Barrie's View

There were no real problems for England this evening as they won 3-1 in Switzerland to top Group G.

After good work down the right wing, Glen Johnson setup Wayne Rooney for England’s opener on 10 minutes. Theo Walcott was injured in the same move. His replacement, Adam Johnson impressed once again as he stakes a claim for a regular place in the England side.

Stephan Lichtsteiner’s red card 20 minutes into the second half seemed to give England breathing space, and 3 points never looked in doubt when Adam Johnson doubled the lead with 20 minutes remaining. Then Xherdan Shaqiri stunned the travelling support with a long range effort that flew into the top corner past Joe Hart. There went my dreams of 8 clean sheets. Other that, Joe Hart was never really tested but for a few crosses that the defence didn’t handle well with Phil Jagielka and Joleon Lescott playing in the centre of defence.

Substitute Darren Bent wrapped up 3 points leaving Switzerland with a bit of work to do after Montenegro join England with a 100% record following their 1-0 win in Bulgaria that persuaded head coach Stanimir Stoilov to resign after the game. Montenegro host Switzerland in their next qualifying game, in October. A few days later they travel to Wembley Stadium which will be England’s third game in this group.

England to Win Group G

Without wanting to sound arrogant, Group G already looks wrapped up for England. Trips to Wales and Montenegro on Friday night’s will be our only challenges, and that for the atmosphere more than anything else. England have been handed a very weak group, with Switzerland being a poor second seed.

Euro 2012 Results

England were not the only big nation to concede a goal this evening, as Azerbaijan scored in Germany. They did concede 6 however. Portugal were beat 1-0 in Norway, leaving them 5 points behind the Scandinavians after two games. Italy recorded their second win of 2010, adding a 5-0 victory over Faroe Islands to their 2-1 win in Estonia on Friday. Laurent Blanc got a valuable 2-0 victory in Bosnia & Herzegovina that sets them up nicely in Group D after their home loss to Belarus on Friday. They are 4/6 to win their group. And a special shout out to Scotland who scored a stoppage time winner to beat the mighty Liechtenstein.

England were untested in their opening Euro 2012 qualifying match last night at Wembley stadium against Bulgaria. Jermain Defoe opened the scoring in the 3rd minute of the game, and England would not add to their lead until the hour when Defoe finished off a counter-attacking move.

Substitute Adam Johnson added to the score late on, before Jermain Defoe became the 57th player to score a hat trick for England with 5 minutes remaining. The scoreline was impressive, but Bulgaria failed to test England. To sum it up, Joe Hart’s biggest test came from his own defender, Glen Johnson who nearly put the ball into his own net. Phil Jagielka remains the only player to have scored past Joe Hart in 5 international appearances, and even then that was controversial.

The Future

Building for the European Championships in two years time, without the likes of John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard, Fabio Capello had an opportunity to play some fresh talent. Joe Hart, Michael Dawson, Phil Jagielka, Theo Walcott and James Milner all started.

Michael Dawson was stretchered off early in the second half with what appeared to be a serious leg injury. Despite Bulgaria not having much potency in attack, Dawson still managed to look a liability at the back. With a lack of pace and a poor start to the season with Spurs, Dawson would be far short of pulling on an England shirt in an ideal world. His replacement in the second half, Gary Cahill had no problem fitting in, and even threw his body in the way of a goal-bound effort from Stiliyan Petrov.

Phil Jagielka was the better of England’s defenders last night, but right now he’s not ready to take on the top players in the international game. Solid in the air, he relied on a few last-ditch challenges to get the team out of trouble.

Theo Walcott had made a great start to the season with Arsenal and deserved his place in the starting eleven against Bulgaria. Apart from being able to whiz by defenders, Walcott continued to show nothing in an England shirt as he failed to setup opportunities for team mates or himself, despite having the ball in good positions in the final third. His replacement for the final quarter of an hour, Adam Johnson managed to get himself on the scoresheet as he looked like a bigger threat in the penalty area than Walcott.

James Milner was positioned in the left wing, where perhaps he is unable to maximise his potential at international level. He had another solid, hard-working game for England against Bulgaria as he proved he was fit to wear the shirt on Friday. A tougher test on Tuesday night, but Milner is bidding to become one of England’s key players in 2012.

Ashley Young came on for the final 3 minutes after Jermain Defoe picked up a knock in scoring his third. There was not enough time to make a judgement on Young, who was unable to even get a touch of the ball.

Tuesday

Switzerland away on Tuesday is potentially the toughest game in the group for England. Montenegro and Wales away should not be underestimated, although England are capable of running away with the group. It’s hard to predict which nations are even going to break England down and score past them in this group, which is ultimately going to be a lack of match practice for when England race the real test in Poland and Ukraine in two years. As ever with England, you expect a comfortable qualifying campaign to end with disaster when it comes to the main stage. For now though, we might-as-well enjoy it whilst we’re on top and knowing we’re not in as bad a situation as France, who went down 1-0 at home to Belarus yesterday.

