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Posted on 10-26-15, 03:21 am


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The Premier League is finally ready to explode. Any large corporation will talk to you about the value of momentum and it has been lost on the league so far. Now is the time of the year when the worlds most popular league finds its feet. Every season, there is always something missing from the opening three weeks of a new campaign. The freshly cut grass, the new kits and players certainly bring optimism and excitement, but throughout it, we have to deal with the constant rumours and reports of player transfers. Not one of the 20 managers will come out and say, at the start of the season, that this is the team with which they are going into battle. Fans are drawn to newspapers and gossip columns to find any possible link about a player and their club. Sky Sports dedicates hours upon hours of monotonous coverage in England, where some poor reporter has been sent to the parking lot outside the ground and has to deal with many foul-mouthed fans in the background while reporting live that someone definitely, maybe, will be arriving soon. On September 1, that nonsense ended. Squads were set and, until January, we now all know what teams have. Then the teams didnt play for almost two weeks as the first international window of the season took place. Manchester Uniteds new signing Angel Di Maria, who starred for Argentina in a meaningless “rematch” of the World Cup final against Germany, called the timing of the break "kind of stupid." He was being kind of kind. Alas, four weeks after the 2014/15 Premier League season got under way officially, this Saturday sees the real season start for good and the league explodes out of the blocks with a clash between Arsenal and Manchester City (TSN2, TSN3 and TSN4 at 7:30am et/4:30am pt). Big spenders City were quiet in the remaining weeks of the window, partly because UEFAs Financial Fair Play mandates dictated it - You may or may not have noticed City nonchalantly announced their Champions League squad of only 21 players recently as part of their punishment. Arsenal, meanwhile, needed the last few hours of the window when their main striker, Olivier Giroud, ended August with foot surgery keeping him out until January. Arsene Wenger went shopping for a present on Christmas Eve and finally found the gift that the clubs fan base has been asking for all along - another striker. No pressure, Danny. Their decision to sign Manchester Uniteds Danny Welbeck was an interesting one. In a transfer window where Luis Suarez, Diego Costa, Mario Balotelli, Radamel Falcao and Mario Mandzukic were all available and ultimately transferred, Wengers decision to buy a Man Utd substitute should have raised more eyebrows than it did. Instead, with Welbeck scoring two goals for England against Switzerland in Euro 2016 qualifying, much of the debate was around the player himself and not necessarily about Arsenals ambitions. With nothing else to sink their teeth into, the media went to town on it. It was almost as if it had been planned. Forced to fill pages upon pages of content when little action on the field was taking place, the recent international window was just as frustrating for newspaper editors. It tells you something about a player when the same newspaper gets two of its major columnists take opposite sides of Welbecks potential. The truth is, no one quite knows what Welbeck will become. Even those who believe he should not have been sold used his move to concentrate on a bigger issue of Manchester Uniteds decision to sell an English player to a rival and a change in their own transfer policies. Gary Neville, and his former teammate and assistant coach Mike Phelan, publicly questioned the sale for United and they werent the only ones who concerned themselves about United losing their identity as a club who famously produced players to become difference makers at the top level. The truth is, United have regularly produced good players who havent been good enough for them when they have reached their peak and were then sold on to have decent careers elsewhere. Some, like John OShea and Wes Brown for example, are still playing in the Premier League. With those cases in mind, many believe United were right to sell Welbeck, a fringe starter at best at Old Trafford, who will just be another player who graduated Uniteds system and will go on to be a good player, but not a great one, that United now demands. The difference here, though, is Welbeck didnt go to a Sunderland or, as in the case of Tom Cleverley, Aston Villa. Welbeck went to Arsenal, an enormous club that should expect to contend for championships. While there was plenty of noise about Uniteds decision to sell him, few said he was too good for United to let him go. However, what does that say about Arsenal? Their commitment to young British talent is admirable, but the development of Aaron Ramsey came at a crucial time for Arsene Wenger, who has been accused of not being the best coach to nurture and improve young players. Even those who think he can develop these players should be wondering just how many of these kind of players should be starting for Arsenal? The Gunners already have Calum Chambers, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere, all promising young English players who have shown great promise, but who are also inconsistent and do not regularly show repeatedly high standards that Premier League contenders require. The same can be said about Welbeck, up to now. According to Opta, Welbeck converts 25 per cent of his scoring chances in the Premier League, the same as Daniel Sturridge and the case of the Liverpool striker has been referred to often recently by people who believe Welbeck will thrive now he has more chances to play. Any striker should dream about playing with magicians like Alexis Sanchez, Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil and it is clear that Welbeck will be given all the things he needs to succeed as the main frontman for Wenger, up until, at least, Giroud returns. He has