Crystal Palace vs Arsenal
Prediction: 0 - 3
Arsenal have a relatively easy game on paper to bounce back from a 2 - 1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund midweek in the champions league. Crystal Palace are currently sitting in 19th in the league and league leaders Arsenal should have no problems winning this match by a large goal margin. Olivier Giroud should continue his fine goal scoring form with two of the goals which I expect to be assisted by current star player Mesut Özil who will also grab a goal for himself.
Aston Villa vs Everton
Prediction: 1 - 3
The meeting of the Belgium giants, Christian Benteke and Romelu Lukaku, both players who I think will get on the scoresheet this match. Benteke will grab Villa's only goal early on but a comeback from Everton will see them end up winners after a brace from Lukaku and a late game finisher from Kevin Mirallas.
Liverpool vs West Brom
Prediction: 4 - 1
Could we see the return from injury of Phillipe Coutinho? If so we will finally witness the deadly trio of Sturridge, Suarez and Coutinho for the first time this season. After loosening their grasp on top form in the premier league a home game against West Brom should be a great time for Liverpool to get back to winning games by a few goals. Sturridge and Suarez will both grab two of the goals with Stephen Sessengnon getting a consolation for the visitors to deny a clean sheet for the reds.
Manchester United vs Stoke City
Prediction: 2 - 1
Another game that David Moyes and Manchester United should really be winning. But will it be another occasion where they drop points? Stoke will put up a fight but a headed goal from one of united's centre backs will give them a lead in the second half before Wayne Rooney puts the game beyond doubt. Although Stoke will threaten a comeback late on through Ryan Shawcross heading in a corner it will be too late.
Norwich City vs Cardiff City
Prediction: 0 - 0
Two teams near the bottom of the table so far this season will both be hoping for a win this match. However a goalless draw is the most likely outcome with neither team notorious for goals right now.
Southampton vs Fulham
Prediction: 1 - 1
Another draw, this time with a goal apiece. Fulham come off their biggest win of the season after Patjim Kasami's wondergoal against Crystal Palace on Monday, however a stern Southampton defence will keep them out until a late Berbatov goal. Southampton will then reply almost immediately through a header from a corner coming from either Jose Fonte or Dejan Lovren.
Sunderland vs Newcastle United
Prediction: 0 - 4
Newcastle will run riot in this Tyneside derby with QPR loanee Loic Remy scoring his first hat trick for the club. Hatem Ben Arfa will add another goal to completely finish off Sunderland who will remain bottom of the table.
Chelsea vs Manchester City
Prediction: 1 - 3
City will take charge early on in this match through Aguero who will go on to complete his hat trick before 60 minutes is up. Towards the end of the match Chelsea will bring on Fernando Torres who will grab a 90th minute consolation goal for the blues but it will be too little too late.
Swansea vs West Ham
Prediction: 5 - 2
In the game of the week Swansea will continue their increase in form, coming back from two early hammers goals to eventually win 5 - 2. Ricardo Vaz Te and Winston Reid will give the lead to West Ham but defensive mistakes will lead to two goals each from Wilfred Bony and Jonathon De Guzman before late frustrations lead to an own goal.
Tottenham vs Hull City
Prediction: 3 - 1
To round of this weeks fixtures Tottenham Hotspur will dominate Hull City at White Hart Lane. Although Robbie Brady will give the visitors early hope from a free kick a penalty from Roberto Soldado and then a brace from in-form Andros Townsend will crush the dreams of an away win for the visitors.
Friday 25 October 2013
Sunday 20 October 2013
Match Review - FC Halifax Town vs Welling United
An amazing first half performance from my local football team FC Halifax Town gave us a vital win over Welling United in yesterday's Skrill Premier fixture. A man of the match performance from Lee Gregory led the way to the huge win as be grabbed all three goals, the second of which being an extremely acrobatic bicycle kick which nestled perfectly in the back of the Welling net. The first goal came just 8 minutes in when winger Adam Smith crossed the ball into Gregory who saw his header saved by the Welling keeper. However having the faster reactions he managed to get a second header which sailed straight into the now empty net. 16 minutes later came the magical moment. This time right back Ryan Toulson crossed the ball in to Smith whose back header fell perfectly to Gregory. As he went for the overhead kick the stadium fell silent....then the ball flew into the corner of the net as the home fans erupted! Shortly after Welling had one of their only chances of the match but the ball sailed over the bar, followed by home chants of 'you're not Lee Gregory' which continued throughout. It didn't take much longer for the hat trick to come to completion. In the 36th minute Smith passed the ball through to Dan Gardner who slotted it into the path of Gregory giving him a chance he was never going to miss from 6 yards.
