Man Utd suffer defeat at new boys Burnley

Premier League new boys Burnley bounced back from their opening day defeat to Stoke, by causing a big upset in their first home game, beating Man Utd 1-0 thanks to a stunning volley from Robbie Blake in the first half at Turf Moor.

Michael Carrick also missed a penalty for United in the first half, and following that, Burnley held firm, and gained the points ensuring Burnley's fans (and probably half of England) ended the night on a happy note!

Elsewhere, Tottenham now lead the way at the top of the Premier League, following their 5-1 demolition of Hull City at the KC Stadium. Jermaine Defoe was the hero grabbing a hat trick, whilst there were also goals from Wilson Palacios & Robbie Keane, whilst Stephen Hunt grabbed a consolation for Hull, Hunt scoring in his second successive game since his move from Reading.

Liverpool bounced back from defeat at White Hart Lane, by thumping Stoke City 4-0 at Anfield. Fernando Torres notched the first early on, whilst new signing Glen Johnson then put the Reds further ahead on the stroke of half time. Dirk Kuyt & David Ngog completed the rout.

Portsmouth's problems continue as they slumped to a last minute defeat at Birmingham, with James McFadden slotting home a penalty following a foul by goalkeeper David James on Sebastion Larsson.

So, the accumulator bet didn't come off thanks to that Man Utd defeat & the last minute goal at St Andrews, but I'll have another one for Saturday!

...and we're off!

So, the Premier League has kicked off, and some rather freak results included, like Arsenal winning at Everton 6-1, I must admit I did have that one down as an away win, but 6-1??? No, I had that as a 1-0'er all the way!!

Man Utd & Chelsea got off to their usual starts, although I do disagree with the argument that United always have a home game to start off with, as it always seems to mean that United have an away game to finish off with, whilst the likes of Liverpool finish off with a home game.

Chelsea have often seemed to have a home game to begin with too, so just who is supposed to being favoured here?

They started off with a lucky win in the end following Drogba's cross into the next in injury time, Hull must have been gutted with the fact that 6 minutes of injury time were added on!

Liverpool, well Rafa should of gone to SpecSavers as his continuous rant at officials continued - he claimed that Liverpool should have had 2 penalties, well from what I could see, so should Tottenham, and they didn't get any on the day.

Incidentally, why is it that Liverpool tend to get a penalty on opening days, remember Sheffield Utd away when Steve Gerrard fell over his own feet to earn them a spot kick in that match? Well Karma.

Big mention to Wigan, who are now led by ex Chester captain Roberto Martinez, one of the nicest blokes you could wish to meet in the game, he looks as though he will find his feet very quickly in the PL after his side's 2-0 away to Aston Villa.

It was strange that there were no draws in the PL on it's opening weekend, but I'm sure that we'll get our first one next time round!

Big spenders Man City got off to a good start too, defeating Blackburn at Ewood Park, and Adebayor is off & running, scoring early on in his bid to be the League's top scorer of the season.

Darren Bent had a dream start scoring the winner for Sunderland up at Bolton, not the best of starts for Gary Megson's men, but Steve Bruce will be highly delighted.

Good wins for Fulham, West Ham, and Stoke too. Fulham won away to Portsmouth, who could be a contender for the drop this year following all the goings on in the summer, whilst the Hammers won 2-0 away at PL new boys Wolves, in what Gianfranco Zola will be hoping is a similar year to last year where the Hammers did well in the second half of the season.

Stoke entertained new boys Burnley, and promptly despatched the Turf Moor club 2-0 at the Britannia Stadium, it was City who got off to a great start last year, and it looks as though they are in the same frame of mind this time round!

Next up are tonight's games Sunderland v Chelsea, and Wigan v Wolves, my tips here are a 2-0 win for Chelsea, whilst Wolves will pull a draw out of the bag at Wigan.

Get your bets on the opposite to happen then!!

We're all ready to go!

So, we are here on the eve of the new Premier League season, and this is where the torture really begins, as for the next nine months, you'll find yourself going through all the emotions that Fantasy League throws at you.

What emotions?

You know the ones, you've just picked what you think will be the star man of the campaign, only for him to get injured on the first game of the season, or the fact that you'll end cheering a Man Utd clean sheet even if you're a Liverpool fan, just because you have Utd defenders in your fantasy league team!

It's time to wrestle that remote control from the other half, telling them to forget Big Brother, you want to tune into highlights of Stoke v Burnley to see if your star midfielder has notched a goal or two!

It's all good fun, and it all starts tomorrow with Chelsea & Hull kicking us off at 12.45pm...

Saturday, 15 August 2009

Aston Villa v Wigan, 15:00
Blackburn v Man City, 15:00
Bolton v Sunderland, 15:00
Chelsea v Hull, 12:45
Everton v Arsenal, 17:30
Portsmouth v Fulham, 15:00
Stoke v Burnley, 15:00
Wolverhampton v West Ham, 15:00

Sunday, 16 August 2009

Man Utd v Birmingham, 13:30
Tottenham v Liverpool, 16:00

Who is going to end up setting the Premier League alight with their goals this year? Please make your selection on the poll over to the right!

Good luck to your team!!!

Who's gonna win the League then?

Time for your predictions as to who is going to win the Premier League and why?

Please cast your vote on the far right of the page, and put your reasoning for why you think that team will win the Premier league this season - who will make the difference in that team?

Will Man Utd manage to retain the League without Ronaldo & Tevez?

Will Liverpool keep hold of Alonso to boost their chances next season?

Will Chelsea's challenge be as strong next year & will they keep hold of John Terry?

Will Arsenal's kids make the step up and recapture their glory days for Arsene Wenger?

Will Man City take over the world?

Will Everton break into the top 4, or is too much of an ask for David Moyes' side?


Whatever your thoughts, please post them below.

Look out for more polls after this one closes, and feel free to add a comment on any of the blogs on the list on the right, you're more than welcome to view & post on all of them.


Cheers, Banksy