GAME BODY MIND OFF THE PITCH NEWS

Off The Pitch - Barclay’s Premier League Week One

Well, it seemed as if last season was just a few weeks ago, but as fast as last years season ended, this years campaign is here already.  After the first weekend of matches, this week brought us some surprises, some great efforts, some disappointments, and some mishaps.  Ziga-Zoga will have a weekly recap of the some of the highlights of each week of matches for the entire season. 

1)  Sunderland, Sunderland, Sunderland - Roy Keane has done it again, instilling his never give up and always work hard attitude into this team in its first match in the Prem v. Tottenham.  Michael Chopra, who signed this offseason, hit the match winner in stoppage time.  If Sunderland plays like this during the entire season - we could be seeing this years surprise in the BPL.

2) Steven Gerrard Bends it like Beckham - Steven Gerrard scored on an unbelievable free kick to give Liverpool a victory over Villa.  Torres (although he hadn’t scored) looked as if he would fit in with Liverpool as he played a part in their first goal.  This is a good sign for a team that took a huge splash in the transfer window this off-season.

3) Big Sam v. Little Sam - It was the return to Reebok of Big Sam as he led the Toon Army to a thrashing of the Wanderers.  Bolton looked out of synch, out of rhythm, out of control, and were out of the game after 11 mins when N’Zogbia scored.  Little Sam has some work if he wants to compete this year and not be fighting for relegation.  Obafemi Martins might have a 2nd career as an acrobat after his stunning overhead kick and celebratory back flips. 

4) Arsenal Recovered - It didn’t take one minute for Fulham to reap the rewards of Jens Lehmann’s mishap.  As Lehmann tried to clear Clichy’s backpass - it was intercepted and Healy put it in the back of the net.  Arsenal equalized in the 84th min as Kolo Toure ended a remarkable run with a illegal collision with Carlo Bocanegra in the box, and Van Persie scored on the PK.  Hleb hit the game winner in the 90th min to seal the victory.

5) Chelsea wins a battle -  Chelsea started their season with a record setting victory, their 64th straight home victory over Birmingham 3-2.  Two of Chelsea’s off-season transfers proved their worth as Claudio Pizzaro and Florent Malouda both scored in the 1st half.  Although Birmingham played well - they couldn’t overcome Shaun Wright-Philips incredible feeds, as he played a role in 2 of Chelsea’s three.

6) Disappointing start for Man U - Manchester United was unlucky to run into Marcus Hahnemann in their 1st match of this campaign….the American GK kept Reading in the game with some fantastic saves during this one.  Man U (and England) for that matter had a big loss in the 45th min as Wayne Rooney suffered a hairline fracture in his foot, which will keep him out of the Man U lineup and not able to see action for the Three Lions through the Euro 2008 Qualifiers in September.  With the loss of Rooney - Carlitos Tevez will play a larger role earlier than expected.  You have to give Reading their due for a phenomenal defensive effort, even playing the last 17 mins down a man.

7) Manchester City off to a good start - Man City also reaped the reward of off-season transfers as Rolando Bianchi and Geovanni each scored in their first match in the Prem.  Kasper Schmeichel (Peter’s son) looked impressive as he had his first clean sheet to start the 07/08 campaign.  Even though Man City’s side is almost entirely new, it was West Ham that looked off kilt.

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