However the drama of the first half was not yet over. Welling player Pires through himself to the ground in the box, dragging shayman Ryan Toulson down on top of him and to the disbelief of every fan in the stadium the referee blew for a penalty. As Pires stepped up you could cut the tension with a knife. A goal on the stroke of half time could be just what Welling needed to get back in the match. Pires ran up and sent his shot left but Halifax keeper Matt Glennon rose to the occasion, springing the right way and palming the ball away to be cleared, leaving town to go in at the break 3 - 0 up. After one of the most eventful halves of football I've ever witnessed in my life it's safe to say the players, staff and fans of Halifax were looking forward to the second half. However it did not live up to the high standards that had already been set as no further goals were scored and neither keeper had too much work to do for the remaining 45 minutes.
Overall the match was one of the best that Halifax have played in the Skrill premier this season and although it was not as nail biting an ending as perhaps the win over Barnet or the draw against Nuneaton earlier in the week it was still an extremely entertaining match and one that everybody involved with the club won't be forgetting for a while. Especially man of the match Lee Gregory.
However the drama of the first half was not yet over. Welling player Pires through himself to the ground in the box, dragging shayman Ryan Toulson down on top of him and to the disbelief of every fan in the stadium the referee blew for a penalty. As Pires stepped up you could cut the tension with a knife. A goal on the stroke of half time could be just what Welling needed to get back in the match. Pires ran up and sent his shot left but Halifax keeper Matt Glennon rose to the occasion, springing the right way and palming the ball away to be cleared, leaving town to go in at the break 3 - 0 up. After one of the most eventful halves of football I've ever witnessed in my life it's safe to say the players, staff and fans of Halifax were looking forward to the second half. However it did not live up to the high standards that had already been set as no further goals were scored and neither keeper had too much work to do for the remaining 45 minutes.
Overall the match was one of the best that Halifax have played in the Skrill premier this season and although it was not as nail biting an ending as perhaps the win over Barnet or the draw against Nuneaton earlier in the week it was still an extremely entertaining match and one that everybody involved with the club won't be forgetting for a while. Especially man of the match Lee Gregory.
Tuesday 15 October 2013
Top Five - Blink-182 Songs
Welcome to another idea I had for my blog where I want to regularly pick a random subject which could be based on anything from films to food. I will then rate my personal top five favourite things from the chosen subject. Not the most original idea I know but I think that a top ten list gives you all the information you need and letting you know more of my opinions. So lets begin!
Number 5: All the small things
Possibly the most well know blink song, especially to an audience who are not huge fans of the band. From the album 'Enema of the State', All the small things has a great chorus, my favourite lines of the song being 'say it ain't so, I will not go, turn the lights off, carry me home.' However the song only makes number 5 on my list as I believe that the popularity with non-blink fans makes for some terrible covers, the worst I've heard being by Jedward...saying it all really!
Number 4: Carousel
A huge favourite comes in at number 4. Carousel is an immense Blink-182 song, proved by taking the spot of the first song on the Greatest Hits album. The intro to the song starts the song perfectly with no vocals involved until after a minute of amazing instrumentals. However I personally prefer the vocals in many other songs. This is just my personal preference though and I still love carousel!
Number 3: Up all night
One of the newer blink songs from their latest album 'Neighbourhoods' is up all night. Although I do prefer most of the bands older music to this album there are exceptions, up all night being one of them. In my opinion it is unlike any other song blink have produced as of yet and when I saw them live in Manchester during June last year the bands performance of this particular song stud out as one of the highlights of the set.