Arsenal
Manuel Almunia
Andrei Arshavin
Nicklas Bendtner
Marouane Chamakh
Gael Clichy
Denilson
Abou Diaby
Johan Djourou
Emmanuel Eboue
Lukasz Fabianski
Cesc Fabregas
Laurent Koscielny
Vito Mannone
Samir Nasri
Tomas Rosicky
Bacary Sagna
Alex Song
Sebastien Squillaci
Robin van Persie
Thomas Vermaelen

(Arsenal under 21 players that didn’t need to be registered to play, include: Emmanuel Frimpong, Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey, Carlos Vela , Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere)

Aston Villa
Gabriel Agbonlahor
Habib Beye
John Carew
James Collins
Carlos Cuellar
Curtis Davies
Stewart Downing
Richard Dunne
Brad Friedel
Brad Guzan
Emile Heskey
Jonathan Hogg
Stephen Ireland
Eric Lichaj
Isaiah Osbourne
Stiliyan Petrov
Nigel Reo-Coker
Moustapha Salifou
Steve Sidwell
Stephen Warnock
Ashley Young
Luke Young

(Aston Villa under 21 players that didn’t need to be registered to play, include: Marc Albrighton, Barry Bannan, Ciaran Clark, Nathan Delfouneso and Fabian Delph)

Birmingham City
Jean Beausejour
Lee Bowyer
Stephen Carr
Scott Dann
Matt Derbyshire
Colin Doyle
Keith Fahey
Barry Ferguson
Ben Foster
Craig Gardner
Alexander Hleb
Cameron Jerome
Martin Jiranek
Roger Johnson
Sebastian Larsson
James McFadden
Michel
David Murphy
Garry O’Connor
James O’Shea
Stuart Parnaby
Kevin Phillips
Liam Ridgewell
Maik Taylor
Nikola Zigic

Blackburn Rovers
Keith Andrews
Benjani
Jason Brown
Mark Bunn
Pascal Chimbonda
El-Hadji Diouf
Mame Biram Diouf
David Dunn
Brett Emerton
Frank Fielding
Morten Gamst Pedersen
Gael Givet
Vince Grella
Nikola Kalinic
Ryan Nelsen
Steven N’Zonzi
Martin Olsson
Jason Roberts
Paul Robinson
Michel Salgado
Chris Samba

(Blackburn Rovers under 21 players that didn’t need to be registered to play, include: Aaron Doran, Junior Hoilett and Phil Jones)

Blackpool:
Charlie Adam
Alex Baptiste
Chris Basham
Stephen Crainey
DJ Campbell
David Carney
Danny Coid
Ishmel Demontagnac
Neal Eardley
Rob Edwards
Jason Euell
Ian Evatt
Matthew Gilks
Elliot Grandin
Marlon Harewood
Dekel Keinan
Malaury Martin
Brett Ormerod
Keith Southern
Ludovic Sylvestre
Gary Taylor-Fletcher
Luke Varney
David Vaughan

Bolton Wanderers
Ali Al-Habsi (on loan at Wigan Athletic)
Robbie Blake
Adam Bogdan
Gary Cahill
Tamir Cohen
Kevin Davies
Mark Davies
Sean Davis
Johan Elmander
Ricardo Gardner
Stuart Holden
Jussi Jaaskelainen
Ivan Klasnic
Zat Knight
Chung-Yong Lee
Fabrice Muamba
Andy O’Brien
Joey O’Brien
Martin Petrov
Sam Ricketts
Paul Robinson
Jlloyd Samuel
Gretar Steinsson
Matt Taylor

Chelsea
Alex
Nicolas Anelka
Yossi Benayoun
Jose Bosingwa
Petr Cech
Ashley Cole
Didier Drogba
Michael Essien
Paulo Ferreira
Hilario
Branislav Ivanovic
Salomon Kalou
Frank Lampard
Florent Malouda
John Obi Mikel
Ramires
John Terry
Ross Turnbull
Yuri Zhirkov

(Chelsea under 21 players that didn’t need to be registered to play, include: Fabio Borini, Jeffrey Bruma, Gael Kakuta, Daniel Sturridge and Patrick van Aanholt)

Everton
Victor Anichebe
Mikel Arteta
Leighton Baines
Jermaine Beckford
Diniyar Bilyaletdinov
Tim Cahill
Seamus Coleman
Sylvain Distin
Marouane Fellaini
John Heitinga
Tony Hibbert
Tim Howard
Phil Jagielka
Jan Mucha
Phil Neville
Leon Osman
Steven Pienaar
Louis Saha
Iain Turner
James Vaughan
Yakubu

(Everton under 21 players that didn’t need to be registered to play, include: Jose Baxter, Shane Duffy, Magaye Gueye and Jack Rodwell)

Fulham
Chris Baird
Simon Davies
Moussa Dembele
Clint Dempsey
Kagisho Dikgacoi
Damien Duff
David Elm
Dickson Etuhu
Zoltan Gera
Jonathan Greening
Andrew Johnson
Eddie Johnson
Rafik Halliche
Brede Hangeland
Aaron Hughes
Diomansy Kamara
Stephen Kelly
Danny Murphy
John Pantsil
Bjorn Helge Riise
Carlos Salcido
Mark Schwarzer
David Stockdale
Fredrik Stoor
Bobby Zamora

Liverpool
Daniel Agger
Fabio Aurelio
Ryan Babel
Jamie Carragher
Joe Cole
Stephen Darby
Steven Gerrard
Glen Johnson
Brad Jones
Milan Jovanovic
Paul Konchesky
Dirk Kuyt
Sotirios Kyrgiakos
Lucas
Raul Meireles
Christian Poulsen
Jose Reina
Maxi Rodriguez
Martin Skrtel
Jay Spearing
Fernando Torres

