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Saturday in the Premier League was eclipsed by the top three clubs in the table while Sunday witnessed two massive local derbies play out to incredibly different results. Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United survived their respective matches to gain three points without dominating inferior opponents while Sunday’s rivalries produced a 0-0 and an emphatic 5-1 demolition.
The work in progress that is Manchester City again took one step forward and two steps back as a deserved Wolves side beat the Citizens in front of a brilliant crowd at Molineux. City took a well deserved early lead when a Jerome Boateng through ball put David Silva in on goal and Silva was subsequently felled by Richard Stearman and a penalty was awarded.
City looked the part of title challengers until just after Emmanuel Adebayor slotted home the penalty. After the lead, Manchester City all but sat back and invited Wolves to attack. Wolves obliged emphatically while £100m of attacking and footballing talent fell prey to the league’s 19th best team. City fans must soon start questioning the tactics and first team selection of boss Roberto Mancini as City’s loss on Saturday marks their second in a row, both with winger Adam Johnson far from the starting XI.

Honorable Mentions –
Matt Jarvis, Wolves – Jarvis started the match at home against City on the left flank and produced a number of good crosses into the box throughout his side’s 2-1 win. The 24 year old midfielder who gives fits to all in his path has been in fine form for Wolves this season yet the club still languish in 19th. Saturday’s home win could be just what Wolves need to jump start their season while Jarvis’ recent performances could be enough to warrant England consideration from Fabio Capello.
Mick McCarthy will want more of the same from his star man as Wolves hope to avoid any late season flirtation with relegation in their second season back in the top flight.
Matt Jarvis is the kind of player who thrives when he’s able to get at defenders one on one and provide service to a waiting striker in the box. He’s not as pacey as Gareth Bale or Nani, but he’s easily as efficient and hard working as any winger in the Premier League. Jarvis, along with opposite side winger Stephen Hunt, were the difference makers as they succeeded in stretching the City defense which enabled them to create two scrappy goals for the win.
Robert Green, West Ham – Rarely do I mention or award a player whose team lost over the weekend but Robert Green’s exploits for West Ham at the Emirates on Saturday deserves at least a nod. Green was sensational on the day between the posts for the Hammers who lost 1-0 and remain bottom, but it was the kind of inspirational performance Hammers fans would have wanted to see as their beloved continue to struggle.
Save after save was witnessed until Alex Song scored his third goal in three games late on for Arsenal to snatch all three points at home when West Ham were deserved of at least a point. Green has had a difficult run of form since his blunder for England at the World Cup this past summer but remains a quality shot stopper when tested.
Clint Dempsey, Fulham – The US international scored a brace for Fulham on Saturday against Wigan to lead the Cottagers to a much needed three points. After just a half hour, Dempsey jumped to meet a Carlos Salcido cross into the box to head home his first of the match. Dempsey’s opener was an impressive display of his attacking and heading abilities as he simply rose above the Wigan defenders to meet the ball first.
Dempsey’s second was twice as impressive when just before the half he was able to turn scraps into gold when he met a Chris Baird ball with a swinging right foot and volleyed his shot past Ali Al Habsi in the Wigan goal.
For Fulham, the points were secured before the half which allowed the London club to climb to 9th in the table.
Premier League Footballer of the Week –
<div style="text-align: center"><a href="http://view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/entertainment/newcastle-united-nolan/image/10096258?term=kevin+nolan" target="_blank"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" src="http://view2.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/10096258/newcastle-united-nolan/newcastle-united-nolan.jpg?size=500&amp;imageId=10096258" border="0" alt="Newcastle United&apos;s Kevin Nolan (L) shoots to score against Sunderland during their English Premier League soccer match in Newcastle, northern England October 31, 2010. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis (BRITAIN - Tags: SPORT SOCCER) NO ONLINE/INTERNET USAGE WITHOUT A LICENCE FROM THE FOOTBALL DATA CO LTD. FOR LICENCE ENQUIRIES PLEASE TELEPHONE ++44 (0)" width="500" height="322"></figure></div></a></div>
Kevin Nolan, Newcastle – Newcastle’s Captain scored a hat-trick in Sunday’s Tyne-Wear Derby while Toon fans pinched themselves and asked the question, ‘does it get any better than this?’. When former Newcastle player Titus Bramble saw red and the goals continued to flood in, most Geordies started to answer that question with an unequivocal ‘No’.
The derby really was a tale of one side’s competence in front of goal and the other side’s incompetence at everything else. Newcastle opened the scoring through Nolan when the midfielder found the ball approaching him deep in Sunderland’s box. Without the time for a touch to settle, Nolan flicked the ball over his head while falling to the ground to beat Simon Mignolet for his first but not his last goal of the day.
Nolan’s second was the result of some shoddy defending by Sunderland, inept in all rights, but the Captain found himself in a forward position at the right place at the right time and showed enough poise to again beat Mignolet when the ball trickled into his path. Nolan’s third and final came off of a well taken set piece from Newcastle when Joey Barton’s corner found the other man of the moment,&nbsp;Shola Ameobi, who flicked on to Nolan to head home an unsaveable effort.
It was a day Newcastle won’t soon forget while most importantly the win places them 7th in the league table.
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Premier League Footballer of the Week, Gameweek 10

