Lies, Damn Lies and Jamie Redknapp
My heart goes out to supporters of Liverpool FC. The club have been rocked by Champions League failure, the validity of their Merseyside derby victory has been questioned, and they have to travel to Liverpool at least once a fortnight.
Steven Gerrard probably received the brunt of the criticism after the controversial derby day win. I have an enormous amount of sympathy for the talismanic captain; it can’t be easy to play football, roll over and referee all at the same time.
The persecution of Dirk Kuyt is equally as perplexing. The flying Dutchman was pilloried for an alleged dangerous tackle, but who wouldn’t jump in the air if they caught an unexpected glimpse of Phil Neville?
Jamie Redknapp has also been slaughtered for a perceived bias in his punditry. The ex-Red claimed that Jamie Carragher’s body-slam of Joleon Lescott did not merit a penalty, and amusingly maintained his stance while watching replays of the assault. Even Comical Ali would have thrown his hands up on that one.
I hope Jamie will be in the studio for Sunday’s big Liverpool v Arsenal match, as I’m trying to land a touch on potential Redknapp quotes. ‘Stevie didn’t dive, he fell over,’ ‘This rotation policy is a masterstroke,’ ‘Sure, Jamie kicked him three times, but they were accidental’ and ‘Rafa’s beard does not make him look camper than a bowl of strawberries’ are all confident selections.
I’ll probably have to settle for a bet on Arsenal to win the match. The Gunners are flying high in the Premiership and they scored a magnificent seven in midweek. I’m going to dive on the 21/10 like i’ve just received the merest of nudges outside of a penalty area.
Fulham have to be opposed at the Stadium of Light. Apparently, millions of Chinese people have been killed, and people are pointing the finger at Chairman Mo. Sunderland look a great bet at 11/10 to take advantage of a club in crisis.
Dave Whelan remains a genuine character. He’s quick to condemn foreign managers, third-party player ownership and the loan system, yet his views on price-fixing in the retail industry are kept remarkably close to his chest. The 23/20 for a Birmingham win over Wigan is vastly over inflated.
I’ve got a lot of time for Sven Goran Eriksson, probably because he’s pulled more darlings than the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s wife. The 3/1 for Manchester City leaving Chelsea with a draw ticks a multitude of boxes.
Joey Barton’s return to first team action will take his mind off the impending court case. There’s a real chance that Joey may end up doing a little stretch, and his cellmate will definitely be doing a little bird. You should be locked up if you miss out on the 13/8 for a Newcastle win at Reading.
The wife is a massive fan of MC Hammer: she sings ‘you can’t touch this’ every night. Everybody’s a winner. You don’t have to be drunk to partake in the 4/1 for a West Ham win over Pompey.
Bolton have reportedly made Gary Megson and Graeme Souness their top two targets in their search for a new manager. I’m guessing that Phil Gartside is in possession of a barrel with extensive scrape damage. The Villa are unbeaten in four at the Reebok, they’re practically unmissable at 19/10 against a Bolton side tottering on the verge of self destruction.
Tottenham are also in a spot of bother. Jermain Defoe can’t make the bench and Berbatov refuses to leave it. Darren Bent is about as potent as a half a shandy and they have more holes in their defence than OJ. Recent history suggests that Blackburn will hold Tottenham to a draw at 23/10; I absolutely refuse to argue.
Middlesbrough have been rocked by injury news ahead of their trip to Old Trafford: Mido is definitely fit. Bookies have opened the spread on Ronaldo’s dive to earn the penalty at 65–68 minutes, and that’s probably a sell. United are the weekend banker at 1/5.
Keith Hackett had to apologise to Rafa Benitez earlier in the season after a poor refereeing performance: I wouldn’t like to think about what he now owes David Moyes. Well certainly not while other people are in the office. Everton are only facing 11 men against Derby this week, they’ll hack up at 13/10.
The only real positive to emerge from the Merseyside derby was the revelation that Phil Neville was quite good with his hands. I’m guessing that’s born of necessity. Newcastle, Everton and Arsenal are the standout weekend picks, they form a 17/1 treble that even Phil can get on.
Predict The Future:
You can make your own predictions by copy-pasting the list of fixtures below and entering your predictions in the comments section after the article:
Birmingham City vs Wigan Athletic
Chelsea vs Manchester City
Manchester United vs Middlesbrough
Reading vs Newcastle United
Sunderland vs Fulham
Portsmouth vs West Ham United
Bolton Wanderers vs Aston Villa
Derby County vs Everton
Tottenham Hotspur vs Blackburn Rovers
Liverpool vs Arsenal
Go ahead, let us know your predictions for this weekend.
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Discussion - 33 Responses
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Liverpool vs Arsenal 3-1 TO THE ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!!!!