Number 2: The party song
This extremely fast paced really wakes you up, it definitely livens me up when my iPod shuffles onto it. Despite the tempo of the party song it is possible to still hear the words though, an important quality in any song obviously. My one problem with this otherwise great song? It's too short!! At just over two minutes length the song seems to be over seconds after it begins, usually making me skip back to the start to listen to the whole thing again!
And finally.....
Number 1: Aliens exist
A song by Blink-182 about aliens! What could be bad about it? The answer is nothing, the band got everything spot on in aliens exist. I especially love the dialect in Tom Delongue's voice in this particular song and it really seems to suit the lyrics. The background music is also epic and when everything comes together it makes a brilliant song.
Monday 14 October 2013
My opinion on...Fifa 14 and how it differs from previous Fifa games
Each year Fifa bring out a new game but does their latest version of the well know series differ from those of past years?
As a huge fan of the games and of football in general I picked up Fifa 14 the day after it came out for playstation 3. For £42 it does seem expensive when it could be seen as a near clone of the previous years game, however I went along with the purchase because, as many others, I know that the hours of gameplay I will rack up will give me more than my money. Upon loading up the game I did what I always do at the start of a new Fifa, start up a new career mode with my favourite barclays premier league team, Newcastle United. Straight away I was introduced to possibly the biggest new addition to Fifa 14. The Global Transfer Network, the GTN.
Taking a completely different approach from any other Fifa game to date when you simply search for a player on the transfer market you now know nothing about them, not their overall, not their value, not a single statistic. The new system now means that if you want to find out this information you are forced to send out a scout to do your work for you. Furthermore you can also set up instructions for your scouts, varying from position, age and length left on contract before choosing from a list of qualities including promising, skilful and strength, allowing you to find the perfect player to complete your team. However first you must choose which scout you want to use and which country you want to send them to find your future star.
Personally I am not a huge fan of the GTN. I believe it adds unnecessary length to making transfers into your team and additionally it cost most of your transfer budget to buy a decent scout in the first place. On the other hand I do appreciate that while it isn't for everybody it does add another element of realism into the game which is for many people a huge reason to buy the game. The system will also add to the enjoyment of finding a hidden gem in the game that nobody else knows about.
But what about other new additions to the game? Has ultimate team changed at all? Well as a huge fan of ultimate team I can tell you that there are no changes to the elements which were already perfect. However one massive addition which will help make every team unique are the new chemistry styles. There are many different chemistry style cards, all gold quality and found fairly often in packs. What they do is change the attributes of your players, depending on which card you choose you can boost pace, passing, shooting, dribbling, heading and defending to completely change how a player feels to control on the pitch. Will you take a players strengths and strengthen them even further or focus on their weaknesses and end up with a jack of all trades. With a couple of styles for your goalkeeper as well the possibilities are endless, ensuring even further why so many people neglect the rest of Fifa to spend the maximum time on ultimate team.
One smaller new feature which is greatly appreciated by the long time fans is the ability to 'compare price' of any card at any time without delving into the transfer market. All you need to do is select a card as if you were putting it up for transfer, then there is the option to compare its price. By selecting this you are transported to the transfer market page showing the most recent auctions for that specific card. Although it is a minute feature this new ability will be gratefully embraced by ultimate team enthusiasts everywhere.
Overall I would say that the new GTN may not be for everyone and if you are mad for career mode alone then you should think about whether you would appreciate this new feature, because if not there is a huge chance that this game will be less enjoyable than that copy of Fifa 13 you may have sat on the shelf. However if you enjoy realism in sports games this feature is definitely for you and you will thoroughly enjoy sifting through scouted players trying to make a decision on who to sign. With ultimate team there has been nothing but improvements yet the system remains almost unchanged. Despite this it is still worth buying Fifa 14 for the ultimate team as it is as addictive as ever as you fight your way to division one.
Do you enjoy the new features?
Let me know!
