Thursday Throwdown: A to Z

By Brian Lofrumento | 3rd September 2009

Thursday Throwdown: A to Z | read this item

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arsene-wenger-at-old-trafford Another week of Premiership action is now in the books, and Thursday means one thing: it’s time for the Thursday Throwdown from A to Z. Here we go…

A is for Anelka. Chelsea fans should be counting their lucky stars that both Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba are in spectacular form. With these two men tearing Premier League defenses apart, Chelsea look like clear favorites for the title. Watch out, Premier League!

B is for back again. Peter Crouch is back again at White Hart Lane, and the Spurs faithful felt it as the beanpole striker nodded a crucial go-ahead goal against Birmingham on Saturday. It may not have been the match winner, but it turned a decent game into a spectacular finish.

C is for comebacks. Three of the Premier Leagues biggest clubs had to rely on massive comebacks this weekend. Manchester United were trailing Arsenal 1-0 at halftime before winning 2-1, Liverpool went behind Bolton twice at the Reebok before winning 3-2, and Everton recovered from a shock Paul Scharner goal to eventually win 2-1. Action and drama all around.

D is for Diaby. Abou Diaby makes this list for the second week, and there’s no doubting his influence on the weekend’s action. With United looking desperate for a goal while lacking the creativity to score one on their own, Abou Diaby solved all of Sir Alex Ferguson’s problems by nodding the ball into the back of his own net. Wrong way, son.

E is for Eduardo and Eboue. The big controversy of the week has been Eduardo’s dive against Celtic in last Wednesday’s Champions League qualifier. The Arsenal player clearly dove to win a penalty, but manager Arsene Wenger jumped to his defense. Just days later, Eboue put further embarrassment on the club by diving in the match against Manchester United. Disgraceful.

F is for fantasy football. Manchester City fans are enjoying a spell that they couldn’t have dreamt of even in their wildest dreams. City are playing some fantasy football at the moment that has City fans excited for the remainder of the season. Emmanuel Adebayor in particular is enjoying immense success and it appears that there’s no stopping Mark Hughes and his men.

G is for Glen Johnson. This man deserves a big shout out. Glen Johnson is proving that he just might be the buy of the summer. The Englishman has done an excellent job in the back for his new club Liverpool and is also bringing an extra element in the attack. His long distance bomb against Bolton brought Liverpool back into the match and got things going.

H is for heated. There are many adjectives that can be used to describe the United versus Arsenal fixture last Saturday, but heated seems to sum it up the best. There was drama, controversy, and temperatures rising. Tackles flew in left and right (mostly from Darren Fletcher) and neither team left anything out on the pitch.

I is for internationals. Yes, it’s a necessary evil, but still. International fixtures are upon us once again, which means there is no Premier League action this weekend. Bore…

J is for Joleon Lescott. Cristiano Ronaldo’s on-off transfer saga was the drama of last summer and Joleon Lescott took over that throne this summer. While Ronaldo was quick to get his business done, Lescott made everyone wait and wonder as he publicly flirted with Manchester City. The deal is done, so hopefully we can all worry about footballing matters now.

K is for Kitson. Stoke City survived all of last season based on their excellent home form and the Trotters are looking to do more of the same in 2009/10. Dave Kitson’s lone goal against Sunderland at the weekend gave Stoke the vital three points as they carry their great home form into the new season.

L is for Lee Bowyer. The forgotten former England international stirred up lots of controversy this week following his tackle that broke Luka Modric’s leg. The Birmingham player has been accused of being involved in an anti-Croatia conspiracy that involves English Premier League players intentionally injuring Croatian players. Hmm…

M is for Manchester City. Is it just me or is talking about Manchester City becoming a cliche around footballing circles? Whether it is or not, you have to give credit to City. They earned another hard fought win at the weekend, this time away to Pompey, as they held onto a first half lead. Three wins out of three matches isn’t too bad, eh?

N is for nil-nil. In what could be one of the most boring matches of the season, Blackburn and West Ham United played out to a nil-nil draw. Neither of these teams look like they’re ready for a strong European push this season and both teams have a lot of figuring out to do up top.

