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Saturday 25 August 2012

Jarvis jives down to Upton Park!

After three failed bids in an attempt to lure the winger away from Molinuex, Matt Jarvis has finally completed his transfer to West Ham for £7m, with a further £3m being paid in instalments.

There have been questions surrounding the Englishman's future ever since Wolves' relegation from the Premier League in May. But despite Ståle Solbakken's desperate attempts to keep one of their most highly rated players, he will now join up with Sam Allardyce's new boys after passing a medical and agreeing personal terms today.

 Jarvis becomes the seventh major signing to join the east London based club this summer, following the acquisitions of such players as Alou Diarra, James Collins and Modibo Maiga. He will be competing with Matt Taylor for a place on the left wing in the starting line-up.  

The former Gillingham player, who has one international cap to his name, played in the disappointing 3-0 defeat to Swansea today, but manage to show glimpses of talent throughout - hopefully a sign of what is to come!

Saturday 18 August 2012

2012/2013 - The Relegation Scrap!


Now that the Premier League is now more competitive than ever before, predicting the candidates for relegations is no easy task. The three teams promoted from the Championship have a certain unpredictability factor, and this was evident last season when Swansea and Norwich finished in very respectable mid-table positions. The teams that struggled last campaign have been dipping into the transfer market to attempt to ensure that they do not fight in the relegation battle again. Alas, three teams will certainly be resigned to the English football second tier come the end of the season.

West Ham:
Despite several new editions to Sam Allardyce's side, the Hammers have been fairly inconsistent during pre-season as they attempt to find their strongest squad. They have won only twice during the ten games in July and early August, but have been somewhat handicapped by only playing fixtures away from home. Last season, they dominated the Championship's top two for the majority of the season, until a run of five consecutive draws in March saw them drop out of the automatic promotion positions. Having won the Play-Off final in scrappy circumstances, Allardyce will be on a mission to prove that his team can cope with England's elite, and also play exciting football in the process (he has been criticised by his own fans for his tactical style)
Prediction - SURVIVAL

Reading:
Reading shocked everyone in the nPower Championship to win the league last season, winning 15 of their last 18 games which lifted them from mid-table all the way up into pole position. Since their promotion, they have managed to secure some decent signings, including Fulham's scoring sensation of last year Pavel Pogrebnyak, aswell as the versatile former Newcastle midfielder Danny Guthrie (both of them on a free transfer). However, football fans around the country may question what Reading will turn up in the Premier League. Will it be the one we witnessed during the first half of last season, who looked more like Championship relegation contenders than champions? Or will it be the resurgent Royals who dominated the league since March?
Prediction - RELEGATION (19th)

Southampton:
The Saints have changed drastically as a team since they last graced the Premier League during 2004/2005 season. Since then, they have hit rock bottom by slipping miserably into English football's third tier, but thanks to manager Nigel Adkins, they have changed their fortunes around dramatically. Adkins has managed to build a squad that was capable of successive promotions in 2011 and 2012, and has strengthened the core of the side along the way. With menacing forwards such as Jay Rodriguez, Adam Lallana and Billy Sharp (all of whom blitzed Championship defences last season), they will certainly put up a fight to stay in the top division. Star player Rickie Lambert will be pivotal to the Saint's season as he looks to match last seasons goal tally of 25 while also weighing in with crucial assists.
Prediction - SURVIVAL

Wigan:
It would be fair to say that the Latics had a considerably poor 2011/2012 season, and only a late burst in form saw them escape from the Premier League's trap door when they won four of their last five games. With Roberto Martinez at the helm, Wigan have a strong and experienced manager that will help guide them through the season, but the manager hasn't appeared to made any major additions to the Greater Manchester based side. With Hugo Rodallega moving to Fulham and Victor Moses looking certain to depart the club, the pressure will be on Franco Di Santo to provide the goals (unless a striker is acquired in the near future).
Prediction - RELEGATION (20th)

Norwich:
Despite finishing in 12th place last season, Norwich will be wary of the second season syndrome myth which has plagued many promoted clubs over the years. With manager Paul Lambert departing the club for Premier League rivals Aston Villa after the end of last season, the pre-season schedule would have been somewhat disrupted and major new signings have been at a minimum. Last season, the Canaries had the joint fourth worst defensive record in the league, conceding 66 goals (only the teams relegated that season conceded more). For Norwich to not be involved in the relegation scrap, they must tighten the defence and hope that Grant Holt can continue his sublime scoring form of last season. Without these factors swinging in their favour, it could be a nervy season for City fans...
Prediction - RELEGATION (18th)

Sunday 5 August 2012

Who will be the fastest man in the world?


After four years of training for these phenomenally fast athletes, their status in the Olympic history books now depends on a fiercely competed 10 second run. It is the most highly anticipated event at the Olympic Games this year. It is the 100m!

The line up for tonight's final (scheduled for around 9:50) goes as follows...

2 - Richard Thompson
3 - Asafa Powell
4 - Tyson Gay
5 - Yohan Blake
6 - Justin Gatlin
7 - Usain Bolt
8 - Ryan Bailey
9 - Churandy Martina

The surprising inclusion in this race is the flying Dutchman Churandy Martina, who had to record a personal best in order to beat Asafa Powell to have an automatic qualifying position. He is the only European to have reached the final, which is dominated by Caribbeans and Americans.

Most of the attention will be placed on Usain Bolt, for obvious reasons. The Jamaican sprinter literally jogged his way to the final, recording some fairly decent times on the way. Despite the 100m not being regarded as Bolt's strongest event, he is definitely the one to watch in this race. He starts in lane 7.

His closest competitors are Yohan Blake and Justin Gatlin, who run side by side in lanes 6 and 7 respectively. Blake is currently the fastest man in the world this year. He has recorded a season's best of 9.75, outpacing his fellow world-record holding countryman by 0.01 seconds. He has beaten Bolt consistently, over 100m and 200m, ever since the World Championships in Daegu from which Usain was disqualified from for a false start.

Despite Gatlin surpassing the peak of his career (now aged 30) he is still has a very good chance of claiming gold at London 2012. He has regularly posted times faster than the 10 second mark this year, including the 9.80 seconds recorded at the US Olympic trials last month. Moreover, he goes into the final knowning that he was the fastest sprinter throughout the semi-final heats, which will provide him with great confidence as he attempts to upset the highly-favoured Jamaicans.

There is also an outside chance for Tyson Gay, who has the second fastest personal best in this race (only  beaten by Usain Bolt). Another runner who is in the latter stages of his career at the age of 29, he faced a difficult year in 2011 that was plagued with injury, but luckily he has returned to form for these Olympics. Posting a respectable time of 9.90 seconds during the semi final, he will be wary of the threat from Yohan Blake, who won the sprint ahead of him by 0.05 seconds. Being one of three runners in this final who have defeated Bolt throughout his career in the 100m, Gay will be secretly confident that he can do well in the race.

BEETEESPORTS PREDICTS:
1st - Usain Bolt
2nd - Yohan Blake
3rd - Justin Gatlin