Martinez’s last few months at Wigan have been incredible. The Spaniard has performed miracles at the DW Stadium since January.

The Latics have won six of their last games – including victories over Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle.

Following Monday nights game against Blackburn, Martinez’s side secured another season in the Premier League. They now sit 5 points above 18th placed Bolton, with one game left to play.

The Wigan fans cheered Martinez’s name as he masterminded yet another remarkable recovery this season.

Before he met Steve Kean’s Blackburn in the reverse fixture in November last year, Wigan were rock bottom of the table with just five points, having lost eight straight matches.

It took a while for results to come, but Martinez was not prepared to compromise his principles and he stuck by his commitment to getting the ball down and passing it

18 points from 24 points has been a testament to the outstanding job Martinez has performed at the DW Stadium this season.

The only down side for the Latics is that they could pay a high price for their relative success. While Martinez was prepared to snub Aston Villa and stick with Wigan last summer, it remains to be seen how long he will be happy trying to keep the Latics up on a limited budget.

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan will not stand in Roberto Martinez’s way if the manager is offered a bigger job this summer, he believes recent performances will have big clubs from around Europe eyeing up his Spanish boss.

And while he is not keen to see the 38-year-old leave, Whelan said he would accept Martinez’s departure when it comes.

“He’s doing a magnificent job,” Whelan told Radio Five Live’s Sports week. “I’ve always said Roberto will go to one of the top clubs in Europe and when that time comes he will leave Wigan with my blessing.

 ”He’s just a brilliant manager and he will get one of the top jobs inEurope.

“I don’t want to lose Roberto but it is inevitable he will climb the ladder.”

The 38-year-old Spaniard was linked with the Aston Villa job last summer before he committed his future to the Latics but could he turn down the Villans again if they came calling as Alex McLeish looks set to leave the Midlands side.

West Brom could also be an attractive option for the former Swansea manager after Roy Hodgson leaves to become England boss at the end of the season, as the 64-year-old has put together a good squad with a great chance of pushing on in the next campaign.

A wild card option for Martinez could  be Liverpool, who may wish to go with a younger manager to replace Kenny Dalglish if his time is up in his second spell as boss at Anfield.

Whatever his decision, he will not be short of suitors after Wigan’s miraculous recovery this season. But will this year be his last at the DW Stadium or can the man who first joined the club as a player in 1995 remain loyal to the club and Dave Whelan yet again?

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

A look at this weekend’s Premier League matches as Manchester fights for the league title and London teams play for their Champions League futures.

Arsenal v Norwich

The chase for third place remains in Arsenal’s hands, but with Tottenham and Newcastle in close pursuit there is no room for error. Arsene Wenger’s team, without a win in three games, have laboured since Mikel Arteta’s injury removed the metronome which keeps everything ticking, and the responsibility to drag them over the line rests with a tired Robin van Persie. With Norwich having relaxed since securing a second season in the EPL, this is a good opportunity for the Gunners to grab a much needed victory.

Norwich have conceded 11 goals in their last three matches, including hat-tricks for Carlos Tevez and Luis Suarez. Van Persie will be hoping the Canaries defence continues to be accommodating. The Gunners are fortunate to close out the season with two imminently winnable games against teams without anything tangible to play for, but the spoiler factor should never be underestimated.

Prediction: Arsenal win

Newcastle v Man City

The sums are simple for Manchester City now: win their last two games and the title is all but guaranteed. It is a difficult assignment though, as Newcastle confirmed with their midweek victory at Chelsea. Of all the important games being played this weekend, this one might have the widest-reaching effects. Newcastle will need to pick up the points if they hope to lay claim to a Champions League place.

Manchester City did what they needed to do against their crosstown rivals on Monday, but with United facing a slightly less daunting end of the season schedule they’ll be able to take nothing for granted. On top of this, these are two very good teams that are generally quite enjoyable to watch. Both have incredible attacking talent with the likes of Papiss Cisse, Sergio Aguero, Demba Ba and Carlos Tevez. This is arguably the weekend’s biggest game, in any league.

Prediction: Draw

Aston Villa v Tottenham

This is a huge match for both clubs. An Aston Villa win in this match would all but guarantee their Premier League survival. However, Tottenham are well in the race for the Champions League places, Redknapp will be anxious to take third from their London rivals Arsenal, just in case Chelsea are successful in the Champions League final. Tottenham travel to Villa Park after back-to-back victories, while Mcleish’s side have failed to take 3 points from a Premier League game since November. Scott Parker’s return to fitness is a huge boost for Tottenham, having recovered from an ankle injury. He is expected to return to the starting line up in this fixture.

Prediction: Tottenham win

Bolton v West Brom

Roy Hodgson’s West Brom now have very little left to play for this season. However, this can’t be said for their opponents, Bolton. It’s been a very emotional season for Owen Coyle’s team, both on and off the pitch. For quite some time now, Bolton fans have been clinging to their side’s games in hand to give them hope for another season in the Premier League. The Wanderers caught up to the rest of the league in terms of games played on Wednesday, but faced a heavy 4-1 defeat to Tottenham. Bolton are even on points with 17^th place QPR, but they’ve got a serious mountain to climb in terms of goal difference. Hodgson’s appointment as the new England boss may prove a blessing in disguise for Bolton. A distracted West Brom side could prove ideal opposition.