O is for Owen Hargreaves. Manchester United fans got a brief glimmer of hope when Sir Alex Ferguson named the forgotten Owen Hargreaves to United’s Champions League roster. The Canadian has been out of action for months now and with United looking thin in midfield his impending return will boost United’s title hopes.

P is for Peter Crouch. This massive striker is back. Crouchy has dropped out of the mainstream media following his primetime robotic dance celebration for England but his arrival back at White Hart Lane has lifted spirits and given Tottenham new life. Well, at least for this week. Crouch’s goal got things going for Spurs as they battled hard to beat Birmingham 2-1 in a thriller in London. Well done, Crouchy.

Q is for quest. The international break is a pleasant reminder that there’s more than just the Premiership, but last week we were also reminded of the harsh reality when Premier League clubs began their quest for the Carling Cup. This trophy is usually good for a few surprises, so keep your eye on the minnows versus the big boys.

R is for relegation. It may seem a bit early to be talking about relegation, but how about Portsmouth? The team have looked awful on the field and have struggled financially off of it. There’s no telling who will eventually face the drop, but I’m throwing Portsmouth’s name out there as candidate number one.

S is for Steven Gerrard. With Liverpool’s season starting off on the wrong foot, Liverpool were desperate for a win at the Reebok against Bolton. After going 1-0 down and then 2-1 down, ‘Pool rallied back to win 3-2 on the back of Steven Gerrard’s thunderous volley. This captain certainly didn’t disappoint.

T is for tunnel. When you’re ejected from a game, where do you go? The tunnel! Arsene Wenger had a memory lapse at Old Trafford following his dismissal and made a mockery of himself, his club, and the match officials when he refused to accept his stomping orders. The tunnel is towards the Stretford End, mate.

U is for United. No, not Manchester United. This United is of the Newcastle variety. If you haven’t heard, the Magpies are top of the Championship table after five matches. Who knows, maybe they’ll bounce straight back into the Premiership. Danny Guthrie scored the only goal of the match on Monday as Newcastle beat the mighty Leicester City to reach the summit.

V is for vindicated. Darren Fletcher claims he was robbed of a chance in the Champions League final last season as he picked up a suspension against Arsenal in the semifinals. Now, with the Gunners back at Old Trafford, Fletcher vindicated himself from past memories and got under Arsenal’s skin as the Red Devils ran out 2-1 winners.

W is for World Cup. David Beckham has done his best to get his name on Fabio Capello’s South Africa roster, and just yesterday the former captain said that England can win the entire tournament. Does Becks believe it or is he just trying to get in Capello’s good graces? We’ll see if it works.

X is for xenophobia. I mentioned it in Lee Bowyer’s bit, but the xenophobia coming out of the Croatia camp is just silly. For those of you who haven’t read the x section of the dictionary, xenophobia is a fear of foreigners – and with Croatia crying foul at the English it’s quite apparent.

Y is for yawn. Another transfer window has come and closed, and overall it was a big yawn. Much was said and little was done around the Premiership. Inflated transfer fees certainly messed the market up and clubs will already be looking towards the January transfer window for more realistic prices. Michael Turner for £12 million? You’re having a laugh.

Z is for Zat Knight. Bolton defender Zat Knight took UEFA’s call to stop diving to heart as he furiously stood over Fernando Torres and called him a cheat after the Spaniard ended up on the Reebok Stadium turf. Knight’s clean tackle in the penalty box was timed to perfection and he clearly wanted everyone to know it.

What stood out to you this week? Have your say below!

The Binocular says:

September 5, 2009 at 12:58 am

B is for back again?

I guess you were struggling with that one.

It’s funny how Newcastle are top of the championship. Even more funny that Ameobi is a prolific goalscorer in that league.

Maybe E should be Europa League !

What do you think of the Europa League?

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Taylor Fisher says:

September 3, 2009 at 2:32 pm

Yet another wonderful installment of the Thursday Throwdown! When is “x” going to stump you?

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