English Premiership 2003/2004 Thread

[Obri]

Just to recap on the first week of scores.....

Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2
Charlton 0 Manchester City 3
Leeds United 2 Newcastle United 2
Leicester City 2 Southampton 2
Manchester United 4 Bolton 0
Arsenal 2 Everton 1
Blackburn 5 Wolves 1
Fulham 3 Middlesbrough 2
Portsmouth 2 Aston Villa 1
Birmingham 1 Tottenham 0

[Obri]

And the scores from this weekend.....


Middlesbrough 0 - 4 Arsenal
Aston Villa 0 - 0 Liverpool
Everton 3 - 1 Fulham
Chelsea 2 - 1 Leicester City
Man City 1 - 1 Portsmouth
Bolton 2 - 2 Blackburn
Tottenham 2 - 1 Leeds United
Wolves 0 - 4 Charlton
Southampton 0 - 0 Birmingham
Newcastle 1 - 2 Man Utd

High spending Chelsea and champions Manchester United, and Arsenal are the only teams to have wom their first 2 games. This league promises to be closer than ever this season.

[Obri]

For those who do not know, Chelsea were bought over by the Russian oil tycoon Roman Abramovich, estimated to be worth $2billion. Chelsea's spending has since rocketed, as they attempt to challenge Manchester United. Remember, the cash figure shown is not salary, but the fee payed to the club to buy the player's contract.

Glen Johnson(West Ham) £6million
Wayne Bridge(Southampton) £7million
Joe Cole(West Ham) £6.6million
Damien Duff(Blackburn) £17million
Geremi(Real Madrid) £6.9million
Juan Veron(Man U) £15million
Adrian Mutu(Parma) £15.8million
Alexei Smertin(Bordeaux) £3.5million
Hernan Crespo(Inter Milan) £18million

Since arriving at Chelsea, Abramovich has spent almost £80million($120million) on the team. Having won their first two games of the Premiership season, it will be interesting to see if Chelsea will still be considered title contenders come March/April.

[BPBlueSox]

I watched the Chelsea game, the Man U game, the Liverpool game, and am now watching the Blackburn - Man City game...

Fox Sports World rules! :D

Man U should have won by more....Obes, what have you heard about Freddy Adu going there?

[Obri]

I haven't heard, has there been talk of a move? i watched the Blackburn-Man City game as well, good game. Especially since I was sitting next to my friend who is a Blackburn fan.:D

[BPBlueSox]

The Wolves put up a good fight against Man U tonight...

[Obri]

Yeah, I went to the pub to watch this one. Wolves were very unlucky not to take something from the game. They had a couple of golden opportunities, when they were one on one with United keeper Tim Howard, but blew them. I know it's early days, but given their early thrashings at the hands of Blackburn and Charlton, and their failure to capatalise on chances last night, I already tip Wolves for relegation.

As for Man U, there are not many teams who can take Cristiano Ronaldo(18 years old, recently signed for around £12m) and Kleberson(World Cup winner with Brazil, signed for around £6m) out of a game, and replace them with Paul Scholes(England international, the most talented midfielder in the Premiership IMO) and Ryan Giggs. This only fortifies my belief that they are on their way to another championship, despite the loss of you know who, who just happens to be taking a lot of stick from the Madrid press, who are so far unimpressed.

[sparky]

go manchester united!!!
I'm a huge fan of this club.

[Obri]

Hey sparky, always nice to have another soccer fan on board. Have you had a chance to watch them play yet this season?

[BPBlueSox]

ManU goes down at Southampton!

[Obri]

Sure did Dan. Here's the full Premiership rundown...


Man City 1 - 2 Arsenal
Southampton 1 - 0 Man Utd
Aston Villa 3 - 1 Leicester City
Bolton 0 - 0 Charlton
Chelsea 2 - 2 Blackburn
Middlesbrough 2 - 3 Leeds United
Newcastle 0 - 1 Birmingham
Tottenham 0 - 3 Fulham
Wolves 0 - 0 Portsmouth
Everton 0 - 3 Liverpool

[Obri]

And the league table...

<img src="http://www.premierleague.com/fapl.rac?command=forwardOnly&nextPage=enCompLeagueTable">

(Link wasn't working Obes...)

[BPBlueSox]

Birmingham City sure is playing well...they got a surprising victory today...

