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iNickStuff
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Thanks mate, it's also fun to update it because it's so fun to play.
Thanks for following too as well
---------- Post added at 10:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:24 PM ----------
Premier League Opening Day Preview
Almost two weeks away from the opening day of the Premier League where all twenty teams will compete in the top-flight of English football, BBC Sport takes a look at all the fixtures that will commence on August 15th and what clubs' new signings will make their debuts for their new clubs ahead of the 2010-11 season.
Everton vs. Chelsea, Goodison Park
The showdown between Everton and Chelsea at Goodison Park will be the first of both club's fixtures in the new season, as Merseyside gets ready for both Blues to start preparing for the next 38 games running through until May. The return of top stars in both teams' camps will be pivotal in this match as both Tim Cahill and Didier Drogba will be the key players to watch ahead of the match at Everton's home ground. The purchase of Magaye Gueye from Everton's side gives them more options down the left-hand side whilst Russian winger Dinyar Bilayetdinov maylook to other positions to fill in Everton's team. The 19-year-old bought from French Ligue 2 outfit RC Strasbourg for £1.2million earlier in the transfer window, is said to be making his debut against the champions at Goodison Park, alongside Australian star Tim Cahill.
On Chelsea's side, Carlo Ancelotti may well welcome back Didier Drogba and Co. to the side as the Ivorian hitman looks to return to the Premier League following his great form last season for Chelsea, powering them to the Premier League title. Him, alongside French striker Nicolas Anelka, Salomon Kalou and Daniel Sturridge make up Chelsea's main attack with the follow-up of Florent Malouda being converted into an attacking midfielder and the usual partnership of Michael Essien and Frank Lampard in the midfield, mixed with Nigerian defensive midfielder John Obi Mikel makes for a strong centre.
Ancelotti's signings in Claudio Marchisio and Domenico Criscito from Serie A contenders Juventus will strengthen the Blues this season under the former A.C. Milan boss as the young players look to improve their chances of winning silverware and international call-ups from current Italy manager Marcelo Lippi and his quest to bring glory to the Italy national team, following their win of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Rumoured to be making further signings in the poise of Andrea Pirlo or even Giampaolo Pazzini from Italian outfit Sampdoria in what could be a possible partnership upfront with target man Didier Drogba, the mastermind has kept quiet from the English media but it hasn't stopped rumours circulating.
Birmingham City vs. Manchester City, St. Andrews
Birmingham's impressive finish last season with Scotsman Alex McLeish has led to new investment from Asian bussinessman Carson Yeung and his ambitions to make Birmingham City a bigger club for the future, challenging for much bigger trophies than before. The possibilities of European football seem not too off the mark for Birmingham now, as new investment in players, better facilities and the upgrading of youth academies associated with the club now give them a better chance of laying a greater foundation for the future of the club at St. Andrews. Their campaign kicks off with big-spenders Manchester City and their new boss in former Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini. Their investment in Spanish winger David Silva, now-former Barcelona holding midfielder Yaya Toure and German fullback Jerome Boateng are just some of the players that have arrived at the Eastlands. New improvements ahead of their title charge have been made and Arab businessman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak will be expecting good performances in the future from his club, hoping to topple the ever-present giants that are Chelsea and Manchester United.
One of the main talking points in Birmingham's transfers will be the three signings that they made to improve their already-hungry team, especially the purchase of French right winger Karim Ait Fana from Ligue 1 outfit Montpeiler Herault. The youngster, regard as a hot prospect for the future, made his £8million move to the Midlands earlier in the Summer transfer window and is now looking to star in Birmingham's game vs. Man City. Following him into St. Andrews was the purchase of fellow Moroccan fullback Michael Chretien for a similar price from AS Nancy Lorraine. With that came the signing of Argentine left back Emiliano Insua on a six-month loan deal from Merseysiders Liverpool following his shock confession about wanting to move away from Anfield in a bid to find European football and a possible re-unite with Rafael Benitez, who has moved to Italy to manage current Champions League holders Inter Milan.