Premier League Footballer of the Week, Gameweek 10 - World Soccer Talk

What if? What if Robert Green had spilled that shot from Clint Dempsey in the World Cup, but then he managed to grab it before it crossed over the line.
Watch this video to see what could have happened if things were different. It’s a handy piece of revisionism that England fans would much prefer to watch than what actually happened.

Robert Green and England: If Only Things Had Been So Different: Video

Robert Green and England: If Only Things Had Been So Different: Video - World Soccer Talk

<a href="http://view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/entertainment/sports-news-june-2010/image/9097300?term=robert+green" target="_blank"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" src="http://view4.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/9097300/sports-news-june-2010/sports-news-june-2010.jpg?size=500&amp;imageId=9097300" border="0" width="500" height="323" alt="June 12, 2010 - 06026110 date 28 10 2009 Copyright imago BPI Robert Green of England fumbles Clint Dempsey of The USA s Shot and The Ball Rolls Into The Net PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUKxFRAxNEDxESPxSWExPOLxCHNxJPN men Football World Cup National team international match Rustenburg Action shot Single Series Vdig xsk 2009 horizontal Highlight premiumd Football."></figure></div></a>
Robert Green’s blunder for England against the United States means that England coach Fabio Capello now faces the decision of whether to pick David James or Joe Hart for England’s next game, against Algeria on Friday.
But if you were Capello, who would you pick? David James has his strengths and weaknesses, but Joe Hart is unproven at the highest international level in terms of the world’s stage.
Vote in the poll below and share your opinions in the comments section below.
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World Cup Poll: Should England Pick David James or Joe Hart?

World Cup Poll: Should England Pick David James or Joe Hart? - World Soccer Talk

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Well the 30 players named in Fabio Capello’s England squad have had multiple trainng sessions and two games to earn their place on the plane to South Africa.
Now is the time that this squad must be trimmed to 23 players, meaning that 7 players will soon receive the dreaded phone call ending their World Cup dreams for at least four years if not forever.
I have analysed the squad and named the squad I would name for the World Cup;&nbsp;based on form, formation and ability.
In my opinion the following players should not make it into the final England squad for the FIFA World Cup 2010.