(Liverpool under 21 players that didn’t need to be registered to play, include: Martin Kelly, David N’Gog, Daniel Pacheco, Jonjo Shelvey and Daniel Wilson)

Manchester City
Emmanuel Adebayor
Gareth Barry
Jerome Boateng
Wayne Bridge
Nigel de Jong
Shay Given
Joe Hart
Adam Johnson
Michael Johnson
Jo
Aleksander Kolarov
Vincent Kompany
Joleon Lescott
Shaleum Logan
James Milner
Micah Richards
Roque Santa Cruz
David Silva
Stuart Taylor
Carlos Tevez
Kolo Toure
Yaya Toure
Patrick Vieira
Shaun Wright-Phillips
Pablo Zabaleta

(Manchester City under 21 players that didn’t need to be registered to play, include: Mario Balotelli, Dedryck Boyata and Greg Cunningham)

Manchester United
Anderson
Dimitar Berbatov
Wes Brown
Michael Carrick
Jonny Evans
Patrice Evra
Rio Ferdinand
Darren Fletcher
Darron Gibson
Ryan Giggs
Owen Hargreaves
Javier Hernandez
Park Ji-Sung
Tomasz Kuszczak
Nani
Gary Neville
John O’Shea
Michael Owen
Wayne Rooney
Paul Scholes
Antonio Valencia
Edwin van der Sar
Nemanja Vidic

(Manchester United under 21 players that didn’t need to be registered to play, include: Ben Amos, Bebe, Ritchie De Laet, Fabio, Federico Macheda, Gabriel Obertan, Rafael and Chris Smalling)

Newcastle United
Shola Ameobi
Joey Barton
Hatem Ben Arfa
Leon Best
Sol Campbell
Fabricio Coloccini
Jose Enrique
Fraser Forster
Danny Guthrie
Jonas Gutierrez
Steve Harper
Tim Krul
Peter Lovenkrands
Kevin Nolan
James Perch
Wayne Routledge
Danny Simpson
Alan Smith
Ryan Taylor
Steven Taylor
Cheik Tiote
Mike Williamson
Xisco

(Newcastle United under 21 players that didn’t need to be registered to play, include: Andy Carroll and Dan Gosling)

Stoke City
Asmir Begovic
Danny Collins
Rory Delap
Salif Diao
Matthew Etherington
Abdoulaye Faye
Ricardo Fuller
Eidur Gudjohnsen
Danny Higginbotham
Robert Huth
Kenwyne Jones
Carlo Nash
Jermaine Pennant
Danny Pugh
Ryan Shawcross
Thomas Sorensen
Ryan Shotton
Tom Soares
Michael Tonge
Tuncay
Jonathan Walters
Glenn Whelan
Dean Whitehead
Andy Wilkinson
Marc Wilson

Sunderland
Marcos Angeleri
Phil Bardsley
Darren Bent
Titus Bramble
Fraizer Campbell
Trevor Carson
Lee Cattermole
Paulo da Silva
Ahmed El Mohamady
Anton Ferdinand
Craig Gordon
Asamoah Gyan
David Healy
Steed Malbranque
George McCartney
John Mensah
Simon Mignolet
Nedum Onuoha
Andy Reid
Kieran Richardson
Cristian Riveros
Michael Turner
Robbie Weir
Boudewijn Zenden

(Sunderland under 21 players that didn’t need to be registered to play, include: Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck)

Tottenham Hotspur
Benoit Assou-Ekotto
Sebastian Bassong
David Bentley
Vedran Corluka
Peter Crouch
Carlo Cudicini
Michael Dawson
Jermain Defoe
William Gallas
Gomes
Tom Huddlestone
Alan Hutton
Jermaine Jenas
Younes Kaboul
Robbie Keane
Ledley King
Niko Kranjcar
Aaron Lennon
Luka Modric
Kyle Naughton
Jamie O’Hara
Wilson Palacios
Roman Pavlyuchenko
Stipe Pletikosa
Rafael van der Vaart

(Tottenham Hotspur under 21 players that didn’t need to be registered to play, include: Gareth Bale, Giovanni dos Santos, Danny Rose, Sandro and Kyle Walker)

West Bromwich Albion
Giles Barnes
Roman Bednar
Chris Brunt
Scott Carson
Marek Cech
Simon Cox
Graham Dorrans
Marc-Antoine Fortune
Pablo Ibanez
Gonzalo Jara
Dean Kiely
Abdoulaye Meite
Ishmael Miller
James Morrison
Youssouf Mulumbu
Boaz Myhill
Peter Odemwingie
Jonas Olsson
Steven Reid
Paul Scharner
Nicky Shorey
Gabriel Tamas
Somen Tchoyi
Jerome Thomas
Gianni Zuiverloon

West Ham United
Pablo Barrera
Valon Behrami
Tal Ben Haim
Luis Boa Morte
Ruud Boffin
Carlton Cole
Jack Collison
Manuel da Costa
Kieron Dyer
Julien Faubert
Daniel Gabbidon
Robert Green
Zavon Hines
Thomas Hitzlsperger
Herita Ilunga
Lars Jacobsen
Radoslav Kovac
Benni McCarthy
Mark Noble
Victor Obinna
Scott Parker
Frederic Piquionne
Winston Reid
Jonathan Spector
Matthew Upson