Prediction: Bolton win

Fulham v Sunderland

Both Fulham and Sunderland will be looking for the three points that would virtually guarantee a top-10 finish but the form of these teams could not be more different. The hosts have taken 13 points from their last six Premier League games, including a first ever win at Anfield in midweek. By contrast, Martin O’Neill’s side have not had a victory since 24 March and are playing very much like a side with one eye on their summer holidays.

Prediction: Fulham win

QPR v Stoke

QPR’s fortunes took a turn for the worst last season as they suffered a 6-1 loss to London rivals Chelsea. However, luckily for Mark Hughes’ side, other results at the bottom of the table ensured they sit one place above the relegation zone with just two games left. With a very tough last game against current leaders Manchester City, QPR really need 3 points from this home match to achieve survival, beating a tired Stoke on Sunday could be sufficient to keep them up.

Prediction: QPR win

Wolves v Everton

These teams will be playing for different types of pride this weekend. Everton can open up a six-point gap over local rivals Liverpool, while Wolves – who are already relegated – can secure their first win under Terry Connor’s leadership. Connor will make a late decision on whether Matt Jarvis (groin) and Kevin Foley (hamstring) are fit to play. Moyes is hopeful Leighton Baines will return for the final game of 2011-12 but he will sit out this weekend’s match, along with Victor Anichebe, while Jack Rodwell is out until next season.

Prediction: Everton win

Manchester United v Swansea

United’s hope this season now heavily rely with Newcastle and QPR. A Newcastle victory against the current league leaders would put United back into the driving seat assuming Ferguson’s team can take 3 points from this fixture. Failing that, United need a huge number of goals in their remaining two games if they hope to win the title. Expect a high scoring match, as the hosts attempt to close the goal difference gap with City. Although Swansea have had an excellent season, their form has faded of late, with just a single victory for Brendan Rodger’s side.

Prediction: Manchester United win

Blackburn v Wigan

This is, undeniably, the last chance for Blackburn to save themselves from the drop. The Monday night shift has not generally proved popular with clubs or supporters this season, but neither Blackburn nor Wigan will be complaining this week. By kick-off at Ewood Park they will know the fortunes of Bolton, QPR and Aston Villa, and Wigan could need only a point to ensure they stay up. Whatever their rivals muster, Rovers – who are away at Chelsea on the final day – realistically must win this one, and hope that Wigan return to their meek early-season form rather than continue their recent heroics.

Prediction: Wigan win

Liverpool v Chelsea

Liverpool-Chelsea, twice in the space of three days. There’s no doubt the importance of this match is negligible compared to Saturday’s FA Cup Final. Liverpool have already secured a European place through their Carling Cup victory earlier in the season and of late their league form has been extremely poor, now they only have their own pride to play for. Chelsea, on the other hand, are still chasing Champions League football next season. If they fail to beat Bayern Munich in May’s final, then they have to ensure a fourth place league finish to ensure playing in the elite continental competition next season. Clearly, Di Matteo’s side still need as many league points as possible.

Prediction: Chelsea win

Feel free to visit my independent blog for similar articles http://chrisslinnell.wordpress.com/

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Wigan put on a show on Saturday to all-but-secure their Premier League status for another year, and delighted the DW Stadium and onlookers in the process. A 4-0 win over Champions League qualification hopefuls Newcastle mixed a determined and dogged defensive approach with sublime attacking play, and Roberto Martinez’s men were good value for their comprehensive victory.

With Newcastle undoubtedly the surprise package of the season, and Alan Pardew crafting a team of rough-around-the-edges players into some of the most sought-after stars in the league, the victory is all the more impressive. The first-half showing by the hosts was nothing short of masterful, as Wigan were quite simply too good for their Tyneside opponents.

A Victor Moses brace and goals from Shaun Maloney and Franco Di Santo gave the home side an unassailable lead, and in truth Wigan could have scored more in the first 45. The win sends Wigan up to 16^th place and 37 points, three ahead of the bottom three, and three adrift of the holy grail of 40.

Wigan’s escapology act from last season had the club’s fans on cloud nine, but this season seems to be even more of an achievement. Given the fact that the Latics were bottom of the pile not too long ago, and faced a stern fixture list, Martinez and his team should be proud of their end of season heroics.

Five wins in the last eight games has lifted Wigan above their relegation rivals, with three points against Liverpool at Anfield, at home against Manchester United and at the Emirates against Arsenal, along with yesterday’s triumph, sticking out in the memory. The Latics could already be safe, but one win from their last two games against Blackburn and Wolves, will ensure Martinez’s men stay in the top flight for another year.

The manner of the afore-mentioned victories, and Wigan’s play for the majority of the campaign, is the real standout point. Martinez has urged his troops to consistently get the ball down on the deck and play football, even against their supposedly superior opponents, and this must be admired. When a team goes into a spiral of bad results, like Wigan have this season, there is a temptation to try and get the ball forward in a direct fashion rather than keeping possession, and the Latics have resisted this urge for the majority of the campaign.

The likes of Victor Moses, James McCarthy and Maynor Figueroa have all been excellent, and the cash-strapped side may have a battle on their hands to hold onto their best players. Like Wilson Palacios, Antonio Valencia and Charles N’Zogbia before them, the chance to play for a bigger club could be too good to resist.