Michael Dawson
Matthew Upson
Stephen Warnock
Gareth Barry
Tom Huddleston
Shaun Wright-Phillips
Emile Heskey
In an attempt&nbsp;to rationalise and justify my choices, the list&nbsp;below shows the 11&nbsp;players&nbsp;that I would consider guaranteed a place in the squad.
100% On The Plane
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Defenders
With the goalkeeping spots decided&nbsp;by default, defence is the first area&nbsp;where&nbsp;a reduction in numbers needs to be made.
I will start by deciding who should definitely make the plane, due to the return from international retirement of Jamie Carragher, it can be deduced rightly that due to his versatility and experience, he cannot be left at home.
Alongside Carragher I would also include Ledley King in the squad,&nbsp;he has just about proved his form and fitness during a long and successful season with Tottenham.
With these decisions in mind, I think the first casualty of&nbsp;the squad reduction should be Matthew Upson, after playing consistently in one of the worse defences in the Premier League, he has shown little to warrant selection ahead of Ledley King or Michael Dawson.
I also think that Michael Dawson should be axed, as despite his solid form the inclusion of Jamie Carragher means that&nbsp;England already have&nbsp;four players that can play in the centre of defence.
The defensive&nbsp;quandaries are therefore&nbsp;reduced to deciding who should deputise for Ashley Cole at Left Back.
I would take Leighton Baines as a dependable back up option, with Stephen Warnock missing out in what feels like an unimportant coin flip between the two.
Midfielders
This is probably the hardest part of the decision process, as there are many players who have had flashes of brilliance, yet not shown enough to warrant automatic selection.
On the right there is a&nbsp;choice&nbsp;between Aaron Lennon, Theo Walcott&nbsp;and Shaun Wright Phillips. The guaranteed spot should go to Aarron Lennon who is stronger, more consistent and a better all round footballer than the other two. I would then include Theo Walcott as an impact player from the bench if required.
The&nbsp;other wide options would be made up of James Milner and Adam Johnson who have both excelled this season and can play on both wings.
In the centre, I would make my most controversial choice by omitting Gareth Barry, he is injured and therefore is unlikely to be at his best for the competition. England have had enough experience of playing with unfit players to know it is better to cut their losses on this occasion.
I would replace Gareth Barry with Scott Parker, one of the most underrated players qualified to play for England, there is a reason that he is the only West Ham player not for sale this summer.
Finally I would omit Tom Huddlestone from the squad, opting to include Joe Cole as he offers something creative which in limited Chelsea and England appearances he has shown this season.
Attackers
Arguably England’s achilles heel, the partnership&nbsp; options involving Wayne Rooney have not quite been resolved. Based on form Emile Heskey is the man to make way, having not scored since February and unable to hold down a regular starting berth at his club, it is time to accept that dispite his obvious qualities, he is not an international class striker.
Therefore Jermain Defoe, Darren Bent and Peter Crouch join Wayne Rooney as England’s striking options.
Overview of Preparations
The&nbsp;most worrying part of England’s preparation for the tournament has to be a lack of depth, with all the questions raised during&nbsp;the recent friendlies; I hope that Fabio Capello has more of a clue of his best 23 than I do.
The only comforter from recent performances is that very rarely are these true indicators of tournament performance.
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The 7 Players Fabio Capello Should Drop From England&#039;s World Cup Squad

The 7 Players Fabio Capello Should Drop From England&#039;s World Cup Squad - World Soccer Talk

The 7 Players Fabio Capello Should Drop From England's World Cup Squad

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The halcyon days of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s were apparently a boom time in England’s glorious history of great goalkeepers. From the benchmark that was the great Gordon Banks and his understudy, Peter Springett, to the rotation of Ray Clemence and Peter Shilton in the 70’s and early 1980’s, England always had a top class goalkeeper.
As Chris Woods and then David Seaman continued the tradition, despite every other pundit claiming the English goalkeeper was a dying breed,&nbsp; but until Seaman’s retirement from England duty in 2002, that looked an empty prediction. Since then England’s number one has rotated between David James, Paul Robinson, Scott Carson, with sporadic appearances from Robert Green, Ben Foster, Chris Kirkland and Joe Hart. An unusual situation after decades of stability between the sticks, which clarifies a pressing issue for Capello. Just who can he trust with the number one shirt?

