Euro 2012 Draw.

As both Ireland and England enter the Euro 2012 draw with great anticipation I thought I should do a quick summary of each side in the draw.

Gary Speed: A Tribute to A Footballing Legend

On the 27/11/11 news broke of the tragic death of the Welsh manager at that time, Gary Speed.

Gary Speed was born in Wales and was an Everton supporter from a young age. Speed was married and had two children. Aaron Ramsey at the news of his death said: ''Today the world has lost a great football manager but even more sadly a great man. He will be missed by all." Reading striker Simon Church also had words of praise for Speed ''I can't believe it, what a great man and a true Welsh footballing legend. A great inspiration to all.'' The praise of Speed's personality and ability as a player and manager was to be seen by many sportspeople and representatives. Both the Liverpool and Swansea games continued as scheduled but an emotional minute was held before each game as friends and former colleagues of Speed including Shay Given and Kenny Dalglish remembered a good friend. Craig Bellamy pulled out of the match squad in shock at the news. 

Ireland Vs Estonia: 1st Leg Review and 2nd Leg Preview

On a cold night in Tallinn it was a night of an incredible nature as Ireland won 4-0 against Estonia. Following this result Ireland look effectively through. 

The Surprise Season

After only ten games gone this season I think it is clear for all to see that this is the most unusual season in Premier League history. This is a quick summary of what is happening and why it is.

On the opening weekend of the season there were not many shock results. In my opinion the three biggest shocks were: None of the promoted sides could manufacture a victory with QPR getting trashed by Bolton, Norwich getting a respectable point away at Wigan and Swansea took a thumping off Manchester City. Chelsea new boss Villas Boas was left disappointed by his sides unsurprising draw with Stoke. It was a really tough welcome party for Andre and Tony Pulis is always a man who enjoys party crashing. Arsenal could also only manage a draw with Newcastle but what surprised us most was Arsenal lost their discipline completely with Gervinho slapping Joey Barton and Barton was also a victim of an Alex Song stamp. As already said City got off to a blistering start against Swansea with new boy Sergio Aguero becoming star of the show but, as always United fought to the end and this time it was against West Brom after De Gea made a mistake United came to win 2-1.

Ireland With A Chance? England Just The Same Again?

We have all waited a long time to see Ireland even approach the top spot in a qualifying group but this year Giovanni Trapattoni's men seem to have a belief like never before. Just across the water England however remain the same with another good qualifying campaign but still lack something.

The Summer Transfer XI

Well another transfer window has passed and this year Sky Sports Premier League transfer window totaliser hit £468,000,000. This incredibly high figure may have lead to a Jim White heart attack. As always there was drama towards the end of the window. The club who provided us with the most entertainment in the last week of the transfer window were Arsenal, who went on a mad shopping spree following their 8-2 defeat at Manchester United that weekend. Now I aim to provide more entertainment to you with the transfer window being over by making a team of the Summer's transfers.

The Tale of Arsenal Football Club.

On the outskirts of London there lives an old man named Arsene Wenger. He is a 61 year old man who works as manager of Arsenal football club and has done so since 1996. He has brought his club forward a lot in his reign as coach. But in recent years many monsters sniffing around his area have made Arsene who was once happy, very grumpy. Since 2006 the people around his area have taken many of his influential players including Ashley Cole, Robert Pires, Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljungberg. This has led to a 6 year trophy drought with last year being the closest he's come to a trophy before the big meanie Alex McLeish spoiled the party before it even started.

David De Gea Manchester United's New Van Der Sar.

After his arrival at Old Trafford for £18 million, David De Gea was under great scrutiny to become the next Van Der Sar. At only 20 years old Ferguson was evidently buying De Gea as a long term option, safe in the knowledge that he could stay at the club for another 15 years at least. On the 23rd of December 2010 Manchester United were informed that a club legend Edwin Van Der Sar would be retiring come the end of the season. This sparked many rumours of possible replacements for the Dutchman, with Manuel Neuer, Maarten Stekelenburg and David De Gea being the 3 goalies that Ferguson was linked with. After Neuer left for Bayern Munchen and Stekelenburg to AS Roma it became obvious that it would be Spaniard David De Gea that would be the one and that is who it was.

Premier League 2011/12 Preview

No more weekends shall be wasted watching Darts. No more weekends shall be wasted watching Rugby and no more weekends shall be wasted watching pre-season friendlies. This is because it is back, the most prestigious piece of league silverware in the world, The Barclays Premier League. Kicking off on the 13th of August, we are so excited even the dog knows about it's return. 20 teams with 38 games to play, the chance of relegation and the chance of Champions league football, hopes, dreams, realities, failures, this is why we love the Barclays Premier League.

The FA Community Shield Given New Life.

MANCHESTER UNITED VS MANCHESTER CITY
7th August 2011
Rebirth of the FA Community Shield

For a long time now the Community Shield has just been to us another Emirates Cup or Dublin Super Cup, but this 2011's Community Shield has more pride and prestige. I realise yes, the Community Shield will never have the prestige of the Champions League or the Premier League but now it is more than a Pre-Season friendly which it used always be.

Why Football Drives Us Crazy.

Everywhere we look now in football there are millions of pounds being thrown around as if they are 1 penny coins. With all this money being spent the gulf in class between the 'Big Teams' and 'Small Teams' is widening.
Big clubs are spending ludicrous fees on players with what I must say good qualities. £20 Million for Stewart Downing, £12.5 Million for Connor Wickham, £33 Million for Alexis Sanchez and £28 Million for Fabio Coentrao. When you see then the likes of Roger Johnson, John O'Shea and Gael Clichy all going for extremely cheap prices one must question 'Are these over the top fees really necessary?'. We all know the answer to this question deep down and it is 'No' but we all know we love our clubs paying over the odds for a player because it creates a buzz around the club and around the fans.

Where Copa America Went Wrong For Brazil And Argentina

In a largely disappointing Copa America for the 'Big Teams' I believe the standard of play from Argentina and Brazil were stand out as the worst performances. Argentina, the host nation and holders of the joint most Copa America trophies in the competition's history. Brazil, holders of four of the last five Copa America tournaments.

Argentina Team Vs Uruguay