelsea have done enough, but they still will have to win this match to assure themselves of the championship trophy. Can Martinez’s Wigan play spoiler? Well, they were terrific coming back against Arsenal, but were generally awful at Hull last week. This will probably end up not much of a contest, but if we neutrals are lucky, there will be some tension after all.

Manchester United v Stoke, 11 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
There are two ways United can win the trophy, only one of which is plausible: a win combined with a Chelsea draw or loss. (The second is a draw while Chelsea get beat by 10 goals!) So United will play for the win and hope to get some help. Only lifting the Carling Cup this year will be a big disappointment for Sir Alex and the gang.

strong>Arsenal v Fulham, 11 am, foxsoccer.tv, 1pm FS+ delayed
There is still technically a battle for third between the North London sides, and it is meaningful in terms of Champions League entry. But one would think with just two days rest before the Europa Cup Final in Hamburg, that Roy Hodgson will rest everyone, so the Gunners should be humongous favorites to hold on to third. They just need a draw to claim it.

Burnley v Tottenham, 11 am, foxsoccer.tv, 1pm FSC delayed
Burnley says their good-byes to the Premier League against the newest member of the “Top 4”. Fox has the race for 1st at 11 on both channels and the race for third at 1 pm on both channels. So if you’re from North London, you can watch live on the broadband, or wait two hours and watch both matches on matching televisions plausibly live. Spurs must win and have Fulham win; seems unlikely.

West Ham v Man City, 11 am, ESPN2 HD
The final glorious ESPN hi-def game ends up being a meaningless one. I think by not waiting until Wednesday night to pick their match, ESPN truly erred in not opting for the London derby a few miles north and west of Upton Park. So not much of a match for the neutral, but Hammers faithful will give markedly different welcomes to Carlos Tevez, their continued hero, and Craig Bellamy. Tevez earlier vowed he would not score the goal that relegated West Ham, and now he doesn’t have to. He will get the loudest roar of the day if he scores, but he won’t celebrate it.

While The Gaffer shows all of these matches airing live on foxsoccer.tv, the actual foxsoccer.tv web site does not list any of them, nor do I see any listings on any US channel for any tape-delayed coverage. Not that there’s much to recommend any of them for the neutral. Supporters of these teams can find dodgy streams, or wait for the Review show on Fox.

Remember, the second legs of the Championship play-off will be Tuesday & Wednesday nights, at 2:45 EDT, with Fulham playing Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night in the Europa League Final as well.

If you liked this feature and would like to see it next year, please leave a comment. Thanks, and have a terrific off-season.

My ratings system:

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, May 1 (all times EDT)
Birmingham v Burnley 7:45 am, ESPN2 HD
Too bad the high-def game is meaningless. Some will upgrade this to 2-stars simply for the glorious ESPN Hi-Def picture.

Tottenham v Bolton, 10 am FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
I’ve grouped these together because the battle for fourth may be the most interesting. If you can only watch one, watch the City-Villa match. This is Spurs’ last home fixture, and if they are going to get 4th, they will need to do it on the road. There are at least two terrific players to watch in the City-Villa showdown. Villa is still alive for Champions’ League, and James Milner has been their outstanding player this season. His late penalty in the Second City derby kept their hopes alive for fourth. Carlos Tevez has been the signing of the season for City; City are in the driver’s seat for 4th, but must win this match.

Stoke v Everton, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv, 4 pm FS+ delayed
Everton has a very small chance of qualifying for Europa, but will need to win out and hope for help from Chelsea and Hull City! Stoke is one of the loudest grounds in England, and they will be appreciative of the season-long mid-table efforts in their final home game.

Portsmouth v Wolves, 10 am foxsoccer.tv, 12 pm FSC delayed
Final Premier league home game for Pompey for perhaps a long, long time.

Sunday, May 2

Fulham v West Ham, 10 am, foxsoccer.tv & 10:30 am FS+ delayed
West Ham barely survived and will need to improve to stay up next year. Fulham were solid mid-table and spent their incredible energy Thursday to make the Europa final!. For those who love derbies, by all means, but not one to spend much time watching.

Sunderland v Man United, 11 am, FSC (HD where available)
If United can get some help from their arch-rivals, a win here will give them a chance for their 4th consecutive title. Will Rooney play, though? Very unlikely. But United have been strong enough even without him since the Chelsea match, with Nani and Scholes doing enough to win the last 2 matches. How ironic that United will be cheering on Liverpool as they warm up for their match.

Monday, May 3
Wigan v Hull City, 8:30 am, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv
Two of the worst sides in the league, though Martinez’s side did just enough to stay up.