[sparky]

Originally posted by Obri
Hey sparky, always nice to have another soccer fan on board. Have you had a chance to watch them play yet this season?

hey obri. yep. i saw them play but i forgot who was against them. all i knew is that they won the game. :D

i'm just having problems watching some games here in the philippines because they show it very early in the morning.

[Obri]

I hear ya. It's the same for me trying to watch baseball here in Scotland.:(

Anyway, i've been seriously slacking with the Premiership scores, so gimme a second, and i'll get them updated.

[Obri]

Yeah Dan, Birmingham are playing pretty well. They spent £5.5 million on David Dunn from Blackburn, who a couple of years ago was being hailed as one of the best midfielders in the country. A great addition if you ask me.

[Obri]

Okay, the scores from last weekend.

Sat Sep 20 2003
Tottenham 1 - 3 Southampton
Newcastle 0 - 0 Bolton
Liverpool 2 - 1 Leicester City
Aston Villa 2 - 1 Charlton
Leeds United 0 - 2 Birmingham
Fulham 2 - 2 Man City
Portsmouth 1 - 2 Blackburn
Wolves 0 - 5 Chelsea

Sun Sep 21 2003
Barclaycard Premiership
Man Utd 0 - 0 Arsenal
Middlesbrough 1 - 0 Everton

[Obri]

And before I forget, Arsenal beat Newcastle 3-2 last night to stay top of the Premiership. Amazingly, Newcastle have yet to win a game this season after a horrendous start to their league campaign, and being dumped out of the Champions League in the qualifying round by Partizan Belgrade.

I'll come back in this afternoon to post today's scores.

[Obri]

This weekend's Premiership scores, including this afternoon's results.....

Sun Sep 28 2003
Barclaycard Premiership
Man City 0 - 0 Tottenham
Blackburn 0 - 2 Fulham
Everton 4 - 0 Leeds United
Charlton 3 - 2 Liverpool:eek:


Sat Sep 27 2003
Barclaycard Premiership
Bolton 1 - 1 Wolves
Chelsea 1 - 0 Aston Villa
Leicester City 1 - 4 Man Utd
Southampton 0 - 1 Middlesbrough
Birmingham 2 - 0 Portsmouth

[BPBlueSox]

Birmingham won again. I like that Dunn fellow...what nationality is he, Obes?

And wasn't Liverpool up on Charlton? That's a surprising result.

[Obri]

David Dunn is English, Dan. He was in the national team for a while, but after he fell out of favour with Blackburn boss Graeme Souness, he kinda fell out of the reckoning. A comeback to the international scene could be on the cards though, the way he's playing right now.

Yeah, Charlton beat Liverpool 3-2. Kevin Lisbie scored the first hat-trick of his senior career.

Van Nistelrooy scored a hat-trick for Man U by the way. That guy is on fire right now.:eek:

[BPBlueSox]

As much as I like Ruud for being a Dutchman...it's hard to like him after his time at PSV.

Plus, he plays like ass for that national team...

But I always seem to kinda pull for him when he's playing for United...

[Obri]

I know what you mean, I don't like him that much, but you can't help but enjoy watching him play.

"Playing like ass". i like it.:smokin:

[Obri]

The scores from this weekends Premiership action.....


Aston Villa 1 - 1 Bolton
Middlesbrough 1 - 2 Chelsea
Fulham 2 - 0 Leicester City
Leeds United 2 - 1 Blackburn
Man Utd 3 - 0 Birmingham
Newcastle 1 - 0 Southampton
Portsmouth 1 - 2 Charlton
Tottenham 3 - 0 Everton
Wolves 1 - 0 Man City
Liverpool 1 - 2 Arsenal

[sparky]

So what is the standings now? Havent been checking the scores and standings. I just feeling blue about the cubs game.

[Obri]

Okay, here was this weekends Premiership scores....


Everton 0 - 0 Southampton
Leicester City 1 - 2 Tottenham
Birmingham 0 - 0 Aston Villa
Arsenal 2 - 1 Chelsea
Fulham 0 - 0 Wolves
Man City 6 - 2 Bolton
Middlesbrough 0 - 1 Newcastle
Portsmouth 1 - 0 Liverpool
Leeds United 0 - 1 Man Utd

I'll post the standings shortly.....

[Obri]

And this weekend's Premiership Scores....

