Champions League Draw

Once again i am so sorry it has take me so long to update, my laptop is currently being fixed, but i will be back Friday or Saturday!

I hope you have enjoyed the week in football.

Champions League Draw:

Group A:
Chelsea (England)
AS Roma (Italy)
Bordeaux (France)
CFR Cluj (Romania)

Group B:
Inter Milan (Italy)
Werder Bremen (Germany)
Panathinaikos (Greece)
Anorthosis Famagusta (Cyprus)

Group C:
FC Barcelona (Spain)
Sporting (Portugal)
FC Basel (Switzerland)
Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)

Group D:
Liverpool (England)
PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)
Marseille (France)
Atletico Madrid (Spain)

Group E:
Manchester United (England)
Villarreal (Spain)
Celtic (Scotland)
Aalborg (Denmark)

Group F:
Lyon (France)
Bayern Munich (Germany)
Steaua Bucharest (Romania)
Fiorentina (Italy)

Group G:
Arsenal (England)
FC Porto (Portugal)
Fenerbahce (Turkey)
Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine)

Group H:
Real Madrid (Spain)
Juventus (Italy)
Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia)
BATE (Belarus)
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I like that there are a lot of smaller teams this year, i would love to see some of them do something.

Looks like Fernando Torres will play against his old club. I wonder how they will receive him.
Normally i like Rangers, but i guess i'm going to have to root for Celtic!
I think there are some good pairings, can't wait until it starts!

Blog will be back Monday!

Sorry the blog has been down! i had a spontaneous trip and could not get to a computer until today.
The blog will be back on Monday with lots to talk about.

I'm watching the Sunderland/Tottenham game and i have a lot to say about Tottenham!!!!

And don't even get me started on the English NT! That match was a waste of my time!

Congrats to Argentina who beat Brazil 3-0 at the Olympics.

2008/09 Season Predictions

I know i will regret this come May of next year when i will be completely wrong but here is my Premier League Predictions:

1.Chelsea
2.Manchester United
3.Liverpool
4.Arsenal
5.Tottenham
6.Portsmouth
7.Aston Villa
8.Everton
9.Blackburn
10.Manchester City*
11.Sunderland
12.West Ham
13.Newcastle
14.Fulham
15.Middlesbrough
16.Wigan
17.West Brom
18.Bolton
19.Stoke
20.Hull


1.Chelsea
I picked Chelsea to win the EPL, because aside from the fact that they probably have the best midfield in the world, they finally have a good manager, after the disaster that was Avram Grant. And i think that they players that were upset when Mourinho left are over it. And United have a couple of important players injured, so they might not have the best start. I also picked Chelsea because my Liverpool heart has a little faith that Manchester United wont do it again.

2.Manchester United
I picked Man U to be in second place, because i just think that Chelsea have it this year and after the Ronaldo saga there has to be something going on in the dressing room and i don't think they signed anyone exciting and they have a couple of core players injured (even thought they had a bad start last season and won!) that might give Chelsea an edge. I pray that they get relegated (CALM DOWN! i'm joking!... well sorda).

3.Liverpool
I really thought my beloved reds had it last season, and though i think we have a great squad and made good signings, and as a Liverpool fan i THINK they will win, as a football fan i know they wont. What will it take for Liverpool to win? a new manager? The fans want it, the players want. I wouldn't count them completely out, but yet again this could be the Liverpool fan in me talking.

4.Arsenal
To be honest i can see them in 5th, they have lost good players and gained decent ones, what has changed with Arsenal? While i still think Arsene Wenger is a great manager, there is something obviously something not right at Arsenal, I think Tottenham will be better this season, but i said that last season, so i'm giving Arsenal the benefit of doubt and putting them in 4th.

5.Tottenham Hotspur
Great manager, good squad, good signings this should be there season, but yet again everyone always says that when it comes to Tottenham. i would put them in 4th but they did this to me last season. I expect good football out of Tottenham.

6.Portsmouth
Good manager, good squad, i think with an FA Cup win they have confidence and that goes a long way. I really want to see them do well.

7.Aston Villa
So they keep Barry after all (or lets wait and see a couple of days but it seems like he is staying) but overall i think they have a good squad and Martin O'Neill is a good manager. I think they will go one place down, only because Portsmouth got better.

8.Everton
They lost Johnson, have not made signings and as highly as i think of Cahill he is too injury prone. I still think that David Moyes is a good manager and has done good things with little money, but i have a feeling that this will be a very competitive season and Everton don't have that edge.