Blackburn v Arsenal, noon, ESPN2
Unfortunately, these special Monday bank holiday matches don’t give us much.

Wednesday, May 5

We’ve been eyeing this showdown ever since it had to be re-scheduled. Each of these teams controls its own destiny to win 4th. City now has to do it with emergency keeper signing Marton Fulop, after the league denied them permission to recall Joe Hart from Birmingham. This fixture was all Spurs back in December at White Hart Lane, with the men in white winning 3-nil, on a brace from Krancjar and a 2nd half goal from Defoe.

Fulham v Stoke, 3 pm, FS+ & foxsoccer.tv

View the full Premier League TV guide for US television.

Now that we have extraordinary choices in the US with the ability to watch most, if not all 10 weekly matches live, and many of them on-demand at foxsoccer.tv, let me give you my views for these last 3 weeks as we watch the battles for the league, 4th place/Champions League, Europa League and relegation.

My ratings system:

Matches shown in chronological order:

Saturday, April 24 (all times EDT)

Sunday, April 25

Via Flickr

Today beginning at 2:15 pm ET (7:15 UK Time), I will be liveblogging the Barcelona against Arsenal UEFA Champions League match, with a little EPL chat mixed in.

EPLTalk: Arsenal v. Barcelona Live Blog

Editor’s note: Whether you’re at work or at home watching the game, log in to this post on EPL Talk during the game to share your observations about the game and read Jordan Acker and Phil Badger’s analysis. May the best team win. Let’s just hope that it’s as entertaining a match as the first leg.

David Moyes joined Everton following the sacking of Walter Smith in March 2002. He was regarded as one of the most promising young managers in the country when he arrived at Goodison Park and has justified that assessment ever since.

His transfer activity has been extremely impressive during his Everton tenure, uncovering gem after gem for extremely reasonable prices. So here are the top five signings by David Moyes during his time at Everton.

Mikel Arteta – 159 apps, January 2005 – present

Signed by Moyes in the January transfer window of 2005 initially on loan but with view to a permanent transfer, he excelled at Goodison Park and the loan was made permanent in July 2005 for £2 million, a paltry fee considering his impact. Awarded Everton Player of the Season in 2006 and 2007, plus Everton Player’s Player of the Season 2006, he has become a key component in Moyes’ Everton side.

Initially thought of as a defensive midfielder in the mould of Pep Guardiola, he has established himself on the right-wing, his close control and dribbling are among the best in the EPL and last season he was the most fouled player in the league.

Tim Cahill – 196 apps, July 2004 – present

A summer 2004 acquisition by Moyes and one of the best. Brought in from Championship club Millwall for a fee of £1.5 million and it has been one of the best pieces of business made by the Everton manager.

In his first season with the club he was top scorer with 12 goals and also won the clubs Player of the Season award. He is also the first Everton player since Dixie Dean in 1931 to score in three separate Merseyside derbies at Anfield.

Best known for his late runs into the box and ability to score with his head, he is a tremendous threat for Everton and carries the fight from the middle of the park.

Joleon Lescott – 143 apps, June 2006 – August 2009

Signed by Moyes in the summer of 2006 after a long career at Wolverhampton Wanderers for a sum of £5 million.

He was voted player’s Player of the Season in 2007 and 2008 due to his consistent performances and earned himself the nickname ‘Mr. Consistency’. A pillar of strength at the back for Everton he managed to work his way into the England squad with his impressive form.

His legacy at Everton will be soured by his departure to Manchester City, but even so, the fee of £22 million was a magnificent profit on the initial payout and a great piece of business by David Moyes.

Steven Pienaar – 102 apps, July 2007 – present

Brought in on loan from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2007, he was an instant hit at Goodison Park. His creativity was vital in a hardworking Toffees midfield, and Moyes eventually made the move permanent a year later for a fee of £2 million.

He learned his football at Ajax and was part of a successful side which contained the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a move to Dortmund followed but he did not settle and thanks to Moyes his career has been reinvigorated.

His dynamic performances for Everton and South Africa have caught the eye of many top European clubs, so only time will tell if Moyes can hold onto one of his starlets.

Tim Howard – 178 apps, May 2006 – present

Arriving from rivals Manchester United in the summer of 2006, he had failed to make the grade at Old Trafford and was initially given a one year loan deal by Moyes. His performances were so impressive that the transfer was made permanent in February 2007 for a fee of around £3 million, another bargain by the Everton manager.

Ever reliable and regularly producing excellent saves, the keeper was one short of equalling Neville Southall’s record of 15 clean sheets in the league during the 2007/08 season.

On April 19, 2009, in the FA Cup semi final, he saved two penalties against his former club Manchester United in a penalty shoot-out to send Everton to the final against Chelsea.

