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Ten things to look out for in the Premier League this weekend | Louise Taylor
Chelsea fans have the chance to say sorry to Rafael Benítez, Steve Harper bows out after 20 years at St James’ Park, while Sir Alex Ferguson – and possibly Wayne Rooney – say farewell to Manchester United
1 The Bridge of Sighs
Those Chelsea fans who, due to some imagined slight, made life so hard for Rafael Benítez have a chance to say sorry when the Europa League-winning manager presides over the last Premier League game of his interim reign. Hats off to Benítez for his “rant” – actually, it was a pretty measured statement of the obvious – against militant Chelsea fans after an FA Cup win at Middlesbrough at the end of February. He had the guts to stand up to them and stick to his guns. A few might even thank the “fat Spanish waiter” for moving David Luiz into a holding central midfield role and beginning the reawakening of Fernando Torres. Will José Mourinho – if he arrives – really do any better? Might the odd Chelsea fan even be a little sad to see Benítez go? Meanwhile, Everton supporters – not to mention the club’s owner, Bill Kenwright – will be holding back the tears as David Moyes takes charge of their team for the last time before moving on to Manchester United. After 11 largely successful years at Goodison he deserves the warmest of ovations.
2 Workaholic Sunderland
Paolo Di Canio has threatened to curtail his Sunderland players’ summer holidays, slashing them from nearly seven weeks down to four should he detect signs of “unprofessionalism” at White Hart Lane. With Tottenham and Arsenal competing for a Champions League place, this will be music to Arsène Wenger’s ears. Some Sunderland players who had planned to stay in London or fly abroad on Sunday night have been forced to cancel such plans as Di Canio has ordered the squad to fly back to Newcastle airport before spending “a few days” training on Wearside next week. At least Connor Wickham is listening to his new manager. A week after being berated by Di Canio for wearing a skimpy T-shirt and “acting like a playboy model” on a cold, rainy Wearside day, the young striker has taken to turning up for training wearing a scarf. “I’m very pleased,” Di Canio said.
3 Fergie’s farewell but will Wayne be there?
Sir Alex Ferguson bows out at West Bromwich Albion on what is bound to be an emotional occasion underpinned by a real “end of empire” feel. The Hawthorns is an atmospheric, evocative place; in other words, a “proper” football ground and an appropriate venue for Fergie’s last stand. All eyes will be on the retiring knight but the presence – or absence – of Wayne Rooney’s name from the team sheet promises to provide an intriguing subplot.
4 The aftermath of Colo’s Party
This week Sammy Ameobi posted pictures of a party held by Newcastle United’s captain, Fabricio Coloccini, at his very nice house in Jesmond, attended by what appeared to be Alan Pardew’s entire squad who were tucking into some fabulous-looking food. Was it a not-so-subtle message that Newcastle’s players are very firmly bonded rather than divided into French- and English-speaking cliques or simply a farewell to a centre-half widely expected to play his last game for Newcastle at home to Arsenal on Sunday before returning to his native Argentina? Maybe it was a bit of both but, on the pitch, Pardew will need Coloccini to be at his very best against Wenger’s Champions League hopefuls. And especially after Newcastle conceded nine goals in their past two games at St James’ Park, against Sunderland and Liverpool.
5 Jack Colback v Aaron Lennon
Jack Colback regressed under Martin O’Neill at Sunderland but the versatile midfielder or full-back has improved dramatically under Di Canio and is fast emerging as a real favourite of the Italian. On Sunday he is pencilled in to play left-back against Aaron Lennon. The outcome of that little duel could have a bearing on the composition of next season’s Champions League. It will be watched with interest by Danny Rose, the ineligible Spurs left-back who has impressed while spending the past season on loan at Sunderland. Rose and Colback look destined to turn into top players.
6 Harper’s last hurrah
After 20 years’ sterling service at St James’ Park – too often sitting on the bench as reserve goalkeeper – the 38-year-old Steve Harper makes his final, and 199th, appearance for Newcastle at home to Arsenal before leaving the club. Injuries to Tim Krul and Rob Elliot mean the popular Harper will receive a richly deserved send-off. He is doing his coaching badges but hopes to play for another year before carving out a career in management. Tottenham’s manager, André Villas-Boas, will be keeping everything crossed he plays a blinder.
7 The definition of anticlimax
If anyone wants to understand what an anticlimax feels like they should hot-foot it to Wigan for their home game with Aston Villa. A week after beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final, Roberto Martínez’s side are relegated and preparing for Championship life. Suddenly a game that for weeks had been billed as a potential do-or-die battle for survival with Villa is utterly meaningless. It will be a bitter-sweet afternoon but at least, as my colleague Paul Wilson pointed out this week, the music at Wigan is invariably excellent.
8 Martin Jol’s message to Gus Poyet
Martin Jol’s Fulham have taken one point from their past seven games and contain 12 players aged over 30 in a squad desperately in need of overhauling. Craven Cottage sources maintain Jol will not be sacked but Gus Poyet, much lauded for his work at Brighton, has admirers in Fulham’s boardroom and is thought to be keen on relocating to west London. There could not be a better time for Jol’s Fulham to win at Swansea, with Dimitar Berbatov perhaps issuing a reminder of his defence-confounding talent.
9 Harry Redknapp’s last Premier League game?
Few would bet on it but Redknapp is 66, his QPR side are relegated, so it is not entirely inconceivable that this visit to Liverpool could represent the final act of one of the Premier League’s more colourful managerial careers.
10 Absent faces at the Etihad
Roberto Mancini, David Platt and most of the rest of the Italian’s old staff have cleared their desks, with only Brian Kidd remaining to coach Manchester City against Norwich as City await Manuel Pellegrini’s arrival from Málaga and the beginning of – another – brave new world. It is incredible to think that the Premier League’s top three teams – Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea – will be under new management next season.
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The Premier League Shockers – How common are the shocking upsets?
Ok, so Landry was talking about the ‘other’ type of football, however the sentiment remains true for ‘real’ football. One of the most beautiful things about the beautiful game is the potential for a freak, unexpected result. An incredible, unbelievable result. There’s nothing that neutral football fans enjoy more than seeing an underdog grabbing a [...]
The Premier League Shockers – How common are the shocking upsets?
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Transfer Talk: Falcao and Tevez to Monaco? Rooney heading to Chelsea?
We run through the latest talking points in world football, and which stars could be on the move this summer
Betting Special: Newcastle favourites to snap up Andy Carroll
The 24-year-old appears to be out of favour at Anfield and Willie Duncan believes that a return to St James’ Park in the summer may be on the cards for the Liverpool striker
‘How has football lived without it?’ – The impact of technology on tennis, baseball & other sports
The introduction of Hawk-Eye in the English Premier League is not the first example of sports using technology to make on-field decisions, with positive and negative impacts
The Premier League’s injury & suspension list
Goal.com keeps you up to date with all the missing men from England’s top-flight – from what’s keeping your favourite player out, to when they will return to action
Belgian’s Taking over the EPL | Hazard, Dembele, Fellaini, Benteke et al Stats
The Belgians are coming, you have been warned. If we didn’t already know about the remarkable number of talented players coming out of Belgium in recent years we do now. Many people have already earmarked them as dark horses for next year’s World Cup with a view to them becoming genuine contenders for the European [...]