9.Blackburn
New manger and i'm hearing the players are not too fond of him and some players already want out, they lost Bentley a quality player who will be missed, they still have Santa Cruz, but will he be able to have the season he had last season?

10.Manchester City*
The reason Manchester City has a star next to it is because of all the drama going on with the owner, i think Hughes is a good manager and they have a good squad, and i actually think that if nothing happens with the owner they could do better, but if something does happen with Shinawatra it can be all down hill for Man City, the FA can go as far as too freezing the club (meaning the club would be inactive). I hope everything gets resolved and Man City have no owner problems, i would love to see them beat Man U in both Manchester derby's again.

11.Sunderland
Call me crazy for putting Sunderland so high, but think Keane is a good manager and with one year of premier league football under his belt he is a better manager he was last season, they have made good signings and i can just see them doing much better this season.

12.West Ham
Same old West Ham, i'm surprised they were in 10th last season. I don't expect much from them.

13.Newcastle
What can i say about Newcastle? Its Newcastle, they already have 8 players injured and with my favorite bad boy Barton suspended for 15 games things don't look good for Newcastle, and Keegan, the footballing gods know i love Keegan the footballer, but Keegan the manager is just no way near as good as Keegan footballer. Same old Newcastle, bless their fans (seriously, i respect the toon army).

14.Fulham
I have a huge soft spot for Fulham because they are very American friendly with players and i think they have a lot of heart and fight in them. I just see them do much better this season than last, hopefully my boy Dempsey will have a good season.

15.Middlesbrough
They just seem to be a floater club, they are just there, honestly they are the club i'm least excited to watch. When will Southgate get sacked? He seems like a great guy, just not such a good manager, maybe a couple of years a a number two at a good club will make him a better manager.

16.Wigan
They are lucky and therefor will not go down, i don't expect exciting games from them.

17.West Brom
Out of the 3 that come up, usually only 2 go down, i think West Brom will be the lucky ones to stay up.

18.Bolton Wanderers
They have no more spark or luck, i just can't see them staying up with the squad and manager they have.

19.Stoke City
They might put up a fight, but we all know they are going down, the good thing, if Kitson plays good he might get signed by a better club.

20.Hull City
The Derby of this season, but they wont be as bad (is it possible to do worse than Derby did?!)

I can't wait until May to see how wrong i will be!
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Thank you to everyone who have joined the competitions, I've gotten a lot of people for the EPL Table Prediction competition, more than for the Fantasy League competition.

THE PREMIERSHIP IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ENJOY FOOTBALL!

Thierry Henry to Manchester United?! What?!

Could Thierry Henry be on his way back to the Premiership? There is a rumor that Manchester United are interested in signing Henry from Barcelona! What?!! Thierry Henry? TH14?! Arsenal's Hero?!
Even if this is true, he can't do this, he just can't, this would be devastating for Arsenal fans. Henry had said he would only return to England to play with Arsenal.

Here is the thing with me, i expect loyalty, i know that a lot of players could careless and just want a paycheck (Ronaldo, played for Barcelona and Real Madrid and AC Milan and Inter Milan).

When Henry left Arsenal i was very upset (and i'm a Liverpool fan), because i was very grateful to him for all the great football he gave the Premiership. But i understood that is was time for him to go, he had been with Arsenal for years and gave them a lot, and sometimes it just time to move on, as upset as i was i got it, it was time to move on.
But if he would come back to the EPL and play for another club, i would lose some respect for him.

I'm really hoping this is a rumor that has not truth behind it.
So gooners, what do you think of all of this?

Manchester United win the Community Shield

Manchester United beat Portsmouth 3-1 on penalties to win the first silverware of the season.
It was really funny watching this game because the moment they went to penalties i said to myself Portsmouth will win, because i have more faith in James as a goalkeeper than i do in Van Der Saar, but as soon as Diarra missed the first penalty, I said to myself, its over Manchester United won.

Is it just me or did Crouch and Defoe not work as well as we all thought they were?

Oh! and what did we all think about Gary "Wheelchair" Neville playing after what seems like an eternity?

Carlos Tevez is a much better player than he was when he arrived at Manchester United, with Ronaldo injured until October, someone is going to have to step up and i think it will be Tevez.

Congratulations to Manchester United.
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Discuss in the comment section!

Community Shield

The Community Shield is tomorrow! and I can't wait. I know the Community Shield is probably the least important of all the silverware you can win , but what i love about the Community Shield is that it means the Premiership is only a week away!

