Comments on: Your Weekend Preview: South African Edition

By: Chang Pastano

Chang Pastano — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 22:44:53 +0000

The City is house to Greyville Racecourse, an enormous Thoroughbred horse racing venue which every year hosts a lot of prestigious races together with the rustic’s greatest experience, the July Handicap, and the optimal staying event in South Africa, the Gold Cup. Every other neatly-equipped Racecourse is positioned at Clairwood, simply south of town centre and not far from Durban Global Airport.

By: Magnakai Haaskivi

Magnakai Haaskivi — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 03:02:25 +0000

You’re right about that, I do think that things can change quickly for them; if Drogba were to go down, I doubt Anelka/Kalou can fill that role, for example. They’ve managed to be REALLY lucky, too, though…and sometimes that luck is all they need.

Plus, after City, look at their fixture list:

12/12-Everton (H)
12/16-Portsmouth (H)
12/20-West Ham (A)
12/26-Birmingham (A)
12/28-Fulham (H)
1/9-Hull (A)
1/16-Sunderland (H)

If they beat City tomorrow, I don’t see a team I’d expect to get a result against them on that list until Sunderland. At this point, a good run could really separate them away from even United.

As far as the other four spots, I think that maybe Liverpool can squeeze back in now that they’re out of the CL and have some time to recover between games…but that’s admittedly likely to be wishful thinking.

By: jjf3

jjf3 — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:45:27 +0000

Mags, not sure I really disagree at all. But this seems like the kind of team (if there is one?) that can have its fortunes changed in a hurry. No question that they’ve done everything you could ever ask of a champion to be. But something about them scared me 4 months ago, and I guess I’m just not fully assuaged by their performance since. That said, if they were to seriously spend money in January on the presumption of a 2-year ban, they could build a freaking monster that would have SAF changing his underpants 3 times a day…and I think we ultimatley agree on the 8-horse race, even if we see different delineations within that group….

By: Magnakai Haaskivi

Magnakai Haaskivi — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:33:54 +0000

Chelsea’s got a five point lead on United, whom they’ve already beaten; after United, there’s ten points between Chelsea and Tottenham. I’m no Chelsea fan, but they’ve been clinically impressive in the games that matter, and relatively unaffected by losing games that, given their current form, don’t (they responded rather well to the Wigan loss, for example). Plus, they’ll be able to strength in January, and Ancelotti seems to get things out of players (Deco, for example) that Scolari/Hiddink didn’t, which adds some depth.

I’m not saying I’d give them the title now, as there’s a lot left to play for…but I completely expect them to manhandle City tomorrow.

Also, for as much as Liverpool’s struggled (and will likely continue to struggle, given that Fernando Torres is going to be on-again, off-again all season), it’s worth mentioning that they’re only two points (and a game in hand) back from Arsenal for the fourth spot. I think we’ve got a two horse race for the title and a five or six horse race for the two remaining spots in the CL.

By: jjf3

jjf3 — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:15:04 +0000

I’m with you on your questioning of Chelski. I have no question that if “November form” meant anything, I’d hand them the title right now. But I remember Arsenal and Hull last year, and the fact that there’s an AFC this year, and look at a relatively “old” squad, and presume an injury or two, and suddenly I see March and April as being big months. That said, I expected much more slippage from ManUre than I’ve seen, and more aggressive advancement from both Liverpool and Arsenal. So, big picture, it would seem that I’ve gotten more wrong than right. I ultimately think that the top 8 or so will be more “compressed” than normal, which would be a nice change to the normal “big-4″ dominance.

Also, Hull’s recent run reminds me that you can’t just presume a bottom 3 this early. But Pompey is in huge trouble, and West Ham’s monetary problems seem to have had a disproportionate effect on the squad. Which is weird given how good they “can” look…

By: Magnakai Haaskivi

Magnakai Haaskivi — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:31:06 +0000

Grasshopper’s season started was terrible, and Zurich is the defending champions, so this should be harder. We’re going to totally rock them, though; the Champions League seems to have taken the wind out of their sails a bit.

Fun fact: both teams play in the same stadium.