Manchester City, who have now made over £100million in transfers following the arrival of Mancini on the City scene, will also find this a difficult contest as Birmingham City have been seen as no pushovers. Their replacement of the then-on-loan youth goalkeeper Joe Hart from City, who had an outstanding season between the sticks at Birmingham, now plays against them in the first game of the season, as Irish shot-stopper Shay Given and ex-Arsenal goalkeeper Stuart Taylor make way for the 22-year-old, formerly purchased from Shrewsbury Town in 2006 for a measly £600,000 and following on for a loan spell at Tranmere Rovers. He will be going head-to-head with Ben Foster, who was purchased from Manchester United for £6million to see who will be the better of the shot-stoppers and who can keep the clean sheet.
Blackburn Rovers vs. Stoke City, Ewood Park
Ewood Park will host two clubs who finished around mid-table last season for the third time as Blackburn Rovers host Tony Pulis' strong and determined Stoke City at the Lancashire ground. Sam Allardyce, who has not invested in his Blackburn side so far this season, will look to improve on last season and, with rumours that there may be new investment into the Rovers over the coming months, there may be room for some financial investment too. Rovers, who also allowed Swede fullback Martin Olsson boys Blackpool for the rest of the season, now may look to improve a team capable of making the top half of the table. Nikola Kalinic hasn't made much of an impact since his arrival in the Premier League and, with there not being many other options in Blackburn's arsenal, things look slightly bleak for Rovers.
At the other end, Tony Pulis has invested in Stoke's defence with the purchases of veteraned fullback Jan Kromkamp and young defender Mapou Yanga M'Biwa from Montpelier for £7.5million. Kromkamp, who was transfer-listed at PSV before being brought in by Pulis for £900k, now returns to English football for the first time in three years since his departure from Liverpool in the 2006-07 season. With the two signings comes the arrival of now-former target man Kenwyne Jones from Sunderland, a purchase of which will now improve the strikeforce at the Britannia, following the rumours of a possible transfer away from Stoke in the poise of ex-Reading forward Dave Kitson, possibly to Mark Hughes' Fulham. The main attractions at this match will be ex-Birmingham midfielder David Dunn for Blackburn and Kenywyne Jones of Stoke City.
Blackpool vs. Bolton Wanderers, Bloomfield Road
Blackpool, making their Premier League debut, will be looking to make the best out of their start to the new season in the top-flight with their first game of the season being at home, where the seasiders will host the Trotters, Bolton Wanderers at Bloomfield Road, as Owen Coyle and his new players will be wanting to claim all three points from Blackpool. The Tangerines, who qualified as the third team into the Premier League last season following their defeat of Welsh side Cardiff City in the final of the Playoffs last season, have now risen their status as a possible Premier League team to be established over the next few seasons, if they can survive the drop in their first-ever appearance in the Premier League and their first in the top-flight since the early-1970's.
Ian Holloway, the man who led Blackpool into the Premier League, faces his most difficult task yet, as he looks to mould a team good enough to survive relegation and put a stamp on a future for the club in terms of becoming an established club in the Premier League. Following the loan signing of Martin Olsson from Blackburn Rovers, Julio Arca's season-long loan transfer from Middlesbrough and Keiren Westwood's £3.5million move to Bloomfield Road, the three new signings, alongside ones made earlier, have possibly strengthened Blackpool ahead of the new season, worthy enough to stay in the top flight. And with the whole of Blackpool behind Holloway, could this be Blackpool's season?