So it will be the EPL winners (and Champions League winners might i add) Manchester United against the 8th place, FA Cup winners Portsmouth.

So do Pompey have a chance? I think they do, true Portsmouth didn't have to beat a "big" team to throughout the FA Cup, but they are a quality side, they have good players and a good manager and Manchester United have a lot of their top players out, Pompey can take advantage of United's injuries.

Manchester United have Ronaldo, Carrick, Ferdinand, Rooney and Hargreaves injured and Anderson at the Olympics. But its still Manchester United you can NEVER underestimate them, injuries or no injuries.

So who do i want to win? Portsmouth of course! I'm going for the underdog.
Who do i think will win? Manchester United.
I want to make this clear, I am a Liverpool fan and so by nature i hate Manchester United and never want to see them win, but i do respect them, their players and their manager. So i might joke around about how much i hate them, but at the end of the day i respect them.

Good luck to Pompey! I hope its a good game!
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Remember you have until next saturday before the start of the season to send in your table predictions and compete in the first competition!
You can play the fantasy football competition whenever you want.
For more details on the competitions Click here .

Cristiano, Cristiano, Cristiano

Cristiano Ronaldo has come out and said that he will be this season at Manchester United. Here's what he said ; 'Sir Alex Ferguson heard my reasons, I heard his and we have an agreement that the best for both parties would be if I stay. Therefore, I can confirm that next season I will play in Manchester United.
'For a while, my desire was that Manchester would accept Real Madrid's bid. To say the opposite would be cheating people and my own conscience.'

He might be there this season, but he is gone next, i can assure you that. He is already preparing everyone for his departure. Enjoy him while you can Man U fans.
Rooney its time to step up.

Ronaldo, I'm sorry that is was so hard for you to make the decision to stay and Manchester United, you know after winning the EPL and Champions league with them and with your horrible pay and all.

I'm sorry but i don't feel bad for him, like i said before i understand that his dream is to play for Real Madrid, but there are better ways to deal with wanting to leave your club and Ronaldo did not handle it well.
I can't wait to see how Manchester United fans receive him.

Man U fans what do YOU think of all of this?
Do you think he will be there next season?
Did he handle the whole Real Madrid thing well?
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Remember You have until NEXT Saturday to compete in the table prediction competition! So send in your predictions!

You can play the fantasy league one whenever you want.

What is going on with Everton?

What is going on with Everton? It seems like all the other premiership teams are buying and selling and are up to something, but nothing is going on with Everton.
They have not brought in a single player. I think Everton is a good team, but i don't think they will be in 5th this season, its not that they are getting bad, its just that it seems like all the other teams are getting better.
I know Everton has always had financial problems and to be honest David Moyes has done a fantastic job with the few resources he has had.

What i don't understand is why does Everton not have money? or why does the board not give them money? Its not like they are a team at the bottom, where you might hesitate in giving a lot of money to, Everton are a team that in the last couple of years have become a somewhat consistent club, who the top 4 think twice about when they play them, in my opinion all Everton needed was a little push to get into the top 4, two or three good signings and they would have been set, but i think its too late now, Tottenham has made fantastic signings, so have Liverpool and Sunderland, and don't forget about Portsmouth who have done nothing but surprise us, If Everton want to stay in 5th they will have to fight very hard for it, i don't see them going to 4th this year.

I think they have quality players, Tim Howard, Tim Cahill (his problem is he is constantly injured), Mikel Arteta, Yakabu, Lescott, Phil Neville and others, but its not enough, they NEED to sign some players!

What do YOU guys think is going on behind closed doors at Everton?
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Andrew Johnson has signed for Fulham for £10.5million on a 4-year deal.
Good luck to him, i hope he helps Fulham, i hope he works well with my American boys. I think he will do good at Fulham.

Will Everton miss him?
What do Everton fans have to say about this?



--Remember about the competition!
You have until next Saturday before the first game of the season starts to send in your table predictions!
You can join the Beautiful Game Blog league at www.premierleague.com, the code is 700003-134958 you can join whenever you want, but its best to join early.
To read more details on the competition and prizes click here.

Competition!

Hello fellow football fans!

Since the start of the EPL is right around the corner, its competition time here at the blog! There will be two competitions.

1. A fantasy football competition! I have created a league at the official Premier League site, (here is the link; http://www.premierleague.com/page/Home) sign up and where it says leagues, look where it says join private league the code is 700003-134958, at the end of the season who ever wins (if i win the prize will go to second place) will get any shirt from Who are ya designs*, A choice of the following books**; Fever Pitch, How Soccer Explains the World, Bloody Confused, The Miracle of Castel di Sangro, and Soccer in Sun and Shadow and a choice of the following movies***; Fever Pitch, Once in a Life Time, Goal: The Dream Begins, Shaolin Soccer, Green Street Hooligans, The Fifa 2006 World Cup Film and The Football Factory.