As a huge fan of the games and of football in general I picked up Fifa 14 the day after it came out for playstation 3. For £42 it does seem expensive when it could be seen as a near clone of the previous years game, however I went along with the purchase because, as many others, I know that the hours of gameplay I will rack up will give me more than my money. Upon loading up the game I did what I always do at the start of a new Fifa, start up a new career mode with my favourite barclays premier league team, Newcastle United. Straight away I was introduced to possibly the biggest new addition to Fifa 14. The Global Transfer Network, the GTN.
Taking a completely different approach from any other Fifa game to date when you simply search for a player on the transfer market you now know nothing about them, not their overall, not their value, not a single statistic. The new system now means that if you want to find out this information you are forced to send out a scout to do your work for you. Furthermore you can also set up instructions for your scouts, varying from position, age and length left on contract before choosing from a list of qualities including promising, skilful and strength, allowing you to find the perfect player to complete your team. However first you must choose which scout you want to use and which country you want to send them to find your future star.
Personally I am not a huge fan of the GTN. I believe it adds unnecessary length to making transfers into your team and additionally it cost most of your transfer budget to buy a decent scout in the first place. On the other hand I do appreciate that while it isn't for everybody it does add another element of realism into the game which is for many people a huge reason to buy the game. The system will also add to the enjoyment of finding a hidden gem in the game that nobody else knows about.
But what about other new additions to the game? Has ultimate team changed at all? Well as a huge fan of ultimate team I can tell you that there are no changes to the elements which were already perfect. However one massive addition which will help make every team unique are the new chemistry styles. There are many different chemistry style cards, all gold quality and found fairly often in packs. What they do is change the attributes of your players, depending on which card you choose you can boost pace, passing, shooting, dribbling, heading and defending to completely change how a player feels to control on the pitch. Will you take a players strengths and strengthen them even further or focus on their weaknesses and end up with a jack of all trades. With a couple of styles for your goalkeeper as well the possibilities are endless, ensuring even further why so many people neglect the rest of Fifa to spend the maximum time on ultimate team.
One smaller new feature which is greatly appreciated by the long time fans is the ability to 'compare price' of any card at any time without delving into the transfer market. All you need to do is select a card as if you were putting it up for transfer, then there is the option to compare its price. By selecting this you are transported to the transfer market page showing the most recent auctions for that specific card. Although it is a minute feature this new ability will be gratefully embraced by ultimate team enthusiasts everywhere.
Overall I would say that the new GTN may not be for everyone and if you are mad for career mode alone then you should think about whether you would appreciate this new feature, because if not there is a huge chance that this game will be less enjoyable than that copy of Fifa 13 you may have sat on the shelf. However if you enjoy realism in sports games this feature is definitely for you and you will thoroughly enjoy sifting through scouted players trying to make a decision on who to sign. With ultimate team there has been nothing but improvements yet the system remains almost unchanged. Despite this it is still worth buying Fifa 14 for the ultimate team as it is as addictive as ever as you fight your way to division one.
Do you enjoy the new features?
Let me know!
Sunday 13 October 2013
A Small Welcoming
Hello there and welcome to my blog! This is the first time I've attempted anything like this but I'm really looking forward to seeing how this goes. The idea has been in my head for a short time now as I am really hoping to go to university next year to study journalism and upon hearing that many journalism students have their own blogs I decided to make my own.
So who am I? Well first the basics, my name is Niall, I'm 17 years old and I live in Halifax, England. I'm a huge lover of music, film and gaming and I definitely think that most of my posts will revolve around these subjects. I plan to give my opinions to any of you who want to hear them and I'd love to hear feedback on what else I could write about that would interest you all. I do have some ideas of my own but you'll have to come back soon to see what they are.
I'd just like to finish by saying thank you to anybody who took a bit of time out of their day to give this a read!
So who am I? Well first the basics, my name is Niall, I'm 17 years old and I live in Halifax, England. I'm a huge lover of music, film and gaming and I definitely think that most of my posts will revolve around these subjects. I plan to give my opinions to any of you who want to hear them and I'd love to hear feedback on what else I could write about that would interest you all. I do have some ideas of my own but you'll have to come back soon to see what they are.
I'd just like to finish by saying thank you to anybody who took a bit of time out of their day to give this a read!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)