Tottenham 0 - 0 Middlesbrough
Charlton 1 - 1 Arsenal
Newcastle 3 - 0 Portsmouth
Chelsea 1 - 0 Man City
Aston Villa 0 - 0 Everton
Southampton 2 - 0 Blackburn
Wolves 4 - 3 Leicester City
Man Utd 1 - 3 Fulham:eek:
Bolton 0 - 1 Birmingham
Liverpool 3 - 1 Leeds United

Man Utd losing is always a surprise, but to Fulham at Old Trafford is just shocking. Dan, notice Birmingham winning again, now 4th in table.(Champions League position).:smokin:

[metsfan001]

WOW!!! Fulham beat Man U! At Old Trafford! Ferguson won't last much longer :)

[Obri]

Ferguson's ass is glued to that managers chair. He's at Man U for life if that's what he wants.

Any particular team you like in the Premiership 001?

Dan and I have a soft spot for the Brummies.:D

[BPBlueSox]

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

I get home from school at about 1:30, and they are showing the Birmingham game live at 1...so I'll be able to watch most of it today! :D

Man U seemed to respond well after blowing it last week...

[Obri]

Yeah, I watched the Brummies game. They lost 1-0.:(

[BPBlueSox]

I thought it was 2-1....

Either way, they lost. :(

[BPBlueSox]

I'm surprised I'm actually able to watch this Liverpool - Man U match...I figured this one would be on pay per view.

I'm glad United is winning, I dont' really like Liverpool.

The second goal Dudek gave up was soft. Plus, he almost gave up that one from long range that he just got back for. He sucks.

0-2 Man U in the 75th.

[Obri]

Obviously no Premiership games with the European Championship playoff games being played this weekend.

[Obri]

More serious slacking.:D

I'll update in the next day or so.

[Obri]

Originally posted by Obri
More serious slacking.:D

I'll update in the next day or so.

Wishful thinking. But I will put up the latest scores and standings when I get a minute. For anyone who cares, it's more or less between Man U and Arsenal now.

[BPBlueSox]

I'm getting up nice and early (5:30 am local) tomorrow morning to watch the Wolves against ManU. Should be a real asswhipping. :cool:

[BPBlueSox]

Should be a real asswhipping.

Oops! So much for that! Wolves 1 - United 0! :clap2:

What a great win for the Wolves...they played a tough game at Old Trafford back in August, so I guess this wasn't totally unexpected...

[Obri]

Scottish international Kenny Miller got the goal.:cool:

Dan, I used to see Kenny quite a lot after Stenhousemuir(my village team) games, back when he was 18 and playing in front of 600 people every week. It was a proud moment to watch him score against Man Utd, I can tell you.:thumbsup:

[Greenwood]

Arsenal went top by 2 points at the weekend with a controversial 2-0 win over Aston Villa, Thierry Henry scoring from a freekick into as good as an empty net as the Villa players were organising their wall. Villa boss David O'Leary was furious!

Chelsea also dropped a couple of points, almost certainly turning the premiership into a two horse race.

Leeds United replaced Wolves at the bottom with their third consecutive defeat and have today delayed going into administration by seven days.

On another note, Man.Utd have signed Louis Saha from Fulham for £10.5m, assuming the striker passes his medical later this week.

Probably nothing you didn't already know here, just thought Obri looked like he could be doing with a wee hand! :)

[BPBlueSox]

On another note, Man.Utd have signed Louis Saha from Fulham for £10.5m, assuming the striker passes his medical later this week.

I thought Fulham wasn't going to let him go? :umm

[Obri]

Originally posted by Greenwood
Probably nothing you didn't already know here, just thought Obri looked like he could be doing with a wee hand! :)

Dan, meet my little brother Michael.

Yes, Saha is expected to complete his move to Old Trafford today. I think his comments after Fulham lost to Middlesbrough may have been cause for concern. Something along the lines of, "I didn't play very well today, maybe that wasn't an accident".

:D

[Greenwood]

Newcastle beat Fulham 3-1 last night, in Fulham's first game without Saha. Chris Coleman told the press it was 'time to prove we are not a one man team' - doesn't seem to be working so far.

Laurent Robert scored the third goal which I have heard described as 'the best goal ever', it was a stunning back-heeled overhead kick! It has to be seen to be appreciated.

[BPBlueSox]

Hey, I saw Fulham is getting Brian McBride...that'll put em over the top. :hmm:

[Greenwood]

Is FA Cup talk allowed in here? Alright, I'll risk it.