2. Two days before the EPL begins, i will post my predictions for the season, i will post a table with all the teams and where I think they will end up example:
1.Manchester United
2.Chelsea
3.Arsenal
So what i'm asking all of you to do is e-mail me (footyblog@yahoo.com) with your predictions. At the end of the season who ever wins (if i win the prize will go to second place) will get any shirt from Who are ya designs*, A choice of the following books**; Fever Pitch, How Soccer Explains the World, Bloody Confused, The Miracle of Castel di Sangro, and Soccer in Sun and Shadow and a choice of the following movies***; Fever Pitch, Once in a Life Time, Goal: The Dream Begins, Shaolin Soccer, Green Street Hooligans, The Fifa 2006 World Cup Film and The Football Factory.

--There will be a second place prize, for both competitions!

Obviously for the 1st competition you must submit before the first game of the season starts. For the 2nd you can join the league whenever you want (its best to join as early as possible).

These are the conditions for the competition:
-Anyone can play, but i will only ship within the US (so if you win and you live outside the US, i will not be able to send you the prizes)
-The same person can't win 2 sets of prizes (if you win both competitions you will only receive on prize set, the second person will the other).

So come on footy fans! Sign up for the fantasy football league and e-mail me (footyblog@yahoo.com) with your table predictions, And you can win these awesome prizes!
Keep reading the blog!



*Who are ya designs is NOT endorsing this blog, Beautiful Game Blog will be paying for the shirts.
**If you already have these books, the prize can be substituted for a different football book.
***If you already these movies they can be substituted for another football movie.

Counting down the days to the start of the EPL!

Its almost here! I can't wait, i need my football and even though i might watch the Olympics, it does not satisfy my need for good competitive football.

Two days before the EPL starts i will post my season predictions, where every club will be at the end of the season, who will win the sack race and what i expect from certain players, i was looking at my last season predictions and they are embarrassing! I had Arsenal in 5th! Tottenham in 4th! Either Liverpool and Manchester United winning the league (Manchester United won, but Liverpool was not even close) Reading in 11th, My predictions were pitiful!

Are you as excited as me for the EPL to start? or are you more excited for other leagues to start?

So start thinking of your predictions! There will be a competition on the way!

Anyone watching Soccer Dreams?

I'm wondering is anyone watching Soccer Dreams? For those of you in the UK (i don't know if they are airing the show there, its based on the UK show Football Icon) Soccer Dreams is a reality show that will give 1 talented young player in North America the opportunity to sign a contract with Everton F.C, it follows 36 young players for a series of time, while they train with some of Everton's coaching staff, at the end they will chose one player and that player will sign a contract with Everton

I knew that something like this would eventually be on TV, reality TV is taking over and i knew it would soon take over football.
But my question is this, is it a good idea? If you live in the UK or anywhere in Europe, you have a million more opportunities than someone who lives in North America of signing for a top club's academy or for playing for a top club, if you live in North America, not so much.
Scouts wont think of looking in North America for the next big thing, its probably the last place they will look and there are no good football academies here.

So is this reality show good? are they giving these kids an opportunity that they would not normally have? Yes, they are giving these kids a great opportunity that they would otherwise would never get.

I'm not expecting any of these kids to be the next Ronaldo or Kaka, and after they sign it is up to them to take advantage of the opportunity and i think it is very unlikely that they will be successful, i think the concept of giving someone in North America such an opportunity is great, I think that people who go on reality shows looking for fame usually don't get it, but i wish whoever win the contract luck.

Gareth Barry Leaving?....

Well, well, well, it seems like Gareth Barry is on his way to Liverpool after all. It seems that Liverpool are waiting to sell Pennant, Veronin (i can't wait for these two to go) and Alonso (i'm not too happy about him leaving) so that they can have the money to buy Barry, The Sun and The Times Online are reporting.
I know this comes to a surprise to a lot of people. but not to me, i had written about it Wednesday, when Aston Villa posted on their website that Barry would be staying.

As a Liverpool fan i can't wait to see him play. I think he will be fantastic with Steven Gerard and i think if we do get him the squad will be very good.

