One-match wonders
16 Premier League Seasons And The Teams That Were Leading The Table After One Match
1. Newcastle United (2007/08)
2. Manchester United (2006/07)
3. Charlton / West Ham (2005/06)
4. Arsenal / Bolton (2004/05)
5. Blackburn (2003/04)
6. Fulham (2002/03)
7. Bolton (2001/02)
8. Charlton (2000/01)
9. Chelsea (1999/2000)
10. Wimbledon (1998/99)
11. Manchester United (1997/98)
12. Nottingham Forest / Man United (1996/97)
13. Newcastle United (1995/96)
14. Liverpool (1994/95)
15. Aston Villa (1993/94)
16. Norwich City (1992/93)
...and our thanks go to Russell Napier for giving us the idea for today's 'Friday List'. If you've got some suggestions of your own, don't forget - we'd love to see them and if at all possible we'll publish them on SPAOTP with our thanks. Just drop us a line to info [at] spaotp [dot] com and we'll do the rest...
Friday, August 15, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Premier League Preview Podcast
Ladies and gentlemen, these are exciting times.
At this very moment, the Olympic football tournament is enthralling a worldwide audience in Beijing, China. Throughout Europe, qualification games for the Champions League and UEFA Cup are already sorting the men from the boys as the quest for continental domination starts its long and arduous journey. And across Britain, domestic football is exploding back into life with the start of the new Championship, League 1, League 2, Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League campaigns.
Yet for all that, one football competition par excellence remains dormant, waiting for this Saturday to arrive. Then, and only then, at the stroke of 12.45 pm BST will the referee blow his whistle to herald the start of the match between Arsenal and West Bromwich Albion and, more importantly, the 2008/09 Premier League season as a whole.
The wait is almost over. Millions of fans around the world will finally put an end to their wonderings over who will thrive, who will score, who will be relegated and who will earn the right to become the next big footballing superstar.
Yet you, yes YOU, currently find yourself unprepared, uninformed and uninspired with only hours to go before the big kick-off.
Go on - admit it… you do, don't you?
Well worry no more. Help is at hand in the form of a wonderful podcast that's been lovingly crafted by Duffman and Sp3ktor, two members of the SPAOTP writing team who, by way of a proper day job, run our excellent sister site, The Onion Bag.
Together, they've researched all the close-season news stories, studied the form books and generally ignored The Sun to collate the ultimate preview to the new Premier League season, just for you, our valued and rather well turned-out guests.
So download their brilliant new podcast, listen attentively and enjoy. We defy you to be disappointed.
At this very moment, the Olympic football tournament is enthralling a worldwide audience in Beijing, China. Throughout Europe, qualification games for the Champions League and UEFA Cup are already sorting the men from the boys as the quest for continental domination starts its long and arduous journey. And across Britain, domestic football is exploding back into life with the start of the new Championship, League 1, League 2, Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League campaigns.
Yet for all that, one football competition par excellence remains dormant, waiting for this Saturday to arrive. Then, and only then, at the stroke of 12.45 pm BST will the referee blow his whistle to herald the start of the match between Arsenal and West Bromwich Albion and, more importantly, the 2008/09 Premier League season as a whole.
The wait is almost over. Millions of fans around the world will finally put an end to their wonderings over who will thrive, who will score, who will be relegated and who will earn the right to become the next big footballing superstar.
Yet you, yes YOU, currently find yourself unprepared, uninformed and uninspired with only hours to go before the big kick-off.
Go on - admit it… you do, don't you?
Well worry no more. Help is at hand in the form of a wonderful podcast that's been lovingly crafted by Duffman and Sp3ktor, two members of the SPAOTP writing team who, by way of a proper day job, run our excellent sister site, The Onion Bag.
Together, they've researched all the close-season news stories, studied the form books and generally ignored The Sun to collate the ultimate preview to the new Premier League season, just for you, our valued and rather well turned-out guests.
