Weekend football focus

Adrian Curtis|Raoul Simons|Evening Standard

14 April 2012

Arsenal v Manchester Utd
Sunday 2pm, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Pre-season form: 29 Jul Besiktas (Tur) 0-1 Arsenal (played in Austria), 2 Aug Celtic (Sco) 1-1 Arsenal, 5 Aug Rangers (Sco) 0-3 Arsenal
Ticket info: www.arsenal.com
Last season: 2nd in Premiership
Two teams expected to finish behind Chelsea get the season under way in the Community Shield. Arsenal have been surprisingly quiet in the transfer market this summer as manager Arsene Wenger believes there is little he can do to improve his squad - funny as he's the only one of that opinion. United will once again rely on Ruud van Nistelrooy for their goals but the game will be a lot poorer without the contribution from David Beckham's hair stylist. Even so a United victory beckons.
Verdict: NO FROWNING FOR FERGIE THIS TIME

Friendlies

Charlton v NEC Nijmegen
Tomorrow, 3pm, The Valley
Pre-season form: 4 Aug QPR 1-3 Charlton, 1 Aug Cardiff City 2-1 Charlton, 30 Jul Plymouth 2-2 Charlton
Ticket info: www.charlton-athletic.co.uk
Last season: 12th in Premiership
Charlton manager Alan Curbishley has quietly gone about his preseason preparations and even managed to hang on to Scott Parker. The midfielder continues to turn in impressive performances in the run up to the big kick-off - not bad for a lad once more famous for his ball skills in a McDonald's advert. NEC will also find out there's more meat to his game these days.
Verdict: CHIRPY CHARLTON IN FULL SONG

Fulham v Real Mallorca
Sunday, 3pm, Loftus Road
Pre-season form: 26 Jul AS Roma (Ita) 2-1 Fulham (played in Austria), 2 Aug Motherwell (Sco) 2-2 Fulham, 5 Aug Livingston (Sco) 0-2 Fulham
Ticket info: www.fulhamfc.com
Last season: 14th in Premiership
Samuel Eto'o will be a permanent fixture in west London next season when he completes his move from Real Mallorca to Chelsea. His switch will rob Fulham fans of the chance to see one of the most talented strikers in Europe. However, it is doubtful the Fulham defence are mourning his departure as they would have faced a tough time anyway and in this heat there would have only been one outcome.
Verdict: MALLORCA TO BE REAL DEAL

Tottenham v Sporting Lisbon
Sunday, 4pm, White Hart Lane
Pre-season form: 26 Jul Orlando Pirates (SA) 2-1 Tottenham, 29 Jul Kaizer Chiefs (SA) 0-2 Tottenham, 3 Aug Tottenham 0-2 PSV Eindhoven (Hol)
Ticket info: www.spurs.co.uk
Last season: 10th in Premiership
Don't mention the magic sponge at White Hart Lane or you will get a funny look from Messrs Hoddle and Co. Once again Spurs have had their pre-season plans wrecked by injuries. Some of these afflictions have been sustained by new boys Freddie Kanoute and Bobby Zamora. The Spurs physio must be the only person at the club who actually earns his money. Nothing changes it seems at White Hart Lane and Sporting Lisbon will demonstrate that goes for results as well.
Verdict: MORE WHITE HART PAIN FOR HODDLE

Nationwide Division 1

Burnley v C Palace
Tomorrow, 3pm, Turf Moor
Pre-season form: 26 July Luton 1-1 Palace, 1 Aug Palace 0-1 PSV Eindhoven, 3 Aug Palace 1-2 Chelsea
Ticket info: www.cpfc.co.uk
Last season: 14th in Division One
Russian billionaires, amorous Swedes and Argentina World Cup stars may come and go, but some things in English football never change. Crystal Palace will always pay too much money for overrated strikers. Burnley's Gareth Taylor, bought for £1.25 million by the Eagles in 1995, will not be lining up against the club's latest flop, £2.2m Ade Akinbiyi. The former Leicester forward has already been told he does not figure in manager Steve Kember's plans this season.
Verdict: MOOR DRAW

Preston v West Ham
Tomorrow, 12.30pm, Deepdale, Live on Sky Sports 1
Pre-season form: 24 Jul Djurgardens (Swe) 0-0 West Ham, 29 Jul Wycombe 3-1 West Ham, 1 Aug West Ham 1-2 PSV Eindhoven;
Ticket info: www.whufc.co.uk;
Last season: 18th in Premiership (relegated)
West Ham resume life in the First Division at the home of the National Football Museum, somewhat appropriate given that both these clubs are living in the past. The teams met in the 1964 FA Cup Final when they were both still major forces in the English game. How times have changed. For Hurst, Moore and Peters, Hammers fans now read David Connolly, Tomas Repka and Rob Lee while Preston followers are so attached to Tom Finney they sit on his face - which is picked out on seats in the main stand - at every home game. As well as Connolly and Lee, other new signings Matthew Etherington and Neil Mellor should make their Hammers' debuts.
Verdict: HISTORY LESSON FOR PRESTON