Belgian’s Taking over the EPL | Hazard, Dembele, Fellaini, Benteke et al Stats
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Don’t miss your final chances to win an iPad with Goal free Fantasy Football league
With just two game weeks left to win a number of great prizes in the season-long competition, make sure you enter a team to improve your average in the table
The Premier League’s injury & suspension list
Goal.com keeps you up to date with all the missing men from England’s top-flight – from what’s keeping your favourite player out, to when they will return to action
The Premier League’s injury & suspension list
Goal.com keeps you up to date with all the missing men from England’s top-flight – from what’s keeping your favourite player out, to when they will return to action
Stat Heaven: EA Sports Performance Index
As we enter the closing weeks of this Premier League season, fuel your pub knowledge with this week’s Stat Heaven, packed with so many decimal points we make Opta jealous.
Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend
Frank Lampard continues quest to be Chelsea’s record scorer, Paul Lambert returns to Carrow Road for a relegation six-pointer and Wigan need to get their Great Escape going again
1) Coloccini back for Newcastle
Sam Allardyce’s smuggest smug face. The West Ham United manager won’t even have to twitch a muscle; no matter how careful he is with that visage, he will welcome his old side to Upton Park having seen his new one to safety ahead of schedule – “we are far better than where we expected to be”, he said this week – and enjoying an Andy Carroll mauve patch. The Newcastle United manager, Alan Pardew, will step off the bus being careful to corral his own features as best he can after a week in which he has had to defend his job and his players have had to issue a statement insisting that they’re all getting along famously. The worrying thought for Newcastle supporters is that if there isn’t friction between the French and English players in the squad, then there’s a more complicated (less fixable) reason for their terrible results in recent fixtures. They will have to hope that the return of Fabricio Coloccini, recovered from a broken back, is as influential as Pardew predicts; the centre-half will wear the captain’s armband on Saturday afternoon. The Opta stats show Newcastle win 31 per cent of the matches Coloccini plays, compared with 25 per cent when he is absent. More importantly, while there’s little difference to how many goals Newcastle concede with Coloccini on the pitch, they score twice as many, suggesting that his ability to play the ball out with a bit of nous makes a real impact. Georgina Turner
2) Mourinho’s first signing?
There will be no Bobby Tambling on the sidelines at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon to see it happen, but against Manchester United Frank Lampard will nonetheless continue to chase down the Chelsea record goalscorer’s tally of 202. Lampard has not been a regular starter this season but it will surely take an especially devastating performance from either side to keep him out of the action entirely. Coming on to replace Ramires in the first half against Swansea City last time out, he brought an instantaneousness of thought and action without which the match might have been allowed to drift. Chelsea’s claim, earlier in the year, that Lampard would “under no circumstances” be granted a contract extension seemed at the time to be unnecessarily decisive, and his chances of changing the club’s stance have probably been growing by increments ever since. Against Swansea he set up the game’s first goal and scored the second – his 13th of the season and his 201st in Chelsea colours. But what the heck, it’s Friday: let’s put two and two together and say José Mourinho’s had a word. GT
3) Hell-Benteke
At least Norwich City’s home form is better than their toils away from Carrow Road. That’s the crumb of comfort that the manager, Chris Hughton, has to nibble on as he awaits Aston Villa, possibly the last side he would have asked to play at this stage. Paul Lambert’s side are a point behind Norwich in that tight bunch of clubs just keeping their shirt tails clear of the flames, but Villa arrive having just walloped Sunderland 6-1, while Norwich are still coming to terms with their failure to direct a single shot on target against Stoke City. The fitness of Hughton’s two best central defenders, Sébastien Bassong (surely a contender for the club’s player of the season title) and Michael Turner, is in doubt; the form of Lambert’s best striker, Christian Benteke, is not. In Europe’s top leagues only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have scored more than Benteke (13) in 2013, and though Sunderland haplessness played a part in his hat-trick on Monday night, the leap for his second was incredible. “I think his head was above the crossbar,” said Fabian Delph. “Every centre-back who has tried [to rough him up] has failed.” GT
4) Can Wigan keep the season interesting?
The title has been decided, while the battle for the top four has become a provincial battle, inevitably obsessing the ‘London-centric national media’. The only thing of any real import left to be decided is who fills the final relegation berth. And with Wigan v Aston Villa brilliantly scheduled for the last day of the season, neutrals are praying for it to provide some much-needed final-day drama. So the Latics really need to start winning. Five points from safety, things aren’t looking too rosy at the DW Stadium. There’s the distraction of an FA Cup Final on the horizon, and their manager was rather too enamoured of performances against Tottenham and Manchester City that only garnered a solitary point. A trip to a West Brom side with nothing to play for is eminently winnable, as is their midweek match against Swansea, so if Roberto Martínez is going to perform The Great Escape: Part IV this weekend would be a good time to start picking up maximum points. Toby Moses
5) Make or break for Spurs
After a poor performance in their draw against Wigan, Tottenham look all set to perform their now traditional end-of-season tumble down the table. They face a season-defining week, with tough trips to Chelsea and Stoke following hot on the heels of Saturday’s clash with Southampton – come out with maximum points from these three and Arsenal fans will really start sweating. This weekend’s match might look the easiest on paper, especially after Southampton’s capitulation at home to West Brom last week, but the Saints have put in some excellent performances against the big boys this year. Mauricio Pochettino’s high-tempo pressing game proved too much for Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City – while the champions eked out a 2-1 win despite having fewer shots and less possession than the south coast side. Spurs could be forgiven for having one eye on Stamford Bridge, but they’ll come a cropper if they don’t turn up at White Hart Lane ready to take Southampton deadly seriously. TM
6) Can Sunderland break their Monday night hoodoo?
With Paolo Di Canio’s honeymoon period having lasted considerably less time than most honeymoons, the threat of relegation remains very real for Sunderland, who could find themselves in all sorts of bother by the time they entertain Stoke City on Monday night, depending on results elsewhere over the weekend. In an omen that will make grim reading for Sunderland, still reeling from the spanking administered to their team by Aston Villa, it has been noted that Sunderland have failed to win on a Monday night in their last 17 attempts, seven managers ago when Peter Reid was in charge and Claudio Reyna scored a brace against Leicester. With Stéphane Sessègnon suspended for the Premier League run-in, it’s difficult to see from where the goals required to end this bizarre hoodoo will come. Barry Glendenning
7) A relegation scrap with added needle
A relegation dogfight with the added needle of visiting manager Paul Lambert, arguably the world’s least controversial man, returning to an old stamping ground he left under a contractual cloud – who’d think a match between Norwich and Aston Villa could be so mouth-watering? After the hammering they gave Sunderland earlier this week, Villa will arrive at Carrow Road full of confidence, but only five teams have won at Norwich this season. Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Luton Town have all beaten the Canaries in their own cage. The other team to knock them off their Carrow Rod perch were Aston Villa, who stuffed them 4-1 in the Capital One Cup. BG
8) Light the torches
After Twitter went berserk on Sunday evening, rounding up a virtual lynch mob to rival the one in Young Mr Lincoln to punish QPR’s José Bosingwa for the heinous crime of laughing even though he knew the club had been relegated, watch out for any Rangers player not dressed entirely in funereal black, weeping profusely as if they were hoping to be cast in a re-make of Terms of Endearment and sombrely bowing his head on remorse when taking the field to the sounds of Panis Angelicus. And once you have spotted them, malign them for their characters rather than for their inability to prosper in incoherent sides cobbled together in slapdash fashion which, had you not been assured was not the case, would seem to have been done without any regard whatsoever for the consequences. Tony Fernandes, the principal owner, doesn’t require any summer reading but he could do far worse than listen to the greatest of all west London bands, The Who, and Pete Townshend’s Won’t Get Fooled Again until the title, at least, gives him pause for thought. Rob Bagchi
9) Crossing the divide
Sunday’s derby should be the 30th and last of Jamie Carragher’s career and his captain, Steven Gerrard, says Liverpool must send him off “with a nice derby win for Carra to remember”. For the centre-half, a boyhood Evertonian who admits he only switched wholeheartedly from Blue to Red 14 years ago at the age of 21, a victory would be his 18th in the fixture but he will be put under greater scrutiny by Everton than the derelict side masquerading as Newcastle United managed last week. Everyone knows his pace has gone but if you listen to Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger they feel Carragher more than makes up for it with his organisation, strength and experience. It may benefit Everton to push Leon Osman further forward to play off Victor Anichebe and try to buzz about and drive through the inside-forward channels to test their verdict. RB
10) It’s nearly all to play for in the Championship
OK, so strictly speaking under the Trade Descriptions Act the Championship is not the Premier League, but it features teams that’ll be playing in the top flight next season and that’s good enough to warrant us crowbarring a mention of it in here. The final round of fixtures in the English second division kick off at 12:45pm this Saturday and it is a measure of just how competitive a league it is that the outcomes of just two of the 12 fixtures – Burnley v Ipswich and Charlton v Bristol City – are of no consequence. Admittedly, the chances of Blackburn getting relegated are slimmer than a willowy bloke posing with an over-sized pair of trousers on a Weight Watchers website, but if you had to bet on any team engineering relegation from such preposterously unlikely circumstances, you’d lump on the Venky’s owned circus.
With Hull and Watford fighting over the remaining automatic promotion place, Crystal Palace, Bolton, Nottingham Forest and Leicester vying for two remaining play-off spots and – deep breath – Wolves, Barnsley, Peterborough, Sheffield Wednesday, Millwall, Huddersfield and Rovers all battling to avoid the drop, fans of all 13 clubs will be forced to endure a horrifically tense denouement. That’s with the possible exception of all but the most hopelessly optimistic Wolves fans, who have probably reconciled themselves to the fact that, for a second traumatic season in succession, the survival jig is very much up. BG
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Top Counter Attacking Teams This Season | Opta Stats Analysis
Teams that can hit you on the counter attack at any moment are incredibly hard to defend against, especially when speed merchants such as Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott are running at your defence. So which teams have impressed in the counter attack and …
The Premier League’s injury & suspension list
Goal.com keeps you up to date with all the missing men from England’s top-flight – from what’s keeping your favourite player out, to when they will return to action
Premier League Team of the Week: Hat-trick hero Benteke stars
The Aston Villa striker helped give his side an enormous boost in their battle to avoid the drop with a superb performance against Sunderland, while Liverpool also feature heavily
EPL Top Players So Far | Goal Scorers, Creators, Assists & Passers!
Welcome to our monthly edition of the Premier League’s top players. With Manchester United wrapping up the title against Aston Villa on Monday night the attention now turns to the battle for the Champions League places, the race for survival and which player will be crowned as the player of the year and young player [...]
EPL Top Players So Far | Goal Scorers, Creators, Assists & Passers!
EPL Opta Stats & Blog | eplindex.com – soccer stats – Our EPL Stats are Powered by Opta stats | English Premier League stats & blog | Subscribe to the EPL Stats Centre at eplindex.com
Premier League Top Players So Far | Goal Scorers, Creators, Assists & Passers!
Welcome to our monthly edition of the Premier League’s top players. With Manchester United wrapping up the title against Aston Villa on Monday night the attention now turns to the battle for the Champions League places, the race for survival and which player will be crowned as the player of the year and young player [...]
Premier League Top Players So Far | Goal Scorers, Creators, Assists & Passers!
EPL Opta Stats & Blog | eplindex.com – soccer stats – Our EPL Stats are Powered by Opta stats | English Premier League stats & blog | Subscribe to the EPL Stats Centre at eplindex.com
The Premier League’s injury & suspension list
Goal.com keeps you up to date with all the missing men from England’s top-flight – from what’s keeping your favourite player out, to when they will return to action
The Premier League’s injury & suspension list
Goal.com keeps you up to date with all the missing men from England’s top-flight – from what’s keeping your favourite player out, to when they will return to action
Premier League turnover, wages, debt and performance?
The Premier League clubs collectively made a loss of £206m in 2011-12 despite a £2.4bn income. How did they make the money, how much went on wages, and which is in most debt?
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The Premier League accounts are in and it’s time to turn our attention to money. How are the clubs operating financially? In 2011/12, despite the 20 top-flight clubs generating a record income of £2.4bn, collectively the Premier League clubs made a loss of £206m.
Of the clubs which were in the Premier League in 2011‑12, the year of most clubs’ latest published accounts, eight made a profit, of £82m in total. The largest profit was recorded by Arsenal (£37m profit before tax) followed by Swansea City with £17m profit before tax. Manchester City made the biggest loss, £99m before tax. David Conn writes today: “The Guardian’s annual special report of Premier League clubs’ finances shows they spent £1.6bn on wages last season, most of it to players. The wage bill accounted for 67% of clubs’ turnover, a similar level to the two previous years – wages were 68% of income in 2009-10, and 69% in 2010-11.“
Manchester United recorded the highest turnover of any of the Premier League clubs in 2011/12 at £320m, while Wigan had the lowest turnover. Chelsea had the second highest turnover, with £261m.
Click on the chart above to explore turnover by club and use the drop down menu to sort by wages as a proportion of turnover.
The accounts show that Norwich City, Swansea City and Wolverhampton Wanderers were the only clubs without any debt. Roman Abramovich’s club however were the most indebted with a net debt of £878m.