Looking forward, there could be a few changes at the DW Stadium this summer, and the club’s fans will hope that Wigan can get off to a better start next term. Despite their heroics in escaping relegation through end-of-season wins over the last couple of years, the team will hope to not leave it so late next term, and secure their Premier League status well before the last five games. A sensible summer in the transfer market and a continuation of Martinez’s positive attitude could well see Wigan as more than relegation escapees in 2012-13.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Since the Fenway Sports Group (FSG) bought Liverpool FC last season, there has been a lot of talk about ‘Moneyball’.

This was a successful book chronicling the Oakland Athletics baseball team, and in particular it’s General Manager Billy Beane (for a General Manager think of a powerful director of football, David Dein at Arsenal, someone who controls transfer/signings). Beane was a visionary who by using different scouting techniques and having radically different principles on how the game of baseball should be played, got the Oakland Athletics to punch above their weight and beat richer, more glamourous rivals.

This was chronicled in a book, and then in a film starring Brad Pitt while also changing the world of baseball, as ‘Moneyball’ became not only a book but an adjective for the way many baseball teams were run as they adopted so called ‘Moneyball’ methods.

The Boston Red Sox (owned by John W Henry) were one of these teams and following the 2003 release of the book won the World Series in 2004, their first in 86 years and won another World Series in 2007. However, Moneyball is in many ways a myth. The Oakland Athletics who still have Beane as the GM have been dismal the last five seasons. The Boston Red Sox had one of the largest wage bills in baseball when they were successful, and have missed the playoffs the last two seasons. Though Moneyball principles have been adopted, the cult and phenomena of Moneyball has been exaggerated and embroidered by the worldwide media.

Adapting Moneyball to football

Moneyball, in the context it has been used by the British media, has been used to describe Liverpool’s approach to signing players, largely due to FSG’s ownership of the club and their supposed use of Moneyball methods when owning the Red Sox. Well that’s nonsense because Moneyball was more about scouting methods, using innovative ways of viewing baseball and having a creative view of statistics.

In baseball transfer fees don’t exist, there is no paying other teams/franchises for players. You hire players through the draft system which consists of signing players from high schools and universities (which are confusingly often called colleges) and hire players when they are out of contract and/or released from their clubs.

So Moneyball doesn’t refer to paying sums of money to other clubs to sign players. An example of it in practice is Billy Beane deciding to fire his scouting team and deciding to draft players form schools and universities solely through the use of statistics.

There were no scouts, just a computer whizz with a laptop who had a database of players. They drafted players through statistics, based on the practice of Sabermetrics.

Sabermetrics was a brand new way of analysing baseball (these are the different principles on how baseball should be played I mentioned earlier) defined as the “The search for objective knowledge about baseball”. Sabermetrics looks purely at statistics and aims to find new ways of measuring the game in statistics, which in itself finds players whose contributions are either underrated or overrated.

So if we were to see Moneyball methods used in football, you’d have a low budget club, say for example Wigan Athletic, fire their entire scouting network and simply hire some kid whose good on a computer to create a database of players. They would then use statistics such as passes attempted, passes completed, distance covered, shooting accuracy and more. The players who were the best at these would be the players they wanted to sign. Someone like Leon Britton of Swansea, who has the 2nd highest pass completion percentage in the whole of European footballer, would be the sort of player a side using Moneyball methods would want to have in their side.

Also you would probably have some guidelines on what sort of players you would like to sign. The book “Why England lose & Other Curious Football Phenomena Explained” was co-authored by economist Stefan Szymanski alongside football writer Simon Kuper, and used statistics to analyse various topics, from why England struggle at international level to how suicide rates are affected by football.

Well this book looked at transfers as well and set out twelve guidelines on how to make successful transfers. Among these guidelines were to buy players in their early twenties, not buy players due to mesmerising World Cup/European Championship performances, help cheaper talented players who may have personal problems and to use scouts, managers, coaches, even fans when deciding on what players to buy. These would be like footballing Sabermetrics.

Liverpool

If we were to describe the signings of players in football as using Moneyball or Sabermetric methods, Liverpool, who are owned by FSG and have had a lot of media talk about them using so called Moneyball methods, plainly don’t fit that description. What they did last summer and last January when signing Andy Carroll was spend large sums of money on young English players like Carroll, Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing.

Kenny Dalglish has done this before, when manager of Blackburn he spent what were then big sums on players like Alan Shearer, Chris Sutton, Tim Sherwood, Stuart Ripley, Tim Flowers and others. That Blackburn side won the title, beating a United side going for their 3rd straight title.

But it shows that’s its hardly innovative and hardly a radical new way of judging and signing players. Damien Comolli’s departure is evidence of of how that approach has been unsuccessful as over £100m of spending has seen Liverpool decline in the League and would have seen Kenny Dalglish close to the sack if the Manager had been anyone other than Kenny Dalglish. Even then he may have been sacked if it wasn’t for their excellent cup form.

So Liverpool don’t use Moneyball methods, in fact they use whatever is the opposite of Moneyball. If you want to look at a side who make the most of their resources look at Newcastle and Wigan.

Newcastle United

Newcastle have gone from being relegated just under three seasons ago to being just three points off a place in the Champions League with just five games left this season. Newcastle were a bloated, aging side with a divisive dressing room, inept management and a wage bill more suited to a side gunning for Europe than for a side trying to avoid relegation.