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The obvious choice is David James, but the situation at Portsmouth has had far reaching consequences. James found himself in a situation were Portsmouth wouldn’t play him as it would trigger a clause in his contract rewarding him with an extension. Of course, being the goalkeeper of a side marooned at the foot of the Premiership table and with a worrying tendency to implode under pressure, is James really the best English goalkeeper?
Euro 2004 saw James’ performances came under criticism after admitting he hadn’t studied French set pieces, when England were undone by 5 minutes of madness in the opening game of the tournament. A penalty from Henry and a free kick from Zidane saw England collapse and ultimately end up with the harder run of the tournament.
Yet since those rickets, consistency has returned to his game and as one of English footballs more eloquent footballers, James would be one of the three goalkeepers for me and probably keep the No.1 shirt unless his form completely collapses before the end of the season.The other two places are realistically up for grabs.
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To all intents and purposes, the stand out English goalkeeper of the Premiership season has been Joe Hart and what a season. He’s certainly been one of the key reasons that Birmingham City have had such a successful season so far. In fact,I was stunned that Hart didn’t make his second appearance for England in Wednesday nights friendly against Egypt. I’ve been very impressed with his form throughout the season and felt for him when Manchester City splashed out big bucks to bring Shay Given to Eastlands in January 2009.
One criticism that seemingly comes Hart’s way from some quarters is his age. It seems a perennial English trait that players are perpetually too young to play for their country. Hart has plenty of international experience, with his time with the Under-21 squad even scoring a penalty for his country. Yes, it may not be the same level of intensity, but competition experience is invaluable, what ever level it is achieved at. The future England custodian of the gloves for me and a shoe in for the second goalkeeping place.
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The final place is the one that several people have a real chance of grabbing, but I’ll rule out the three who I wouldn’t consider. Poor Scott Carson, another one who was touted as the future of English goalkeeper until a wet night at Wembley in 2007 that saw the end of the dreadful Steve Mclaren reign. Critics blamed the pitch, oblivious to the wonderful football that Croatia played. Tactically inept and with his powers of spin unable to cover his failings, Mclaren went down taking Carson’s England career with it.
He’s never recovered and several high profile mistakes last season saw his hopes of an England recall all but disappear. Carson simply hasn’t had any luck with certain mistakes perhaps over analysed in the media but I think this World Cup has come too soon for him. Add to that with him not playing Premiership football as well&nbsp; coupled with not being the best English goalkeeper in the Championship and it’s doubtful he’ll get a sniff unless bubonic plague strikes the England goalkeeper set up.
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Chris Kirkland is another that time has not been kind to. Touted as the next great England keeper,&nbsp; injuries stalled his career development and it is only in the last couple of seasons that he has managed to get a consistent level of appearances together. The irony of goalkeeping was shown in no clearer light than on November 22nd when Kirkland conceded 9 goals in Wigan’s mauling at the hands of&nbsp; Tottenham.
Remarkably, without Kirkland, Spurs would have probably scored more, he saved a further 7 shots on target. Classed as injury prone, despite playing over 80 league games in his last 3 seasons, Kirkland has fallen behind Hart and would currently be 5th in my opinion. At 28, time is certainly not against him, but it’ll be a major surprise if he gets back to England duty.
Ben Foster currently can’t get on Manchester United’s bench which says it all and he is a real pickle at Old Trafford. Bags of potential but I don’t care how good you are, playing for Manchester United reserves occasionally isn’t anywhere near the level of getting in to the England set up. I’ve a real fear that he could disappear like Richard Wright did after joining Arsenal and then a disjointed spell at Everton. Now back at Ipswich Town, his is a career of real missed chances.
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Which brings me to my final two choices. Paul Robinson and Robert Green.&nbsp; Last night Capello seemed to give Green the chance to prove he could be part of the squad by playing the whole 90 minutes of the friendly. This seemingly would draw a curtain on Paul Robinson’s chances of making the squad unless James, Hart or Green falls injured.&nbsp; Green didn’t really have much to do and he has certainly been fairly consistent over the last 3 seasons at West Ham United.
So overall I think Capello will pick James, Green and Hart with Robinson as 4th choice on stand by. The wild card would be Chris Kirkland but overall, I think Fabio will stick with the devil he knows but what do you think??