Millwall v Wigan
Tomorrow, 3pm, The Den
Pre-season form: 29 Jul Farnborough 0-6 Millwall, 1 Aug Millwall 1-0 Bristol C, 5 Aug Millwall 2-2 Southampton
Ticket info: www.millwallfc.co.uk
Last season: 9th in Division One
The Lions are welcoming back away fans this season though they may have to wait until the next home game to see any. Wigan is the only town in England whose Football League club attracts fewer supporters than its rugby team. Millwall's new signing Noel Whelan has been charged with filling Steve Claridge's boots. Let's hope the former Middlesbrough striker is allowed to wear longer socks.
Verdict: NOEL'S HOUSE PARTY

Watford v Coventry
Tomorrow, 3pm, Vicarage Road
Pre-season form: 29 Jul Northampton 0-1 Watford, 2 Aug Wycombe 2-1 Watford, 5 Aug Watford 1-4 Chelsea
Ticket info: www.watfordfc.com
Last season: 13th in Division One
Travel company boss and Watford chairman Graham Simpson must have been tempted to send his squad on a Club 18-30 holiday this summer, if only to teach them how to score. But manager Ray Lewington has opted for a more traditional solution - signing new strikers. Former Hornet Bruce Dyer brings some much-needed experience to the front line, while Danny Webber is a hungry, young terrier with a nose for goal.
Verdict: HORNY HORNETS

Wimbledon v Crewe
Tomorrow, 3pm, Selhurst Park
Pre-season form: 16 Jul FC Tervarit (Fin) 0-4 Wimbledon, 26 Jul Torquay 0-1 Wimbledon, 2 Aug Glentoran (NI) 2-2 Wimbledon,
Ticket info: www.wimbledon-fc.co.uk
Last season: 10th in Division One
There aren't many happy campers at Wimbledon this summer. Striker Patrick Agyemang summed up the mood after the players went unpaid for two months at the height of the cash crisis. "Crap, crap, crap, and crap," he told Standard Sport. Now the worst days of administration appear to be over, Stuart Murdoch has been charged with defying the odds and producing a team good enough to stay up. If he needs any advice, he can ask Dario Gradi.
Verdict: DONS DONE FOR

Nationwide Divisions 2 & 3

QPR v Blackpool
Tomorrow, 3pm, Loftus Road
Pre-season form: 28 Jul Worcester 0-0 QPR, 2 Aug Dagenham 0-3 QPR, 4 Aug QPR 1-3 Charlton
Ticket info: www.qpr.co.uk;
Last season: 4th in Division 2 (lost in play-off final)
The fans were wearing tank tops and watching Stan Bowles the last time Queens Park Rangers were fashionable. But the mood is starting to shift in Shepherds Bush. Ian Holloway has made some fantastic bargain-basement signings and the club are justifiably the bookies' favourites for the title.
Verdict: LOFT LIFT

Tranmere v Brentford
Tomorrow, 3pm, Prenton Park
Pre-season form: 29 Jul Staines 1-2 Brentford, 2 Aug Farnborough 1-3 Brentford, 5 Aug Brentford 0-1 Portsmouth;
Ticket info: www.brentfordfc.co.uk;
Last season: 16th in Division 2
Wally Downes once acted as a football consultant for the Vinnie Jones movie, Mean Machine, but Kindergarten Cop II would be more suitable. Having fielded the Bees' youngest-ever starting line-up last season, the average age of the squad has fallen even further with the departures of Scott Marshall and Jamie Fullarton. Jim Callaghan was sharing beer and sandwiches at No10 the last time Brentford won at Tranmere and tomorrow will be no picnic.
Verdict: WALLY'S DOWNER

Leyton Orient v Doncaster
Tomorrow, 3pm, Brisbane Road
Pre-season form: 29 Jul Orient 0-0 Tottenham XI, 2 Aug Woking 0-2 Orient, 5 Aug Orient 3-0 Wycombe;
Ticket info: www.leytonorient.com;
Last season: 18th in Division 3
Strong women have always been dominant figures in northern communities, but only Doncaster have extended the theme to football. While the Belles are a top club in the women's game, Rovers have only just recaptured their league status. But, on a promotion high, Dave Penney's side will be a tough test for Orient, despite the arrivals of David Hunt, Tom Newey and Marcus Ebdon.
Verdict: BLACK DAY FOR PENNEY

Grim opponent of the week
By Raoul Simons
Steve McMahon, Blackpool
Wrote his name into Arsenal folklore as the plonker who signalled "one minute to go" before Michael Thomas's goal clinched the title at Anfield in 1989. McMahon now appears in an excruciating advert on satellite television selling timeshares. He confirmed his "grim" status in 2001 when he was fined £450 by magistrates for threatening an off-duty policeman during a row about a noisy party.

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