You can see the net debt by club in the Datawrapper chart above. Net debt is as stated in the annual accounts of each club; debts minus cash held at the bank.
In terms of value for money, Swansea’s players could be seen as punching above their weight – despite having the lowest wage bill, they managed to finish 11th in their first season in the Premier League. Aston Villa, on the other hand, underperformed somewhat. They had the seventh highest wage bill, but only finished 16th. Manchester City justified having the highest wage expenditure of £202m by winning the Premier League.
You can find the financial figures for 2011-12 for the 20 clubs in the downloadable spreadsheet below. The final column in the second table below is a calculation of Premier League position 2011-12 minus wage bill 2011-12 (as ranked in the second column, from highest to lowest).
All details are from the most recently published annual reports at Companies House. The separate categories of turnover are rounded down or up, so added together do not always tally with the total turnover figure.
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Premier League finances: the full club-by-club breakdown and verdict | David Conn
A detailed study of the accounts of all 20 top flight clubs and what the figures say about their health
• Report reveals £1.6bn spent on Premier League wages
• Datablog: compare the clubs’ turnover, wages and debt
Financial figures for 2011-12, for the 20 clubs which were in the Premier League during 2010-11. All details from most the published annual reports at Companies House. Net debt is as stated in the accounts; debts minus cash held at the bank. The separate categories of turnover are rounded down or up, so added together do not always tally with the total turnover figure.
ARSENAL
Accounts for the year to 31 May 2012
Ownership: Arsenal Holdings PLC major shareholders are: Kroenke Sports Enterprises UK (registered in Delaware, owned by US resident Stan Kroenke) 62%, Red and White Securities Limited (registered in Jersey, owned by Russian resident Alisher Usmanov and Farhad Moshiri) 27%
Turnover: 3rd highest in league, £245m (down from £258m in 2011)
… Gate and matchday income: £95m
… TV and broadcasting: £85m
… Retail: £18m
… Commercial: £34m
… Property Development: £8m
… Player Trading: £3m
Wage bill: 4th highest, £143m (up from £124m)
Wages as proportion of turnover: 58%
Profit before tax: £37m (up from £15m)
Net debt: £98m
Interest payable: £15m
Highest Paid Director: Ivan Gazidis, £2.05m
State it’s in:
The year fans voiced discontent with what they receive for their £95m matchday outlay. Arsenal were until very recently hailed as an ideal club, their policy of US owner Stan Kroenke putting no money in lauded as a “self-sustaining model.” Many supporters now view that that as meaning they fund the club, to bank profits at the expense of football success. The £3m player trading figure within Arsenal’s turnover is an accountancy device which does not reflect the £65m profit made selling stars including Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy. Arsenal’s “model” has not been hailed much since.
ASTON VILLA
Accounts for the year to 31 May 2012
Ownership: Owned by Randy Lerner, via Reform Acquisitions LLC, a USA company
Turnover: 9th in league, £80m (down from £92m in 2011)
… Gate and matchday: £20m
… TV and broadcasting: £47m
… Commercial: £14m
Wage bill: 7th, £70m (down from £83m)
Wages as proportion of turnover: 87.5%
Loss before tax: £18m (following £54m loss last year)
Net debt: £122m
Interest payable: £7m
Highest paid director: £256,000 to unnamed director (Paul Faulkner is the chief executive)
State it’s in:
Exceptional among the US buyers, Randy Lerner has spent hugely on Villa – in equity and loans, now at £107m – yet his initially promising tenure has declined. Lerner has been financially hit by the banking crisis, having sold his MBNA company in return for Bank of America shares, and he is trying to cut back on overspending and losses. Ashley Young, Gareth Barry, James Milner and Stewart Downing, four England internationals, are now memories; Villa’s accounts state Paul Lambert’s “youthful, highly motivated first team squad … will prove eminently sustainable in the long term.” That remains to be seen, and is not a statement of grand ambition.
BLACKBURN ROVERS
Accounts for the year to 30 June 2012
Ownership: Owned by Venkateshwara Hatcheries (Venky’s) of Pune, in India
Turnover: 19th in league, £54m (down from £58m in 2011)
… Gate and Matchday: £6m
… TV and Broadcasting: £42m
… Commercial: £9m
Wage bill: 15th, £50m (same as 2011)
Wages as proportion of turnover: 93%
Profit before Tax: £4m (following loss of £19m in 2011)
Net debt: £25m
Interest payable: £0.2m
Highest paid director: Unnamed, £135,000
State it’s in:
One figure encapsulates the puzzle about why Venky’s, a large chicken concern in India, have so scrambled Blackburn Rovers’ fortunes. The accounts show the owners have loaned the club £21m, interest free. That is the policy of a benefactor owner, and considerably exceeds the small amounts the trustees of Jack Walker’s estate parted with over the previous decade. So Venky’s have spent millions on Blackburn, only to undermine the club with inexplicable managerial decisions and the needless loss of excellent directors they inherited. Rovers recorded a profit in 2011-12 due to player trading, principally selling Christopher Samba, but relegation will have been financially hideous.
BOLTON WANDERERS
Accounts for the year to 30 June 2012
Ownership: 95% owned by Edwin Davies, resident in the Isle of Man, a tax haven, via his private trust, Fildraw, registered in Bermuda
Turnover: 15th in league, £65m (down from £68m in 2011)
… Gate and matchday: £8m
… Hotel: £6m
… TV and broadcasting: £43m
… Corporate hospitality: £2m
… Merchandising: £2m
… Sponsorship \ advertising: £4m
Wage bill: 13th, £55m (down from £56m in 2011)
Wages as proportion of turnover: 85%
Loss before Tax: £22m (reduced from £26m in 2011)
Net debt: £137m
Interest payable: £6m
Highest paid director: £858,000, presumed to be Allan Duckworth, includes £397,000 pay-off
State it’s in:
Bolton ended eleven years of Premier League earnings heavily in debt, seriously loss-making and stating they were seeking still further borrowing “to meet liabilities as they fall due. While other smaller clubs have accepted the possibility of yo-yoing down then back up from the Championship, Bolton put those years behind them and paid out the Premier League’s 13th highest wage bill. The accounts reveal the extent of backing from Isle of Man resident Edwin Davies, one of the lowest profile football owners. His loans are now up to £137m – and he charges interest, £5.5m in the year, a decent earner for him, in current economic conditions.
CHELSEA
Accounts (of the holding company, Fordstam) for the year to 30 June 2012
Ownership: Wholly owned by Roman Abramovich, registered at Companies House as a Russian resident
Turnover: 2nd in league, £261m (up from £229m in 2011)
… Broadcasting: £113m
… Matchday: £78m
… Commercial: £70m
Wage bill: 2nd, £173m (down from £190m in 2011)
Wages as proportion of turnover: 66%
Loss before tax: £4m (following £78m in 2011)
Net debt: £878m
Interest payable: £Nil
Highest paid director: Unnamed, £911,000 (Ron Gourlay is the chief executive)
State it’s in:
Roman Abramovich has taken the burden of his loans away from Chelsea football club itself, but these accounts for the holding company show the Russian oligarch’s loans increased substantially in the year. Abramovich lent a further £79m to the Chelsea operation, increasing the total to a staggering £896m, poured into Chelsea since he bought the club in 2003. Some restraint is evident even in the year Chelsea’s players were able to win the Champions League trophy for their paymaster. The wage bill came down and £29m was made selling fringe players. The loss of £4m would have been higher, though, without an exceptional £18m noted from two share dealings.