Since then they got promoted under the calming Chris Hughton, they got rid of players on big wages like Damien Duff, Michael Owen, Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton, Geremi, Mark Viduka and Obafemi Martins and in their place developed Tim Krul as a top class goalkeeper, kept Jonas Gutierrez and Fabrizio Coloccini and have bought Cheick Tiote, Yohan Cabaye, Hatem Ben Arfa, the electric front two of Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse.

All of these players were bought comparatively cheaply and have adhered to those guidelines on how to make good transfers by having lots of people involved in the process of making transfers (scout Graham Carr is integral to their transfer policy along with Alan Pardew and Mike Ashley). They bought Hatem Ben Arfa (a talented player who had upset managers and teammates in France), bought players in their early twenties (Tiote and Cabaye are 25 now) and in Ba and Cisse simply found great value.

Wigan

Wigan have less money than Newcastle, and have had to sell the likes of Antonio Valencia, Charles N’Zogbia and Wilson Palacios to keep the club in good financial shape. Well they’ve bought lots of cheap young players (Victor Moses, James McCarthy, Lee Cattermole and others), gone for three at the back which hasn’t been seen in England in about 15 years, bought Jean Beausejour who was in and out of the Birmingham side to play a specific role as their left wing-back and on a low wage bill with low crowds are beating and relegating bigger clubs on bigger wage bills.

Also if you look abroad, the likes of Udinese and Porto have set their stall out as sides who import young talent from overseas (usually South America) and end up selling these players to fund the purchase of more cheap, rough diamonds they can mould, polish and then sell on. See Udinese doing this with Alexis Sanchez, Porto with Falcao and with lots of other players.

So Moneyball may not be all that it’s cracked up to be, and I admittedly have perhaps extended Moneyball to mean the signings of undervalued players, when it’s more about statistics than transfers.

Nonetheless I think a term for clubs buying cheap, undervalued players is useful, and to put it under the banner of Moneyball and/or Sabermetrics is helpful. And the clubs that do buy cheap, undervalued players and are successful with it, such as Newcastle, Wigan, Udinese and Porto continue to do well and football’s great minds have any intelligence or awareness, more clubs will be improve by using the principles of how to buy undervalued players and become more successful as a result.

Written by Jack Howes; 19 year old Spurs fan who dreams of chocolate, Spurs success and Dobby from Peep Show. Blogger on football and Asperger’s Syndrome.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

With live football on the telly for the next 6 days, it’s a good time to be a football fan. There’s plenty of mouth-watering action in tge Premier League for you to look at.

Titles may be won, title challenges may be salvaged, teams could be doomed to relegation or rise from the ashes – with most Premier League teams playing two games in the next six days, a lot can happen by next weekend.

Manchester United v QPR

A cracking double header on Sky Sport’s this Sunday, with Man United taking on QPR hours before their rivals City face a tough trip to the Emirates.

Arsenal v Man City

Liverpool v Aston Villa

Chelsea v Wigan

For more betting tips, see the Soccerlens betting page.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Building on our previous post about the most efficient football clubs across Europe’s top four leagues this season, here we do an historical analysis of the Premier league and the best performing clubs in the last three years (2009/2010 to 2011/2012).

The chart below shows some fascinating visual data about Premier League teams in the last three years – from succintly pointing out Arsenal’s #1 issue to highlighting the massive statistical improvements United have made this season to why Liverpool and Wigan are at the wrong end of the tables.

Make sure you click on the image below to enlarge and view the full data, then share your thoughts in the comments below.

The most efficient Premier League clubs in the last three years

Talking Points:

• Wigan’s continued Premiership survival has been nothing short of miraculous given their tendency for wayward shooting and calamitous defending.
• Arsenal are below the average defensive efficiency line for all three years. Their 2012 team has the fifth worst defense overall in the last three years and the second worst this season, ahead of only Blackburn. Someone should show Wenger this chart before he buys any other players (if he buys them, that is).
• United’s ridiculous position at the top left for 2012 shows how they have made the most of their attacking chances and held their ground (despite that 1-6 scoreline) defensively as well. The only comparison – defensively – is City from 2011 and Villa from 2010.
• From the chart it would seem that United were the better team than Chelsea in 2010 – but that’s the nature of football, where it’s not just your overall numbers but your ability to win key games, which United failed to do that season.
• Liverpool have the second-worst attack this season behind Wigan, and the fourth-worst attack in the last three years. Only Wigan (twice) and Portsmouth have done worse. One of them was relegated and the other might join them this season. How soon before Liverpool sue Evra for costing them a Champions League place / financial losses?

Research done by Matthew Wood. You can find more of Matthew’s statistical work at Balanced Sports.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

The Premier League title and the Champions League places are far from a done deal. Both Manchester City and Tottenham have blown healthy leads in first and third place respectively to fall down to second and fourth, and while City’s depth and sheer quality (not to mention a recall for Carlos Tevez) may yet save their title challenge, Tottenham don’t have that wild card to call upon. They can only rely on Harry Redknapp being able to coax a little bit more out of their players, and for Arsenal and Chelsea to lose their way, again.

Here’s a look at this weekend’s big games at the top of the table.

Chelsea v Tottenham

A cracking start to the weekend’s action with Chelsea taking on Spurs at Stamford Bridge (12.45pm KO, Live on Sky Sports 2), and the home side have to be the bet at 1.91 with Betfred.