So download their brilliant new podcast, listen attentively and enjoy. We defy you to be disappointed.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Premier League Kit Parade (Part 3)
Yes folks, as sure as night follows day and Great Britain follows Swaziland in the Olympic medals table, it's now time for Part 3 of our look at the new shirts being worn in the Premier League this season. Before we start, a quick 'hello' to all of you joining us from Fifastadt.de who, like us, enjoy finding out about the latest garments being worn in the world of football. Nice to have you with us.
So to begin, a curiosity. This might be a unique happening for 2008/09, but Manchester United start the new campaign with only one new shirt to show off, and it's this white, red and blue away offering from Nike. In case you're wondering, their red home shirt was brought in last season on one of those old-fashioned 'two year deals', so they'll be wearing that one again this time around. How very quaint!
Anyway, this away shirt of United's looks like a decent design to us. We're not sure about the red and blue highlights as we're probably used to seeing Man U in white and black away from home, but nonetheless it seems to reek of Nike's usual high production values and should be a fan's favourite in a very short space of time. Oh, and don't be surprised if a new Man United third strip comes out during the course of the season, but for now, that’s all there is from Old Trafford.
And so to Middlesbrough who, after a one season break, have returned to one of their all-time favourite designs - a classic that should never under any circumstances be discarded: the classic red shirt with a white band across the middle. Last year's all-red affair was decidedly uninspiring, but the white stripe's back and it looks pretty good to us.
Then there's the new away shirt which also returns to former values in the form of a blue-and-black-striped creation. This looks rather nice and is a hell of a lot better than those rather iffy looking kits featuring gold and ecru that have been concocted by Errea in the past.
And that reminds us - why Errea? They've been supplying Middlesbrough's kit since 1994 and to be honest they rarely seem to come up with the goods. Isn't it time for a change now, Mr. Gibson? For the time being though, these are a couple of reasonable shirts to be going on with.
Next up it's Newcastle and like Man United, they're keeping their home shirts from last year. Instead, they've got new away and third shirts to show us and these aren't too bad either. Away from home, Newcastle have come up with yet another new colour to add to the many they've worn in the past, and it's purple. (Sorry if it doesn't show up too well in the picture.)
It's pretty standard fare from Adidas - a plain front with those three legendary stripes running down the sleeves - and it looks nice and slick… but that colour… will people want to buy and wear it in their droves? I've a feeling purple could polarise opinions amongst the fans, but for the likes of us that aren't, we don't mind it too much at all.
To continue the slightly controversial tone, Adidas have also produced a silver third strip for the Toons. (Note - that's silver, not grey.) Again, rather nice and a lot better looking than the other silver/grey shirt Adidas have produced for 2008/09 (see Part 2 - Liverpool), but dare we suggest that white band across the middle looks somewhat Middlesbrough-esque? Don't complain to us, Newcastle fans - it was just an observation…
Next up it's Portsmouth and they have a new home shirt that pares down the old design to feature just blue and gold. All the white trim has gone and what's left is a simple but effective shirt which should please more than it offends.
The away shirt, however, may divide your opinions. Some have called it a rugby shirt, others a cricket shirt, but either way it's… well… different. As you can see, the shirt is white with blue sleeves, a big chunky flyaway collar and a blue panel around the bottom.
For our money, this is exactly the sort of well-executed inventiveness we want to see more of in football shirt design, and as a result, we love it. Admittedly there's a practicality issue around that big collar flapping up in your face while you're running, but apart from that it looks modern, looks distinctive and for all that has our unequivocally wholehearted support. Top marks to Canterbury for showing the way forward.
Finally today, we turn our attention to one of the Premier League's new boys, Stoke City. Renowned for their red and white stripes, Stoke's new home shirt doesn't disappoint and this new version sees Le Coq Sportif widening the middle stripe to give us something a little bit different. It looks great with its simple but very pleasant styling and if it isn't snapped up by the truckload, we'll be very surprised.