Owen Coyle's managerial transfer from Turf Moor to the heights of Reebok stadium came under heavy scrutiny last season, mainly from the claret-and-blue faithful, leading to Burnley's relegation from the top-flight, has now led to his fresh start and new mission to bring better success to the Reebok and surpass Gary Megson in terms of making Bolton a better club. The loan transfers of youngsters Jamie O'Hara and Jack Wilshere from Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur respectively and industrious Malian midfielder Mahamdou Diarra from Real Madrid, Coyle has convinced, for the most part, that the side are capable enough of reaching mid-table this season. Even their signing of South African fullback Tsepo Masilela from Israeli outfit Maccabi Haifa will impress, as his performances at the World Cup were good enough to give Coyle the nod and sign him for £325,000.
Fulham vs. Liverpool, Craven Cottage
Roy Hodgson's return to West London is sure to have a mixed response from the Craven Cottage faithful as his first game of the season with Liverpool is an away trip to his former club, with it being run by ex-Manchester City boss Mark Hughes. Hodgson left Fulham for one of England's most decorated football clubs and save them from what was a pitiful season last year at the hands of Spaniard Rafa Benitez, who left Anfield to manage Champions League holders Inter Milan. Hodgson's transfer deals so far has included the £6.25million purchase of Romanian fullback Razvan Rat from Shakhtar Donetsk to replace wantaway fullback Emiliano Insua, whose six-moth loan to Birmingham City has left Liverpool a bit of a problem in terms of backup on the left-hand side, despite the purchase of promising Scottish defender Danny Wilson from SPL outfit Rangers.
Fernando Torres will be hoping to make up for his abysmal performance at the World Cup for eventual winners Spain with what could be a magical season at the frontline for Liverpool, following his intention to stay at the club, despite their failure to qualify for European football, leaving Tottenham Hotspur to take their place. Captain Marvel Steven Gerrard, who also returns from international duty with England, will be the main man too in Hodgson's team as him and Torres look to re-create a once-fiersome partnership upfront during Benitez's reign. The signing in Serbian forward Milan Jovanovic from Belgian club Standard Liege will also improve chances, as his possible deploy down the left will come as a handy tool should the likes of Ryan Babel and Joe Cole be unavailable to the veteraned boss.
Mark Hughes returns to the Premier League roundtable once again following his sacking at Manchester City, this time with Londoners Fulham. Hughes, who formerly led Blackburn Rovers to a place in the then-UEFA Cup, now has the chance to emulate Hodgson's success at Craven Cottage with a qualification to the Europa League during this season. His signing in Norwegian fullback Vegard Forren from Scandinavian outfit Molde FK worried a few fans of the club but it was reassured that things will improve transfer-wise with the further signing of Leon Osman on a loan transfer from Liverpool's fellow rivals, Everton, after the departure of Kelvin Etuhu to Wolverhampton Wanderers in a part-exchange deal.
Manchester United vs. Wigan Athletic, Old Trafford
United's title campaign will kick off at home as fellow Manchester club Wigan Athletic travels on a not-so-far trip up to the Theatre of Dreams to hope and pray to gain a result from the then-champions. United, who invested in Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez, young winger Bebe and Fulham defender Chris Smalling, added to the list of players with the purchase of Edin Dzeko from VfL Wolfsburg for £26.5million, seeing the Bosnian target man end speculation on his future with a move to the Premier League, more detailed, with Manchester United. Ferguson's intention that his side do not need anymore signings has left fans bewildered but nevertheless believing in their long-serving manager's abilities to topple league holders Chelsea and beat rivals Liverpool's record of 18 league titles.
Wigan Athletic, who invested in 24-year-old Argentine forward Mauro Boselli, will have the benefit of a potent strikeforce, with the likes of Colombian striker Hugo Rodagella, young England winger Victor Moses and former Newcastle star Charles N'Zogbia. Despite having not made any very-recent transfers so far, Roberto Martinez, like Sir Alex, has said he is confident in his team's abilities and it is not down to the financial situation of the club that the club isn't able to challenge in the market for players. But with the likes of Moses, N'Zogbia, Rodagella, Boselli and others available for the Wigan team, they look like they're in with a shout of making a good mid-table, if not top-half finish this season.