The Blues have won this fixture in five of the last six Premier League seasons and you have to go back over 22 years and 25 clashes in all competitions for Spurs last victory at Stamford Bridge. Those are compelling stats, and if you throw in the fact that Chelsea come into this in  far better form than their rivals you can see why they have to be the punt.

Since Roberto di Matteo took over Chelsea had won four games in a row before going down to a late Samir Nasri goal at Manchester City on Wednesday night. By stark contrast Harry Redknapp’s side have managed just one win in six games and have yet to record an away win in 2012.

They have lost three of their last four games on the road, while Chelsea have won four on the bounce at the Bridge and have six wins in an eight-game unbeaten home run. Spurs have also managed a total of just six shots on target at Stamford Bridge spread across their last four league visits, so everything points to a Chelsea victory one which would cut the gap fifth and fourth from five points to just two.

Drogba makes the most appeal in the first goalscorer market at a standout 7.5 with Paddy Power, and he is also decent value at 2.6 with the same firm to score anytime.

Arsenal v Aston Villa

Arsenal are the form side in the Premier League and look a banker bet at 1.36 to beat Aston Villa at the Emirates.

The Gunners made it six wins in a row with a 1-0 victory at Everton on Wednesday when they went for the hosts from the start, got an early goal from Thomas Vermaelen and battled to protect it.

As usual it’s Robin van Persie who heads the goalscorer markets, but Vermaelen as the value bet at 5.5 with Betfred to score anytime. The centre-back is Arsenal’s joint-second top scorer in the league this season, and has bagged five goals in his last 17 games.

That makes the 5.5 on offer look big, especially when you thrown in the fact that most of his goals have come in streaks. He netted three in six earlier in the season and, with strikes in his last two games has to be worth a punt at a tasty price.

Liverpool v Wigan

Liverpool are a top priced 1.33 with Paddy Power to bounce back and beat Wigan at Anfield this weekend.

Any distant hopes that the Reds had of threatening the top four this season were surely ended by the astonishing defeat at QPR on Wednesday night, when they led 2-0 with 13 minutes remaining but left Loftus Road with nothing. It was a horrific hammer blow for Kenny Dalglish’s men and they will surely be have been given a roasting by the gaffer ahead of this.

The main problem is that they have really struggled convert dominance into victories on their own patch, and they have now lost four of their last five matches in the PL. That’s not good reading if you are planning to take the 1.33 on offer, especially when you take a look at the stats.

However that will surely change here, as the visitors have teal problems finding the back of the net and an on song Liverpool should prove too strong.

Luis Suarez is by far the most likely candidate to score first, and looks worth a punt at 4.33 with bet365 to do so . I fancy him to fire Liverpool to a 2-1 victory, and that scoreline is a 9 chance with bet365 and Betfred.

Manchester United v Fulham

Finally on Monday night, Man United are a top priced 1.25 to beat Fulham (8pm KO, Live on Sky Sports 1) and should have little difficulty doing  double over their rivals and maintain their position at the top of the Premiership.

The Red Devils have been in outstanding form at league level, winning eight and drawing once in the last nine games. The only dropped points came when they came from 3-0 deficit at Chelsea to draw 3-3, and they were unlucky not to come away with maximum points that day.

They hammered Fulham 5-0 on their own patch just before Christmas with a ruthless display with Danny Welbeck, Nani, Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov all getting on the scoresheet and the stats suggest a similar outcome could be on the cards.

Sir Alex’s men have won their last seven Premier League games at Old Trafford against the Cottagers, with the Londoners failing to score in their last four. In fact their only goal in the previous match was an own goal by Rio Ferdinand (United scored 5 in that game, including 4 in the opening 20 minutes as United opened their 06/07 account with a thunderous announcement of intent), and Martin Jol has also never beaten United during his time as a manager in the Premier League.

Not surprisingly the bookies are running scared of Wayne Rooney in their goalscorer markets. He has scored 16 goals in his last 16 appearances in all competitions and netted five times in his last four appearances against Fulham at Old Trafford. He is a 3.5 chance with Betfred to score first, and 1.57 shot with Boylesports to net anytime.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

You’ll find the latest Premier League Transfers (January 2012) listed here. Archives for older transfer seasons are at the end of this page. For the latest transfer rumours and confirmed transfers for other leagues, see our football transfer lists page.

If you find a transfer not listed here let us know and we’ll add it.

Last Updated: 1 February 2012

Arsenal

In: Thierry Henry (loan, New York Red Bulls); Thomas Eisfeld (£600,000, Borussia Dortmund)

Out: Luke Freeman (undisclosed, Stevenage); Vito Mannone (loan, Hull City); Daniel Boateng (loan, Swindon Town); Gavin Hoyte (loan, AFC Wimbledon); Paulo Botelho (loan, Levante); Emmanuel Frimpong (loan, Wolverhampton Wanderers); Sanchez Watt (loan, Crawley Town); Wellington (loan, CD Alcoyano); Sead Hajrovic (loan, Barnet); Rhys Murphy (loan, Preston North End); Ryo Miyachi (loan, Bolton Wanderers)

Aston Villa

In: Enda Stevens (undisclosed, Shamrock Rovers); Robbie Keane (loan, Los Angeles Galaxy)