Impressive stuff indeed, but do you agree? Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

The Captain (Via Flickr)

Since I’m new at EPL Talk, I’d like to talk a little bit more (before I discuss Wednesday’s match) about my history as an Arsenal fan. Slowly becoming a soccer fan in college, a 2006 trip to Europe with my girlfriend really cemented my love of the Gunners. Arriving in Paris just days before the Champions League Final, little did I know what would await me. The year before, I had been in Israel during the Liverpool-Milan game. Taking a cursory interest, I sat down with several Israelis who were screaming about how dominant Milan were. As everyone knows, it didn’t end up that way. But it was enough to turn me into a soccer fan for life.

Flash forward a year. After taking the train by the Stade De France the day of the match, and seeing the Arsenal and Barcelona fans peacefully hanging out, I knew that, unlike certain English clubs, this was going to be the club for me. The night was truly magical. Settling down in a Parisian cafe with the match on a HD screen, my girlfriend, for reasons unbeknownst to me, decided she was going to root for Barca. While I did watch a number of Arsenal matches that season, my fandom paled in comparison to how it is now, so I didn’t object.

After 17 minutes, Jens Lehmann was sent off. Sol Campbell scored, and the number of Arsenal fans in the cafe yelped in delight, myself included. Sadly, the night did not end up well for Arsenal. A 2-1 defeat, but it was hard to not be proud of Arsene Wenger’s team. Despite this, it was unmistakable: Barcelona were, even then, the perfect team. They played exciting soccer, and attacked  mercilessly. Seeing them in the Champions League Final in 2009, it was again just beautiful to watch. You couldn’t help but root for them. My feelings toward them in both those games were of both awe and jealousy–Why couldn’t Arsenal be that team?

The reality, we can’t be that team. Watching the first half yesterday afternoon on delay, I realized that Arsene Wenger’s boys can’t be Barcelona. Rather, they have to (and are) shaping their own identity. Completely dominated for the first 55 minutes, an Arsenal team based on grit and fitness slowly came alive. The introduction of England International Theo Walcott changed the complexion of the game.

(As an aside, if you think that Fabio Capello wasn’t whetting his chops at the thought of Theo making runs like that in South Africa, you are kidding yourself. The kid can only show up in big games on the biggest stage. World cup qualifiers? Barcelona in the Champions League? He’ll be there. Stoke away in February? Not a chance!)

After that, a team with superior fitness finished it off. While I’m not sure that Puyol deserved a penalty for knocking off Fabregas, the reality is that the referee saw a foul, and at that point you have to send him off. Fabregas showed the reason why he should be footballer of the year, by knocking in a penalty with a broken leg! At this point, Wenger should have pulled him off–who knows what kind of damage that Fabregas could have done to himself in the remaining ten minutes.

Meanwhile, even despite the comeback, the old nemesis of Barcelona still struck awe and fear into the eyes of Gooners all over the world. Even despite the draw, it still seems likely that Barca will send Arsenal out of the champions league for the third time in the last 11 years. While the domestic rivals Chelsea and Man U continue to demolish the Gunners head-to-head, it is this talented, free-flowing, and altogether better group from Barcelona that makes Arsenal fans feel inadequate.

—-Notes on the Game:

1. Arshavin: The reality is, at this point, Arshavin is simply not good enough to make the starting XI of a club such as Arsenal. His runs and passes are incredibly wasteful, and he simply does not track back on defense. He should be used only as a super-sub, and nothing more. Eboue and Rosicky provide more right now than Arshavin does. Yes, his 4 goal performance at Liverpool was incredible. But better teams (Chelsea, Man U, Barcelona) will destroy you down the wing when a player doesn’t track back, as Arshavin is prone to do.

2. Nasri: While Arsenal fans sweat having to go to the Camp Nou without Cesc Fabregas, the young Frenchman, in my opinion, is having the best season of his life. He has been excellent, and a midfield of Diaby-Denilson-Nasri with Song in the back scares me much less than you would think. The loss of Fabregas will not be the reason why Arsenal loses in the 2nd leg.

3. Messi: For all his talk as the best player in the world, Messi seemed extremely absent from this game. Hopefully he doesn’t decide to “wake up” before the 2nd leg.

4. TV: As all of you know, Fox Sports Net is going to be broadcasting the second leg into most US homes with cable. Frankly, this should be the game that you DVR for your non-soccer-loving friends and family, and tell them THIS is the reason why you’re a fan. If the first leg was any guide, the second leg should be a barn-burner.

Jordan Acker is a law student and Arsenal supporter from Detroit, currently exiled in Washington, DC. Follow him on twitter: @JAcker2L