The England Outsiders#1 The Goalkeepers

The England Outsiders#1 The Goalkeepers - World Soccer Talk

<div id="attachment_758" style="width: 228px" class="wp-caption alignright"><div><figure class="external-image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-758" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-758" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/7/files/2010/01/Gylfi-Sigurdsson_2372258.jpg" alt="Note To Self: Bring Motivation To Every Match" width="218" height="298"></figure></div>Note To Self: Bring Motivation To Every Match</div>
In a season where the passion and relevance of the English F.A cup have been in question, one team defies the odds and shows a true cup spirit. Of course I am referring to Reading, the team who have become all to familiar to football fans around the world after deservedly knocking out Liverpool in the 3rd round and Burnley are the latest top flight victim to the Royals. If you needed any sort of proof that the F.A cup can bring out the best in players, take into consideration that Reading haven’t won a game in their last six league outings and only won three league games in 2009 at their home ground, the Madjeski Stadium (and two of them came in January!). Their win in the 4th round once again got me thinking about how players become differently motivated when the competition changes and the mental challenges that players obviously face.
In the third round replay against Liverpool, at Anfield, Reading completely out played Liverpool and there were several occasions where the players were so confident that they were tricking and nut-megging their way through Carragher and Agger – two experienced decorated defenders. Yet we never see play like this from Reading in the league and they’re often guilty of dropping their heads when things don’t go their way. They’re a talented set of players, obviously the team isn’t of the same calibre as the previous season, but this team shouldn’t be in the relegation zone and that is clear when we know that they are capable of beating the likes of Liverpool and Burnley who are in the league above them.
So it comes down to confidence and belief, one week you’re in the league and struggling to garner belief that you can play to the best of your ability and the next week the cup comes about and you have all the confidence in the world. But why? I’m not sure even a Reading player could answer you that, it’s almost as if there are two Reading teams at the moment and although the scalps of two Premiership teams are impressive, they need to transfer this confidence they get playing in the cup over to the league otherwise Reading may not be starting next seasons cup run from the 3rd round…
It’s a strange phenomenon not only in football but psychology itself; the aspect of motivation is something fascinating and strange. From an outsiders view, it doesn’t make much sense how Reading can get beat by Plymouth (a team below them in the league) 4-1, then soon after outplay Liverpool – twice. Players are obviously very motivated to take on the top teams with the top players as if to prove a point to the football world, yet why do motivation and confidence levels change so dramatically because the name of the competition changes?
Now Reading come up against Sheffield United in the league, away; not an easy game for an team in the Championship. And I wonder if Reading will return to their poor league form or will be inspired by their cup performance. They recently played quite well against Nottingham Forrest away from home but the punters will no doubt prefer the Blades. This also raises the question of how much is ability down to confidence and motivation? Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo obviously have a lot of confidence in their play and the raw talent to match it, but could there be players that maybe could have been a lot better if they had just played with confidence and motivation. I believe that the more you think about motivation and confidence, the more it hinders your play and maybe the likes of Kaka, Ronaldo and Messi don’t even consider their motivation and instead try to focus on how their actual talent – so as if motivation takes a back seat therefore is constantly high.
You look at the England goalkeeper situation at the moment and people constantly mention the word ‘confidence’. David Seaman was England’s number one for years and I can’t ever remember his confidence being questioned, whereas people are worried that Robert Green is losing his concentration because of all the goals he is conceding. Seaman didn’t need confidence – he was just ability and although I’m not questioning how good Robert Green is but how good can you say England’s goalkeeper is if he loses faith in his own ability? A lack of confidence can ruin any player.

