wacmedia

Hi, Those who backed Man City at short odds had to sweat to the end as Newcastle put up a fair show. It took Kun to come on and finish them off at the end. He showed great balance to score that goal, very few strikers could have done it. Liverpool scraped home against Southampton as did Arsenal against Palace. Man Utd need to replace Evra, Vidic and Ferdinand, apart from that they have a good defence. Too early to evaluate how the season will go, ten games is a fair point to judge as teams have played a number of opponents home and away. Chelsea should be too good for Burnley tonight, but I'd love to see Burnley stay up. Gonna be tough though.

Hi, I didn't know you could change your vote. Not a good option IMO. I can agree with you that it is not ideal that the league starts before the transfer window closes. I like to have a bet before the start as one team may make a big signings and sway your opinion, then he gets injured in the first game and is out for the season. I saw Man Utd team before the game on Saturday and I couldn't believe it ! Many of the peole LVG wants to sell were on it. I had just bought a few drinks and gave one of my mater the fiver change to put on Swansea. Paid my refreshment bill for the day.

Hi, Like malk I hope Arsenal win but I've backed, and voted for, Chelsea.

Hi, No fan of Pulis, but he done well last year.

Hi, The season hasn't even started and Tony Pulis has walked away from Palace. He did well to keep them up last year.

Hi, Which is my buffalo ?

Hi, I was first to vote, hope so anyway. Delete My Vote Edit this poll

Here we go again ! After Englands abysmal performance in the World Cup the fans will be happy to see the start of the Premier League. This seems the most open one in a long time with 5 teams having realistic hopes of winning the crown. The money has been for Man Utd and Chelsea but Man City will be hard to beat. It’s hard to retain the crown however and that is a negative against them. Arsenal done well last season and if they hadn’t injuries at critical times, who knows ? Liverpool could have won last year, Gerrard made a mistake that he will never forget, but they will miss the excellent Suarez. Can they replace his goals ? Man City as champions must go close again. They have been hampered with Financial Fair Play but have made some good signings nonetheless. Mangala is the most recent and he is another good addition to what looks a mean defence. Chelsea have got rid of some of the old guard. They all gave good service but Jose thinks new blood is needed. Costa looked world class for Athletico last season and with Fabregas should help the goals tally. Russia is not the flavour of the month however and it must be a negative that the club is Russian owned. Arsenal ended their drought with a win in the FA Cup last season and maybe they will improve after that victory. Wenger wanted to buy Sanchez before his move to Barcelona, and he has finally got his man after Sanchez failed to fit in at the Camp Nou. All his signings look good ones this time around. Liverpool will miss Suarez and the jury must be out on whether they can do as well this year. It’s good for English football to see Liverpool in contention again so I hope they have a good season. However they have done a Spurs, buying lots of players to replace one star and it doesn’t always work out. Man Utd are the only main team starting with a new manager. Van Gaal has a great record and he wont be intimidated by the demands of the job. He is not everyones cup of tea and it will be interesting to see how well he gets on with the usually grovelling sports journalists. United have lost virtually their whole defence with Evra, Ferdinand and Vidic moving on. The have an easy start to the campaign, but can they beat the big teams this season ? Of the other teams Everton have the excellent Martinez in charge. If they got an oligarch owner they could be in contention but the oligarchs don’t seem to fancy buying the club. Stoke done well last year and should be able to maintain the level this time. Bojan is another failure at Barcelona who could make a difference if he can recapture his form. Pochettino moves to Spurs and he seems a young manager on the up. Many managers have failed at Spurs and they are perennial underachievers. The rest seem to be battling to stay in the League. Newcastle have their usual behind the scenes dramas and Southampton have been asset stripped by a reluctant owner. Sunderland only survived last season but with another Uruguayan in charge, Poyet, they should be OK this time. Enjoy the season and I hope your team does well. Arsenal are my team and I’m hoping for a good season. If Sanchez can do a Suarez maybe they can surprise. Lets hope he has no bad habits ! All in all, it looks like Chelsea for me.

Hi, Looks good.

Hi, Too many. Instead of visions, I will have nightmares after those photos.

Hi, Jeez, those burgers look disgusting.

Hi, That looks healthy food. Makes a change from those burgers Martin posts from time to time.

Hi, Looks like the City Fathers(Godfathers ?) called it right.

Hi, Lager is a type of beer. I think the OP wants what we call an ale or something like Guiness which is much darker. Jacko mentioned Speckled Hen which is an excellent ale. There seems to be plenty of micro breweries producing ales as well as lagers around now, including in the US. Many of us want a change from the mass produced stuff, I suppose.

Hi, Useful advice. Food is more important than surroundings for me, within reason. I'd prefer take the advice of a BG than a monger when it comes to restaurant advice in LOS.

Hi, I've been critical of LA in the past and was proved right. It's unfair to put all the blame on his shoulders however. I think doping is endemic in cycling as it's such a tough sport. I enjoy it at that level.

Hi, The Thais have their own idiosyncratic way of driving. Why not let them continue in their own way ?

. Anyhow Wac, like The Bust, it is over and done with. Hi, No way dear boy. Did you notice the Brits have introduced emergency powers and have an option to take money, unannounced, out of your account ?

HI, If Cheshire Tom was here he would mention the multi-culti make up of the German team. Khedira has a very large nose for a German, Boatengs brother plays for Ghana, and Ozil must be of Turkish descent.

Hi, There is only one word from my cockney chums. GUTTED.

Hi, That was a steal. Premier Inns would be dearer than that !

Hi, Well done to the Germans, first European team to win in South America. I thought Argentina created the best chances but failed to take them. Still Germany knocked out the hosts which is always difficult to do. I've just come from the Portoguese restaurant, many of the Argies play for the Lisbon teams. http://youtu.be/1YriVM8sC7M?list=PLkBQA0d0whinYzC29IRUdTBFkat_3Fsz9

Hi, Good post. I'd imagine the buzz from the crowd is more addictive than crack. Many sportsmen seem to go off the rails when they retire. However, many of the English players would have been heading for the slammer if they hadn't been good at football. Suarex looks another player who could have been there if he wasn't such a great player.

Hi, I felt it was a technically good game. Both teams gave little away. Higuain scored a good goal before the end of the game and it was wrongly flagged offside. Dont know what these linesmen get up to.. A blind man could see that that was a good goal. I think the line should be judged from the stand. Linesmen are a waste of space.

Hi, There is an I in Brazil, there is no I in Germany. Sums it up. Once Dante was picked(age 30, caps 11 ) I knew there was a potential for an inferno !