(West Ham United under 21 players that didn’t need to be registered to play, include: Frank Nouble, Freddie Sears, Junior Stanislas and James Tomkins)

Wigan Athletic
Ali Al-Habsi
Antolin Alcaraz
Mauro Boselli
Emmerson Boyce
Gary Caldwell
Steven Caldwell
Daniel de Ridder
Mohamed Diame
Maynor Figueroa
Steve Gohouri
Jordi Gomez
Chris Kirkland
James McArthur
Charles N’Zogbia
Mike Pollitt
Hugo Rodallega
Ronnie Stam
Hendry Thomas
Ben Watson

(Wigan Athletic under 21 players that didn’t need to be registered to play, include: Tom Cleverley, Franco di Santo, James McCarthy and Victor Moses)

Wolverhampton Wanderers
Marcus Bent
Christophe Berra
Jody Craddock
Kevin Doyle
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake
Dave Edwards
George Elokobi
Steven Fletcher
Marcus Hahnemann
Greg Halford
Wayne Hennessey
Kevin Foley
Adlene Guedioura
Karl Henry
Stephen Hunt
Carl Ikeme
Matt Jarvis
David Jones
Michael Mancienne
Nenad Milijas
Steven Mouyokolo
Richard Stearman
Jelle van Damme
Stephen Ward
Ronald Zubar

Newcastle’s 1-1 draw at Wolves on Saturday was enough to ensure both teams remained in the top half heading into the international break. The two headline makers from this game were arguably former England international Joey Barton (1 game at least) and a player whom many are touting for an England call up, Andy Carroll.

Victim

Joey Barton was on the wrong end of a number of ferocious tackles from the Wolves midfield on Saturday, that under a stronger referee may have resulted in a red card. Karl Henry in particular was the fortunate party on the Wolves side to finish the game on just a single yellow card.

Reckless to say the least was Karl Henry, who seemed to have been instructed by Mick McCarthy to irritate and wind up Joey Barton in the Newcastle midfielder. From strong and two-footed tackles in the first half to clouting through the former Manchester City player, Joe Barton was the victim of Karl Henry’s mean streak.

Tactical?

Back in Mick McCarthy’s playing days, this type of play was part and parcel of football. But in the modern game, it is has generally been stamped down and prevented with yellow and red cards produced for the tackles Henry was making at Molineux on Saturday.

Credit must go to Joey Barton, whom in a previous season would have almost-certainly retaliated and got himself sent off in the process. A more mature and shaven Barton was on the field this weekend. But for one bad tackle (that earned him a yellow card), he kept himself under control. It was his delivery from a set piece that Andy Carroll nodded home Newcastle’s equaliser. A double blow for Mick McCarthy and his Wolves side who were presumably hoping for Joey Barton to get himself sent off from which Wolves would take advantage of their numerical advantage. It didn’t happen and both parties seemed happy with a point at the end of a game that could have gone either way.

Wigan caused the surprise of the weekend in winning at White Hart Lane, while Manchester City were beaten at Sunderland. Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal all came out victorious as the top three make a good start to the season.

As well as the top three, Bolton, Birmingham, Wolves and Fulham all remain unbeaten.

Here is this week’s edition of the Premier League Power Rankings:

1. Chelsea (1)
Result: 2-0 win over Stoke City
Maintaining their 100% start, now putting their goal tally up to 14 scored and 0 conceded. Chelsea will be grateful of the international break following knocks to both John Terry and Frank Lampard, and should maintain similar form when the Premier League resumes with a trip to West Ham.

2. Arsenal (2)
Result: 2-1 win at Blackburn Rovers
Not many teams are going to win at Ewood Park this season, but Arsene Wenger’s side can be credited with that success after Saturday’s early kickoff. The pace and flair they possess up front is what usually troubles the Blackburn defence and that was evident in this result that keeps Arsenal in 2nd place.

3. Manchester United (3)
Result: 3-0 win over West Ham United
A workman like display in a 3-0 victory over West Ham. We expected nothing less from Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, even if it did take a late first half Wayne Rooney penalty to set them on their way.

4. Manchester City (4)
Result: 1-0 loss at Sunderland
The Stadium of Light is a tough place to go too, and only Manchester United have won their in 2010. City could have added to that list if Carlos Tevez had put away the open goal opportunity he was gifted in the first half. It wasn’t meant to be, but Roberto Mancini will keep his job and City can beat Blackburn after the international break.

5. Tottenham Hotspur (5)
Result: 1-0 loss to Wigan Athletic
There probably won’t be a more embarrassing result for Spurs all season that what happened this weekend. They can be forgiven for their lacklustre performance following their Champions League qualification midweek. This is a stumbling block to finishing in the top 4 again this season, but they will be there or there abouts come the end of the season.

6. Liverpool (8)
Result: 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion
There was nothing fancy about Liverpool’s 1-0 victory over West Brom on Sunday. A team they usually thrash was made hard work. Fernando Torres scored the goal but he still looks short of his best. Other than taking three points away from this game, another positive for Liverpool fans is that this is Roy Hodgson’s favourite scoreline. Maybe that’s why they didn’t go for 6?

