Maple Lions

In spite of their uneven performance overall, Boro may be shaping up for the role of occasional giant-killer that Blackburn has carved out in recent years. Even after letting a lead slip away through lack of discipline, Boro held up against a furious comeback from the Finsbury Park garrison of la Légion Étrangère.

And the pained expression on Arsène Wenger’s face made the whole day worth it.

Paul Canniff 

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In escalating his fight with Chelsea over his playing future, William Gallas threatened to score an own goal if he was picked to play in the season opener. One trusts that this go-to attitude will serve him well at Emirates Stadium as the latest recruit in the Légion Étrangère de Londres-Nord.

A bit of advice to Monsieur Gallas: a hostage-taking doesn’t play out well when you put the gun barrel to your own head. Even worse if you survive the ordeal, at least as far as your reputation is concerned.

Wanker.

Paul Canniff

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Just when you thought that the Special One couldn’t get any more petulant,

• Chelsea faces a slog as they tackle Barça in the group stages
• The Red Devils face Celtic
• Team France go head to head against the likes of former CL winners Porto and former UEFA Cup champions CSKA Moscow
• The Scouse take on PSV Eindhoven, Bordeaux, Galatasaray

Only the Blues failed among English sides to make top seed in its group. Full details here.

Paul Canniff

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It was an interesting Opening Day of the EPL’s 2006-07 campaign.

Hulse’s header was a real cracker to open the season, and Liverpool will be disappointed with their day at Bramhall Lane. The penalty was a crap call, not that Liverpool didn’t deserve to share the points on the day. The Blades really hustled, though, and started their season off well. The announcers commented later in the game that Arne Riise’s ankle injury may not have been that bad ~ surprising to me given the way it looked.

Reading certainly hold “comeback of the season” honours, thus far. Kitson, Sidwell and Kita notched the goals to wipe out Boro’s 2 goal lead. I believe Sidwell was Four Four Two’s ‘best player outside the Prem’ last season, so he’s definitely one ot watch this year.

At Goodison Park, the guy Everton acquired to score the goals actually scored the opener 14 minutes in. (How odd!) Mikel Arteta added a penalty and Everton edged out Watford for their first opening day win in five years. [Later: it seems both Merseyside clubs were beneficiaries of bad penalty calls on Saturday, Everton’s being the more egregious, apparently. Oh well, what can you do?]

So, it was win, draw, loss for the three promoted teams.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day for me was Pompey trashing Blackburn Rovers. They had a 2 goal cushion before Neil went off, and Todd’s sending off happened in the 91st minute (so, I don’t think saying that it was a victory “over nine-man Blackburn” quite tells the tale). Could this big win by ‘arry’s boys have been the biggest statement of the young season?

We’ll let Damian report on the solid start by Roeder’s Magpies.

You gotta think Chelsea and Manchester United are more than pleased with the points left on the field by Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs (though I write in the 82nd minute of that game).

Mike C

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The Steve McClaren regime takes a great first step by naming John Terry as the new skipper. No sarongs for this Hard Man, it goes without saying.

Oh, and Steve gives Theo Walcott a job more suited to his tender age.

Paul Canniff

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• Chelsea striker and general SW6 big girl’s blouse Hernan Crespo gets his wish and moves on to Italy. How leaving the Blues for a two-year sojourn with Inter Milan could be an upward career move is something only Crespo fully comprehends… we hope. The Telly also reports that William Gallas is staying in London, despite losing his jersey number.
• Sol Campbell does a medical in hopes of completing a move southward to join Pompey. And in a shocker, the Gooners recruit a French footballer.
• Meanwhile the Professor fumes like a carton of Gauloises over the fate of Ashley Cole, who has been left behind in London while the Légion Étrangère de Londres-Nord deploys to Croatia for a CL qualifier.

Paul Canniff

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Nothing like striving towards the stunningly obvious:

Southampton manager George Burley feels Theo Walcott’s career has gone backwards since he left the Saints for Arsenal in January.

“For me, career-wise, it was the wrong choice for Theo to leave,” said Burley.

“I think he’s played one-and-a-half reserve games since he left Southampton in January.”

Not to mention wasting space that could have been occupied by a qualified England striker.

And potentially becoming the last English member of la Légion Ėtrangère de Londres-Nord

Paul Canniff

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In a bid to deny Chelsea, it is reported that Arsenal is paving the way for Real Madrid to acquire Ashley Cole as a replacement for Roberto Carlos.

UPDATE:  Now Carlos says he wants to stay with Real. Surely the suits at Bernabeu wouldn’t engage in head games with the sports media.
Paul Canniff

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Dennis Bergkamp bows out of the game tomorrow when Arsenal stages a testimonial match against Ajax at their new home in Ashburton Grove.

He was a remarkable international player and will be missed in the English game.

Paul Canniff

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Yesterday it was revealed in a BBC Newsnight investigation that Belgian police have uncovered a series of hidden loans by Arsenal to the Beveren Football Club as part of their probe of potential money laundering.  FIFA is now looking into the matter, with consequences for the Gunners that may include expulsion from the Champions League.

Christian du Four, the Investigating Magistrate in the Flemish town of Dendermonde, told Newsnight: “A company with no name wanted to invest a million pounds in the club. We thought it rather bizarre.”

At the same time the team threw out most of its Belgian players and replaced them with unknowns from an academy in Ivory Coast, West Africa. Belgian police suspected the fog of secrecy was hiding mafia involvement.

Instead after an investigation they have told Newsnight that they found Arsenal’s secret hand behind the money.

Arsenal has a public deal with Beveren to play friendly matches and loan players but Arsenal repeatedly denied that they put money into the club.

Arsenal now admit that they did loan money, indirectly, to Beveren.

Today a sports lawyer claims Arsenal are not threatened by the scandal:

Leading sports lawyer Mel Goldberg claims Arsenal have little to fear from a Fifa probe into their dealings with Belgian club Beveren.

Fifa is investigating whether a £1m payment made by Arsenal to Beveren breaches conflict of interest rules.

Goldberg told Five Live Sport: “Uefa and Fifa have rules about clubs owning shares in foreign teams.

“I don’t think that’s happened here because Arsenal say, rightly, they have no control of a foreign club.”

One wonders if the EU has anything like the RICO Act at their disposal to deal with such legitimate businessmen.

Paul Canniff

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