Sunderland vs. Aston Villa, Stadium of Light
Sunderland's investment into two new wingers will help improve the wide-play at the Stadium of Light, as the purchases in Ahmed Al-Muhammadi and Urby Emanuelson has given current manager Steve Bruce greater options down both the left and right hand side. Emanuelson and Al-Muhammadi have been known to be able to play in every position down their respective flanks and are capable enough of putting a cross in when needed for players such as Darren Bent, a likeable trait in Bruce's options. Alongside them will be the ability to deploy industrious midfielder Lee Cattermole and 20-year-old Irish midfielder David Meyler to form a hard-tackling midfield. With this, includes two loan signings in the forms of Ghanian centre half John Mensah and Manchester City prospect Nedum Onuoha, whose performances at his temporary club may warrant him a future place in the first team at the Eastlands.
Following the departure of Martin O'Neill from Aston Villa, the appointment of caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald at the helm of the club means that the Villains must now hold for the next five months with the Scotsman in-charge until MacDonald is either sacked or is offered a new contract to stay as permanent boss, should the management upstairs be unable to find a suitable manager to take over. The club's intentions to find an experienced manager to take over has crossed off many managers from the list of which include current U.S.A. national team coach Bob Bradley, means that managers such as Sven Goran Eriksson may be in the running to take over, despite the possibilities of it not going down too well with the Villa Park faithful.
Belgian playmaker Steven Defour's possible transfer to the Midlands has been surfaced by back-and-forth contract negotiations between the club and a rumoured £11million offer was accepted by the Pro League champions, whose star player had expressed his desire to move away to Villa Park. With this has come the rumours of Defour being a replacement for the aging Bulgarian captain that is Stilyan Petrov, who has been recently in the spotlight since having made his future plans public and is soon to step down from football and become a scout, possibly for Aston Villa.
West Ham United vs. West Bromwich Albion, Upton Park
West Ham's £7.25million move for American forward Landon Donovan shook the Premier League in what was probably one of the most unexpected transfers to have been done by, not only Avram Grant, but by David Gold and Sullivan. The co-owners of the club, who funded for the MLS star's transfer to go through and to be a possible replacement for transfer target Carlton Cole, was given the #10 to wear proudly at Upton Park and is a possible starter in the Hammers' first match of the season against yo-yo club West Bromwich Albion. West Brom also took it in their stride to sign Ecuardorian striker Felipe Caicedo on a season-long loan deal from Manchester City that would possibly see him as a star striker at the Hawthorns and the bringer of good forturne to Roberto di Matteo's now-potent attack.
With only one signing between them, these two teams have already shown faith in their team's abilities and the showdown at Upton Park should see the best from both sides, as they do battle in that match and the next thirty-seven games as relegation is on the cards for both sides, should they not be able to comprehend with the demands of the Premier League and the other eighteen teams that are wanting to stay in the top-flight.
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Newcastle United, Molineux
Wolves' near-escape from relegation last season left Mick McCarthy and the Molineux faithful all the more determined to make themselves an established club in the Premier League, and that came with the signing of holding midfielder Kelvin Etuhu from Fulham, who's £3million partial exchange transfer further up north to a club who have had rough times in the past, now looking forward to what should be a successful season. With Stephen Ward gone the other way, McCarthy has held faith in the new signing of Belgian left back Jelle Vandamme to form a strong partnership in the defence of Wolves, alongside the likes of Scottish centre half Christophe Berra, Ronald Zubar and versatile player Karl Henry.
Upon Newcastle's return to the top-flight following their successful season in the Championship where they were able to finish top of the league with quite some comfort, the signings of Jo on loan from Manchester City, the purchase of Yannick Djalo from Portuguese outfit Sporting CP for just under £1million and the free transfer of Dutch playmaker Jonathan de Guzman following his release from Dutch Eredivise contenders Feyenoord, things have looked well for Newcastle and the bolstering of the backline in the signing of veteraned defender Sol Campbell, whose possible partnership in the defence with Argentine centre half Fabricio Coloccini will be a big-hitter with the fans at St. James' Park and the prospect of a good season ahead under the English-born Irish descendant.
