The Football Addick

With the Barclays Premier League season reaching its climax, it seems as if the race for the title has been whittled down to only 2 teams. Both from Manchester and both have an un-deniable hatred for each other. With their intense rivalry undoubtedly spurring them on, both Manchester United and Manchester City are endeavouring for the same prize: the Barclays Premier League trophy. But there can only be one winner, who will it be?  Aguero (left) and Silva (right) have provided attacking flair that has been key in a successful season for City Firstly, it's good to see an extremely tight and exciting title race this season. With United currently sitting on 73 points from 30 games, and City just 3 points behind on 70 points from 30 games, the title is going down to the wire. City have gone through a recent blip in form, with their struggles on the road hindering their surge for the title. This blip has allowed United to creep up on them, allowing them to take initiative a...

Words can't describe how I feel right now. An emotional wreck comes close, but it's a lot more serious than that. Hearing the news of Fabrice Muamba collapsing and ultimately fighting for his life at this very moment is soul destroying for not only anyone in the football world, but everyone outside of it as well. It really puts into perspective how unimportant football is in times like this. It's truly a sad, sad day which will most probably affect all the football fans not just in the country, but also from all round the world. Seeing him down like that motionless, attempting to be resuscitated by the clearly desperate paramedics is both frightening and shocking to see. The looks on everyone's faces also said it all, with Rafael Van der Vaart's reaction as well as Jermaine Defoe's tears clarifying that a major incident has occurred. Muamba just before the tragic incident Although I wasn't old enough at the time to remember, but from YouTube videos I ha...

Going into the game, I thought that there was no hope for Chelsea. I believed that they may just scrape through on the night, but I thought their defensive woes would come back to haunt them. But after the game, I was truly gobsmacked. In other words, both my admiration and pride of being English rose on this tie, with Chelsea's determination and never say die attitude being admirable. With all the troubles they've had this season, and all the failures that have come with it, it was only right to think that an underperforming Chelsea side would crash out of the Champions League in the first knock out stages. But they were able to defy the odds and through the influence of key figures John Terry and Didier Drogba, were able to turn over a clearly shell shocked Napoli side and advance into the last 8 of the Champions League. Drogba in particular put in an inspired performance My pessimistic views before the game were confirmed by Chelsea's lacklustre start, clearly succ...

Gerrard has had his doubters over the years, but I'm sure that even his critics stood up and applauded his performance last night. He was absolutely superb. Gerrard was the driving force behind all that was good about Liverpool on a memorable night at Anfield, where the loyal kopites witnessed a famous 3-0 demolishment over their local rivals Everton. Liverpool have undergone a turbulent season, which has led to the discontent displayed from the Liverpool faithful who have voiced their concerns over the overall quality and form of the team. Nevertheless, securing the double over their rivals from just across Stanley park have no doubt been a saving grace for them this season, with captain fantastic Steven Gerrard putting in an immaculate performance to ensure a memorable night at Anfield. Gerrard celebrating his hat trick You probably would think I was exaggerating, but Gerrard by himself solely won the game for Liverpool last night. Along with scoring all 3 goals last night...

 Andre Villas Boas feels the pressure prior to his sacking  Goodbye Andre Villas Boas. You shall not be missed. With all the hype surrounding his appointment back in the summer, with Chelsea supposedly going to win the Premier League under his guidance, it seems quite comical that he left only 8 months after being put in charge. It's fair to say he didn’t live up to expectations, but actually, I feel quite sorry for him. He's a young man, only 34, and arrived with a massive reputation after winning the quadruple with Porto and boasting an incredible 87% win percentage along with an unbeaten run as Porto manager. But as soon as he came to Chelsea , he just didn't look comfortable. This unease was quickly followed up by rapid media involvement and fans that were quickly losing patience, and soon as we knew it: he was gone. So where did it all go wrong for him?  Well right from the off he was in trouble. He inherited an ageing team, who had seen and done all before but...

With all the problems surrounding English football at the time, England had a tricky fixture against the 3rd best national team in the world. With Robin Van Persie, Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben featuring in a star studded line-up, England seemed to have their work cut out for them. This was also Stuart Pearce's first game in charge as caretaker manager, and there was no doubt he wanted to make an impression right from the off. The whole of England was undoubtedly anxious whether their country can hold their own against arguably the best attacking nation in the world, and Stuart Pearce's young line up made them all the more nervous. There was a lot of encouragement in Pearce's line-up, with a young positive vibe replacing the over-rated egos of the past. Hart started in goal, behind a back 4 of Richards, Smalling, Cahill and Baines. This was followed by a 5 of Johnson, Parker, Gerrard, Milner and Young behind a lonesome Welbeck up front. Although there were positives ...

A lot of talk has surrounded the England captaincy in recent weeks after the removal of past skipper John Terry. With Stuart Pearce taking over for the game against Holland , a captain had to picked; and fast. The candidates had been outlined, with Steven Gerrard leading a small list compiling of Joe Hart, Scott Parker and James Milner. He initially delayed his decision, but after revealing who was to captain England only hours before Kick off, I was absolutely gobsmacked. Scott Parker!? In my opinion, Stuart Pearce has lost his mind. He didn't even explain his decision to the public!  All he had to do was stay out of controversy and go with the majority of the public, but he did just the opposite! Steven Gerrard, who was in my opinion, the only man for the job How could he overlook Steven Gerrard? After making his debut against Ukraine in 2000, Steven had looked at home in an England shirt, performing consistency and to a high standard. 12 years and 90 caps later, Steven...

Breathtaking. The only word that summarises the events witnessed at the Emirates Stadium. A game in which was so decisive in shaping both teams season, with a win in the North London derby holding so much significance that it could give the winners the boost they need to look eagerly up the table rather than nervously down. For Arsenal, the game was particularly vital, with the only thing that could salvage a trouble filled season was beat their rivals and finish in the top 4. In juxtaposition, Spurs had had a terrific season, enjoying a fine run under Harry Redknapp who with a win could find themselves within touching distance of the top 2 Manchester clubs. Therefore, the game was of equal importance to both clubs - which ensured the game was bound to be a thriller. Controversy surrounds Gareth Bale's dive The game kicked off full of expectation from both sides. Although Tottenham went into the game favourites, you can never write off Arsenal, especially with the genius that...