jose mourinho

it looks like jose will soon be captaining england.
it will be the pinnacle of his career if he proves his mettle at the international level.
i dont know whether he was a player,but he is a superstar unlike any other.

surprise

dd sprung a pleasant surprise by showing a champions league match.
there is no espn in chennai,without a set top box.
chelsea vs schalke was telecast.
i spotted wayne bridge playing for chelsea,i did not know he had come back to the playing eleven.
i think he came to chelsea from southampton.
injuries seem to have plagued him,like woodgate also.
the psychological pressure of getting a long layoff more than once will be the toughest test to overcome for a professional footballer.
michael owen has come back,but is taking time to come into the headlines.

churchill brothers are durand cup champions

the 120th durand cup was lifted by churchill brothers beating mahindra united in the final.
bayern munich were held to a 2-2 draw at munich by bolton,bolton s draw is a rare result for english teams abroad,other than the top three.
middlesbrough too had a good run of results in europe last year.
predictions for the weekend matches are:
derby v whu :1-2
liv v ful :1-0
sun v new :1-1
bir v av :1-1
bol v mid :1-2
che v eve :1-1
mu v bla :0-1
por v mc :1-1
tot v wig :2-1
rea v ars :1-2


lawros predictions are here.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/7076588.stm

RAUL

raul is back in form.
i saw him score in a champions league match and yesterday he slotted in a cool one against valencia.
he rubbed it in against valemcia in a champions league final scoring the third in a 3-0 in 2001,i think.
its amazing that hes been only with real,a gifted class act.
ive always expected spain to do well in the world cup but theyve always ended up a damp squib.
i think raul had problems under a coach a year or two back but he seems to be back to prime.

india vs lebanon

we need to beat lebanon 3-0 today to enter the next round of qualifying for the 2010 world cup.we lost 1-4 in the first leg which was away.
the weather in chennai doesnt look promising.
the bpl resumes after a break last week.
my gut predictions are,
bir v wigan: 1-2
chelsea v mc: 1-0
manu v mid:3-1
por v westham:1-1
reading v newcastle:2-1
sunderland v fulham:1-1
bol v astonvilla:1-2
derby v everton:1-1
liv v ars:1-2
tot v blackburn:1-2.

lawro predicts:
bir v wig:2-0
che v mc:2-0
mu v mid:3-0
rea v new:2-1
sun v ful :2-0
por v whu:2-1
bol v av:1-2
der v eve:2-2
tot v bla:2-1
liv v ars:1-1.

it would be great if liverpool beat arsenal,though.

east bengal

kingfisher east bengal won the 29th federation cup beating mahindra united 2-1 with both goals being scored by edmilson.

this weekends bpl matches feature a big one between mu and chelsea.
the exit of mourinho might have some unsettling effect at chelsea.if mu win 3-0 ,it ll be crisis at chelsea.
the other interesting matches are
fulham vs mc,mc might want to play safe,0-0 .

blackburn vs portsmouth,should be a good match,1-2.

bolton vs tottenham,1-2.

aston villa vs everton,also might be 1-2.though i think villa are strong and they are my favourite team.

reading vs wigan,another 1-2.

what does lawro say?

blackburn and reading win ,draws at craven cottage,villa park with 0-0 at old trafford.

FEDERATION CUP FINAL

east bengal and mahindra united go for the cup today.
in the epl,tottenham v arsenal and chelsea v blackburn are the pick alongwith everton v man u.
all three are tough to predict and might end in draws.
i like blackburns toughness in defence and overall game under mark hughes.
they should be able to make it an interesting match.
everton v man u is probably 1-1.can everton outplay man u.
tottenham v arsenal might be 2-1 or 3-2 with any team capable of winning.