Out: Nathan Delfouneso (loan, Leicester City); Shane Lowry (undisclosed, Millwall); Fabian Delph (loan, Leeds United); Elliot Parish (undisclosed, Cardiff City)

Blackburn Rovers

In: Anthony Modeste (Bordeaux, loan), Bruno Ribeiro (Grêmio Barueri, free); Marcus Olsson (free, Halmstads BK); Bradley Orr (undisclosed, Queens Park Rangers)

Out: Jason Roberts (undisclosed, Reading); Keith Andrews (free, West Bromwich Albion); Ryan Nelsen (free, Tottenham)

Bolton Wanderers

In: Tim Ream (£2.5m, New York Red Bulls); Ryo Miyachi (Arsenal, loan); Marvin Sordell (£3m, Watford)

Out: Gary Cahill (£7m, Chelsea); Jack Sampson (loan, Southend United)

Chelsea

In: Gary Cahill (£7m, Bolton Wanderers); Kevin de Bruyne (£6.7m, Genk), Patrick Bamford (£1.5m, Nottingham Forest)

Out: Nicolas Anelka (undisclosed, Shanghai Shenhua); Alex (£4.5m, Paris Saint-Germain); Rhys Taylor (loan, Rotherham); Sam Walker (loan, Yeovil); Ben Gordon (loan, Kilmarnock); Patrick van Aanholt (loan, Vitesse Arnhem); Josh McEachran (loan, Swansea City); Gaël Kakuta (loan, Dijon)

Everton

In: Darron Gibson (£500,000, Manchester United); Landon Donovan (loan, Los Angeles Galaxy); Nikica Jelavic (£6m, Rangers); Steven Pienaar (loan, Tottenham)

Out: Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (£5m, Spartak Moscow); Aristote Nsiala (loan, Accrington Stanley); James Wallace (loan, Tranmere Rovers); Louis Saha (free, Tottenham)

Fulham

In: Jack Grimmer (£200,000, Aberdeen); Pavel Pogrebnyak (£3m, VfB Stuttgart); Ryan Williams (undisclosed, Portsmouth)

Out: Alex Kacaniklic (loan, Watford); Bobby Zamora (£6m, Queens Park Rangers)

Liverpool

In: Jordan Ibe (£500,000, Wycombe Wanderers); Danny Ward (undisclosed, Wrexham)

Out: Danny Wilson (loan, Blackpool); Martin Hansen (undisclosed, Viborg FF)

Manchester City

In: David Pizarro (loan, AS Roma)

Out: Nedum Onuoha (£3m, Queens Park Rangers); Ben Mee (undisclosed, Burnley); Kieran Trippier (undisclosed, Burnley); Harry Bunn (loan, Preston North End); Alex Nimely (loan, Coventry City); Chris Chantler (loan, Carlisle United); Wayne Bridge (loan, Sunderland), Frederic Veseli (undisclosed, Manchester United)

Manchester United

In: Frederic Veseli (undisclosed, Manchester City)

Out: Darron Gibson (£500,000, Everton); Daniel Drinkwater (undisclosed, Leicester City); Mame Biram Diouf (£1.5m, Hannover 96); Joshua King (loan, Hull City); Féderico Macheda (loan, Queens Park Rangers); Ravel Morrison (£650,000, West Ham United); Oliver Norwood (loan, Coventry City); Scott Wootton (loan, Nottingham Forest)

Newcastle United

In: Papiss Demba Cissé (£10m, SC Freiburg)

Out: Alan Smith (loan, MK Dons); Philip Airey (loan, Gateshead); James Tavernier (loan, MK Dons)

Norwich City

In: Jonny Howson (£2m, Leeds United); Ryan Bennett (undisclosed, Peterborough United)

Out: George Francomb (loan, Hibernian); Oli Johnson (loan, Oxford); Korey Smith (loan, Barnsley); Chris Martin (loan, Crystal Palace)

Queens Park Rangers

In: Nedum Onuoha (£3m, Manchester City); Taye Taiwo (loan, AC Milan); Féderico Macheda (loan, Manchester United); Samba Diakité (loan, AS Nancy Lorraine); Djibril Cisse (£4m, Lazio); Bobby Zamora (£6m, Fulham)

Out: Matt Connolly (loan, Reading), Bradley Orr (undisclosed, Blackburn Rovers)

Stoke City

In:

Out: Danny Pugh (undisclosed, Leeds United); Florent Cuvelier (loan, Walsall); Ben Marshall (loan, Sheffield Wednesday); Tom Soares (loan, Hibernian); Ryan Brunt (loan, Tranmere Rovers); Matthew Lund (loan, Bristol Rovers); Michael Tonge (loan, Barnsley); Danny Higginbotham (loan, Nottingham Forest); Ben Marshall (undisclosed, Leicester City)

Sunderland

In: Wayne Bridge (loan, Manchester City); Sotiris Kyrgiakos (loan, VfL Wolfsburg)

Out: Trevor Carson (loan, Hull City); Louis Laing (loan, Wycombe Wanderers); Blair Adams (loan, Northampton Town); John Egan (loan, Crystal Palace); Billy Knott (loan, AFC Wimbledon); Jordan Cook (loan, Carlisle United); Ryan Noble (loan, Derby County); Nyron Nosworthy (loan, Watford)

Swansea City

In: Darnel Situ (£250,000, Lens); Josh McEachran (loan, Chelsea); Gylfi Sigurdsson (loan, Hoffenheim); Curtis Obeng (undisclosed, Wrexham)