EVERTON
Accounts for the year to 31 May 2012
Ownership: Shares in the Everton Football Club Company Limited are owned by: Bill Kenwright 25%, Jon Woods 19%, Robert Earl (resident of Florida) 23%
Turnover: 8th in league, £81m (down from £82m in 2011)
… Gate and programme sales: £17m
… TV and broadcasting: £53m
… Other commercial activities: £11m
Wage bill: 10th, £63m (up from £58m)
Wages as proportion of turnover: 78%
Loss before tax: £9m (increased from £5m)
Net debt: £46m
Interest payable: £4m
Highest paid director: No directors were paid; chief executive Robert Elstone is not a director
State it’s in:
The money situation reflect the impression David Moyes and his team give on the field, that Everton is pushing to the limit of its current potential. A spirited seventh place was won with only the tenth highest wage bill, but with no funding from owners, no buyer or stadium expansion, Everton are stretched inexorably into losses. Current lending arrangements from Barclays bank expire on July 31 this year, so chairman Bill Kenwright is seeking renewal at the same level, while also borrowing against future TV revenues. A football club still in its grand old ground, determined to compete in a league of sheikhs, oligarchs and US-owned corporations.
FULHAM
Accounts for the year to 30 June 2012
Ownership: Owned by Mafco Holdings Limited, a Bermuda (tax haven) company, which is owned by Mohamed Al Fayed and his family
Turnover: 10th in league, £79m (up from £76m in 2011)
… Gate and matchday: £11m
… Europa League: £3m
… TV and broadcasting: £51m
… Sponsorship and commercial: £12m
… Compensation: £1m
Wage Bill: 11th, £62m (up from £58m in 2011)
Wages as proportion of turnover: 78%
Loss before tax: £18m (down from £5m profit in 2011)
Net debt: £4m
Interest payable: £0.3m
Highest paid director: Unnamed, £704,000 (Alastair Mackintosh is the chief executive)
State it’s in:
One of football’s most surprising love affairs, Mohamed Al Fayed’s 16 year commitment to Fulham, was formalised with his cancellation of £212m loans. The money loaned from Fayed’s tax haven base to fund Fulham’s rise was converted to equity on June 15 2012. The 2011 net debt of £193m was wiped away to stand at just £4m. Fulham are becoming regarded as an example of how, after initial investment, a smaller club can build its crowd and playing success in the Premier League and become gradually sustainable. However, largely due to making less from selling players, a £5m profit in 2011 turned to an £18m loss.
LIVERPOOL
Accounts for the 10 months to 31 July 2012
Ownership: Fenway Sports Group, registered in the USA, of which John W Henry is the principal shareholder
Turnover: 5th in league, £169m (down from £184m in 2011)
… Gate and matchday income: £42m
… TV and broadcasting: £63m
… Commercial activities: £64m
Wage Bill: 5th, £119m
Wages as proportion of turnover: 70%
Loss before Tax: £41m (following £49m in 2011)
Net debt: £87m
Interest payable: £4m
Highest paid director: Unnamed, £657,000 (Ian Ayre is the managing director)
State it’s in:
Not where John Henry envisaged Liverpool would be when he and his Fenway Sports Group co-investors bought the club in 2010. The £169m turnover, fifth highest in the Premier League, illustrates the big club status and potential earnings which attracted the Americans to Liverpool, and why Henry believes financial fair play will benefit them. Under Kenny Dalglish Liverpool under-achieved, finishing eighth with the fifth highest wage bill. They made a £41m loss, debt is high, and the most telling figure is the £47m FSG loaned themselves in August last year. That is not what FSG saw themselves doing when they bought into the Premier League money machine.
MANCHESTER CITY
Accounts for the year to 31 May 2012
Ownership: Wholly owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, via the Abu Dhabi United Group, registered in the United Arab Emirates
Turnover: 4th in league, £231m (up from £153m in 2011)
… Gate and matchday: £22m
… TV and broadcasting: £88m
… Commercial activities: £121m
Wage bill: 1st, £202m (up from £174m in 2011)
Wages as proportion of turnover: 87%
Loss before tax: £99m (following £197m in 2011)
Net debt: £58m
Interest payable: £3m
Highest paid director: Unnamed, £1.1m (John MacBeath was the acting chief executive)
State it’s in:
The most spectacular example ever of an individual from the global super rich buying an English football club and funding it to success. Courtesy of Sheikh Mansour’s oil-based fortune, ran a wage bill £40m higher than Manchester United’s, from income £90m lower, and won the Premier League with the 94th minute goal by £38m Sergio Aguero. The accounts show a striking contrast between modest matchday income, £22m, with ticket prices lower than London prices, and £121m commercial income, substantially via sponsorships from Abu Dhabi companies. City say the £99m loss will come down, and given exemptions in the rules, they will comply with Uefa’s financial fair play next season.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Accounts for Red Football Shareholder Ltd, the largest parent company in the Glazers’ structure for owning United, for the year to 30 June 2011
Ownership: Owned by Malcolm Glazer’s six children via Red Football LLC a company registered registered in the low tax state of Nevada, USA
Turnover: 1st in league, £320m (down from £331m in 2011)
… Gate and matchday income: £99m
… TV and broadcasting: £104m
… Commercial activities: £118m
Wage bill: 3rd, £162m (up from £153m in 2011)
Wages as proportion of turnover: 51%
Loss before tax: £5m (following a £12m profit in 2011)
Net debts: £366m
Interest and other finance costs: £50m
Highest paid director: £2,593,000 unnamed (David Gill is the chief executive)
State it’s in:
The staggering business of the Glazer family and their leveraged buyout of United, now registered in the Cayman Islands tax haven and floated on the New York stock exchange. Pages of the annual report are devoted to the global sponsorships, which pushed commercial income to £118m. United remain burdened with £420m debt from the Glazers’ 2005 takeover, at approximately 8.5% interest, which cost the club £50m last year. The takeover has cost United around £550m altogether. Last year the club paid a £10m dividend to the owners, a £3m management fee to the Glazers, and £558,484 interest was payable to Kevin Glazer.
