To The 92

Sunday 28 April 2013

Updated ground guide links...

Saturday 27 April 2013

Wednesday 17 April 2013

Monday 13 August 2012

New site updates

As the new season gets within touching distance, i've now completed the ground guide updates on www.tothe92.co.uk

Check out the new guides to:

York City - www.tothe92.co.uk/groundguide/yorkcity.html
Fleetwood Town - www.tothe92.co.uk/groundguide/fleetwood.html
and Rotherham United - www.tothe92.co.uk/groundguide/rotherham.html

Tuesday 9 August 2011

Premier League thoughts and predictions

Manchester United got off to the ideal start by overturning a 2-0 defecit against arch rivals Man City in the Community Shield at the weekend and I expect those two to contest the fight for the Premier League title along with Chelsea.

United will start the season as favourites. The signings of David De Gea, Phil Jones and Ashley Young are all typical Ferguson style signings. Proven but still very young. Ideal really considering the likes of Van Der Saar, Scholes & Neville have retired, Giggs is in what will surely be his last season and Rio Ferdinand is rather prone to injuries at the moment. Ashley Young for £16m is going to go from strength to strength I believe. Along with Rooney, Hernandez and Nani along with the possible signing of Wesley Sneijder, you have to believe that they will be a force to be reckoned with.

Arsenal are set to be the seasons big fallers. The imminent loss of Cesc Fabregas will hurt and Nasri could well be on his way as well. If Tottenham hold onto Modric and Liverpool manage to produce some of the form they found under Dalgleish in the 2nd half of last season, the Gunners could fins themselves as low as 6th come May. Even the most loyal fans are starting the think time may just be up for Arsene Wenger.

It'll be interesting to see how QPR, Swansea and Norwich fair after promotion. I expect Wigan to struggle after the loss of a couple of key players and if Mr Ecclestone dips into his pocket throughout August or January, I dont see Rangers going down.

Predictions -

Winner - Manchester United
Runners Up - Chelsea
Champions League - Manchester City
Champions League - Liverpool
Relegation - Wigan Athletic
Relegation - West Bromwich Albion
Relegation - Norwich City

Thursday 4 August 2011

Championship Thoughts and Predictions

Every season this division seems to get stronger. No fewer than 18 of the 24 have competed in the Premier League since its inception in 1992. Quite an impressive figure considering many of the same teams appear to yo-yo between the two. Considering it's the second tier of the English game, the stadia is impressive enough to grace the top flight of any league around the world. The likes of the newly named King Power Stadium, Leicester, Elland Road, Leeds and St Mary's Stadium, Southampton amongst the most eye catching but not forgetting the Riverside, Pride Park, Madejski, KC Stadium, City Ground, The Boleyn or the brand spanking new American Express Stadium!

The Amex Stadium is extremely impressive. It's the much awaited and much needed new home of Brighton & Hove Albion. Having won promotion last season blitzing through some very talented League One opposition in the process you have to look at them as the potential dark horses. A few new players, a very passionate and keen manager in Gus Poyet and a 12th man (namely the fans) should help see them into a top half finish and possibly a play off berth.

Southampton, another newcomer, will be in contention come May. For similar reasons to Brighton. They have a very strong team and a prolific goalscorer in Rickie Lambert. They also ran Manchester United close in the cup last year. And not an understrength United either.

Of the teams that came down from the Prem, both Birmingham and West Ham have enough quality to take the two automatic spots for me. West Ham may have lost a few players and will almost certainly say a fond farewell to the current Footballer of the Year, Scott Parker before the August deadline, but the arrival of Kevin Nolan with numb the pain and help the loss of any goals throughout the team. Birmingham have earnt a fair amount of money from players exiting St Andrews and have bought shrewdly in my opinion with very little money leaving the wallet of the much criticised chairman.