Out: Vangelis Moras (loan, Cesena); Lee Lucas (loan, Burton Albion)

Tottenham

In: Iago Falqué (undisclosed, Juventus); Ryan Nelsen (free, Blackburn Rovers); Louis Saha (free, Everton)

Out: David Button (loan, Doncaster Rovers); Dean Parrett (loan, Yeovil Town); Andros Townsend (loan, Leeds United); Iago Falqué (loan, Southampton); Harry Kane (loan, Millwall); John Bostock (loan, Sheffield Wednesday); Tom Carroll (loan, Derby County): Sebastien Bassong (loan, Wolverhampton Wanderers); Vedran Corluka (loan, Bayer Leverkusen); Roman Pavlyuchenko (£8m, Lokomotiv Moscow); Steven Pienaar (loan, Everton); Adam Smith (loan, Leeds United)

West Bromwich Albion

In: Scott Allan (£300,000, Dundee United); Keith Andrews (free, Blackburn Rovers); Liam Ridgewell (undisclosed, Birmingham City)

Out: Roman Bednar (free, Blackpool); James Hurst (loan, Chesterfield); Romaine Sawyers (loan, Shrewsbury Town); Lateef Elford-Alliyu (loan, Tranmere Rovers); Chris Wood (loan, Bristol City); Gonzalo Jara (loan, Brighton & Hove Albion); Joe Mattock (loan, Brighton & Hove Albion)

Wigan Athletic

In: Jean Beausejour (undisclosed, Birmingham City)

Out: Daniel Redmond (loan, Hamilton Academical); Nouha Dicko (loan, Blackpool); Jordan Mustoe (loan, Barnet)

Wolverhampton Wanderers

In: Eggert Jonsson (£250,000, Hearts); Emmanuel Frimpong (loan, Arsenal); Sebastien Bassong (loan, Tottenham)

Out: David Davis (loan, Chesterfield); Sam Winnall (loan, Inverness Caledonian Thistle); Jamie Reckord (loan, Scunthorpe United); Sam Vokes (loan, Brighton & Hove Albion); Adlène Guedioura (loan, Nottingham Forest); Matt Doherty (loan, Hibernian); Andy Keogh (undisclosed, Millwall)

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From Soccerlens.com - Football News

The New Year weekend will most likely see Manchester United end 2011 at the top of the table (albeit having played a game more than City), although City will be away to Sunderland on Sunday and it should be business as usual at the top of the table for them come Monday morning.

Here’s a look at the top games this weekend and the best football bets on offer:

Manchester United v Blackburn

Manchester United are 1.14 shots to round of their fantastic festive period by beating Blackburn at Old Trafford, and it’s hard to envisage anything but a wide margin win for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side.

The Red Devils come into this having registered back-to-back 5-0 wins over Fulham and Wigan and the Premiership whipping boys should be easy fodder for them.

The stats are also good as United are unbeaten in their last 10 Premier League games against Blackburn (winning seven) and have won all of their last seven games against Steve Kean’s men in all competitions.

The visitors have also kept just one clean sheet in their last 28 Premier League away games and currently sit bottom of the table after some truly shocking performances.

United registered a 7-1 victory over them in this fixture last season and it really should be a case of how far they win by.

Dimitar Berbatov, who scored five goals in that emphatic victory, will surely be relishing the chance to shine again following his hat-trick against Wigan and makes plenty of appeal in the first goalscorer market at 4.5 with bet365, Betfred and Paddy Power.

He is also 1.91 chance to score anytime with Paddy Power and that also looks solid value for a striker in form.

It will also be a major surprise if they do not win both halves in this game, and at 1.44 with Paddy Power in the double result market that looks an extremely attractive punt compared to the 1.14 on offer in the outright market.

I fancy United to win 4-0 or 5-0, and those scores can be backed at 9 with Boylesports and 13 generally.

Arsenal v QPR

Arsenal are 1.29 shots to end the year with a bang and win their derby game against QPR at the Emirates and they really should prove too strong for the Hoops.

The Gunners come into the game on the back of a disappointing 1-1 draw against Wolves but they have still picked up 26 points from their last 12 games and that ratio, over the course of an entire campaign, would have been enough to win them the title last season.

By stark contrast their opponents have mustered just 10 points from a possible 39, and that’s clear relegation form given that they have also taken just two pints from their last six games.

It really should be a comfortable win for Arsenal on paper, but Arsene Wenger must decide whether to rest Robin van Persie, who is two shy of equalling the Premier League record for goals, as his fitness is the key to them keeping up their challenge for a top four place,

However it will be a surprise to me if Wenger does not give van Persie a start and a chance to equal or beat Alan Shearer’s record, and at 3.25 with bet365 and Betfred to net the opener he looks a terrific price.

I fancy Arsenal to win this 2-1, and that’s a 9 shot with Betfred. Both teams to score also looks value at 2.1 with Betfred, Boylesports and Paddy Power.

Chelsea v Aston Villa

Chelsea are a top priced 1.3 with Paddy Power to round off the year with a win over Aston villa at Stamford Bridge, and anything but three points will be utter disaster for the Blues.

AVB’s boys looked to be back to their best when beating Man City 2-1, but since then they have failed to go and have registered three 1-1 draws on the bounce.

