Blasphemy! A wee club in the north-east threaten sir Alex Ferguson's dominance!

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Premier League
Round 13

Friday 26th November 2027:

Title Contenders Clash
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Liverpool - Chelsea

13' Stevens (L) injured
45' van Bremen (L) booked
Half Time
86' 1-0 Mork
Full Time

Final Score
Liverpool - Chelsea 1-0
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Saturday 27th November 2027:

Newcastle - Sheffield Wednesday 6-1
Walden (11, 19), Diédhiou (31), Escudero (37, 40), van der Vaart (51); Kljestu (42)
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Blackburn - West Ham 4-1
Can Özdemir (34), Ismail Hakan Tosun (47), Boccaccini (77), Aguilar (82); Magni (53)
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Leeds - Crystal Palace 1-0
Pöyry (81)
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Sunday 28th November 2027:

Manchester United - Arsenal 4-2
Shoretire (29, 43, 51), Callaghan (56); Glazer (7), Bailey (31)
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League Table:

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PUBLISHED: 22:13 GMT, 28 November 2027 | UPDATED: 22:15 GMT, 28 November 2027

First contender scalp puts Liverpool back in the frame

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In a game moved to Friday we welcomed another team yet to beat any of the other title contenders. We bear many similarities with Chelsea - they also invested heavily in new signings during the summer and are also yet to deliver the expected results. Despite that the Blues were better positioned in the league than us and it's fair to say anything less than a win would have left us too far away from top four.

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What's going on with fitness?!​

We didn't enjoy the best of starts with young Michael Stevens limping off with an injury in the 13th minute to be replaced by summer acquisition Gustavo Sosa. As a matter of fact we had fitness issues during the entire game - Sosa himself picked a knock later on, and so did Schmidt and Bruma. The game wasn't particularly rude, especially for a derby of this magnitude, which means Míchel will need to address the way the team prepares and if necessary reduce the training workload. With four potential injuries in a single match there is certainly something to be fixed there.

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Mork to the rescue with late winner​

Other than that it was a fairly even contest and Chelsea will be disappointed with missing out on a point. We created a lot more shots than them but most of them were from a distance and the game was indeed going towards a share of the spoils when old fox Eirik Mork got us the winner out of nowhere. I think the Kop won us the game today with all the noise and the constant urges to attack towards the end. We will be needing more of that belief as we are 15 points off the top and 10 away from a place in top ten - hopefully this win will put us on a strong sequence and see some of that gap cut as the winter holidays approach.
 
Rovers solidify position in new-forged top four
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By Kevin Gallacher.................ii.iii.8:17 PM Sunday 28th November 2027 in Sport
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I always suspected Manchester City would not be able to keep the pace of the other contenders and sooner or later we'll see them drop behind - and so it happened. Although we needed to wait a few months to see how the league table shapes and who will play a key role in the race to the title. At the end of November we have a much more clear picture and a top four has pulled a little bit away from the rest. I am sure the future champion will emerge from this group of teams - and while it was expected, I'm glad to see us in there.

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Title fight watch​

Newcastle and Blackburn lead the race with 36 points each, although the Magpies have a game in hand and are yet to drop any points. Manchester United follow close with 33 and Leeds complete the top four with 31 points. Actually all other teams have a game in hand to us although it remains to be seen whether they can make that count.

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Chelsea and Liverpool fall overboard​

As already stated, Manchester City have dropped down a gear and sit fifth with 27 points - but they have played one more game than us and two more than the others so it is highly unlikely they will get any closer. Chelsea and Liverpool complete the top 7 with 22 and 21 points respectively and their summer of expensive purchases will definitely go in vain. Overall I'm happy to see four teams fight for it and the inclusion of Manchester United is a welcome one as they have a record to defend against Newcastle. Of course I hope none of them makes it to 20 league titles this season - and as we have some catching up to do on that number it would be great to upset the Devils and the Magpies and do what we came so close to last season - clinch our fourth league title.
 
