Archives for August 2010

Bloomfield Road

Bloomfield Road's first top-tier game in 39 years - graced by England coach Fabio Capello on what may just have been the Italian's first visit to this seaside resort - was never designed as a day for understatement.

And so it proved as a vibrant, tangerine-splashed occasion started with the match programme describing Blackpool's ascent to the Premier League as "the biggest fairytale in modern British football history".

It concluded with Seasiders' manager Ian Holloway, having watched his charges earn a point against Fulham that was the very least they deserved, claiming he has "an almost impossible job" attempting to keep the club in the Premier League, suggesting he needs to sign "at least eight" players before Tuesday's transfer deadline.

The truth, as is usual in most of these cases, resides somewhere in between. As the top flight made a belated return to a Bloomfield Road ground unrecognisable from the one it left behind when Manchester United drew 1-1 here in May 1971, this was a day for a team and a town's pride to be put on public display.

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Peter Crouch was not even trying to be careful what he wished for as he basked in the glory of Tottenham's qualification for the serious business of the Champions League group stage.

"We want Real Madrid and Inter. You don't know how good you are until you play against the best," announced Spurs' hat-trick hero after Harry Redknapp's side eased fears they might squander a potential £30m jackpot by easing past Young Boys of Berne.

Now Crouch and Spurs will get the chance to find out as the draw in Monaco threw them up against holders Inter Milan, albeit in a different guise under the leadership of former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez as opposed to Jose Mourinho.

Werder Bremen and FC Twente complete a tough reintroduction to Europe's elite group for Spurs in a draw laced with cautious optimism for all of the Premier League's representatives.

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Eastlands

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan may have taken two years to visit his Eastlands empire - but Manchester City ensured the wait was worthwhile as they showed an impressive return on his vast investment.

He has chosen to view his £350m outlay from afar since changing English football's landscape with his riches, but will return to Abu Dhabi pleased with the progress of his pet project if City's dismissal of abject Liverpool proves an accurate measure.

Sheikh Mansour's presence lifted spirits inside Eastlands even before a City side containing six England internationals delivered a performance fit for their affluent ruler.

And as he took the adulation of City's adoring fans, there was bitter irony for their Liverpool counterparts as they suffer the current power vacuum created by Tom Hicks and George Gillett and looked every inch the poor relations on and off the pitch.

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Chelsea and Manchester United may have formed part of the traditional Premier League guard of honour as they battled for the Community Shield once more but last season hinted at an increasing vulnerability among English football's established powers.

Carlo Ancelotti's march to a Premier League and FA Cup double in his first season at Stamford Bridge was not without stumbles, while Sir Alex Ferguson's Old Trafford empire had to be fortified by the relatively meagre rations afforded by a Carling Cup victory.

Manchester City's latest splurge of summer spending will only increase demands for at least a trophy at Eastlands, while Liverpool - my flawed title tip last term - responded to a dismal campaign by replacing Rafael Benitez with Roy Hodgson.

Martin O'Neill's sudden departure from Aston Villa only adds to the drama ahead of the new season, while the return of Newcastle United and Blackpool to the top flight provides both stature and romance.

So, with cracks in the crystal ball repaired, it is time to predict how the Premier League might play out in 2010/11.

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