Birmingham City vs Wigan Athletic 2-0
Chelsea vs Manchester City 0-1(please, please)
Manchester United vs Middlesbrough 4-0 (hope not)
Reading vs Newcastle United 0-0
Sunderland vs Fulham 2-1
Portsmouth vs West Ham United 2-2
Bolton Wanderers vs Aston Villa 1-2
Derby County vs Everton 0-0
Tottenham Hotspur vs Blackburn Rovers 0-2
Liverpool vs Arsenal 1-3
Birmingham City vs Wigan Athletic 1-1
Chelsea vs Manchester City 2-1
Manchester United vs Middlesbrough 4-1
Reading vs Newcastle United 1-2
Sunderland vs Fulham 2-1
Portsmouth vs West Ham United 2-1
Bolton Wanderers vs Aston Villa 1-2
Derby County vs Everton 0-2
Tottenham Hotspur vs Blackburn Rovers 2-1
Liverpool vs Arsenal 1-1
Birmingham City vs Wigan Athletic 2-1
Chelsea vs Manchester City 2-0
Manchester United vs Middlesbrough 4-0
Reading vs Newcastle United 1-2
Sunderland vs Fulham 2-1
Portsmouth vs West Ham United 2-1
Bolton Wanderers vs Aston Villa 1-2
Derby County vs Everton 0-2
Tottenham Hotspur vs Blackburn Rovers 2-1
Liverpool vs Arsenal 1-3
torres back agger maybe its time to show our class
so many people think 1 point from that game will be a good result for Liverpool! and the rest of the people think Liverpool are going to lose or draw anyway regardless of our ambitions.
Arsenal are not invincible i hope we prove that on sunday but coming off a bad result playing a team coming off an amazing result certainly stacks the odds agaisnt us but this is our chance we need to take it!
Birmingham City 5 vs 0 Wigan Athletic
Chelsea 2 vs 1 Manchester City
Manchester United 3 vs 0 Middlesbrough
Reading 2 vs 0 Newcastle United
Sunderland 0 vs 0 Fulham
Portsmouth 3 vs 3 West Ham United
Bolton Wanderers 2 vs 3 Aston Villa
Derby County 0 vs 1 Everton
Tottenham Hotspur 0 vs 2 Blackburn Rovers
Liverpool 2 vs 1 Arsenal
Birmingham City vs Wigan Athletic 2-1
Chelsea vs Manchester City 2-0
Manchester United vs Middlesbrough 4-0
Reading vs Newcastle United 1-2
Sunderland vs Fulham 2-1
Portsmouth vs West Ham United 2-1
Bolton Wanderers vs Aston Villa 1-3
Derby County vs Everton 0-2
Tottenham Hotspur vs Blackburn Rovers 1-1
Liverpool vs Arsenal 1-3
arsenal 3-0 adebayor first scorer as he hasnt scored in a few games and will strive to get a goal,
hope chelsea lose to city too
Birmingham City vs Wigan Athletic 2-0
Chelsea vs Manchester City 1-2
Manchester United vs Middlesbrough 3-0
Reading vs Newcastle United 2-1
Sunderland vs Fulham 2-2
Portsmouth vs West Ham United 3-2
Bolton Wanderers vs Aston Villa 0-2
Derby County vs Everton 1-2
Tottenham Hotspur vs Blackburn Rovers 1-2
Liverpool vs Arsenal 1-1
Birmingham City vs Wigan Athletic 1-1
Chelsea vs Manchester City 2-2
Manchester United vs Middlesbrough 2-0
Reading vs Newcastle United 1-3
Sunderland vs Fulham 2-3
Portsmouth vs West Ham United 3-2
Bolton Wanderers vs Aston Villa 1-1
Derby County vs Everton 1-3
Tottenham Hotspur vs Blackburn Rovers 3-2
Liverpool vs Arsenal 1-1
im gonna stick my neck out… and go for a 2-1 win between reds and arsenal. both teams wont want to loose their unbeaten status and would settle for a point at this stage i think. However, dont write liverpool off. Coming off the back of such a defeat, they will have a point to prove, and what better than beating arsenal. There is a lot of wounded pride and egos, and the match is at anfield so dont be surprised if liverpool win.
Any one know what the odds are for sammy hypia to score another own goal? Hopefully we’ve no seen the end of Liverpools jammy results
Birmingham City vs Wigan Athletic 1-0
Chelsea vs Manchester City 1-1
Manchester United vs Middlesbrough 3-0
Reading vs Newcastle United 2-4
Sunderland vs Fulham 0-0
Portsmouth vs West Ham United 3-3
Bolton Wanderers vs Aston Villa 0-2
Derby County vs Everton 0-2
Tottenham Hotspur vs Blackburn Rovers 1-2
Liverpool vs Arsenal 0-4…
Success in sport often means overcoming the odds. It’s about riding out difficult patches and finding strength to go again. It’s what winners do.