English Title Contenders Cup Watch

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Quarter Final

Monday 29th November 2027

Cardiff - Liverpool 0-2
Stevens (58, 84)
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Tuesday 30th November 2027

Leeds - Manchester City 1-0 (aet)
Ahn Jung-Ho (100)
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Wednesday 1st December 2027

Blackburn - Q.P.R. 2-1 (aet)
Can Özdemir (67), Ismail Hakan Tosun (104); Palmer (18)
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Newcastle - Everton
Postponed​
 
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November Watch

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Premier League Table

The Contenders:

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Newcastle (1st; 36pts; +48) - yet another smooth month for the Magpies and they remain atop the table.
Player of the month: Aubrey Mashishi (DM/MC) 8.20
0 Current first team injuries.

Blackburn (2nd; 36pts; +23) - Rovers extend their club record sequence of wins in the league and sit second in the table on par with Newcastle.
Player of the month: Savio Barreto (DC) 8.16
2 Current first team injuries:
Lars Persson (DC) - 9-21 days (hip injury)
Patricio Espinoza (MC) - 2-4 weeks (fractured ribs)

Manchester United (3rd; 33pts; +22) - the Red Devils haven't dropped points in the league since they played Newcastle back in September and have earned the right to be considered genuine title contenders.
Player of the month: Shola Shoretire (MC) 8.36
2 Current first team injuries:
Raymond McFadden (D/WBR) - 10-14 days (pulled hamstring)
Gabriel López (MC) - 2 months (torm hamstring)

Leeds (4th; 31pts; +22) - perfect month for Leeds in the league and they complete the top four as well as the circle of clubs who keep their chances to attack the title.
Player of the month: Mikko Pöyry (M/AMRC) 8.16
1 Current first team injury:
Diego Herrera (ST) - 4-6 weeks (torn hamstring)

Chelsea (6th; 22pts; +7) - another loss against fellow title contenders - this time Liverpool - leaves Chelsea well short of top four and the title. There is still time but four losses at such an early stage mean Chelsea may miss out again.
Player of the month: Marjan Cvetanovski (DC) 7.96
2 Current first team injuries:
Marjan Cvetanovski (DC) - 5-6 weeks (sprained ankle)
Willis Davis (DC) - 6-8 weeks (torn hamstring)

Liverpool (7th; 21pts; +6) - the great win against Chelsea was preceded by a bad loss away to Manchester City and Liverpool seem unlikely to challenge this season. Their good form allowed them to climb five positions in the table though and they still have a couple games in hand to get even higher.
Player of the month: Michael Stevens (DC/DM/MC) 7.68
0 Current first team injuries.

Other teams to watch:​

Manchester City (5th) - the Citizens have thrown a lot of fight this month but the massive win against Liverpool remains their only win and defeats to Queens Park Rangers, Newcastle and Tottenham push them out of the top four - probably for good.

Tottenham (8th) - Spurs recovered from a poor start and climbed the table to a very respectable position which now gives them an opportunity to attack European qualification places.

Arsenal (10th) - the Gunners remain mid-table and need to use their games in hand if they want to do something noteworthy this season.

West Ham (11th) - as expected the Hammers are unable to maintain their impressive early form and fall in the bottom half.

Crewe Alexandra (15th) - relegation favourites at the start of the season, Crewe added two more wins in November and are now closer to the top half of the table than the bottom three.

Sunderland (16th) - the Black Cats slide down and are now involved in the relegation fight.

Crystal Palace (17th) - first win for the season is barely enough to keep Palace out of the bottom three.

Middlesbrough win two games but are still in the bottom three, Swansea also record a first win and are second bottom, Aston Villa look doomed with just a single point to show for 13 league games.

November Player of the Month:
Josué (Blackburn)
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November Young Player of the Month:
Paulo Delgado (Tottenham)
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November Manager of the Month:
Dimiter Hristov (Newcastle)
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Leading Goalscorers:
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English Title Contenders European Watch

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Wednesday 1st December 2027

Group E
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Real Madrid - Olympique Lyonnais 0-1

Shakhtar - Newcastle 1-1
Tulaydan (27); Lampi (58)
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Thursday 2nd December 2027

Group C
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LOSC - CFR Cluj 2-1

Chelsea - Celtic 0-1
Bah (21)
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Group K
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Stade Rennais FC - Sporting 0-2

Liverpool - Vitesse 2-0
Jesenkovic (3), Voltolini (60)
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English Title Contenders Cup Watch