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Accounts for the year to 30 June 2012
Ownership: Mike Ashley owns Newcastle United via his company, MASH Holdings Limited
Turnover: 7th in league, £93m (up from £89m in 2011)
… Gate and matchday: £24m
… TV and broadcasting: £56m
… Commercial activities: £14m
Wage bill: 8th, £64m (up from £54m in 2011)
Wages as proportion of turnover: 69%
Profit before tax: £1m (down from £33m in 2011)
Net debt: £129m
Interest payable: £0.07m
Highest paid director: Unnamed, £266,000 (Derek Llambias is managing director)
State it’s in:
Newcastle’s surprise season, Alan Pardew’s shrewd recruits achieving a fifth place finish and transforming views of Mike Ashley’s ability to run a football club. Ashley himself has cleared all the club’s debt and loaned in £129m himself as financial ballast, before charging Derek Llambias with running affairs commercially. Football remains an unpredictable business, however, and the wage bill climbed, and profit fell, before this season’s dip in performance and £27m spent on new players. The effort to keep costs down while competing is now obsessive, hence no apology for announcing a sponsorship deal with Wonga, from the barely respectable payday loan industry.
NORWICH CITY
Accounts for the year to 31 May 2012
Ownership: Majority owned by Delia Smith and her husband Michael Wynn Jones
Turnover: 12th in league, £75m (up from £23m in 2011)
… Gate receipts: £11m
… TV and media: £50m
… Commercial activities: £14m
Wage bill: 19th, £37m (up from £18m in 2011)
Wages as proportion of turnover: 49%
Profit before Tax: £16m (from £7m loss in 2011)
Net Debt: Nil; £1m net cash in the bank
Interest payable: £2m
Highest paid director: 1,533,000 paid to unnamed director (David McNally is the chief executive)
State it’s in:
The happy state of a club properly enjoying the first year of promotion to the Premier League. Norwich used the massive TV and commercial windfall, with income up £52m, to pay off all debt while keeping wages under control. Recorded a loss of £7m to win promotion in 2011, as many Championship clubs do, then competed well, finishing 12th on the Premier League’s second to lowest wage bill. Made a £16m profit, but Delia Smith and her husband Michael Wynn Jones, the 53% owners, still had a £2m interest free loan to the club outstanding at the end of the year.
QUEENS PARK RANGERS
Accounts for the year to 31 May 2012
Ownership: 66% by Tune QPR , registered in Malaysia, owned by Tony Fernandes and partners Kamarudin Meranun and Ruben Gnanalingam. 33% by Sea Dream Ltd, family holding of Lakshmi Mittal
Turnover: 17th in league, £64m (up from £16m in 2011)
… QPR’s turnover is not broken down into TV and other activities.
Wage bill: 12th, £58m (up from £30m in 2011)
Wages as Proportion of Turnover: 91%
Loss before tax: £23m (reduced from £25m loss in 2011)
Net debt: £89m
Interest payable: £0.038m
Highest paid director: Directors of the holding company were not paid
State it’s in:
Surprisingly under the Air Malaysia entrepreneur Fernandes, will be lucky to avoid a crash. Rather than banking the Premier League bonanza at a club with just 18,000 capacity at Loftus Road, supported Neil Warnock to sign eleven new players, sacked him in January 2012 then backed Mark Hughes to sign Nedum Onuoha, Djibril Cisse and Bobby Zamora. With wages 91% of turnover, narrowly survived, then backed Hughes to sign ten more players, before sacking him, and giving Harry Redknapp £20.5m to spend in January. For the owners, who have loaned in £92.5m and now borrowed £15m from Barclays, relegation will not be pretty.
STOKE CITY
Accounts for the year to 31 May 2012
Ownership: Owned by bet365 Group, the online gambling company controlled by Denise Coates, daughter of chairman, Peter, and family
Turnover: 13th in league, £71m (up from £68m in 2011)
… Gate Receipts: £8m
… Sponsorship and advertising: £6m
… Europa League: £5m
… TV and media: £46m
… Conferencing and hospitality: £3m
… Other: £0.6m
… Retail and merchandising: £3m
Wage Bill: 14th, £53m (up from £47m in 2011)
Wages as proportion of turnover: 75%
Loss before tax: £10m (following £6m loss in 2011)
Net debt: £14m
Interest payable: Nil
Highest paid director: Unnamed, £517,000
State it’s in:
Looking fairly solid financially in this fourth year since promotion to the Premier League in 2008. Backed by the bet365 online gambling fortune of Stoke native Peter Coates and family, whose loan was up to £24m in the year. Stoke are at that awkward stage where Premier League status has been consolidated, some bigger names have been signed, and the wage bill has climbed up to 75% of income. So despite staying in the top league as they intended, the club still makes a substantial loss, hence Coates’ support for financial fair play and the effort to staunch players wage inflation.
SUNDERLAND
Accounts for the year to 31 July 2012
Ownership: Owned by the American Ellis Short via Drumaville, a company registered in Jersey
Turnover: 11th in league, £78m (up from £79m in 2011)
… Gate receipts: £14m
… TV and media: £47m
… Sponsorship and royalties: £9m
… Conference and commercial: £8m
Wage bill: 8th, £64m (up from £61m In 2011)
Wages as proportion of turnover: 82%
Loss before tax: £32m (increased from £8m in 2011)
Net debt: £84m
Interest payable: £2m
Highest paid director: Niall Quinn, £2,432,702 (includes £2m compensation for resigning)
State it’s in:
Already making losses on this scale and with the owner, Ellis Short, having loaned in £41m, could not countenance the threat of relegation, hence the sacking of Martin O’Neill. Short’s experience has similarities to that of his fellow American billionaire Randy Lerner: buying a big old club in the most lucrative league in the world, then finding it costing him millions to pay players wages. The urgent focus on ensuring Sunderland did not endure the shock of relegation perhaps led Short to ask too few questions about the fascist baggage Paolo di Canio brings with him.