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Arsenal
Both teams will now have to hunt in their first game of the season respectively by facing each other at Tottenham's White Hart Lane as the Londoners look to commence in battle. Harry Redknapp's recent claims of Ledley King's departure being a possibility, only for the skipper to report to the press back that he had no intention of moving will be a huge confidence boost on the part of Spurs and, with the inclusion of exiled Arsenal defender and former Gunners captain William Gallas in 'Arry's plans, the campaign for Tottenham may be one of the better, as their hunt for consistent European football begins this season. Jamie O'Hara and Jermaine Jenas' leavings for Bolton Wanderers and Stoke City respectively leaves Tottenham a little short-handed in the midfield but, should they be able to keep the likes of Huddlestone, Palacios, Modric and Kranjcar fit, they should have no probelms, despite having the money to invest.
Arsenal on the other hand are looking to take down a defiant Spurs in their meeting at White Hart Lane as Wenger's investments in three new players, all of whom are below the age of 21 and tipped as rising stars, will be possibly making their debuts in this game. Moussa Sissoko and Eden Hazard arrived from the top French league Ligue 1 in a combined fee of just over £30million, whilst Spanish central defender Marc Muniesa made his arrival to the Emirates following his controversial £4million transfer from the Nou Camp in Spain. Tomas Rosicky's high-profile departure from Arsenal for Turkish outfit Galatasaray, followed by Jack Wilshere's loaning back to Bolton Wanderers for another season hasn't really deterred Arsenal, and are much rather looking forward with intent to their clash with Spurs.
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iNickStuff
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Five hours XD
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iNickStuff
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Oh. Em. Gee.
Your gonna do that 38 times? I don't think you thought it through.
No lol, it's just for the opening day and the final day.
That is effort to do it 38 times lol.
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iNickStuff
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Carling Cup, Second Round Draw
The draw for the second round of the Carling Cup has been made and the following Premier League, Championship, League One and Two teams will compete for qualification to the third round. Thirteen Premier League teams have been drawn in the second round of the Carling Cup, with the other seven top-flight teams being drawn in the next round of the tournament.
The draw goes as follows for Premier League teams:
Accrington Stanley vs. Stoke City
Bristol Rovers vs. Bolton Wanderers
Norwich City vs. Newcastle United
Watford vs. Manchester City
Rochdale vs. Wigan Athletic
Leyton Orient vs. Fulham
Coventry City vs. Birmingham City
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Plymouth Argyle
West Bromwich Albion vs. Barnsley
Blackburn Rovers vs. Crystal Palace
Sunderland vs. Southend United
West Ham United vs. Southampton
Just a quick note to say congrats, you're story has been nominated for the Story of the Year competition
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iNickStuff
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And a further note to say well done, your story has qualified for the voting list of the Story of the Year competition.
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iNickStuff
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And a further note to say well done, your story has qualified for the voting list of the Story of the Year competition.
This is all too good to be true!
---------- Post added at 08:53 PM ---------- Previous post was yesterday at 07:32 PM ----------
Carling Cup Second Round Round-Up
Part 1
Here is a little round-up featuring all of the second round matches played by the following Premier League teams that competed. Some teams won more comfortably than others, some struggled to even get past and there was one team that fell at the first hurdle. Let's review the fixtures, who were playing and the main stars in their matches.