The Potters' away shirt is yellow, a colour they haven’t used for quite some time. With blue trim around the collar and under the sleeves, it provides a strong contrast to the home kit and takes us back to a time in the mid-70's when seemingly everyone's away kit was yellow and blue (think Derby, Chelsea, Man United, Arsenal, etc…)
While not the most exciting of offerings, it certainly ticks all the important boxes so we've no real reason to grumble. A good effort on both counts from Le Coq Sportif and one that Stoke fans should be rather happy with.
That just about wraps it up for Part 3 of our new shirt perusal for the upcoming Premier League season. In the fourth and final part coming soon, we'll be finding out what the good folk at Sunderland, Tottenham, West Brom, West Ham and Wigan will be wearing, so stay with us for that…
So to begin, a curiosity. This might be a unique happening for 2008/09, but Manchester United start the new campaign with only one new shirt to show off, and it's this white, red and blue away offering from Nike. In case you're wondering, their red home shirt was brought in last season on one of those old-fashioned 'two year deals', so they'll be wearing that one again this time around. How very quaint!
Anyway, this away shirt of United's looks like a decent design to us. We're not sure about the red and blue highlights as we're probably used to seeing Man U in white and black away from home, but nonetheless it seems to reek of Nike's usual high production values and should be a fan's favourite in a very short space of time. Oh, and don't be surprised if a new Man United third strip comes out during the course of the season, but for now, that’s all there is from Old Trafford.And so to Middlesbrough who, after a one season break, have returned to one of their all-time favourite designs - a classic that should never under any circumstances be discarded: the classic red shirt with a white band across the middle. Last year's all-red affair was decidedly uninspiring, but the white stripe's back and it looks pretty good to us.
Then there's the new away shirt which also returns to former values in the form of a blue-and-black-striped creation. This looks rather nice and is a hell of a lot better than those rather iffy looking kits featuring gold and ecru that have been concocted by Errea in the past.And that reminds us - why Errea? They've been supplying Middlesbrough's kit since 1994 and to be honest they rarely seem to come up with the goods. Isn't it time for a change now, Mr. Gibson? For the time being though, these are a couple of reasonable shirts to be going on with.
Next up it's Newcastle and like Man United, they're keeping their home shirts from last year. Instead, they've got new away and third shirts to show us and these aren't too bad either. Away from home, Newcastle have come up with yet another new colour to add to the many they've worn in the past, and it's purple. (Sorry if it doesn't show up too well in the picture.)
It's pretty standard fare from Adidas - a plain front with those three legendary stripes running down the sleeves - and it looks nice and slick… but that colour… will people want to buy and wear it in their droves? I've a feeling purple could polarise opinions amongst the fans, but for the likes of us that aren't, we don't mind it too much at all.To continue the slightly controversial tone, Adidas have also produced a silver third strip for the Toons. (Note - that's silver, not grey.) Again, rather nice and a lot better looking than the other silver/grey shirt Adidas have produced for 2008/09 (see Part 2 - Liverpool), but dare we suggest that white band across the middle looks somewhat Middlesbrough-esque? Don't complain to us, Newcastle fans - it was just an observation…
Next up it's Portsmouth and they have a new home shirt that pares down the old design to feature just blue and gold. All the white trim has gone and what's left is a simple but effective shirt which should please more than it offends.
The away shirt, however, may divide your opinions. Some have called it a rugby shirt, others a cricket shirt, but either way it's… well… different. As you can see, the shirt is white with blue sleeves, a big chunky flyaway collar and a blue panel around the bottom.For our money, this is exactly the sort of well-executed inventiveness we want to see more of in football shirt design, and as a result, we love it. Admittedly there's a practicality issue around that big collar flapping up in your face while you're running, but apart from that it looks modern, looks distinctive and for all that has our unequivocally wholehearted support. Top marks to Canterbury for showing the way forward.