SWANSEA CITY
Accounts for the year to 31 May 2012
Ownership: Martin Morgan, 22.5%; Brian Katzen, 20%; Swansea City Supporters Society Limited (supporters trust) 20%; chairman Huw Jenkins 12.5%; Robert Davies 10%
Turnover: 15th in league, £65m (up from £12m in 2011)
… All football income: £61m
… Commercial: £4m
Wage bill: 20th, £35m (up from £17m in 2011)
Wages as proportion of turnover: 54%
Profit before tax: £17m (after £11m loss in 2011)
Net debt: Nil; £5m cash in the bank
Interest payable: £0.3m
Highest paid director: Huw Jenkins, £200,000
State it’s in:
Identified by the Premier League chief executive, Richard Scudamore, as “probably the ideal ownership model,” among the mostly overseas owners and tax exiles. Supporters trust owns 20%, and elects a director, alongside the businessman shareholders, who are also fans. Won friends with their elegant football, finished eleventh with the league’s lowest wage bill. Banked £5m from Liverpool hiring Brendan Rodgers, then recruited Michael Laudrup and achieved more success. Just paid a £2m dividend to the shareholders, the first money they have taken out, which risks changing perceptions if it continues, particularly with the club advertising for interns to work unpaid in player performance analysis.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Accounts for the year to 30 June 2012
Ownership: Enic International Limited, registered in the Bahamas, owns 85% of Spurs. Joe Lewis, resident in the Bahamas, has the controlling, 70.6% ownership of Enic, with chairman Daniel Levy and family owning the other 29.4%
Turnover: 6th in league, £144m (down from £163m in 2011)
… Gate receipts, Premier League: £21m
… Europa League and cups income: £11m
… TV and broadcasting: £59m
… Sponsorship and corporate hospitality: £35m
… Merchandising: £9m
… Commercial activities: £9m
Wage Bill: 6th, £90m (down from £91m in 2011)
Wages as proportion of turnover: 63%
Loss before tax: £7m (down from £0.4m profit in 2011)
Net debt: £70m
Interest payable: £6m
Highest paid director: £2.2m paid to Daniel Levy
State it’s in:
Well run, but the figures illustrate Spurs’ frustrations with where they are stuck. Considering themselves the rightful north London equals of Arsenal and historically superior to Chelsea, Spurs can only get this far until they have built their long mooted new stadium. Matchday income is around one third of the cash Arsenal squeeze from the Emirates, but London prices still mean Spurs make the sixth most money in the league. Daniel Levy, one of the best paid in the boardrooms, maintains the sixth highest wage bill, so the fourth place finish under Harry Redknapp can be considered an over-achievement.
WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Accounts for the year to 30 June 2012
Ownership: Majority owned by the chairman, Jeremy Peace
Turnover: 14th in league, £67m (up from £59m in 2011)
… Gate receipts: £8m
… Merchandising: £3m
… TV and media: £50m
… Other commercial income: £9m
Wage bill: 15th, £50m (up from £39m in 2011)
Wages as proportion of turnover: 75%
Profit before tax: £1m (down from £9m in 2011)
Net debt: £0.5m
Interest payable: Nil
Highest paid director: Unnamed, £1,133,000 (Jeremy Peace is the executive chairman)
State it’s in:
Eminently well-run. Accepted yo-yoing between Championship and Premier League for a decade, with chairman Jeremy Peace determined not to splurge into debt in either league. Now recognised for minting a style of play, with a director of football-type structure, which has survived changes of manager including Roy Hodgson’s departure to become England coach. Finished 10th with the 15th highest wage bill, which was still, at £50m, 75% of turnover. Peace opposed financial fair play’s introduction in the Premier League – West Brom have gained an advantage from breaking even while other clubs of a similar size have been run badly.
WIGAN ATHLETIC
Accounts for the year to 31 May 2012
Ownership: Owned by Dave Whelan and family, registered in the UK
Turnover: 20th in league, £53m (up from £51m in 2011)
… Premier League TV and other: £46m
… Gate and matchday: £4m
… Sponsorship and commercial: £2m
… Other: £1m
Wage bill: 17th, £38m (down from £40m in 2011)
Wages as proportion of turnover: 72%
Profit before tax: £4m (up from £7m loss made in 2011)
Net debts: £12m
Interest payable: £0.5m
Highest paid director: Not disclosed
State it’s in:
Owner Dave Whelan wrote off £48m of loans he had made to the club, converting them to equity. The loan and overdraft from Barclays Bank has also been significantly reduced, from £21m to £13m. Whelan’s chairman’s statement says: “Financially we are in a sustainable position that allows us to significantly invest both on and off the field.” Still, £8.5m further loans are outstanding to Whelan, who continues to support the club financially, and the profit was due to an £8m surplus from selling players. Whelan, however, insists the club will not continue to sell players, and is looking to create “a lasting legacy.”
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Accounts for the year to 31 May 2012
Ownership: Ultimately owned by Steve Morgan’s company Bridgemere Investments, registered in Guernsey
Turnover: 18th in league, £60m (down from £64m in 2011)
… Gate receipts: £8m
… Sponsorship and advertising: £5m
… Premier League and broadcasting: £42m
… Commercial activities: £5m
Wage Bill: 17th, £38m (same as 2011)
Wages as proportion of turnover: 63%
Profit before tax: £2m
Net debt: Nil – Wolves had £13m cash in the bank
Interest payable: Nil
Highest paid director: £1.2m paid to unnamed director
State it’s in:
Figures from Wolves’ relegation season: admirable, respectable, made a profit, had no debt at all, were living within their means, just as Steve Morgan always insisted football clubs should. Yet he has been undone by the iron law that the success of a club springs from progress in the football itself. Black country rivals West Bromwich Albion, and Swansea City, have shown this can be achieved even if managers change, but Wolves had no similar system in place. Morgan’s sacking of Mick McCarthy and appointment by default of Terry Connor started a miserable spiral, which can undo even the soundest of bookkeeping.
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Do Substitutes Win Games? | Premier League 12-13 Stats Analysis
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The Premier League’s injury & suspension list
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Premier League ratifies Financial Fair Play proposals
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Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend | Barry Glendenning and Jacob Steinberg
Nigel Adkins comes face to face with Mauricio Pochettino, Paolo Di Canio can finally let the football do the talking and Harry Redknapp on why QPR don’t need a miracle
Is another Carlos Tevez sulk on the way?
The Argentinian has already demonstrated occasional reluctance to gad about in a high-vis bib since joining Manchester City, famously declining to warm up when instructed to do so by Roberto Mancini during last season’s Champions League. It will be intriguing to see his on-field reaction to the news that he’ll have to do it for a whopping 250 hours as punishment for repeated motoring offences. His sentence is just shy of 36 seven-hour working days and he is unlikely to have put much of a dent in it come season’s end. Despite being spared jail, he wouldn’t be human if he didn’t feel hard done by, so it will be intriguing to find out if another epic sulk ensues. Barry Glendenning
Adkins v Pochettino
Will Nigel Adkins and Mauricio Pochettino shake hands? Will they? Forget the relegation battle, this will surely be the most fascinating subplot when Reading welcome Southampton to the Madejski Stadium and one that deserves full media coverage and then we can all get on with the irritating and irrelevant sideshow that is the football. With home wins over Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City under his belt, Pochettino certainly appears to have settled well despite the curious chain of events which saw Southampton replace Adkins with the former Espanyol manager in January. Southampton are surely safe now, although they are still waiting for their first away win under Pochettino after four unsuccessful attempts. They’re unlikely to get a better opportunity than against Reading, who are spirited but limited and on their way down. Replacing Brian McDermott with Adkins, an apparent like-for-like swap, was a pointless move but at least it’s added a bit of extra spice to this fixture. Jacob Steinberg
Di Canio: now for the football
Quite apart from seeing if any Sunderland supporters are dumb enough to greet Paolo Di Canio with a fascist salute, a plan mooted by one trolling numpty on a Mackem fan forum, it will be genuinely intriguing to see what kind of team the Italian sends out at the end of an eventful week in which his surprise appointment caused enough of a sporting stir to prompt even proper journalists to muddy their spats in the murky Premier League puddle. Decent Sunderland performances have been few and far between this season but one of their better ones came in the corresponding fixture against Chelsea at the Stadium of Light, where the hulking enigma that is Connor Wickham had one of the games of his career but silly individual errors from Seb Larsson and Phil Bardsley cost them dearly. Considering both his political leanings and the fact that the stunningly mediocre crossing side he’s inherited seems too slow, ponderous and unimaginative to play any other way, Di Canio will almost certainly focus on the right wing, where Di Canio’s predecessor, Martin O’Neill, seemed incapable of deciding whether Adam Johnson or Stéphane Sessègnon was his go-to guy.
