Man City – Man United (0-1) got my football saturday under way. The Canal Plus ”experts” expected a tough physical battle as they always talk about in local derbies. The truth of the matter is that the passion is nowhere near the level it was in days gone by and with very few local born players in action its not really to be expected. The golden oldies Scholes, Giggs and even ”niggly” Neville were Uniteds best players and it was great to see the the old Paul Scholes sneak into the box and get the late late winner.

Second up was Blackburn – Everton (2-3). Everton are one of the leagues most underated sides and have had a nightmare season regarding injuries. They still have 4 regulars out but are looking very solid again. Big Sams Blackburn are always tough to beat at Ewood Park and despite not playing that well they were in with a chance right up to the end when Tim Cahill got a late winner. Moyes is one of the Premier Leagues best managers and Everton will be a top 4 side next season if they avoid injury problems.

Last but not least Tottenham- Chelsea (2-1). A Tottenham side that beat local rivals Arsenal 2-1 in midweek and saw 4th spot rivals Man City beaten 1-0 earlier today and know that a win over the Blues would put them in a great position for the chance to qualify for the Champions League. One of the leagues new stars Gareth Bale had a brilliant first 45 mins creating chance after chance and scoring Tottenhams second goal. Tottenhams confidence is sky high and ”Happy Harry” has got his squad believing anything is possible. Once again Drogba was limping and complaining about a groin injury when there was absolutely nothing wrong with him. Not physically anyway! When Terry was sent off for 2 late tackles with 5 mins of each other it was game over.

11 wins 4 draws and 0 defeats. Those are  Notts Countys stats since ”Svennis” left the club. They were today promoted to Div 1 and the future looks bright.

John Carew – Aston Villa in a swap for Robbie Keane – Tottenham?. I know Keane upset Harry (Redknapp, Tottenham manager) when he organised an xmas piss up against Harrys wishes but swapping Keane for Carew is like giving away around 5 million pounds. Carew is a lump that doesn´t score goals, Keane on his day is a genius.

Marseille are interested in Johan Elmander? Why? He has had a nightmare at Bolton partly due to injury and partly due to the fact that he is not Premier league class. I know he had one good season with Toulose and is apparently highly rated in France but their are so many good french forwards that it seems strange Marseille would want to by an average swedish one.

Patrick Vieira – Inter to Man City. Vieira was one of the best midfielders in the Premier League during his time at Arsenal. He has played the last 4 seasons in Italy and not made that great an impression. He is 33 now and i know he is still the captain of France but this signing feels like the old pals act. Mancini was his trainer at Inter and obviously rated him very highly. Vieira is not in the side at Inter he needs games to make the French world cup squad. Mancini gives him a life line. Lets hope he delivers the goods.

Sky sports even mentioned the fact that Swedish midfielder Philip Haglund is on his way to Heerenveen! Big news travels fast.

Stay tuned.

Man Utd won 3-1 away to Hull without impressing. Rooney scored one and was behind the other two and is one of the few United players having a good season. Interesting to hear John Guidetti in the Canal Plus studio. Love his attitude. I hope he is as good as he sounds. That being the case Sweden can have a new Zlatan on the way. If not he will give Bojan a run for his money as a TV pundit.

Off to the gym now. A 30 mins session ahead of tomorrows match in Trollhättan. 5 a side has never really been my cup of tea however its always fun to meet the TV Allstar boys.

Back with a match report soon.

First up the Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool. Two sides that have had a difficult last few weeks and it showed. Loads of individual mistakes very few players impressed and i am now starting to wonder if Stevie G needs a change of scenery. He has never had a quieter derby game. Both sets of fans are as passionat as ever and the atmosphere was electric. However with only a handful of ”scousers” on the pitch the game never really came alive. In the olden days this game was like a war as it meant so much to the players and their families who were nearly all born and raised in the Liverpool area! Nowadays its just another match. Liverpool won 2-0. Lucky first goal. A Mascherano shot that went in off Yobos knee. Kuyt got the second late on.

Off to London and the match between Arsenal and Chelsea. Wenger said it was time for his youngsters to show what they were made of. 90 minutes later and we now know that they have a long way to go. Chelsea won 3-0. Drogba was outstanding. 2 great goals and always looking menacing. Chelseas defence are the leagues strongest and Arsenal without Van Persie meant that Petr Cech had a quiet afternoon. The game never really came alive thanks mostly to Chelseas effectiveness. I now make Chelsea clear favourites to win the league.