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Third Round Draw

West Brom - Manchester United
Newcastle - Southampton
Blackburn - Manchester City
Liverpool - Bournemouth
Leeds - Birmingham
Chesterfield - Chelsea​
 
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Premier League
Round 14

Saturday 4th December 2027:

Title Contenders Clash
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Leeds - Blackburn

10' 1-0 Yglesias
15' 2-0 Pöyry
35' Boccaccini (B) booked
39' Boyaro (L) booked
Half Time
46' Yglesias (L) booked
56' 2-1 Can Özdemir
59' Boyaro (L) injured
59' Foose (L) booked
62' 2-2 Barreto
70' Powell (B) injured
81' 2-3 Boccaccini
Full Time

Final Score
Leeds - Blackburn 2-3
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Manchester United - Crystal Palace 4-0
Obi (2), Blasi (32), Kawaguchi (34), Callaghan (49)
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Sunday 5th December 2027:

Liverpool - Arsenal 6-3
van Bremen (7, 65), Voltolini (33), Stevens (48), Gajic (56), Bruma (61); Gamboa (38), Jacobs (59), Tall (64)
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Title Contenders Clash
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Newcastle - Chelsea

1' 1-0 Soriano
4' 2-0 Dong Dexin
32' 3-0 Walden
Half Time
67' Djalma (C) booked
Full Time

Final Score
Newcastle - Chelsea 3-0
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League Table:

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Four contender derbies - four defeats: Chelsea no team for big games
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Tony Cascarino Commentary
Last updated at 8:01PM, December 5 2027

Chelsea are on the verge of another ruined season and it's barely early December. The sole reason - inability to collect any points from big games. Not talking about wins here, whenever the Blues meet anyone of their own caliber they struggle to earn even a draw. They have lost five games in the league - four of them against fellow title contenders and the fifth against Manchester City, who at that time were top of the table. What was an alarming weakness has turned into a giant problem threatening to waste the entire campaign. The Blues have slided down to eight position and rumour has it Marcelino must improve the standing within the month or New Year will see a new manager at the helm.

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Chelsea's usual position in big games​

There could be substance in what the evil tongues are saying. Chelsea didn't just lose today at Saint James' Park. They never appeared. Newcastle had a flying start in the game and were two goals up by the third minute - and the game was suddenly over as all Chelsea players just switched off. In all fairness the hosts spared them as they only added a third goal and missed a lot of clear cut chances. On another day this could have been 5 or even more. Such apathy is worse than any defeat and unless Marcelino moves quick to arrest it he would deserve the sack.

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Europa League focus needed​

To make things worse Chelsea are set for disappointment in Europa League after an embarrassing loss at home to Celtic. Achieving only two wins from five games they could walk out of the tournament even if they secure a win in the last round away to Cluj. This wouldn't be a disaster if it allowed Chelsea to concentrate on their league fixtures but with chances to secure another European qualification slim Marcelino should look at Europa League as a chance to rescue the season. Though at this moment he seems like the one in need of rescue.
 
Leeds United: second half heartbreak against Rovers - Matteo
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by Dominic Matteo
Football can be a cruel game. I am at loss of words to describe how the home defeat to Blackburn feels. After two early goals and a solid lead. After a great performance from the lads. After totally outplaying Rovers. Redknapp's face in the second half said it all: how could this be happening? Has Lady Luck no sympathy for us? Whatever her affair with Blackburn it has nothing to do with justice.

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Lady Luck turns her head away from us again​

The first half was nothing short of perfection. 2-0 ahead after fifteen minutes, great mood, never ending attacks. Ter Stegen had the game of his life between the posts for Rovers, saving at least three more. How it could turn so dramatically after the break is beyond me. We fell apart after Boyaro's heavy injury - one could tell by the faces of the lads they had little thought of football ever after. Perhaps if Blackburn were still two goals down at that time we would have held on. But they only needed a goal to equal the score and once they had it they came knocking for a winner. Yellow cards for both our centre-backs didn't help as they became a little softer in the tackle and this indecisiveness cost us dearly when Luca Boccaccini walked around the penalty area to score the third and sink us.

