EPL 2013/14 Mega Thread - Previews, Reviews and General Discussion/Banter

[Nige]

Well after 12 matches of trying David Moyes has finally gotten Everton a win at Old Trafford! ::)

Hehehe.  ;D

[Tominator]

GAMEWEEK 14 REVIEW


Crystal Palace 1-0 West Ham
A vital win for Palace which boosts their survival hopes. Marouane Chamakh scored his second league goal of the campaign off Barry Bannan's cross, late in the first half. This proved to be the only goal of the game, while it gives Tony Pulis a win in his first game at Selhurst Park. Palace have improved dramatically since Ian Holloway "parted ways" with the club, and they are now level on points with Fulham. Could Palace survive this season?


Arsenal 2-0 Hull
Hull were unable to reproduce their stunning performance against Liverpool on Sunday, going down to Arsenal at the Emirates. Goals from Nicklas Bendtner and the illustrious Mesut Ozil gave Arsenal the three points. The absence of Olivier Giroud was not felt as Bendtner scored within the fist two minutes, and had several chances to grab another. Hull defended resolutely but never really looked like threatening, but a B-String Arsenal side managed to get the job done, and they continue to go from strength to strength.


Manchester United 0-1 Everton

Huge loss for David Moyes' men. They are sitting in 9th after 14 games and are 12 points off the leaders Arsenal, and frankly they don't look like a title-challenging side. Big problems with their squad - but I'll wait til after the Newcastle game before saying anything big. Leighton Baines' injury replacement Bryan Oviedo scored in the 86th minute, while United missed Robin van Persie once again. Wayne Rooney struggled and picked up a yellow card out of frustration, while Romelu Lukaku terrorised the United defence. Tim Howard was absolutely superb in the second half, when United pressed heavily, making some outstanding saves to deny United. Danny Welbeck hit the woodwork with a header that he should have scored. But it was a memorable day for the Toffees, as Roberto Martinez defeated United in his first attempt as Everton manager - something Moyes couldn't do in 11.


Southampton 2-3 Aston Villa
A truly bizarre game. Villa only had 3 shots on target, all 3 of which were goals, and only 22% of possession, but still won. They also took the lead three times in the game. Gabby Agbonlahor scored his first league goal of the season to put Villa 1-0 up, and it stayed this way til the second half when Jay Rodriguez equalised. Libor Kozak scored before Dani Osvaldo equalised once again. But an absolute stunner from Fabian Delph came late in the game, and ultimately saw off the Saints, who fought gallantly, but Villa were more clinical with the few chances they had.


Stoke 0-0 Cardiff
Pretty dull draw in all honesty. Typical Stoke display though - quite blunt, lacking flamboyancy, but solid defensively. Cardiff have a couple of chances, through Jordan Mutch amongst others, but Asmir Begovic made a number of good saves. Charlie Adam looked dangerous at times, but in the end nobody scored and a 0-0 draw was all the game deserved.


Sunderland 3-4 Chelsea
Unlike the previous game, this one had goals aplenty. Jozy Altidore gave Sunderland a surprise lead midway through the first half, but then Eden Hazard came out at his influential best, setting up Frank Lampard to score the equaliser before jagging two himself, either side of John O'Shea's strike. Fernando Torres had a chance to score again but missed horrendously - not quite as bad as "that" miss against Manchester United a few years ago, but not much better. With the game poised at 3-2, Black Cats defender Phil Bardsley managed to score for both sides in a matter of minutes - the first he turned into his own net, before scoring (into the right net) from a corner. But no more goals came, and an emphatic fixture finished 4-3.


Swansea 3-0 Newcastle
Newcastle's run of four straight wins came to a crashing halt when they lost at Swansea. Michael Laudrup's men turned it on in the second half to run out easy victors. Michel Vorm made some superb saves to keep the likes of Loic Remy at bay, and it remained all squared until Nathan Dyer latched onto a loose ball in first-half stoppage time. Jonjo Shelvey was played in by Alejandro Pozuelo to score the second, albeit it was (rightly) deemed an own goal to Mathieu Debuchy. But Shelvey did score the third, a first-touch absolute belter into the top corner, to put the game to bed.


Fulham 1-2 Tottenham
Three points that may have saved AVB's job. When Ashkan Dejagah scored to put Fulham 1-0 up, courtesy of Dimitar Berbatov's sumptuous through-ball, it looked like new manager Rene Meulensteen's first match since replacing Martin Jol would go down as a fairytale start. But that was not the case, as Tottenham hit back twice late, through Vlad Chiriches' shot which fooled everybody, and then Lewis Holtby's long range goal. Had Spurs gone down, Villas-Boas' may have followed Jol out the exit door of EPL managers, but he lives to fight another day.