Finally today, we turn our attention to one of the Premier League's new boys, Stoke City. Renowned for their red and white stripes, Stoke's new home shirt doesn't disappoint and this new version sees Le Coq Sportif widening the middle stripe to give us something a little bit different. It looks great with its simple but very pleasant styling and if it isn't snapped up by the truckload, we'll be very surprised.
The Potters' away shirt is yellow, a colour they haven’t used for quite some time. With blue trim around the collar and under the sleeves, it provides a strong contrast to the home kit and takes us back to a time in the mid-70's when seemingly everyone's away kit was yellow and blue (think Derby, Chelsea, Man United, Arsenal, etc…)While not the most exciting of offerings, it certainly ticks all the important boxes so we've no real reason to grumble. A good effort on both counts from Le Coq Sportif and one that Stoke fans should be rather happy with.
That just about wraps it up for Part 3 of our new shirt perusal for the upcoming Premier League season. In the fourth and final part coming soon, we'll be finding out what the good folk at Sunderland, Tottenham, West Brom, West Ham and Wigan will be wearing, so stay with us for that…
Monday, August 11, 2008
Midweek TV Preview: 11th - 14th August
Monday19:45 Hamilton v Dundee Utd, Scottish Premier League, Setanta Sports 1
Given the dominance of the Old Firm, the SPL is often pegged as a weak league. Having said that, small clubs who come into the Scottish top flight often struggle against all-comers and the Accies are in for a tough season after their promotion for the first time in twenty years. We'll know a bit more about them after this tough opening fixture.
Tuesday
19:45 Chester City v Leeds Utd, Carling Cup 1st Round, Sky Sports 2
City got hammered 6-0 by Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday. Leeds are a team in a hurry and have pretty much got it in for the entire world. Things could get seriously unpleasant for the underdogs.
Wednesday
19:45 Wycombe Wanderers v Birmingham City, Carling Cup 1st Round, Sky Sports 2 / Sky Sports HD2
The Blues were solid enough on Saturday and don't look like the kind of team to brook an upset. Sadly this fixture will be over-shadowed somewhat by...
19:45 FC Twente v Arsenal, UEFA Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round, 1st Leg, Setanta Sports
Steve McClaridge's return to Blighty may prove to be a real thorn in the Gunners side. Everyone is expecting Arsenal to cruise through to the Group Stage and they're probably right. But I'd advise caution. This could be a really intriguing match. Shame its only on Setanta because ITV have gone for...
20:05 Standard Liege v Liverpool, UEFA Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round 1st Leg, ITV1
Proof, if any were needed, that ratings drive match selection for broadcasters rather than the competitive fixtures. Liverpool are a much bigger draw than Arsenal. No doubt Clive Tylesdley and Jim Beglin will forget that people outside Granadaland will be watching this game.
Thursday
01:50 Vasco v Palmeiras, Copa Sudamericano, Setanta Sports 2
Kudos to Setanta for giving UK audiences an opportunity to watch South American football, with their UEFA Cup equivalent. Not sure how seriously this tournament is treated but I believe the winner qualifies for the Copa Libertadores.
19:00 FH Hafnarfjordur v Aston Villa, UEFA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round, 1st Leg, Five
Five's first proper match of the season after the bevvy of friendlies designed to edge in the pants of Man City and Liverpool. In fairness this game will be of local interest only.
19:45 York City v Wrexham, Blue Square Premier, Setanta Sports 1
These two ex-league teams will probably find themselves on TV a lot more than they would have been had they still been occupying the lower reaches of League 2. Like most teams relegated to the conference, Wrexham will fancy a quick return only to be met with a big shock.
19:45 Manchester City v Midtylland, UEFA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round, 1st Leg, ITV4
Sp3ktor and I went to Copenhagen a couple of seasons ago and saw Midtylland thrash Brondby 4-1. On paper, City should win this tie. On grass, anything is possible.
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