Game 3. Off to Spain and El Classico. No Zlatan from start and with Henry as the central striker. Real started brightly and Ronaldo or Cristiano as he is now known should have scored early on. Barcelona slowly but surely came into the game and started keeping the ball for longer periods. 0-0 at half time with very few chances created. TV 4 sports experts were praying for an early 2nd half appearence for Zlatan. Their prayers were answered after 6 mins and 5 minutes later when Zlatan scored with a left foot volley Hussfelt, Kåmark and the Camp Nou exploded. The game ended 1-0. Zlatan is king of Barcelona and is on his way to becoming a legend with the fans.

Puyol is a better diver than both Drogba and Greg Louganis!

A long afternoon has come to an end. All in all 3 games that never really lived upto expectations. Drogba and Zlatan both produced the goods when needed and showed they are two of the best forwards in Europe. What odds they will meet each other in the Champions League final nexy May??

Atletico Madrid – Espanyol now? I dont think so! Paddy however looks sharp in has red shirt, tie and hanky.Forlan 1-0!

Coffee time.

AIK however will be hoping they do have the same side next season. Congratulations to them on doing the double. 2lax9 is your year. Why did they succeed? An inspirational trainer, reliable keeper, solid defence, well balanced midfield and 2 south americans up front and last but not least an arrogance and self belief that gave them the edge throughout the season.

Chelsea – Manchester United today. 65 minutes of very few chances with neither side really taking control. United looking comfortable for a point when the match changes character. Evans catches Drogba with his studs chest high. Drogba lies on the ground having some kind of spasm attack. A few tempers flare and the referee has to calm things down. 3 minutes later Drogba gets helped to his feet looking in agony and everyone is thinking there is no way he can continue. The referee walks upto him brandishes the yellow card (he was late in the challenge on Evans) and for a split second he is going to have a go at the ref when he remembers he is in great pain. Another grimace and he hobbles off. 1 min later he is back on the pitch. This incident got the crowd and Chelsea going and they pinched a 1-0 win.

More tomorrow!

This Tuesday and i am off to Madeira. A weeks golf together with the finalists in the First Open Golf tournament. I am travelling as a guest of one of the sponsors Mix Megapol and will be ”blogging” everyday keeping you upto date of all the events both on and off the course.

Next week Lansdowne.se will also be presenting the list of games in the Premier League that we have both tickets and 4 Star accomodation for in the new year. London clubs Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham and West Ham are our main destinations. Just click on ”Billys Resor” and see if theres a special game that catches your eye!

”King of the Castle” is moving along nicely. Björn Wigstedt is sitting pretty with his 5 days at the moment but the challengers are closing in. The next winner will receive one of the most popular suitcases available.

Dont miss todays ”King of the Castle” game Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid

http://www.cavalet.se 

Dont forget to have a look at our ”Stryktips” suggestions for todays games!

Have a good saturday.

15.45 and i am getting ready to go to Fredriksskans to watch Kalmar FF – GAIS all of a sudden its starts pouring down. I open the balcony door and get blown back into the kitchen i feel the hamstring again and decide Sunderland - Liverpool on Canal Plus is probably a better bet.

Sunderland were the better side and won 1-0. I think everyone would agree that they won fair and square even the hard core Liverpool fans. They were without Gerrard, Torres and Macherano had a 3-5-1-1 line up and no real idea what they were doing. Spearing who took Gerrards place is nowhere near ready, Babel is a great sub, Carragher is struggling, Lucas and Benayoun dont contribute enough and a on top of that Sunderlands goal came via a deflection off a beach ball that a Liverpool fan had just thrown onto the pitch. Benitez will do well to survive this time. A defeat in the Champions League next week will probably find him looking for a new club.

Aston Villa beat Chelsea and are definately good enough to give all the top clubs a match. Tottenham won at Portsmouth were Defoe scored the winner and was then sent off. Man City play tomorrow and can move even closer to the top with a win. Expected home wins for both Arsenal and Man Utd.

I spoke to Biggy Wiggy after the Kalmar FF match and in his opinion 2-2 was a fair result. Petter Wastå was apparently outstanding in Kalmars goal and 17 year old debutant Mattias Johansson was given man of the match and rightly so. 

Lansdowne´s film tips.

The Damned United. A film for football lovers. Its about the 44 days Brian Clough spent in charge at Leeds United in 1974. Clough had lead arch rivals Derby County to the championship the previous year and after he had resigned at Derby he was asked to take over at Leeds United replacing their manager Don Revie who had been made England manager. He hated both Leeds United and Don Revie and this is the inside story as to why!! Some great acting and brilliant Cloughesque one liners.

Enjoy !!