However Villa have won none of their last nine visits to The Bridge in the Premier League and have also failed to score in five of their last 7 games.

They are a negative side who seem to find bagging three points as hard as opening a letter, and it will be a major surprise if Chelsea do not take advantage and register a comfortable success.

So that brings us to the matter of who is going  to score the first goal and fire them to the expected victory.

Step forward Frank Lampard who has scored five goals in the last two home Premier League games against the Villans, and can be backed at a very tasty looking  6 with bet365,Betfred and Paddy Power.

For those who like to play in the correct score market I am going to suggest that Chelsea will win this either 2-0 or 3-0, and those scorelines can be backed at 6.5 with Paddy Power and 8 with Betfred.

Split stakes on both should hopefully net us a nice bit of profit.

Stoke v Wigan

Stoke have rediscovered their form of late and look cracking value at 1.67 to beat Wigan at the Britannia.

Tony Pulis’s men spent most of November in the bottom half of the table but they have put together a good run of results which have seen them climb back up the table to a very respectable 8th.

They have beaten Spurs, Blackburn, Wolves and Everton in recent weeks, and a repeat performance of any of those wins would see them easily dispose of a woeful Wigan outfit.

The Latics are already odds-on for the drop, and it’s hard to see how a side that lacks any fight is going to be able to cope with a Potters side who like to get stuck in.

I can see Peter Crouch causing the Wigan defence all sorts of problems, and the frontman makes plenty of appeal at 6 with Paddy Power to score the opener.

Stoke to win 2-0 is my idea of the outcome and is an 8 shot with bet365.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Premier League clubs are all set for Boxing Day showdown as 14 teams take to the field on Monday, with the remaining 6 playing on Tuesday. Here’s a look at the choicest fixtures from the next two days and the best betting odds for them.

Stoke City v Aston Villa

Stoke play host to Aston Villa in Sky’s televised match on Boxing Day (7.45pm KO) and the Potters look a terrific punt at 1.91 to maintain their terrific record against the Villans.

The Britannia has not been a happy hunting ground for Villa who have won only four times their in 26 attempts since World war II! Tony Pulis’ men have also won two of the three home meetings between the two sides since they got promoted back to the top flight in 2008, and really should prove too strong for a Villa side who have registered just one win on the road this season.

That victory came against lowly Bolton and shows just how hard they find life away from their own patch.

So given that Stoke have drawn with Chelsea and Man United and beaten Liverpool and Spurs at home this season this encounter should hold no fears for them whatsoever.

I think they are worthy favourites and at the 1.91 on offer with bet365, Betfred and Paddy Power they rate the best bet of the day.

Peter crouch is the type of player who could cause the Villa defence all sorts of problems, and at 6.5 with Paddy Power who looks the value bet to score first and fire Stoke to victory.

Manchester United v Wigan

Manchester United are beginning to bang in the goals again, and I can’t envisage anything other than a goal fest in their match against Wigan at old Trafford.

Bookmakers are not surprisingly offering a best price of just 1.17 about them after impressive victories over QPR and Fulham in their last two games and they simply cannot be opposed.

Victory at Craven Cottage meant that Sir Alex Ferguson’s side have now won all 8 games against bottom-half opposition this season, and they look certainties to make it nine in his one.

With Wayne Rooney back to his very best the Latics are likely to be in for a thrashing, and United’s talisman makes plenty of appeal at 3.75 with bet365 to open the scoring – and the floodgates.

I fancy United to put three or four past Wigan without reply, and you can get decent odds on both outcomes with Boylesports. The Irish firm go a standout 7.5 on 3-0 and are also top priced 10 about a 4-0 mauling.

Liverpool v Blackburn

Liverpool are 1.29 shots to take care of Blackburn in their clash at Anfield, and they really should stroll to victory against the Premiership whipping boys.

Rovers have actually scored more goals than the Reds, but they have also been leaking at an alarming rate and have let in 38 so far this season. Their defending has become horrific, and Kenny Dalglish’s men will surely take advantage and hammer home a comfortable wide margin win.

Luis Suarez has been making the headlines for all the wrong reasons, and the Uruguayan striker will surely be keen to put that right by getting on the score sheet. He is a 4 chance with Paddy Power to let his feet do the talking and score the opener, and that looks a cracking punt.

You can also get 1.67 with Betfred and Boylesports about him netting anytime during the 90 minutes, and that could be better value than backing Liverpool in the outright market at 1.29 if you like to play at odds-on.

Chelsea v Fulham

Chelsea are 1.3 shots to get back on the winning trail and beat Fulham, and if the stats are anything to go by then a comfortable home win looks on the cards.

After looking back to their best, AVB’s men have failed to maintain the momentum in their last two games – drawing  1-1 away at Wigan and Spurs.

However they haven’t lost any of their last 11 matches against the Cottagers, who have managed just four goals on their travels this season and come into this on the back of a 5-0 thrashing at home by Manchester united.

Martin Jol’s side have also failed to score in 11 away games, and simply don’t have enough backbone or fight to pose a threat to Chelsea.

It really should be a case of how many Chelsea win by, and I fancy them to keep a clean sheet in the process. They are even money (2) to do so with bet365 and Paddy Power and that looks a fair price given Fulham’s goal scoring record.

In the first goal scorer Frank Lampard looks worth a punt at a standout 7 with bet365.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News