Am I Reading This Right? Royals Into 5th Round &#8211; Motivation Phenomenon

Am I Reading This Right? Royals Into 5th Round - Motivation Phenomenon - World Soccer Talk

Am I Reading This Right? Royals Into 5th Round – Motivation Phenomenon

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For me, there is only one English goalkeeper that can be England’s number one for South Africa next summer and that man is Paul Robinson. After being so badly treated at Tottenham under Juande Ramos and unfairly blamed for giving away a soft goal for England against Croatia, Robinson has finally got back to his best. He was hung out to dry by Steve Mclaren after Gary Neville’s wayward back pass bobbled over his foot.
Everyone conveniently forgot the string of saves Robinson had made to keep England in a game they were a poor second best in that night. Right now, he is playing better than any of his counterparts, with probably the exception of Steve Harper at Newcastle United and Joe Hart at Birmingham City. Forget the Robert Green argument, he’s nowhere near good enough.

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Of the goalkeepers available to Capello, Robinson is head and shoulders above all others and has been for the best part of a year. David James is injured and playing for a team in free-fall, both on and off the pitch. Robert Green is bang out of form and consistently makes mistake after mistake. He also has a tendency to try and deliberately foul players whenever possible.For all his bravado and wearing “England’s number 6” on his gloves, he’s not good enough. He’s always been poor coming off his line and his aerial ability is not the best.
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Poor old Ben Foster has suffered from some rather unnecessary criticism but still can’t shift the dreadful Thomas Kuszczak from between the sticks at Old Trafford.There is no doubt that the lad can go a long way in the game, but he’s suffering from a crisis in confidence at the moment, but he’s still a better goalkeeper than Kuszczak.
Scott Carson still suffers from a lack of concentration at West Bromwich Albion and still seems to bear the scars from the defeat to Croatia in November 2007 at Wembley. For all his shot stopping ability, Carson can still make some all mighty howlers from out of nowhere and seems to have fallen away from anywhere near the England team.
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Poor old Chris Kirkland simply can’t keep fit, whenever he gets on a great run of form, his long standing back injury seems to flare up and take out of the side. Despite the 9 goal mauling Wigan Athletic suffered at White Hart Lane, it’s no exaggeration to say it could have been twenty if it wasn’t for Kirkland. He showed such promise at Coventry but injuries blighted his time at Anfield and he’s never been able to shake the tag of being injury prone.
Other than Robinson and Hart, the other stand out candidate for the three places in South Africa for me is Steve Harper at Newcastle. He’s now getting the opportunity to show just how good a goalkeeper he actually is week in week out after Shay Given left last January for Manchester City. Whilst most people would have been itching for a move, Harper has shown incredible loyalty to Newcastle over the years.
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After 16 years service, with 12 of those as Given’s back up, he’s incredibly only played 151 games for Newcastle, with 86 of those appearances coming in the last four seasons. He has constantly served the club with pride and is now in the form of his life. Whilst others may have viewed Given’s depature as a real blow, having a player of the ability of Harper would certainly soften the blow.
Whilst some people seem to point out that you need a great goalkeeper to win the World Cup, with the exception of Buffon in 2006, you have to go all the way back to 1982 to find a team with a world class goalkeeper that won the World Cup. Every other winner since then has had good, and in some cases distinctly average custodians between the sticks. Paul Robinson is far better than average and Capello would do well to welcome him back into the fold.&nbsp; With Harper and Hart, that would be a dependable and quality set of goalkeepers to choose from.

Time For Capello To Restore Paul Robinson As Englands No.1

Time For Capello To Restore Paul Robinson As Englands No.1 - World Soccer Talk

EPL Talk Meets Patrick Barclay

EPL Talk Meets Patrick Barclay - World Soccer Talk

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