Leicester City will threaten again this campaign. They started coming good under the guidance of Sven Goran Eriksson last season and with the new stadium sponsorship deal together with the arrival of Gelson Fernandes, John Pantsil, Paul Konchesky, Dave Nugent and Michael Johnson on a year long loan from Manchester City, you have to expect them to be a very tough team to beat. A play off spot is almost a guarantee with a real push to challenge the top two expected.

The loss of Charlie Adam will hurt Blackpool and that for me will be the main reason why they wont challenge for a play off place this time out. However, I do expect the likes of Nottingham Forest, Millwall, Leeds United, Cardiff and Reading to be in the tope half and there could be a minimal amount of points seperating a lot of teams come May. Every point will be vital this season for all promotion chasing sides.

Predictions -

Winner - West Ham United
Runners Up - Birmingham City
Play Offs - Leicester City
Play Offs - Reading
Play Offs - Cardiff City
Play Offs - Southampton
Relegation - Doncaster
Relegation - Barnsley
Relegation - Peterborough

Wednesday 3 August 2011

League One Thoughts and Predictions

A division full of potential promotion contenders for all kinds of reasons also finds itself pegged as the division of over and under achievers. Very few of the 24 strong line up are content at this level. All clubs have ambition, fans have even higher ambitions but most people involved with a team in League One have a realistic expectation and they tend to know the level that their club belongs at. Only 3 or 4 clubs would fit into the 3rd tier bracket when looking at the teams involved. But as a result we could easily see a number of surprises again once 46 games have been played and the dusts settled.

One of last seasons over achievers was Rochdale. A compact ground with a small but loyal fan base helped propel the side into a top 10 finish in what was the clubs first appearance in any division other than the Fourth tier of the English game. Unfortunately, with no strong signings of note and very little money around the club they could well find themselves standing over a trap door in 9 months time.

Looking at teams expected to challenge for the title, there isn't a stand out favourite.

Sheffield United and Preston North End will be up there. That's for sure. Both have large average attendances along with tremendous facilities. The playing squads haven't depleted in the way that most do following relegation and as a result they should have enough quality to challenge for the two automatic places. Huddersfield have been going from strength to strength but I expect them to miss out on the automatics again this season, instead settling for a play off berth. The same goes for MK Dons.

Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton Athletic are always tipped to be up toward the top but there's a worrying decline running throughout those two clubs and I really hope they both manage to turn things around soon. Both have tremendous stadiums and Sheffield Wednesday still have one of the largest fan bases in the UK. An amazing stat considering they've been absent from the Premier League for more that 10 years now.

Chesterfield are one of the new boys and moving very much in the right direction. The new B2Net stadium has given them a home to be proud of and obviously given the players a real boost. Attendances rose last season by 76% on the previous campaign. The highest marked rise of any team in England by more than 200%. Having visited recently and seen the facilities throughout the stadium up close and personal, I have to say, it's a good place to be right now. A team to watch.

The home of the £100 season ticket! That's right £100 for 23 home league games. Just over £4 per game! This unbelievable offer from Hartlepool United was snapped up within days. If you want to go and watch them this season you'll need to be prepared to stand as every seat is now sold out. A fantastic idea and one that will boost them from relegation candidates to mid-table hopefuls in my opinion.

Predictions:

Winner - Sheffield United
Runners Up - Preston North End
Play Offs - Huddersfield Town
Play Offs - MK Dons
Play Offs - Charlton Athletic
Play Offs - Chesterfield
Relegation - Rochdale
Relegation - Walsall
Relegation - Stevenage
Relegation - Leyton Orient

Sunday 28 April 2013

Updated ground guide links...

Saturday 27 April 2013

Further ground guide links

Wednesday 17 April 2013

Ground Guide Links

Monday 13 August 2012

New site updates

Tuesday 9 August 2011

Premier League thoughts and predictions

Thursday 4 August 2011

Championship Thoughts and Predictions

Wednesday 3 August 2011

League One Thoughts and Predictions

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