But i feel you Villa fans, I know that if Gerard left i would devastated, having your captain leaving is very hard and i understand that, and to be honest i think this will affect Villa a lot. At the end of the season, i told my friends, "watch out for Villa they have a good squad and with a few summer buys they can be a strong challenger for fourth", but i don't think thats going to happen if Barry leaves, he is the heart and soul of that team and losing that is very hard, they will have to rebuild and that can take time. But i think Martin O'Neill is a good manager, so lets wait and see what tricks he pulls out his sleeve.

Robin Van Persie to Juventus? and Diego to Chelsea?

Is Robin Van Persie on his way out of Arsenal and on his way to Juventus? Reports have surfaced saying that Juventus will meet Arsenal to discus the possibility of the player leaving. It is being reported that Van Persie no longer gets along with Arsene Wenger and is open to leaving the club.

I think Van Persie is a very good player, with one big problem he is very injury prone. When he is fit he is a very good player, but he can be out for months.
If he leaves Arsenal definitely will need to find a good replacement for him. I would hate to see him leave Arsenal, when he is fit he plays beautiful football and i would hate to see the premiership lose that.
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Reports have surfaced saying that Chelsea are interested in Werder Bremen's Diego.
But do they really need him? I think Chelsea have one of the best midfield's in the world and with Frank Lampard staying, would he get any playing time?
Chelsea of course have denied these reports.

I have always said that i think Diego is a fantastic player and i would love for him to get more attention, he really is very good and would compliment any team. When will he get the move he finally deserves?
Pay attention to Diego he is a quality player.

The Cristiano Ronaldo Saga

Lets talk about the Cristiano Ronaldo drama, new reports are suggesting that Real Madrid have not given up hope on signing him. He is possibly the best player in the world, in possibly the best team in the world (it pains me to say that as a Liverpool fan). And now after having the best season of his career with a League title and a Champions league he wants to leave.
I will say this, he is a fantastic player, he has the possibility to be the "Pele" of this generation (not saying he is as good as Pele, he is not) and who does he owe this to? he owes this to Alex Ferguson and Manchester United, who nurtured him and stood by him after England hated him after the World Cup incident.
Yes it takes natural talent, i'm not taking that away from him, but Ferguson helped him become the player he is today and Ronaldo is being very ungrateful.

If i was a Man U fan i would be so mad about the way he has handled the whole thing that i would want him to leave. And the slave comments? I am so sorry he feels he has been treated like a slave, being one of the highest players in Europe must be very hard and making millions a year that must be hard too.

I understand that his dream has been to play for Real Madrid, i get that, and the way he has been playing he can go to Real Madrid whenever he wants. So why now? why not wait a couple of yeahs and become a United legend? Why not wait until Ferguson retires? Why not be loyal to the man who was loyal to you? To the fans who were loyal to you? Think about this Ronaldo.

So Real Madrid want him and he wants to go, but will Man U let him go?
What do you think will happen? Will he leave this season? Should he leave this season?

Thank you!

Thank you to everyone has been reading the blog. I really appreciate it. Please please leave comments!
I have been getting a lot of e-mails about the posts, which is great, i love everyone's e-mails but i would really appreciate you guys leaving comments!

I will be back later on to talk about the Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United/Real Madrid saga, because it just keeps getting better.

More on Joey Barton and David Bentley

The FA have given Joey Barton a 10 game ban over his attack on his former Manchester City team mate Ousmane Dabo, he is also facing a ban for the attack that left his former team-mate unconscious.

Call me unsympathetic but i find this to be really funny. Like i said before, Joey Barton should be banned from football and is a disgrace to the game, but is kinda funny. A professional athlete attacks a team-mate so bad that he was left unconscious and needed surgery, AND he has not even apologized to Ousmane Dabo!!!
This guy is crazy! He attacked some poor guy at a McDonald's, punching him up to 20 times and after that (keep in mind this is on the same night) he punched a 16 year-old kid outside. Quality... quality.

I think the truly sad thing about all of this is that he is a decent player, and could have been a good one for England i doubt that after all of this he will ever get called up, but you never know.
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Its official David Bentley has signed for Tottenham from Blackburn Rovers for £15million for 6-years.
I think its a really good signing, he is a quality player and should get more starts in the England senior team, and i think he will help Tottenham do much better this season, he will fit in perfectly at Spurs.. Even though they lost Kean and probably will lose Berbatov, I have faith in Juande Ramos.
As a Sevilla fan let me tell you, he is a quality manager, he know how to spot talent and can do lots of things with little money. Spurs fans, you are lucky to have him. I was depressed for about a week when he left Sevilla.