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Grim Christmas ahead

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This defeat hurts. It cripples our chances to attack the title and even endangers our top four status. With three away games next on the league fixture list before a home encounter with Manchester United we now need to be perfect on the road or we risk having a very bad Boxing day.
 
English Title Contenders European Watch

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Tuesday 7th December 2027

Group B
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HJK - Feyenoord 2-1

Leeds - Barcelona 3-1
El Alagui (17), Ahn Jung-Ho (22, 82); Aitor (90+1)
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Group C
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Galatasaray - A.C. Milan 1-2

Sarajevo - Manchester United 0-3
Callaghan (1), Shoretire (pen 30), Blasi (65)
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Wednesday 8th December 2027

Group F
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Brøndby IF - Atlético Madrid 0-0

Blackburn - CSKA Moscow 2-3
Can Özdemir (40), Aguilar (63); Wade (pen 17), Suljagic (24, 55)
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Premier League
Round 15

Saturday 11th December 2027:

West Ham - Manchester United 1-3
Kavcic (25); Callaghan (2, 5), Kawaguchi (50)
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Sunderland - Liverpool 0-1
Voltolini (11)
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Crewe Alexandra - Leeds 3-4
Visconti (46), Paulinho (53, 67); Fanta (17), Foose (19), Tait (74), Paula (82)
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Sunday 12th December 2027:

Chelsea - Aston Villa 5-0
Huerta (14), Magazin (37, 49), Martínez (45), Gabriel (74)
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Blackburn - Oxford 2-1
Boccaccini (56), Osti (89); Castro (53)
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Newcastle game postponed

League Table:

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Devils pin title hopes on wonder kid Callaghan

Gary Neville
Published at 7:17PM, December 12 2027

We might have developed a reputation of a selling club in recent years although this has allowed Sir Alex to introduce incredible young players in the first team. After the sale of Joel Ashby the fans were concerned we wouldn't be able to keep hold of any talent long enough to see their potential realized at the club. Ferguson has been forced to operate on the market and suggestions players are looking at us as a stepping stone are not wide off the mark. Champions League qualification last season was achieved with the help of Elvis El Alagui who was on loan and we were unable to keep hold of him permanently.

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Martin Callaghan​

This season sees another young gun break in the first team. Wonder kid Martin Callaghan - a product of the Newcastle academy - has been grabbing the headlines recently. Martin refused to sign a permanent deal with the Magpies and chose to join us in order to play Premier League football. He had to wait one year but it was worth it as he is now a much better player and Newcastle will regret letting him go on a free. Fifteen goals in sixteen starts this campaign have turned him into a central figure in our attack. Only time will tell but if he remains injury free and we are able to keep him at Old Trafford on the long term, he could be the man the fans crave to have around.

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Time for our youngsters to show loyalty​

Callaghan scored a brace in our visit to West Ham this weekend - in the opening five minutes of the game. He single handedly got us three points and it is obvious whatever hopes we have of an unlikely challenge for the title they are pinned on him. I think this is as good as it gets for a player at this tender age. Hopefully he will remember this and show loyalty when the big clubs come knocking for him.
 
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PUBLISHED: 22:01 GMT, 12 December 2027 | UPDATED: 22:03 GMT, 12 December 2027

Liverpool rise to fifth

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A fine away win over Sunderland saw us catch up with Manchester City and we are now as close as we have ever been to top four. It was a hard game and Voltolini's strike made the difference in the end. I think we should be more convincing in our matches with bottom half clubs although the points are all that matters right now and the final whistle brought relief.

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Slowly building up points
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This was our tenth win in the league and it takes us within four points to Leeds in fourth. And all of a sudden things don't look so dire. It isn't late to achieve our goal. A little patience and a few strategic wins could see us squeeze in the Champions League. Our form until New Year will be decisive and the final league game for the year at home with Blackburn might be the turning point after a traditionally slow start.

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Equipped and in good shape for tough month ahead​

We have to make sure we don't drop any points until then. The squad has enough depth, we are in better shape than last season and some reasonable rotations should keep us fresh enough to be a match for Rovers. I know a lot of the fans have talked about getting involved in the title fight but let's take it one step at a time. After four league losses as early as December we should be thankful for sitting close enough to top four.
 
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