"Stoke complete comfortable victory in trip to Crown Ground"
Accrington Stanley 1-3 Stoke City, Crown Ground
Andrew Proctor (75)
Dave Kitson (2, 44)
Kenywne Jones (9)
The Potters' trip a bit further up north to League 2 outfit Accrington Stanley's home ground, Crown Ground in the second round of the Carling Cup gave manager Tony Pulis the chance to test his young players and a few of his newest acquisitions, as their rocky start to the Premier League season has had cause of concern. But instead he didn't do that. Following the line-ups was the inclusion of all three of his transfer signings in Mapou Yanga M'Bwia, Jan Kromkamp and Jermaine Jenas, which actually cost him £9.25million.
The return in ex-Reading frontman Dave Kitson in the starting line-up, alongside now-former Sunderland target man Kenywne Jones in the 4-4-2, gave the former non-league striker the chance to prove to the Welshman his worth. Kromkamp however did not start in his natural position - instead, the Dutch fullback was employed on the right-hand side of the midfield, with Huth, Shawcross, Abdoulaye Faye and Yanga M'Bwia making up the back four. Whitehead, Jenas, Etherington and Whitehead complete the midfield, Sorensen the usual starter in goal.
Two minutes into the match, Dave Kitson got Stoke off to a flyer, with a great play between Whitehead and Jones for the Trinidadian forward passing it through for the Hitchin-born man to slot it into the bottom left corner of the net, past young Australian shot-stopper Dean Bouzanis, on loan from Liverpool, for the first goal of the game. The second, five minutes later, was a far-post cross made by young Frenchman Yanga M'Bwia, only to be cleared by Accy and fall to Stoke once again and, another great ball through, this time leading to Jones, allowed the towering striker to put it past Bouzanis for the second.
The third, a counter-attack led by an intercepted throw-in deep in Stoke territory, allowed German defender Robert Huth to loft a ball forward for Jones to nod on a header into the path of Kitson, who was able calmly slot one home to make it a comfortable lead going into half-time. After continued attacking by the Potters to pressurise Stanley, it paid off with goals and a near 4,000-capacity stadium had a small section of the crowd chanting on the Premier League outfit, the others very much the despondent.
The second half saw a much more composed and controlled approach to the game by the Potters, with Accrington, knowing that if they were to get back into the game, they must attack Stoke's defensive line. Despite that knowledge, a demoralized League 2 outfit just couldn't pluck up the confidence to fight back and grab what-could-of-been a stunning comeback from them. But, a mix-up in Stoke's defence, allowing Jimmy Ryan to put in a through ball for Andre Proctor to grab a consolation and make the final scoreline 3-1, calling an end to Accrington's hopes of being a giant-killer for another season. Stoke on the other hand could relax in the knowledge that they had won comfortably and turn their attention back to saving their Premier League lives, starting with a hosting of Merseysiders, Everton.
"Ten-man Trotters struggle, but overcome The Gas, with O'Hara the heart of the Bolton midfield"
Bristol Rovers 1-3 Bolton Wanderers
Will Hoskins (54)
Lee Chung-Young (2)
Kevin Davies (32)
Johan Elmander (63)
Andy O'Brien, sent off (43)
Owen Coyle's first cup game of the season came with a trip down to Memorial Stadium in Bristol, where they came up against League One outfit Bristol Rovers in a meeting that would not see it a light-hearted game. Despite it being a possession-dominated match-up between two very different sides, Bristol Rovers, who tried to dominate the game, just could not find themselves able to get past Bolton's strong and organised 4-5-1, with Kevin Davies being the lone man striker upfront and leading the attacking line. The five man midfield, consisting of Tottenham loanee Jamie O'Hara, partnered with former Portsmouth and determined midfielder Sean Davies and Martin Petrov and Lee Chung-Yong being the wingers. Mahamdou Diarra, making his first-ever Carling Cup appearance since joining the Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium, was the anchor man, ahead of the Trotters defence.The back four featured South African fullback Tsepo Masilela, who joined from top-flight Israeli club Maccabi Haifa on a £325k deal allowed him to start at left-back and had Gary Cahill being the heart of the defence and Irish international Joey and Andy O'Brien starring in the defence as well.