7. Aston Villa (13)
Result: 1-0 win over Everton
Kevin MacDonald became only the fourth manager in the Premier League this season to win two games following their 1-0 victory over Everton on Sunday. To say it was fortunate is an understatement. Their left back scored with his left foot and Everton created the more chances in the match and were unlucky not to come away with something. However, winning games when you don’t play at your best is a compliment to Aston Villa.

8. Bolton Wanderers (9)
Result: 2-2 draw with Birmingham City
A fantastic point for Owen Coyle’s side after they fell 2 down and a man down following Jussi Jaaskelainen’s petulance in the first half. A sprited performance but how long this unbeaten run will continue remains in doubt. Bolton travel to Arsenal after the international break and host Manchester United shortly after.

9. Birmingham City (6)
Result: 2-2 draw at Bolton Wanderers
This result will feel like 2 points dropped following their 2-0 lead against 10 men. But being unbeaten after 3 games is a good start for Birmingham City and with games against West Brom and Wigan to come in the following weeks, there’s no reason why Birmingham can’t match the start they made last season.

10. Wolverhampton Wanderers (10)
Result: 1-1 draw with Newcastle United
A fine finish from Sylvan Ebanks-Blake was only enough to earn Wolves a point at home to newly-promoted Newcastle. This game will be remembered more for the number of dirty tackles the Wolves players made on Joey Barton than anything else. But I can’t help but think Mick McCarthy had a clever, if not wicked game plan in doing that.

11. Fulham (7)
Result: 2-2 draw at Blackpool
A chance for Mark Hughes to record his first league victory as Fulham manager was blown in a 2-2 draw at Bloomfield Road. Not only did this gift Blackpool another point, but Fulham have now drawn their opening three games of the season. They’re a solid bunch whom I expect to be competing for midtable status this season.

12. Newcastle United (12)
Result: 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers
A respectable result and credit to Joey Barton for not reacting to any of the number of foul tackles against him on Saturday. Chris Hughton’s side continue to add to their points tally and Andy Carroll scored again as he looks to establish himself as a Premier League striker.

13. Sunderland (17)
Result: 1-0 win over Manchester City
A 1-0 defeat at West Brom was followed up with a 1-0 win over Manchester City for Sunderland. It didn’t look good from the outset, with an inexperienced keeper and a defence that included Anton Ferdinand at right back, Titus Bramble in the middle and Kieran Richardson at left back. Somehow they kept a clean sheet against the multi-million pound spending Blues, before Darren Bent converted a late stoppage time penalty to seal three points.

14. Blackburn Rovers (14)
Result: 2-1 loss to Arsenal
A valiant effort in defeat by Arsenal, Blackburn travel to Manchester City imm ediately after the international break before I expect them to pick up points in the easier fixtures following. They remain a solid bunch under Sam Allardyce and won’t be any lower than this position after 38 games.

15. Everton (11)
Result: 1-0 loss at Aston Villa
Unlucky in defeat on Sunday, David Moyes’ side are making a slow start to this season as they did last year. Everton are too good to be down this end of the table, but until they start picking up points they’re not going to move up.

16. West Bromwich Albion (16)
Result: 1-0 loss at Liverpool
Another result that will give West Brom fans optimism for the season. Their opening fixture list is a tough one, but if they can remain out of the relegation zone over the next few weeks it can only be a benefit to the club. They’re currently relying on Wigan, Stoke and West Ham not to pick up any more points, and currently that is something they have every faith in relying on.

17. Blackpool (19)
Result: 2-2 draw with Fulham
Ian Holloway is doing his best to fend off critics like me, and another point this weekend helps his cause. I’ve even put them above the relegation zone this weekend, but I don’t expect to see them here after their next five games that consist of Newcastle, Chelsea, Blackburn, Liverpool and Manchester City. Best of luck Ian.

18. Wigan Athletic (20)
Result: 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur
A great result on paper, but it was help thanks to Tottenham’s lacklustre performance. It’s also early signs that Wigan are going to be as inconsistent as they were last season under Roberto Martinez, which means they’ll only survive if the competition around them is worse.

19. Stoke City (15)
Result: 2-0 loss at Chelsea
It’s been a slow start to the season for Tony Pulis and his Stoke City side, who remain without a point from any of their opening three games. Points are a must from their back-to-back home games with Aston Villa and West Ham after the international break from which they can use to build on.

20. West Ham United (18)
Result: 3-0 loss at Manchester United
With fellow relegation candidates picking up surprise points in their opening three games, West Ham remain without a point from theirs. Still looking hopeless in defence, there is some optimism going forward despite not scoring at Old Trafford. West Ham fans will be keeping their fingers crossed that Liverpool’s bid for Carlton Cole is more than just rumours.

After the worst possible start to their Champions League campaign when Tottenham Hotspur went 3-0 down inside 30 minutes in their qualifying first leg in Bern, Harry Redknapp’s side turned it around in style over the remaining two hours to book their place in the Champions League.

Game-Changing Substitution

The substitution of Tom Huddlestone for Benoit Assou-Ekotto shortly after Spurs conceded their third goal in Switzerland turned the tie around, with the two-time England international bringing composure into their midfield, and taking up the space in the centre of midfield that had gifted Young Boys to two of their three goals.