West Bromich Albion 2-3 Manchester City
A scoreline which probably does not reflect the nature of the game. City led 3-0, through a goal to Sergio Aguero and a brace to midfield maestro Yaya Toure. Some of City's play was blissful, and their wing-backs Aleksandar Kolarov and Pablo Zabaleta both got to the by-line and grabbed assists. WBA hit back twice late on, the first an own goal from Costel Pantilimon and the second being a strike from Victor Anichebe in injury time. But unlike United, Arsenal and Chelsea when they have played WBA (either draws or losses), City come away with 3 points, in a fixture they could easily have lost given their current away form.


Liverpool 5-1 Norwich
Luis Suarez is an absolute freak. Now that Gareth Bale is gone, many argue that Suarez is the most influential player in the Premier League, and that is well-founded. Suarez scored FOUR goals and provided an assist, and all his goals were no flukes at all. His first was a 42-yard strike; his second was a lovely volley from a corner; his third an incredible solo goal; his fourth a world-class free kick. After Bradley Johnson pulled one back for Norwich, Suarez then set up Raheem Sterling to score just before injury-time, to cap off a wonderful night. In the process, Suarez became the first player to score three hattricks against one team - he really loves to play Norwich.

[specky92]

Awesome stuff Tommy, huge next 3 games for Arsenal as we face Everton, Man City and Chelsea, would be stoked if we could retain top spot after those 3,  :P

[T Dog]

you are becoming a legend with this good work Big Tom..

[Tominator]

Awesome stuff Tommy, huge next 3 games for Arsenal as we face Everton, Man City and Chelsea, would be stoked if we could retain top spot after those 3,  :P

you are becoming a legend with this good work Big Tom..

Cheers lads, means a lot!!   :)

I'm trying to do as much for you guys as I can before Year 12 comes around in 2014 ... not sure how much I'll be able to do then but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it    ::)

[T Dog]

Cracked 200 in Sportal epl this week...Suarez as captain = 104... :o. Beat someone who scored 182 in a league game...would have pi**ed me off..losing with 182.. ;D

[Tominator]

GAMEWEEK 15 PREVIEW


Manchester United v Newcastle

KEY PLAYER:  Robin van Persie
TOMINATOR'S TIP:  1-1 draw


Crystal Palace v Cardiff

KEY PLAYER:  Barry Bannan
TOMINATOR'S TIP:  0-0


Liverpool v West Ham

KEY PLAYER:  Phillipe Coutinho
TOMINATOR'S TIP:  3-0 to Liverpool


Southampton v Manchester City

KEY PLAYER:  Sergio Aguero
TOMINATOR'S TIP:  3-1 to City


Stoke v Chelsea

KEY PLAYER:  Eden Hazard
TOMINATOR'S TIP:  2-0 to Chelsea


West Bromich Albion v Norwich

KEY PLAYER:  Saido Berahino
TOMINATOR'S TIP:  2-1 to West Brom


Sunderland v Tottenham

KEY PLAYER:  Hugo Lloris
TOMINATOR'S TIP:  2-1 to Tottenham


Fulham v Aston Villa

KEY PLAYER:  Dimitar Berbatov
TOMINATOR'S TIP:  1-1 draw


Arsenal v Everton

KEY PLAYER:  Aaron Ramsey
TOMINATOR'S TIP:  2-1 to Arsenal


Swansea v Hull

KEY PLAYER:  Jonjo Shelvey
TOMINATOR'S TIP:  2-0 to Swansea

[CrowsFan]

So first Moyes gives Everton their first win at Old Trafford in 11 years, and now Newcastle have won their first match at Old Trafford in 41 years. FFS Moyes!! >:(

[Nige]

3 own goals in the Liverpool/Hammers game...

Man Utd lose to Newcastle...

Southampton draw with Man City...

And Chelsea lose to Stoke...

I don't even.  :o

[Ricochet]

Yep flowered up every one of my multis this wkend with ridiculous results

[T Dog]

Ikea have brought out a Man United lamp. It looks great in the middle of the table.... ;D

[specky92]

Ikea have brought out a Man United lamp. It looks great in the middle of the table.... ;D

oh damn that's gooooood!  ;D ;D

[BoredSaint]

OH EVERTONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Havent seen us play this well in a while. Martinez has got the best out of the limited squad we have.

[Tominator]

OH EVERTONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Havent seen us play this well in a while. Martinez has got the best out of the limited squad we have.

Could Everton make the Top 4??

I reckon Top 3 will be Arsenal, Chelsea and City (probs not that order) and then Everton/United/Liverpool to fight out for 4th spot. Can't see Spurs making CL but if they can gel together then 5th place MAY be possible

[elephants]

Tom. I bow down to you.

I haven't been posting but have been regularly reading and for someone who is often out on Saturday nights and not home in time to catch the games, I can't thank you enough.

These are amazing. You're a legend. Maaaaad props my friend! 8)

Ikea have brought out a Man United lamp. It looks great in the middle of the table.... ;D

Haha very good ;)

Be careful driving around Old Trafford, a lot of people have been picking up 3 points there recently. :P