Don’t worry Liverpool_Fan. I’m rooting for you guys.
Liverpool 2 vs 1 Arsenal (Long Live RAFA!!!)
[…] Gerry McDonnell put an intriguing blog post on Weekend Predictions: Arsenal - Chelsea - Liverpool - Tottenham ….Here’s a quick excerpt:My heart goes out to supporters of Liverpool FC. The club have been rocked by Champions League failure, the validity of their Merseyside derby victory has been questioned, and they have to travel to Liverpool at least once a fortnight. … […]
Birmingham City 1 - 1 Wigan Athletic
Chelsea 1 - 2 Manchester City
Manchester United 3 - 1 Middlesbrough
Reading 0 - 1 Newcastle United
Sunderland 1 - 1 Fulham
Portsmouth 2 - 1 West Ham United
Bolton Wanderers 1 - 2 Aston Villa
Derby County 0 - 2 Everton
Tottenham Hotspur 2 - 2 Blackburn Rovers
Liverpool 3 - 2 Arsenal
Funy thing is, everybody expect ManU to win with 3 or 4 goals. I think people are sending out a bad omen. I just hope its not 0-1 (This is football after all).
Birmingham City 0-1 Wigan Athletic
Chelsea 2-1 Manchester City
Manchester United 3-0 Middlesbrough
Reading 1-1 Newcastle United
Sunderland 1-0 Fulham
Portsmouth 3-2 West Ham United
Bolton Wanderers 0-2 Aston Villa
Derby County 0-3 Everton
Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Blackburn Rovers
Liverpool 1-2 Arsenal
(very funny again as always Gerry…I’ll just let you off on the comments slagging Liverpool off lol very tru about Jamie Redknapp however…but he did captain the club after all so he’s entitled to a little bit of bias!)
CHELSEA AND THEIR GONERS;To some football fanatics,Chelsea fc might have lost their form,but as for me Chelsea fc are just coming out of their shell.Although there is no more jose,but GOD remains with the team from WestLondon as though some of the blue fans have decamped the GUNNERS family.As for Manchester City,it’s gonna be a hell of troubles with the likes of Joe Cole,Frank Lampard & Didier Drogba fully back in form.TRUE BLUE NEVER GIVE UP.CHEALSEA 4-0 MANCITY
Regarding Chelsea coming out of their shell…
I reallise that this is not a good topic for me because I do not ‘regularly’ watch Chelsea play. But. I watched the CL game of them this week. I can’t see any change in their play / tactics from when Mourinho was there. What difference does the new coach actually bring?
1. He also don’t have faith in Sheva
2. He also employ a 451 (disguised as 433)
3. Only difference that I can see is he has more faith in Joe cole.
Karl u just want to see united on top
id rather see united than Arsenal its starting to go to their heads.
if man city win (which they wont
) they will be a top 4 club at the end of the season
karl
Man united back on form VS middlesborough very off form.
I just hope you mancs dont show borough up too much keep the result low plz
just 3 or 4 goals dont do an arsenal job on them.
Liverpool are hurt, the team is like a wounded lion…
Arsenal should expect a very physical game at anfield…and since its a home game liverpool will most definetely have alot of the decisions go their way…kuyt, gerrad with two footed lunges will definetly be overlooked…a very physical game..with liverpool scoring first and arsenal using all their class to get an equaliser to end the game 1-1
Pool Fan - It’s always going to their heads…
Birmingham City vs Wigan Athletic —- 2-1
Chelsea vs Manchester City ———– 1-1
Manchester United vs Middlesbrough — 3-1
Reading vs Newcastle United ———- 0-2
Sunderland vs Fulham —————– 2-1
Portsmouth vs West Ham United ——– 3-1
Bolton Wanderers vs Aston Villa —— 1-1
Derby County vs Everton ————– 0-3
Tottenham Hotspur vs Blackburn Rovers- 1-2
Liverpool vs Arsenal —————– 1-1
fug all the predictions, you had me chortling throughout your article- too too funny!!!
Birmingham City 2 vs 1 Wigan Athletic
Chelsea 1 vs 1 Manchester City
Manchester United 5 vs 0 Middlesbrough
Reading 1 vs 2 Newcastle United
Sunderland 3 vs 2 Fulham
Portsmouth 3 vs 1 West Ham United
Bolton Wanderers 1 vs 2 Aston Villa
Derby County 0 vs 3 Everton
Tottenham Hotspur 2 vs 2 Blackburn Rovers
Liverpool 3 vs 2 Arsenal (Hope LiverFOOL pitches for the game)
if alot of the predictions on here really happen it will be interesting ? very little draws?
I’ll pick on the Mancs newt week.
in ur face city!!!