Back Sanchez Watt to score on his Southend debut

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League One trivia fans, it’s your lucky day. Here’s your teaser: what have Akpo Sodje, John Bostock, Kevin Lisbie, Shaun Batt and Nathan Eccleston got in common?

The answer is that all of them are attack-minded players who went on loan to League One sides this season and scored on their debut.

We think there will be a new name to add to that already lengthy list tonight – Sanchez Watt. The Arsenal youngster has joined Southend on loan and looks

Posted: February 8th, 2010 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

The obstacle Man United must overcome to make history

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Manchester United remain marginal favourites to win their 19th league title next season despite losing Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. To confirm their place as the country’s most successful side in history, they must become the first English team to win four successive titles. How hard can it be?

FOURTH SEASON SYNDROME

Huddersfield (1926-27)
The first ever team to win three successive top-flight titles were toppled by Newcastle when they attempted to win a fourth in 1926-27. The Terriers started poorly, winning just three of their first 12 games but by March they were joint-top. Newcastle had a better goal average and a game in hand but Jack Chaplin’s side were in a good position - they still had to play Newcastle and in the previous three seasons they had saved their best form for the final stages of the season. However, they won just three of their final 11 games and lost 1-0 at Newcastle, meaning they finished the campaign five points behind the Magpies in second. Huddersfield haven’t won the title since.

Arsenal (1935-36)
Herbert Chapman won the first two of Huddersfield’s three straight titles and tragically died while on course to deliver the second of Arsenal’s trio. They sealed the second under Joe Shaw and then the third under George Allison but were slow out of the blocks in season four. A good run in late 1935 saw

Posted: July 10th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | 1 Comment

Eight steps to identify this season’s Golden Boot winner

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The bookmakers seem to agree on who the 15 leading contenders to be next season’s Premier League top-scorer are: Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, Robinho, Robin van Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor, Dimitar Berbatov, Jermain Defoe, Carlos Tevez, Andrey Arshavin, Frank Lampard and Roque Santa Cruz. We’ve used some trends to whittle down the 15 and leave one man standing:

Over the last decade Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (2000-01) is the only player to have won it in his first season with a new club.
That rules out: Michael Owen, Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz

The last nine winners were all playing for a Big Four side.
That rules out: Robinho, Jermain Defoe

Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player to have been Premier League top-scorer without always playing as an out-and-out striker.
That rules out: Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Andrey Arshavin

The last British top-scorer was Kevin Phillips in 1999-00.
That rules out: Wayne Rooney

Still standing: Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Robin van

Posted: July 10th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Five reasons why it’s not worth backing Manchester City to be the best of the rest

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chickendinner aren’t stupid enough to say that Man City have no chance of a top-five finish - after all they could have Robinho, Samuel Eto’o and Carlos Tevez up-front. They should have challenged for fifth last year though but ended up closer to West Brom than Arsenal, so the odds of 5/4 with Bet365 on them being best of the rest this season seem far too short. Here’s why we think you’d be better off backing Everton or maybe even Spurs:

Click here for the latest odds on who will be the “best of the rest”

1. Manchester City are still yet to finish any higher than eighth in the Premier League, a feat they achieved under Stuart Pearce in 2004-05.

2. Since Blackburn’s title win in 1994-95, just four sides have ended the season as the best of the rest: Newcastle, Leeds, Tottenham and Everton. Spurs and Everton are the only two to have done it in the last five years.

Posted: July 9th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | 6 Comments

Barton is 16/1 to be named Newcastle’s player of the year

Will Shearer’s good friend be the Toon Army’s hero next season?

With very little football taking place right now, chickendinner have been sniffing around the bookmakers looking for interesting specials to bet on.

Paddy Power have opened a market on who will win Newcastle’s player of the year award next season with Joey Barton a distant 16/1 outsider, an even longer price than 14/1 Xisco.

The three joint-favourites at 8/1 are Obafemi Martins, Kevin Nolan and Steven Taylor - the latter two mainly because they look likely to stay - with

Posted: July 7th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

The opening day fixtures make good reading for Arsenal, Chelsea and Wolves

Six Premier League fixture-list related trends and statistics

1. The last five newly-promoted teams to kick their season off at home all avoided defeat, which is good news for Wolves who open against West Ham.

2. However, the last four to start away from home have all lost. That doesn’t bode well for Birmingham and Burnley, who start at Man United and Stoke.

3. Chelsea have won their opening game in each of the last seven seasons and this year they kick-off their campaign at home to Hull.

Posted: June 17th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment