Football: Five reasons why Chelsea will still qualify for the Last 16 of the Champions League

1.       Chelsea are brilliant at the bridge

Okay so Chelsea have been considered underperformers so far in Group E of this year’s Champions League but this doesn’t tell the whole story. At home they have played two games; one against Bayer Leverkusen who have already qualified for the Last 16 and surprise qualifiers Genk, both of these matches resulted in wins for the London outfit – 2-0 against Bayer Leverkusen and 5-0 against Genk. Although they need a result against Valencia on match day six to qualify their home record suggests they have not been as bad as some parts of the media are making out.

2.       Valencia have been largely unimpressive away in this year’s competition

Valencia may have stuffed Genk 7-0, beaten Leverkusen 3-1 and grabbed a point in a 1-1 draw against Chelsea in the home group stage matches this season but away from home it has been a different story. They fell apart to lose 2-1 away to Bayer Leverkusen and somehow failed to hit the net against group minnows Genk in Belgium during a 0-0 draw, clearly they are not the best travellers by any stretch of the imagination. Add into the equation Chelsea’s brilliant home record and the signs are somewhat ominous for Los Che.

3.       Chelsea have the better squad

A few years ago Valencia could boast names like David Silva and David Villa but nowadays it is a different story. Financial problems meant that they had to sell and while they did replace these star players they were never going to be able to get a like-for-like David Villa or David Silva. Roberto Soldado has come in from Getafe and impressed many but I believe the majority of Valencia fans would rather be seeing David Villa line up than 26-year old Soldado.  Meanwhile while Valencia have been selling Chelsea have been buying, £50M for Fernando Torres and £25M for David Luiz have so far been expensive flops but in the likes of Raul Meireles, Juan Manuel Mata and the ever-improving Daniel Sturridge (who many people forget they splashed out an initial £3.5M to take from Manchester City) they have bought clever, if these players play to the best of their abilities during the group decider Chelsea should triumph.

4.       The pressure is on Villas-Boas

Some may feel this is a peculiar reason as to why I feel Chelsea will qualify but bare with me. When appointed Andre Villas-Boas received complete backing from his senior players and although this is not a rare occurrence to me it all seemed genuine, the likes of Terry and Lampard spoke of how delighted they were that a manager of his ability had taken over. Chelsea’s players undoubtedly want consistency and in Villas-Boas, who Chelsea paid Porto £13.3M to release him from his contract, they surely hoped they had the man to carry them into the future. As it stands if Chelsea do lose to Valencia on match day six Villas-Boas may well not even last the season, the media are circling but I don’t think anybody at Stamford Bridge want yet another manager to depart so quickly under the Abramovich reign.

5.       Chelsea could go into this game in high spirits

Chelsea have certainly underperformed so far during the Premier League campaign but in their defence they have faced Liverpool, Arsenal and Man United already. The home tie with Valencia takes place on Tuesday the 6^th of December and by then they could have a new spark of life, this Saturday they have a home clash with Wolves a game they really should be winning before they then meet Liverpool also at home in the Carling Cup on the 29^th of November. The last match between now and the game against Valencia is a tricky away tie against in-form Newcastle at St James’ Park (or whatever it’s called at the time you’re reading this!) three wins from these games and confidence would suddenly come flying back to Chelsea, I believe Villas-Boas will be able to turn it around between now and the crucial game in two weeks time, Los Che beware. 

Football: Doncaster's Bold New Approach

El-Hadji Diouf, Pascal Chimbonda, Carl Ikeme, Herita Ilunga and Habib Beye. What do these footballers have in common? They all now ply their trade at the Keepmoat Stadium as part of the somewhat bizarre revolution happening at Doncaster Rovers. When it was announced that football agent Willie McKay would come in and have a lot of power relating to future transfer dealings in response to the clubs poor start to the Championship campaign a lot of eyebrows were raised. This change in transfer policy also coincided with a management change as Dean Saunders replaced Sean O’Driscoll.

Saunders was an interesting appointment given the direction the club is going in. His only previous management experience was as the top man at Wrexham whom he was in charge of for three years. Although he did a good job in Wales a move to a Championship club clearly illustrated a huge step up the ladder. Personally I’m not sure this was the right appointment or indeed the right move for Saunders given what was to come; names like El-Hadji Diouf and Pascal Chimbonda don’t exactly scream easy to manage and so bringing in somebody like Saunders (who admittedly had a brilliant playing career at the likes of Liverpool, Aston Villa and Galatasary) may not have been wise on the part of Doncaster chairman John Ryan.

Any manager taking the Doncaster job was going to have to contend with this unique situation, Chimbonda, Ikeme, Diouf, Ilunga and now Beye will all be expecting to start every single match they are available for, this could spell problems for the new management team if they fail to perform to the standards which have seen all of these players perform consistently in the premier league in the past. Agent McKay pointed out upon taking this role that the wage bill at Doncaster was massive in comparison to another of the smaller sides in the Championship, Peterborough, he said that bringing in these players on low wages so that they are able to show to Premier League teams what they can do will help the club survive in the Championship but he did note that they will be paying these players some wages; surely with the wage bill already being so high the idea of bringing in these players isn’t as good as McKay wants people to think.

Diouf joined on a deal until January as did Chimbonda while Wolves ‘keeper Ikeme, West Ham’s Ilunga and most recently Aston Villa’s Beye joined the club on short-term loan deals. These deals have all been done with a view to the players moving on in January; this will hardly breed confidence amongst the Donny fans. The other names linked with the club have undoubtedly been more appealing to the fans – Robert Pires and Mahamadou Diarra are names recognisable to the more knowledgeable football fans and would have undoubtedly added a touch of class to the Yorkshire outfit. With El-Hadji Diouf lining up a touch of class wouldn’t have gone a miss. As it was these two big-name deals never came to fruition.

Whether or not McKay’s involvement at Doncaster leads to Championship survival or not is yet to be seen but with Dean Saunders record in charge so far seeing 3 wins 2 draws and 5 defeats from his first ten matches Donny fans can feel rightly uninspired. Add into that equation the very real possibility of the star names who have recently joined the club departing in January the omens don’t exactly look great for McKay, Saunders and Doncaster Rovers Football Club. 

Darts: Finals day in Wolverhampton

Today is the finals day at the Grand Slam of Darts and the question on every darts fans lips will no doubt be “Can Lewis, Anderson or perhaps even Walsh stop Taylor?”

In my last blog post I underlined who I feel has the ability to stop Taylor from landing his fourth Grand Slam title in five years. The names I gave then were Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson, James Wade and Paul Nicholson. One thing is for certain today it will not be James Wade or Paul Nicholson stopping The Power. Wade left the tournament in the last 16 stage after a crushing 10-3 defeat to “The Flying Scotsman” Gary Anderson. Elsewhere Nicholson had a chance to get his revenge on Taylor in the quarter final stage but Taylor triumphed 16-7 to set up a semi-final clash with former protégé Adrian Lewis. I said previously that I believe Lewis has the skills to take down Taylor and I stand by what I said. He averaged over 100 in a surprisingly one-sided 16-5 win over Mark Webster. If Lewis was to beat Taylor this afternoon he would still have a mammoth task on his hands if he was to win the title. This brings me to the other semi-final. Gary Anderson faces surprise semi-finalist Mark Walsh in the first of this afternoons matches. Walsh has proved to be a fighter in this tournament battling past Dean Winstanley 10-9 in the last 16 before defeating Ted Hankey 16-14 in the quarter final. In these matches Walsh averaged 98.32 and 91.82 respectively and although he deserves respect for his performances so far that kind of average is not enough to beat Anderson. Anderson really has impressed so far this week averaging 100.45 in the 10-3 victory over Wade I mentioned earlier. He then averaged a cool 99.97 in a 16-12 win over an inform Terry “The Bull” Jenkins in the quarters. Betting wise I fancy the Anderson win with a -5.5 handicap at 4/5 with Paddy Power. For those unfamiliar that would mean Anderson winning 16-10 or better. I can’t look past Anderson winning this contest.

The other side of the draw sees Taylor (10-3 winner over Wes Newton and 16-7 winner over Paul Nicholson so far in the knockout rounds) face Adrian Lewis. This is a match between the 15-time World Champion and the reigning World Champion. Add to that the history between this pair and we have a potential classic on our hands. Lewis has been back to near his best in this competition averaging 100.30 in his quarter final win against Mark Webster while he managed to squeeze past a resurgent John Part with a 92.75 average in the last 16 round. Taylor is a massive favourite best priced at 2/7 with Lewis best priced 17/5. With that in mind it is the handicap market that best appeals. Taylor carrying a -5.5 handicap is priced at evens with Skybet and I’d say that is the best option here.

As for the tournament overall I am going to tip Gary Anderson to win the tournament best priced 3/1. Although Taylor is the clear bookies favourite Anderson has produced some brilliant darts and after winning the Premier League I feel he has the mature head on his shoulders required to win another major. Elsewhere the 9-dart finish is priced at 9/2 with Skybet and although it may well not happen I wouldn’t put it past these four great sportsmen on a finals day.

The action begins with the afternoon session at 14:30:

Phil Taylor vs Adrian Lewis

Gary Anderson vs Mark Walsh

And then comes the final at 20:00:

Taylor/Lewis vs Anderson/Walsh

Tips:
Gary Anderson to beat Mark Walsh with a -5.5 Handicap @ 4/5 (Paddy Power)
Phil Taylor to beat Adrian Lewis with a -5.5 Handicap @ evens (Skybet)
Gary Anderson to win the tournament @ 3/1 (Bwin) 

Darts: Can Taylor be stopped in Wolverhampton?

Phil Taylor confirmed his passage through to the last 16 of the Grand Slam of Darts at the Civic Hall, Wolverhampton on Monday night after battling past Steve Beaton 5-3.

Although Beaton did manage to break his throw early on Taylor showed the class which has seen him lift no less than fifteen world darts championships in his glistening career on his way to disposing of “The Adonis”. The question now is can anybody stop Taylor regaining the Grand Slam he lost last year?

I would suggest the answer is no; last year Taylor was simply not in his best form, he lost in the Quarter Finals to the same player he defeated in last night’s group stage match – Steve Beaton. At his best Taylor is practically unbeatable, and by looking at last year’s PDC World Darts Championship (which took place just a month after the Grand Slam) we can see how off form he was. The greatest of all time crashed out at the Quarter-final stage and although for most people that would be considered a great achievement this fell below the usual extraordinarily high standards Taylor has set himself over the years – he was a troubled man.

This year Taylor’s achievements include capturing the World Matchplay in July and the World Grand Prix in October. He kept his cool in a comfortable victory over potential banana-skin opponent James Hubbard earlier this week and battled through against the aforementioned inform Steve Beaton. The question now is who can stop Taylor from taking the Grand Slam for the third time in its four year history? A number of players have the raw ability but can any hold their heads when the pressure is applied by The Power?

Adrian Lewis – Lewis, Taylor’s protégé earlier in his career certainly has the ability to beat Phil, he captured the greatest honour in the game ten months ago defeating Gary Anderson to land his first ever PDC World Darts Championship title. If (or when) these two meet it is up to Lewis to hold his head and keep up with The Power. If he can do this while making and taking chances then we might see “Jackpot” causing a bit of an upset in the latter stages of this tournament.

Gary Anderson – 2011 World Championship finalist Gary Anderson has really broke through as one of the top players in the PDC in the last couple of years since reaching the UK Open final in 2010. Anderson is the reigning Premier League champion and if The Flying Scotsman does indeed meet Phil at some point during this event he could be a real contender to stop Taylor in his tracks.

James Wade – Probably the best left-hander in the game Aldershot’s James Wade isn’t far off being the complete darts package. The reigning UK Open champion has so far beaten Dave “Chizzy” Chisnall and Justin Pipe in group D and has been tipped to go far in this year’s tournament. Wade is another with the ability to beat Taylor but if the two do meet can he handle the pressure of taking on an inform Taylor?

Paul Nicholson – Finally I will look at a real underdog. Nicholson is currently 16/1 to win the Grand Slam and it’s fair to say the Aussie-Geordie has a history with Taylor. The 2011 UK Open saw Nicholson shock the darting world taking out The Power. He appeared to mockingly wave to Taylor after this match a gesture which resulted in a lot of media attention. The two met again at this year’s World Grand Prix a game which saw Taylor comfortably beat Nicholson and get a degree of revenge for his exit from the UK Open earlier this year. Nicholson has begun this years Grand Slam with wins over Barrie Bates and Wes Newton and it looks like he will face Steve Beaton in the next round. If he can get through that one a real possibility of the Nicholson vs Taylor feud continuing will exist and who knows Nicholson could yet be the man to stop the flow of The Power – the man who thrives on boos from the fans will certainly be up for the challenge. 

Taylor is rightly the favourite in the bookmakers eyes and his price of Evens shows just how confident the bookies are in him. I believe Taylor will do what Taylor does best – grind out tough matches and demolish opponents who are nervous or out of form without a second thought. He is undoubtedly the man to beat once again this year.

Darts: King to reign for one night in Wolverhampton?

Tonight 2-time BDO world finalist Mervyn King (pictured) has a chance to leave an impression on the Grand Slam of Darts when he meets 19-year old James Hubbard.

Hubbard made his TV debut yesterday picking up a lot of fans in a 5-1 defeat to living legend Phil Taylor.

The commentary team on the Taylor vs Hubbard contest frequently spoke of how this is Hubbard's first match on the big screen and how anything he gets will be a bonus. I agreed with that; he was naturally a massive underdog and against the greatest darts player ever nerves were natural. When he picked up a leg Taylor was clearly surprised; he had handled the pressure pretty well despite the final scoreline.

Tonight however I feel the thought of an upset could be sneaking into the minds of fans who watched yesterday’s match. King (1/6) comes into this match favourite but after his glistening display against "The Power" the young apprentice painter-decorator Hubbard (11/2) could well give King a good challenge. King lost his opening match in Group E 5-3 to Steve Beaton; he is clearly not in form.

Realistically King must win this match to have any chance of progressing to the last 16. Most will expect Phil Taylor to dispose of Beaton in tonight's other Group E match (which would take him to 4 points) while a win for King against Hubbard would put him on 2 points (the same as Beaton) however crucially I believe Beaton's victory over King will be decisive in this group; Beaton's final match will be against Hubbard while King will have to face Taylor; assuming nothing unexpected happens Beaton will defeat Hubbard and Taylor will defeat King leaving Taylor top of the group on 6 points, Beaton second on 4 points and King in third on 2 points, in this scenario Hubbard would be last place on 0 points.

King will want to leave some sort of impression on this competition and so will be hungry to demolish the young up-and-coming player. I fancy King to win 5-0 (11/2) or 5-1 (3/1) with minimal pressure on him with his likely exit from the competition coming. Comparatively Hubbard will once again be feeling the nerves of sharing the stage with a season pro of the darting world.

Even if my somewhat pessimistic prediction materialises for Hubbard, the young man from Norfolk, we will see him again. He reached the PDC World Youth Championship Final earlier this month which resulted in his qualification for this event and the dream match with Phil Taylor. By performing so well in this event Hubbard (alongside fellow finalist "Mighty" Michael van Gerwen) earned himself PDC Pro Tour cards for years 2012 and 2013. Even if he does not qualify for any TV events during these years we are guaranteed to see him again in May for the World Youth Championship Final where he will face van Gerwen who seems to have been on the darts circuit for years.

Introduction!

A quick introduction to my blog. I have created this so that I am able to write about my views on sporting events and have a place to store them. I will be writing about a number of sports but will be primarily writing about football. I created this particular post more as a test than anything so welcome to the blog!