Starting in the first two minutes had Bristol Rovers already on the backfoot, with continued attacking by Bolton kept The Gas having to clear the ball out of their own area, until a pass into the penalty area allowed young Korean winger Lee Chung-Yong to smash it into the back of the net for a one-goal lead and get the game underway. The second being an intercepted thow deep into Rovers territory, with Joey O'Brien heading on to Jamie O'Hara and lead the ball on to Kevin Davies, who slotted it past for 2-0.
But just before Bolton could go into half-time with a comfortable lead, the sending off of Andy O'Brien on the 43rd minute gave Owen Coyle something to worry about and their defence down to ten men. The lead at half-time didn't look so big at all, as their defence already had a hole in it and, with that, made them need to make a couple of tactical changes.
But under ten minutes into the second-half, Bristol came back with a vengeance, with a fluid passing play allowing a ground pass into the area to give former Watford striker Will Hoskins, who signed on a free transfer from the Hornets, make his cup debut for The Gas and score a goal in the same match. Shaken by the sending off of Andy O'Brien, it was the time for change, and it came in the help of Swedish forward Johan Elmander, who came on in the second half, scored just over the hour mark to make it three goals scored by Coyle and Co. The game ended 3-1 to Bolton and, with the dismissal of O'Brien, things looked bleak, until the impact of Elmander gave Coyle a sigh of relief.
"De Guzman double sinks Canaries in five-goal thrashing at Carrow Road"
Norwich City 0-5 Newcastle United
Jonathan de Guzman (9, 62)
Joey Barton (24)
Jo (26)
Wayne Routledge (83)
Certainly a stunning result for the home fans, Norwich City's cup tie against newly-promoted Newcastle United came as a huge 5-0 defeat to the Magpies, as Carrow Road witnessed five goals brush past the Norwich defence and, more importantly, Fraser Forster, who was unable to cope with the prowess of Dutch playmaker Jonathan de Guzman in him scoring two goals to add to the woes of which Newcastle United laid upon the Canaries.
With De Guzman the star man in Hughton's choice of a 4-2-3-1, Manchester City loanee Jo led the frontline as the starting striker, supported by wingers Jonas Gutierrez and Yannick Djalo and a strong, but aggressive, central midfield consisting of former Manchester players Joey Barton and Alan Smith, who both played for City and United respectively. The backline had Argentine centre half Fabricio Coloccni partner veteraned defender Sol Campbell and Jose Enrique and Danny Simpson the fullbacks to make up the back four.
Nine minutes in, an attack countered by Newcastle led to Portuguese forward Yannick Djalo to dart down the right wing and pass all markers to whip in a cross, only to be headed down and fall for De Guzman and score for one-nil, with a powerful shot hitting the top corner for a goal to the visitors.
In the 24th minute, Barton doubled the lead with an indirect free-kick led by Smith, leading to De Guzman laying off a pass for Barton to thunderous, yet audacious effort that still hit the top corner with intent, leading the Newcastle fans to be left into raptures as a hugely despaired home side could not believe what just happened.
It wasn't long before the restart the Magpies were onto their third, with another assist coming from De Guzman, which led to a through ball into Brazilian target man Jo to finish from just inside the box and make it 3-0. In what was already looking like a lost cause from Ricky Lambert and his already demoralized squad of players, it wasn't even half-time, just before the half-hour mark.
Four-nil down at Carrow Road, three-quarters of the stadium was empty as a comfortably-leading Newcastle took a much more conserved approach in the second half and it was to be ex-QPR winger Wayne Routledge, who transferred up north to St. James' Park during Newcastle's title domination in second-flight from Loftus Road, that put the icing on the top of the cake for a dominant performance by Hughton and Co., with De Guzman making his third assist of the game, leading ball to Routledge, who's shot shot outside the box rippled in the back of the net and just top the performance given by Magpies.
MORE TO FOLLOW SOON
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