Don't know how many of you happened to see Chelsea vs Scarborough ( Eng.Div.3 ) and the shocking penalty decision at end.

Chelsea were leading 1-0 in the last min when Scarborough put a cross into the box only for it to be punched out of the air by Chelsea's William Gallas, but no penalty given, the game finishing 1-0.

Man.Utd eased past Northampton 3-0 and the shock of the round came with West Ham beating Wolves 3-1. Spurs and Man City ended 1-1 and a replay will decide who faces Man Utd in the next round.

[PopTop]

Cool! Didn't realize Obri's brother was posting here! :clap2: Sure sorry to hear about the wee hand thing, Greenwood. :freak:

Go Newcastle! Some of my best friends are Geordies, amazing consumers of ale that they are...............A couple of the Northumberland lads I know actually started a very successful company in Sylvan Lake (Alberta) of all places, and named it Spartek after the local Blyth Spartans football team :smokin:

Watching a replay of Man U and Leeds U right now ... Gotta' root for Leeds in this one, they have better pubs than Manchester, and the lasses are friendlier in Leeds than the gals are in Manchester. :bigsquare

[Obri]

Willie, my little bro is a Mets fan, so you probably wouldn't like him anyway.:D

Blyth Spartans represented in Alberta? What next.:notme:

You were surely pleased by the outcome of the Leeds game then? Despite being bottom of the league compared to Man U in 2nd, and getting pummelled for the best part of the 90 minutes, they still got a draw.:cool:

[PopTop]

Geez, wee hands and a Mets fan?! :loser:

:D I can actually root a little for the Mets now that Art Howe is managing instead of that jellyfish they had in there before.

Anyway, back to Man U v. Leeds .............. You must remember firstly and always that I know less about football/soccer than your average Brit knows about making enchiladas ... I flipped it on with about half of the 1st half already in the books ... The announcers kept saying what an "uninspired" performance this was by Manchester ... But I really think Leeds played a very strong game, maybe more credit should go their way than discredit to Manchester :notme: In some ways, the game reminded me of that England-Germany World Cup game (1992?) that was nil-each at the end of regulation ... I almost expected to see Peter Shelton come in at goal on one team or another! :cool: I like defense.

[Obri]

Originally posted by PopTop
You must remember firstly and always that I know less about football/soccer than your average Brit knows about making enchiladas

Point taken.:D

In some ways, the game reminded me of that England-Germany World Cup game (1992?) that was nil-each at the end of regulation ...

1990. No Scotsman will ever forget it.:cool:

So Willie, why were you watching the World Cup in 1990?:notme:

[BPBlueSox]

Looks like the Gunners have just about got this thing locked up.

I don't understand why Ferguson "rested" Giggs and van Nistelrooij. They should have known playing at Fulham was going to be a tough fixture. You had to know they would come out strong going against Saha.

I am glad Fulham won. :D

[PopTop]

Originally posted by Obri
1990. No Scotsman will ever forget it.:cool:

So Willie, why were you watching the World Cup in 1990?:notme:

Wow, 1990. So funny how years can melt together sometimes ... I watch the World Cup, at least the finals, all the time, at least when they have the darn thing every 3-4 years ... And hanging around some of Her Majesty's displaced subjects here in the US, it was always a darn good reason to party ... So funny, we watched that final on the Spanish TV station since they didn't breakaway for commercials like the other media mental midgets :hmm: The Spanish announcer was having a coronary describing Shelton's play in goal: La patada de Alemania está lejos. ¡Noooooooooooo! ¡Peter Shelton con un juego magnÃ*fico! Ariba la pelota otra vez....... ¡Noooooooooooo! Peter Shelton es un dios. :laughing

I went to the Brazil-Holland game in the '94 series up in Dallas, an absolutely amazing 4-3 contest and even more amazing watching what was going on in the stands ... Brazilians rock! :cool:

[Obri]

Originally posted by PopTop
I went to the Brazil-Holland game in the '94 series up in Dallas, an absolutely amazing 4-3 contest and even more amazing watching what was going on in the stands ... Brazilians rock! :cool:

Wow, lucky you. Unfortunately, Scotland didn't qualify in '94, man that would have been a helluva party.:clap2:

[Greenwood]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by PopTop
[B]Cool! Didn't realize Obri's brother was posting here! :clap2: Sure sorry to hear about the wee hand thing, Greenwood. :freak:[QUOTE]

Hi there! Oh don't worry- I get more funny looks for wearing a Mets shirt in the pub than for having wee hands!