In that first leg, Sebastien Bassong scored a valuable goal before half time, with the Cameroonian defender having been at fault for a goal earlier in the game. Spurs were dominant for periods of that second half, with Roman Pavlyuchenko blasting home a second. At that point, Spurs always looked like progressing. They were thankful for Young Boys spurning good opportunities in that second leg.

Wasteful Young Boys

Young Boys also wasted chances at White Hart Lane this evening, but ultimately the London side were of a much better standard than their opposition. This was the performance and result we had been expecting when the draw had been made. Their odds were 1/8 to qualify entering the tie. They were still only 1.5 to qualify at 0-3 in the first leg. The Swiss side were never going to oust the fourth English qualifiers in this season’s Champions League.

However, Harry Redknapp and Tottenham Hotspur have been warned about the quality of the Champions League. Tottenham allowed Young Boys too many good opportunities over the two legs; opportunities that Spurs cannot allow to a number of team’s in tomorrow’s draw without being punished.

The Gaffer

Harry Redknapp has done a fantastic job in turning Spurs around since joining less than two years ago when they had 2 points in their opening 8 Premier League games. Finishing fourth last season and qualifying for the Champions League this evening not only assures a big income boost this season, but the ability to attract more stars to their club.

An Exciting Time Ahead

Regardless of the draw, the manager and majority of players will be playing in the Champions League for the first time. This could be a steep learning curb for all counterparts. An exciting one for the fans none-the-less who will be keeping their fingers crossed for some of Europe’s bigger known venues including Camp Nou, the Bernabeu and the Allianz Arena.

Following Aston Villa’s 6-0 crushing at the hands of Newcastle on Sunday, and have still yet to replace Martin O’Neill, Aston Villa’s odds have shot up from a one time 1.15 pre-season to currently at 1.86 on betfair, to finish above their Midlands rivals.

As a top 6 side for the past three seasons, these odds are very attractive given the players in the Aston Villa squad compared to their Midlands rivals. James Milner may have gone, but Stephen Ireland is a great replacement in the centre of the park, playing alongside the likes of Stiliyan Petrov, Stewart Downing and Ashley Young.

Aston Villa’s competitors for this bet are Birmingham City, Stoke City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion.

Birmingham City (5.1)

The Blues look like being Aston Villa’s biggest threat this season, given their top half finish last season, a few big summer buys and 4 points from their opening two games. But can Birmingham City exceed last season’s performance, that included 2 points from an under-performing Liverpool side, a goalless draw at home to Chelsea (thanks to the departed Joe Hart), a point off Manchester United and 13 points from Hull City, Burnley and Portsmouth collectively whom have all since been relegated. Birmingham took 0 points off of Aston Villa last season, finishing 14 points behind them.

Wolverhampton Wanderers (5.3)

Some people were surprised by Wolves taking a point away from Goodison Park at the weekend. So much so their odds are much shorter than I believe they should be in this league. Yes, 4 points from their opening two games is a good start, but there’s a lot of work still to go for Mick McCarthy and his side, who’s notice board in the locker room probably reads “36 more points to go”. I feel with one year of experience and a hardworking squad will see Wolves avoid relegation for a second successive season, but they won’t be in the top half nor near Aston Villa come the end of the season. They took 2 points from Aston Villa last season but still finished 26 points behind their rivals.

Stoke City (11)

A surprise package in their first Premier League season, they were very much just the same in the second. And they plan to be the same again in their third. It’s been a poor start from Stoke City this season, without a single point in their opening two games. Having failed to improve their squad over the summer, these will not be challenging for the crown of the top Midlands cup this season. Or any time soon for that matter. 1 point and 0 goals in their two games with Aston Villa in 2009/10 saw Stoke City finish 17 points behind the Villains.

West Bromwich Albion (11.5)

Often the whipping boys of the Premier League, the yo-yo club that is West Bromwich Albion followed up their 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Chelsea with a victory over Sunderland in their second game. With their dominance of the game, albeit the failure to score one goal, West Brom have certainly given their fans more optimism in surviving this season. However, as fifth favourites in the league of five to finish top of the Midlands league, West Brom aren’t going to come close to winning it.

Best bet: Aston Villa to be Top Midlands Club 1.86 (Football – English Football – Barclays Premier League – Head to Head Leagues – Top Midlands Club)

Fabio Capello could have done with a ticket to Eastlands last night, to watch Manchester City, with 6 Englishmen on display put in a convincing 3-0 win over Liverpool.

Shot Stopper

In goal was Joe Hart, who kept his second consecutive clean sheet this season, pulling off a string of saves in the space of 10 seconds to keep Liverpool out. With performances from other English goalkeepers this season, Joe Hart is on his way to cementing his place in the England team for next month’s Euro 2012 qualifying fixtures.

Full Backs

Manchester City started with two English full backs in Micah Richards on the right and Joleon Lescott on the left, in the absence of the injured Aleksandar Kolarov. Richards put in a solid performance, but for a few fouls than earned him a yellow card. Lescott wasn’t as safe and playing like this he will be exposed by the better right wingers and full backs in the Premier League.

Team Mates Past and Present

Former Aston Villa team mates, James Milner and Gareth Barry hooked up in midfield. The latest of the arrivals from Villa Park setup his former captain for the opening goal after some good play from City down the right, that started with Yaya Toure.

