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Barclays Premiership Christmas matches December 2009

Always a great period for drammatic football action, I'm sure that this Christmas will not dissapoint for some superb Premier League matches. What a busy time this will be for Roberto Mancini - fully expected to beat Stoke at home on Boxing Day as well as Wolves away on Monday 28th as well as sign some galacticos for his new club. In sixth, they will be trying to leap frog over Villa and Spurs to go into fourth and for me this is the area of real excitement this Christmas in the Premier League. There is the small matter of Liverpool's disastrous beginning to their 2009/2010 Premiership campaign. Benitez says that he'll get the Reds into the top four - as does Mancini - there's not enough room for them all and with Villa and Spurs doing so well we are in for a great fight for 3rd/4th.

At the top, Ancelotti's Chelsea have a tough game against in form Fulham who beat Manchester United 3-0 on the weekend. Man Utd have a home match against Wigan which you would imagine them to win, Fergie will be tough on the squad going into this so I think wigan will feel the full Old Trafford factor on the 30th. I can't see past Chelsea this year for the Premier League title. Despite missing the chance to go 6 points clear of Manchester United when the drew at Upton Park against West Ham United, they still look physically and mentally strong enough to go the whole way.

So then at the foot of the table, Portsmouth have a potentially tough Christmas, with a relegation scrap away at West Ham on Boxing Day and entertain Arsenal on the 30th. Avram Grant will be concentrating on the West Ham match as a base point to clawing Pompey out of the bottom 3.

I must say that I am surprised to see Bolton struggling in the bottom 3. Gary Megson's boys were pretty strong last season after their boss dealt well with the pressure on his shoulders. Having just beaten West Ham they would have been dissapointed that their match was postponed last night due to a frozen pitch at the JJB Stadium. THey have to continue scrapping - they face Burnley and Hull in the Christmas period so their target has to be to take 6 points. Phil Brown's Hull City seem really galvanised in their plight to remain in the Premier League - in a way playing Man Utd at this time is good (27/12/2009) because they have nothing to lose other than really taking the game to the reigning champions as they did at the end of last season when they narrowly lost 0-1 in May 2009.

Spurs have a tough Christmas - Harry Redknapp has blocked any players Christmas party and the lily whites have 2 away fixtures - both London derbies. They play Fulham away on Boxing Day which will be an interesting match and then have East London strugglers West Ham United on the 28th December.


Here are the fixtures:

Saturday, 26 December 2009
Birmingham v Chelsea, St Andrew's, 12.45pm
Burnley v Bolton, Turfmoor 2pm
Fulham v Tottenham, Craven Cottage 1pm
Liverpool v Wolverhampton, Anfield 5.30pm
Man City v Stoke, Eastlands, 3pm
Sunderland v Everton, Stadium of Light 3pm
West Ham v Portsmouth, Upton Park 1pm
Wigan v Blackburn, JJB Athletic 3pm

Sunday, 27 December 2009
Arsenal v Aston Villa, Emirates 1.30pm
Hull v Man Utd, KC Stadium 4pm

Monday, 28 December 2009
Blackburn v Sunderland, Ewood Park, 3pm
Chelsea v Fulham, Stamford Bridge, 3pm
Everton v Burnley, Goodison Park, 3pm
Stoke v Birmingham, Britannia Stadium 3pm
Tottenham v West Ham, White Hart Lane, 12.45pm
Wolverhampton v Man City, Molineaux, 7.45pm

Tuesday, 29 December 2009
Aston Villa v Liverpool, Villa Park, 7,45pm
Bolton v Hull, Reebok Stadium, 8pm

Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Man Utd v Wigan, Old Trafford, 8pm
Portsmouth v Arsenal, Fratton Park, 7.45pm

Bookmakers had stopped taking bets on it. The press talked about his 'last day in charge'. After their 4-3 victory over Sunderland, it was confirmed that Mark Hughes was dismissed as Manchester City manager. The statement exaplained that 2 winds from 11 matches wasn't acceptable. Obviously you need a return on investment when you spend £207 million on players but The replacement I found a bit surprising - Roberto Mancini. Potentially a great coach - but is this really a step forward for Manchester City? Certainly there was a feeling that some of the new players didn't feel comfortable with the management set up. I agree with the timing of the appointment, if you have infinite funds for players then let the new boss get his players in so that he can be properly assessed. The existing squad he has is great but I'm sure that some of the big names won't be getting their way and will leave within the next couple of transfer windows.

Good luck Roberto!

Stealing an oft-used, Clausewitz-esque, military axiom, its application with coaching is profound. When you reduce it all down, it always comes down to fundamentals and execution. If you are looking for that next step, that competitive advantage for your team this off-season.....pump your brakes when you find yourself getting excited over schemes or philosophies.

Often times in the off-season, through clinics or bowl games, we can be influenced with stimulating Xs and Os and be convinced that those are the 'answers' we need to find to turn the corner.

Undoubtedly, setting players up for success on the field is aided with play-calling and match-ups. However, often times this is such a small, over-valued facade in football that it blinds us from the foundational tenets of successful football.

Here is my pitch, my admonition to you and your off-season staff to evaluate HOW, not WHAT, you will be doing in the Fall. How are you going to account for all situations, how are you going to competently teach your game plan for each opponent, how are you going to build relationships with your players and parents?

This off-season, SKIP the clinics - save your money.

Challenge you and your staff to think differently - make yourself uncomfortable. Instead of clinics or DVD, schedule time to spend quality time with a college or university program.

When you do so, SHUT UP. Listen, absorb, humble yourself and acknowledge what they do to create organized efficiencies. THIS is the logistical modality that you can apply to your program (regardless of what you run) that will improve the condition of your football schedule in 2010.

Enjoy the holidays.

Had a great time last weekend in the Dome for the LHSAA Championships and got a chance to unwind and absorb all that was around me (outside of muffalettas, meat pies, and Hurricanes).

One facet of the game that I gained a greater appreciation for was after getting to hook up with Leesville Head Coach, David Feaster, again. After exchanging pleasantries, we went straight for the low-down, "Coach, what the hell is up with your damn onsides kick!?". Weeks prior, Feaster and his Wampus Cats travelled to our stadium and unleashed a beast of a kickoff package that left us grasping for answers.

Feaster explained that when he arrived on campus he observed his kicker spending countless hours practicing kickoffs. To assess what kind of talent he had on the roster, he asked the kicker if he can kick it in the end zone. The player replied that, "no", he had never been able to get the ball into the end zone......close, but never far enough to garner a touchback. Coach Feaster couldn't see the logic in spending so much time on such a fruitless endeavor, so he had this player begin preparing to kick a focused, directional squip kick for onsides recovery.