Nice to finally speak to you by the way.

[Obri]

Well, this thread might as well be closed these days.:D

Arsenal look to have it sealed already, leaving Man U and Chelsea to scrap it out for 2nd place. The 4th Champions League spot is still very much up for grabs, with Birmingham, Charlton, Liverpool and Newcastle all still in the hunt.

Leeds, despite being saved from bankruptcy only a couple of days ago, look doomed to Nationwide football next year.

[BPBlueSox]

Man U is done. I bet Chelsea ends up 2nd.

[Obri]

They're 3 points ahead at the moment.

[PopTop]

Just finished watching the 1st half of the Manchester City-Fulham match, nil-nil at half, a good 80% of the 1st half was played on Fulham's side but they kept Man City out of the net.

So here's my question: There were times that it looked like the best move for Fulham would've been to poke the ball to their goalie so he could clear it out ... Maybe it's not that easy to do, but it just seemed like there were several moments in the game so far where there were 3-4 Man City players and only a couple of Fulham defenders ... I realize you don't want to crosskick one and maybe assist the opposition, but is there any rule that prevents you from turning it over to your goalie so he can clear it, or is that just stupid football????

Also, they said there was an asst coach on Fulham's bench who was also on the bench as a player for this game ... Didn't catch his name, but they said that he would be the oldest player in Premier action if he got into the game (think they said he turned 45 recently) ... Is that somewhat common, to have an extra player as a coach, then activate him for a game or two here and there if injuries force your hand?

Finally, that guy Fowler for MC is a hustler ... Man, I like his persistence, sort of like a gnat that buzzes you at a picnic and you never can get away from. :cool:

[Obri]

Okay Willie, nice to see you taking an interest, i'll take your questions in turn, and do my best to answer them. I watched the highlights of this game on Saturday, so that helps.


OK, passing the ball back to the goalkeeper. If a player kicks the ball back to his own keeper, he can't pick it up. However, if the player passes it back using another part of his body(commonly head, chest, knee etc), the keeper can pick it up. That's the only rule concerning a pass back. In this instance, fans often find it frustrating when the ball is passed back, especially if it is unecessary. Much like a pickoff attempt in baseball.

I'm not entirely sure who the Fulham coach you are referring to is, but it has happened before. Especially in the lower leagues where teams cannot afford to go out and buy a replacement for an injured player. If I saw it at the highest, which Fulham play at, I would be most surprised. However, there is now great portions of a football season when teams cannot buy players, because of transfer deadlines. So, should Fulham have injury or suspension problems, yes, a coach could be quicky registered to play if necessary.

You mentioned Robbie Fowler. He burst on to the scene around 12 years ago for Liverpool, his hometown, where he bacame a legend, before falling out of favour a few years back, when he signed for Leeds United. Unfortunately, it didn't really work out for him, and he has suffered a somewhat similar fate at Man City. His form of late has actually been more like the Fowler of old, but he is feeling the effects of a team that is hugely underacheiving. But he still carries a solid reputation as a good footballer, and I personally have always been a fan.

Hope that helps Willie, if you have anything else, Dan and I would be happy to try and answer.

[PopTop]

Thanks Obes ... I thought there must be some reason why they wouldn't punch it to him to pickup and boom one out of their half of the field ... It was just amazing how much of the game was played on Fulham's side ... Not sure why I never wondered about that before and asked one of my other pals from your side of the pond.

By the way, how's that for screwed up TV ... I can get a replay of a Brit Football match played last Saturday today but I can't see the first game of the MLB season start because it's on a cable channel we don't get and, oh by the way, is being played in Japan while the other 28 teams are still setting their starting rotations up :hmm:

[Obri]

Yup, it's dumb. If it makes it you feel any better, I didn't see any of the games in Japan either. Baseball still ain't popular here, but it's increasing slowly.

Be sure to keep up with football Willie, there's a few internationals on tonight including Scotland, England and Ireland.

[BPBlueSox]

Like Holland who drew with the Frogs... :)

And the US who won in Poland. :usa:

[Obri]

In case I hadn't mentioned, Arsenal, Premiership Champions 2003/2004. The fight for second between Man U and Chelsea commences.

The FA Cup Final will be between Man U and Millwall. Pretty much no contest.