An Exciting Future?

On the right flank, Adam Johnson had another influential performance as he caused Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel problems all evening. This performance should interest England boss Fabio Capello given the lack of form from Aaron Lennon and Shaun Wright-Phillips in England shirts. He’s a threat when he cuts inside on his left foot and has great delivery of the ball. He wasn’t far off with a long range effort early on, but if he wants to become a regular in the national team he needs to hold down a regular spot at club level first. He faces competition from Mario Balotelli in the coming weeks.

Also in Contention

Shaun Wright-Phillips was an unused substitute as he days at Manchester City appear to be numbered under Roberto Mancini with the number of midfielders bought this summer by the Italian. His pace could have been useful in Roy Hodgson’s Liverpool side yesterday, who failed to create any real opportunities but for one attack that resulted in 3 shots at Joe Hart. Liverpool themselves named just two English players in the starting lineup; Glen Johnson and Jamie Carragher.

English Core

Despite the big money signings from abroad over the past few seasons from Manchester City, the core of their team can provide a number of players to the England team. With Gareth Barry being a regular. Joe Hart and James Milner looking to become ones, the likes of Joleon Lescott, Micah Richards and Adam Johnson have all been given chances to prove their worth to Roberto Mancini this season. Shaun Wright-Phillips was also given his chance on the opening day of the season.

A bizarre start to the season sees the most common score in the Premier League after 20 games as 6-0 (4 occasions). This weekend saw Chelsea win 6-0 for the second straight game, Arsenal defeat Blackpool 6-0 and Newcastle cause a massive shock by beating Aston Villa 6-0.

In other games that weren’t so one-sided, Manchester United were held 2-2 at Fulham, while Tottenham Hotspur and West Bromwich Albion got valuable wins for their battles at either end of the table. Chelsea are the only side to make a 100% start after 2 games.

Here is this week’s edition of the Premier League Power Rankings:

1. Chelsea (1)
Result: 6-0 win at Wigan Athletic
It took a while to break Wigan down, but once they did Chelsea looked like being the only winners before they went into cruise control

2. Arsenal (4)
Result: 6-0 win over Blackpool
An extra man for most of the game worked to their advantage, but this performance will give Arsenal fans optimism this season

3. Manchester United (2)
Result: 2-2 draw at Fulham
Threw away victory from a winning position. This result sees Manchester United playing catch up with the defending champions already after two games

4. Manchester City (6)
Result: 3-0 win over Liverpool
A convincing Monday night performance looks like money well spent so far. Early days though

5. Tottenham Hotspur (5)
Result: 2-1 win at Stoke City
A good result at a tough ground to go too, Spurs have good depth in attack

6. Birmingham City (9)
Result: 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers
The second game Birmingham have come from behind this season. Set pieces once again an asset

7. Fulham (10)
Result: 2-2 draw with Manchester United
Great late equaliser against Manchester United initially makes Mark Hughes like he’s slotted in smoothly to Roy Hodgson’s chair

8. Liverpool (7)
Result: 3-0 loss at Manchester City
Lots of work needs to be done, both defensively and going forward. Next week’s fixture is kinder

9. Bolton Wanderers (14)
Result: 3-1 win at West Ham United
Johan Elmander looked good on Saturday. West Ham’s defence helped him, but it’s a good start to the season for Bolton none-the-less

10. Wolverhampton Wanderers (12)
Result: 1-1 draw at Everton
These fighting performances and points on the road are what will help Wolves avoid relegation again this season

11. Everton (11)
Result: 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers
Another disappointing start to the season adds a little pressure on Everton to get a result at Aston Villa next weekend

12. Newcastle United (11)
Result: 6-0 win over Aston Villa
A remarkable victory over Aston Villa on Sunday puts an end to Joey Barton’s moustache

13. Aston Villa (3)
Result: 6-0 loss at Newcastle United
A shocking performance and defeat for Aston Villa will have ruled Kevin MacDonald out of the full time job

14. Blackburn Rovers (8)
Result: 2-1 loss at Birmingham City
A disappointing result at Birmingham especially after taking the lead

15. Stoke City (15)
Result: 2-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur
Another injury and another defeat for Stoke City. Set pieces not going to plan as of yet

16. West Bromwich Albion (20)
Result: 1-0 win over Sunderland
A valuable and deserved win for West Brom before they travel to Liverpool next weekend. And host Tottenham after

17. Sunderland (13)
Result: 1-0 loss at West Bromwich Albion
1 point from two games won’t satisfy the fans or board given the fixtures Steve Bruce has had

18. West Ham United (17)
Result: 3-1 loss to Bolton Wanderers
Another dreadful performance decreases West Ham’s relegation odds

19. Blackpool (18)
Result: 6-0 loss at Arsenal
Back to reality for Blackpool. Comfortably beaten by a top side. Could easily have been double figures

20. Wigan Athletic (19)
Result: 6-0 loss to Chelsea
Pressure growing on manager Roberto Martinez after his side has given up 10 goals in two games

After last season’s close run in with Manchester United, Chelsea won the 2009/10 Premier League title by 1 point on the final day of last season. With their final three games coming against Stoke City, Liverpool and Wigan Athletic, it never looked in doubt at that stage to be honest. In my eyes and betting accounts at least.