The out-of-sorts Johnson had the gig originally, with the similarly underperforming Sessègnon operating in the hole behind an out-and-out striker, before O’Neill moved Sessègnon wide for a run of seven games that gleaned one win. Helping these players – one or both – rediscover their mojo will be crucial if Di Canio is to keep Sunderland in the Premier League. With a rejuvenated Johnson on the right and James McClean on the left providing ammo for Danny Graham or Wickham and Sessègnon, it’s not inconceivable that Sunderland could begin to resemble the vaguely functional and entertaining football team that marked the early days of O’Neill’s tenure. In the event of such a turnaround, it is a shame the members of the Durham Miners’ Association will not be able to revel in the success. BG
Tottenham must cope with the fatigue this time
Sometimes it is possible to get too carried away when a big team loses a couple of matches. After all, someone has to lose. Football teams will lose football matches. However, if Tottenham could point to bad luck when they were beaten by Liverpool, then the defeat by Fulham at White Hart Lane was infinitely more worrying. Suddenly talk of a typical Tottenham collapse began and André Villas-Boas was having to bat away questions about whether they were feeling the pressure. It didn’t matter what Villas-Boas had to say, though; winning at Swansea was the perfect riposte. However, Tottenham’s task is about to get more difficult. Gareth Bale’s injury against Basel is a worry, especially as Everton are awkward enough opponents at the best of times and even more so three days after a Europa League quarter-final. Villas-Boas intends to win the Europa League and finish in the top four – and quite right, too – so there are likely to be some heavy legs in the Tottenham side. They must ignore the pain and hope that Bale can do the same. JS
Arsenal can turn up the heat
There’s no point grumbling now about whether Arsène Wenger has got his priorities right. Yes, it’s another trophyless season but for Arsenal the immediate future is all about securing their place in the top four and, if they win at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday afternoon, they will move a point above Chelsea, who do not play until Sunday. It is easy to scoff about Wenger’s repeated claims about his team’s mental strength but maybe they do have a bit more about them than they are given credit for. Although they are capable of getting themselves into a rare old stink, it has never been beyond them to hit form at just the right time. With no cup competitions to worry about and a relatively favourable run-in, talk of a crisis may have to be put on hold again. Try to ignore the sense of déjà-vu, though. JS
Harry knows what a miracle is … whatever
Having helpfully provided the distinction between a miracle and steering this QPR side to victory in four matches out of their next seven by pointing out that “miracles are if you’re a cripple and I touch you and cure you; that’s a miracle … or if I turn a loaf of bread into whatever”, Harry Redknapp must continue with his ongoing attempts to turn his overpaid, under-performing rabble into “whatever” for a match that is must-win for his team but where a point will do in-form Wigan Athletic quite nicely. The Latics are decent when it comes to protecting a lead and, with the hard-working Ivorian striker Arouna Koné having scored in their past two games, the first goal in this contest could be crucial. A reprise of the slapstick defending that cost QPR all three points against Fulham on Monday night could force Harry down the supermarket aisle to fondle sliced-pans, in the hope he can transform them into much needed Premier League points. BG
Norwich hope Swansea will be on their sun loungers
Norwich will not get any easier chances to secure three points in their bid for Premier League safety than this. Actually, scrap that. They have Reading at home in two games’ time. The players of Swansea City, having guaranteed their own Premier League status for next season and won the League Cup at Wembley, appear to have downed tools and flaked out on their metaphorical sun loungers, which ought to be a heartwarming state of affairs for hosts who have won only one of the 14 Premier League matches they have played in 2013, scoring a paltry five goals in the process.
“All the players have to look in the mirror and be honest with themselves, and ask, ‘Have I really done everything I can to make this season end well’?” said the Swansea City goalkeeper Michel Vorm this week, before absolving himself from any blame for the entirely understandable fug of lethargy hanging over the Liberty Stadium. But then, when Vorm looks in the mirror, he doesn’t just see a strapping and handsome Dutchman, but also a player who didn’t play a single minute of his side’s heroic Capital One Cup odyssey. Norwich City fans will be hoping Vorm’s team-mates who did play at Wembley will greet his clarion call with nothing more energetic than rolled eyes, weary sighs and shoulder-shrugs. BG
The hubris of Pardew
Alan Pardew is a naturally confident man. That was the beard of a confident man and here’s what he had to say about Newcastle’s battle against relegation after his side’s win over Stoke on 10 March. “That’s done, we won’t worry about that now,” he said, swinging his feet on the table and eyeballing fate. And, sure enough, two defeats later and Newcastle find themselves three points above the bottom three. It’s a good job Pardew’s not worried. Anyone else would be. He’d better hope they beat Fulham. JS
A last chance for Cole?
After two excellent goals against West Brom last week, Andy Carroll will have to sit out West Ham’s trip to Liverpool under the terms of his loan move. That means Sam Allardyce will have to turn to one of his back-up strikers, with Carlton Cole presumably the favourite to get the nod ahead of Marouane Chamakh, the on-loan Arsenal striker who has managed two starts, one substitute appearance and no goals during his brief spell at Upton Park. You can bet he’ll be welcomed back with open arms by Arsenal in May. For Cole, though, Sunday’s game might represent a last chance for him to impress Allardyce. Whenever Carroll has been fit he has been preferred to Cole, who has scored twice this season and the 29-year-old’s contract is up in the summer. JS
Pulis addresses mutiny at Britannia
With large swaths of the Britannia faithful having turned on Tony Pulis, the manager has felt compelled to address the mutiny. “What they think of me doesn’t matter now; it’s what they think of their team that counts,” he said, although it is difficult to imagine that being subjected to abuse in the Premier League’s loudest bear-pit is not hurtful for the man who did so much to establish the Potters as a Premier League force. Playing unattractive football is all well and good if the results are satisfactory, but playing in a style many consider Neanderthal and failing to score in five out of seven Premier League matches is bound to provoke unrest among the ticket-buying natives.
Villa are desperate for points and have a difficult run-in, so will fancy their chances of getting all three against a jittery Stoke side but, as Michael Cox from Zonal Marking pointed out in the Football Weekly … Extra podcast, they remain rubbish at defending the Stoke speciality of set pieces. His suggestion of Robert Huth to score first, likely to be priced at around 20-1, could represent better value than any number of nags running in the Grand National at the same time. BG
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