good movement, is intelligent, works hard and links up well with others - all characteristics that Wenger admires, but the biggest question mark is over his finishing ability. It is another question mark to add to Arsenal, a team, in recent years, that has only flirted with the notion of being title contenders and have only come close to winning it once in the last ten seasons. Wenger was quick to respond to critics last season following the 1-1 home draw to Manchester City, claiming, “We are not as bad as people think or say we are.” The Frenchman might take people to task about their opinions, but he cannot argue against the fact that last season they played ten games against Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Everton and Manchester United and won just once. Until they can win a monumental match against a better team than them, then they are what many people think they are. Last season they played three super powers in the Premier League, all in early 12:45pm local kick-offs, and were destroyed 6-3 at Manchester City, 5-1 at Liverpool and 6-0 at Chelsea. This time, the early kick-off comes with the comforts of home where Wenger will not be able to say his team didnt have "focus, the right mentality, concentration or belief" like he repeatedly suggested in the three heavy defeats last season. City, losers of their previous match against Stoke, present a massive challenge for the Gunners and one that Wenger realistically knows his team cannot match over a 38 match season. That doesnt mean they cannot match and beat them over 90 minutes. Right now, though, Arsenal have a lot of good qualities, but rarely put it all together because they have the same reoccurring issues. Much like their newest signing. Together, for the first time, they will get the hardest examinations of all against the champions of England on Saturday. Zapatillas Adidas Zx 750 Baratas . -- Once the Anaheim Ducks wiped out a four-goal deficit, all the stress shifted to the visiting Winnipeg Jets. Nike Free 5.0 Hombre Baratas . -- Kansas City Royals closer Joakim Soria will take a few days to consider his options after receiving a second opinion on his elbow injury. http://www.airmax-zapatillas.es/ .com) - Tobias Harris nailed a jumper at the buzzer to lift the Orlando Magic to a 100-99 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night. Adidas Originals Dragon Zapatos . Ryan OReilly started Los Angeles comeback from two goals down at 8:11 of the second period. Landeskog tied at 2-2 with 7:02 remaining in the period, beating Mathieu Garon on the first shot he faced after replacing Ben Scrivens. Adidas Zx Flux Baratas .com) - It should be a wild scene in Pittsburgh on Sunday when the National League Division Series shifts to PNC Park for a pivotal Game 3 between the Pirates and St.RALEIGH, N.C. - Even as Buffalo goalie Michal Neuvirth made save after save Thursday night, the Carolina Hurricanes did not get frustrated. "We were creating a lot of opportunities," Carolinas Eric Staal said. "We knew that wed eventually break him." When it finally happened, the break came fast, with Alexander Semin and Jiri Tlusty scoring in a 1:55 span in the third period to give the Hurricanes the lead in a 4-2 victory over the Sabres. Semin tied it at 2 on a power play with 8:12 left, and Tlusty scored the game-winner with 6:17 to go. Carolina put up a season-high 55 shots against Neuvirth. "The guys did a good job of not getting frustrated," Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller said. "We talked after the second period and said, Lets take a breather, get our rest and lets focus — and lets play the same way." Jeff Skinner had a first-period goal — his 26th — to help Carolina win its second in a row after losing seven of eight. Nathan Gerbe added an empty-net goal with a second left. Cam Ward made 21 saves, making his second consecutive start after backstopping the Hurricanes to a 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night. Tyler Ennis scored on a penalty shot and Drew Stafford added a goal for Buffalo. Neuvirths season-high 51 saves came in his second start for the Sabres since being acquired in a trade with Washington on March 5. "I thought he was good again," Buffalo coach Ted Nolan said. "The one thing our goalies are going to end up doing in the remaining 16 games we have — theyre going to get a lott of good looks and play for that position.dddddddddddd." Tlustys winner came after he took a pass from Semin, walked into the slot and beat Neuvirth with a wrist shot above the glove. Stafford scored with 11:17 left to give Buffalo a short-lived 2-1 lead. The Sabres Cory Conacher attempted a wraparound on the play, but the puck bounced off the skates of Tlusty and Carolina defenceman Andrej Sekera in the crease before coming to Stafford at the side of the net. Stafford snapped it past Ward for his third goal in three games. He has nine goals in his last 15 contests. Carolina tied it when Semins slap shot from the wing deflected off the skate of Buffalo defenceman Mike Weber in front of Neuvirth. It was only Carolinas second power-play goal since the Olympic break. The Hurricanes came into the game mired in a 1-for-32 slump with the man advantage. Buffalo opened the scoring midway through the opening period after Tlusty was called for slashing Ennis on a breakaway. Official Eric Furlatt called a penalty shot for the infraction, and Ennis beat Ward with a rising shot above his blocker. The Hurricanes tied it little less than 3 minutes later when Skinners shot from a sharp angle went under Neuvirths blocker. "That first goal they scored was not a very good goal for my part," Neuvirth said. Carolina dominated for long stretches of the second period, outshooting the Sabres 22-4. But the Hurricanes couldnt find a way to beat Neuvirth. NOTES: Carolina D Joni Pitkanen said his recovery from a broken heel was progressing and that he hoped to play next year. Pitkanen has missed the entire season. cheap custom jerseys wholesale jerseys store cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '
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