Last Season

The 2009/10 Premier League trophy came to Stanford Bridge despite being manager Carlo Ancelotti’s first season in English football, despite key players including Didier Drogba disappearing to the African Cup of Nations mid-season, a long-term injury to midfielder Michael Essien and captain John Terry falling apart in the second half of the season after his personal life was published all over the news. Chelsea won the Premier League despite all the problems that should have prevented them from doing so.

To continue where they’ve left off from last season, Chelsea have opened this campaign with back-to-back 6-0 victories, albeit against relegation favourites West Bromwich Albion and Wigan Athletic respectively. But their victory at the DW Stadium on Saturday was 3 more points than they got their last season. A sign of Chelsea’s improvement? Or a sign that Carlo Ancelotti has more knowledge after a season’s experience in the Premier League?

Goal Scoring

Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda, Nicolas Anelka and substitute Salomon Kalou have all made a bright start to the Premier League, despite Frank Lampard being relatively quiet so far.(mind you, he still has 1 goal already). Chelsea have a frighteningly good attack and are capable of breaking the 100-goal barrier as they did last season. 12 goals to their name already with 36 games remaining; William Hill’s offering of 11/4 for Chelsea to hit the century mark has got me betting.

Improvements from Last Season

Last season, Chelsea had difficulties defending set pieces. While West Brom and Wigan haven’t given us a chance to see if they have improved this season, the departure of Ricardo Carvalho is only an improvement in that area. I’m still unsure of Alex’s defensive capabilities, despite a vast improvement last season and a good performance against Wigan. From set pieces though, he’s a big bald-headed defender who gets his head onto a lot of balls. Along with Didier Drogba, Branislav Ivanovic and John Terry in there, there shouldn’t be too many opponents getting their head onto a lot of crosses against Chelsea this season. Even if Petr Cech doesn’t fill his defence with confidence in dealing with them.

Joe Cole has gone and the reliable and consistent Yossi Benayoun has come in. An improvement to the squad, provided Benayoun doesn’t get upset about being a backup, after coming out about his frustration at not being a regular under Rafa Benitez, after signing for Chelsea. With Florent Malouda flourishing under Ancelotti, Benayoun will spend the season competing with Nicolas Anelka on the right for a place in the starting lineup. The French forward who is on an 18-game suspension with his national team scored a brace at the weekend after struggling for goals in 2010 last season. Chelsea have been linked to Brazilian’s Neymar and Kaka in recent times with question marks raised over Anelka.

There’s still question marks over the defence. Will John Terry re-find his form of old this season? Is Alex good enough against the top players? Should Paulo Ferreira still be in the Premier League? Is Petr Cech overrated? Those questions will be answered as the season progresses. I do believe they have the best full back pairing in the Premier League with Branislav Ivanovic and Ashley Cole on either flank. Michael Essien also adds great protection in front of the defence.

Their Challengers

Manchester United are second favourites this season. They’ve already fallen 2 points behind Chelsea, throwing away victory at Fulham on Sunday. Once again not winning without Wayne Rooney. Dimitar Berbatov failed to deliver at the weekend and Javier Hernandez had a quiet game. Do United have the fire power to compete with Chelsea? Carlo Ancelotti and the Blues also done the double over Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United last season. Without Rio Ferdinand, the defence looks vulnerable. The midfield is relying on an ageing Paul Scholes at the moment, and there’s question marks over the attack. United look weaker than they did two seasons ago and by failing to pick up points against the likes of Fulham is going to hurt them this season. They’ll be the ones needing to do the double over Chelsea if they want to finish on top of the league. That seems unlikely.

Arsenal are third favourites. There’s no doubt they have a quality midfield. And when Robin van Persie returns to full fitness up front they’ve be a threat to most defences. But it’s their own defence that raises alarms. Even if Laurent Koscielny turns out to be a star (whom I already have doubts about), there’s no depth there. Baring in mind they are also competing in the Champions League this season. And the position that frustrates most Arsenal fans is their goalkeeper. No Premier League team has ever won the league without a top goalkeeper. Manuel Almunia is not one of those. His blunders this season, like previous are going to cost Arsenal points this season unless Arsene Wenger finally breaks free of his stubborness that has prevented him from going out and getting a new one.

Manchester City’s odds have fallen far from the 5/1 they were pre-season following their 0-0 draw at Tottenham Hotspur on the opening day of the season. Currently, they’re a bunch of talented individuals and not a team. I too have question marks over this defence that was reliable on Joe Hart’s shot stopping last weekend for them to hang onto a point. Their work rate of Emmanuel Adebayor and Mario Balotelli, or the lack of, in tough games is going to harm Manchester City. The discipline of Nigel de Jong may see City reduced to 10 men on occasions this season. The departure of Craig Bellamy may prove to be a foolish one. He’s more-likely to get a league winners medal this season than any of his City team mates. Manchester City will not be title contenders this season.

The Verdict

I firmly believe the 2010/11 Premier League title is Chelsea’s to lose. With the quality at their disposal, the unit they have built and the tactical master class Carlo Ancelotti has displayed throughout his career will see them through. A long run in the Champions League may affect them in the league on occasions this season, but ultimately they will come out on top. Chelsea’s odds have dropped to 5/4 to win the Premier League now, but with their next three games coming against Stoke City, West Ham United and Blackpool, it may be best if you jump on board now.