Manchester City v Norwich City: Can the Canaries cause an upset at the Etihad?

Axed Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini showed his class yesterday by taking out a full page ad in the Manchester Evening News thanking the fans for an amazing three years at the club. If only the owners had the same respect. Sacking Mancini a year after winning the title, despite finishing se...

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Predict the Premier League: Wigan turn the heat on Sunderland

Manchester United have won the league and Wigan Athletic have now joined QPR and Reading in the Championship, but who is going to win Squarefootballs Predict the Premier League title? It has been a busy few weeks in the Barclays Premier League and the only issue that still needs to be decided is wh...

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Predict the Premier League: Just six points separate Sunderland and Wigan at the top

Squarefootballs Predict the Premier League title race is going down to the final game and it looks as though it will be Sunderland or Wigans name etched on to the coveted trophy. The Black Cats Tony Ratton is six points clear of his nearest rival, Wigan fan Jimmy Shine. With 30 points up for grabs ...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: Fergie calls time, but Sky ensure we’ll see plenty of him before he goes

So, I’m not sure if you’ve heard but Sir Alex Ferguson announced to the world last week that he intends to quietly walk away from football at the end of the season. In mass hysterical scenes usually only seen when a monarch dies or a Twilight film comes out, the entire country seemed to let o...

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Norwich City v West Brom: Can the Canaries get the result they crave?

Norwich City missed out on a golden opportunity to claw their way to safety last weekend by going down at home to Aston Villa. With a final game away at Manchester City looming, the Canaries know they must get something from this game to keep their survival hopes alive. West Bromwich Albion head in...

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Squarefootball's Team of the Week - Week 36

Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs all won 1-0 at the weekend to keep their Champions League hopes alive with the latter two drawing on Wednesday night at the Bridge. Liverpool and Everton played out a goalless draw at Anfield while Newcastle picked up what could be a crucial point at West Ham. Aston Vil...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: Bruce goes through Hull as the Championship season ends in drama

There are not many days in the course of the long football season that the glitzy farce of the Premier League is shuffled into the background like an ugly sister at a wedding. Usually, as the weekend rolls around every pundit, fan and newscaster is eagerly sharing their thoughts on Van Persie...

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Norwich City v Aston Villa: Lambert eyes victory on Norwich return

Paul Lambert returns to Carrow Road and his Villa side look in a much better position than they did a week ago after hitting Paolo Di Canios Sunderland for six. However the Canaries will be hoping to send the Scot back to Villa Park with his tail between his legs. Norwich havent managed to keep...

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Bale, Benteke, Hazard, Lukaku, Welbeck, Wilshere - Who will win the PFA Young Player of the Year?

Tottenhams Gareth Bale could clear up at this weekends PFA awards. Not only has the Spurs ace got the chance of winning the PFA Young Player of the Year award but he is also nominated in the Player of the Year category. With Spurs playing Wigan later today, Bale could also find himself in third plac...

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Stoke City v Norwich City: Will the Potters or the Canaries fly closer to safety?

Both Stoke City and Norwich City eased their relegation fears last weekend with vital victories over QPR and Reading respectively. The pressure is now off Tony Pulis and Chris Hughton, but I have a feeling that there could be another few more twists and turns to come in this years Premier League r...

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Predict the Premier League: Sunderland storming towards the title

Talk about making an impact. Paolo Di Canio led his Sunderland troops to victory at St James Park and then followed it up with another three points in his first home game against Everton. No wonder Sunderland fan Tony Ratton is smiling from ear to ear. Mind you, it could also have something to do wi...

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Predict the Premier League: QPR, Everton and West Ham top the table

QPR may be going down, Everton may have blown their chance of finishing in the top four but West Ham have guaranteed their place in the top flight next season. And despite the gloomy expressions at Loftus Road and Goodison, John Jaycock and Chris Goodwin have tried their best to raise the spirits by...

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Squarefootball's Team of the Week - Week 33

Arsenal regained third place as Chelsea dropped points at Liverpool and Spurs stunned everyone with their late comeback to beat the champions Manchester City. But the big winners this week were Manchester United who clinched their 20th league title with a convincing 3-0 win over Aston Villa. Elsewh...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: The football world turns on Suarez as he bites off more than he can chew

Just when you think the sleaze-ridden, hate-filled, cartoon puppetry ghoul fest that is football can’t plunge any lower, out pop the gnashers of a serial offender to attract the world’s accusing eyes once again. Luis Suarez, the only footballer in Britain who can be involved in controversy wi...

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Would you sell your ground's name for £100m?

Arsenal did it with the Emirates, Manchester City did it with the Etihad and Bolton Wanderers did the same with Reebok, but would you be happy to sell the naming rights to your stadium if it guaranteed a multi-million pound investment on the pitch? Manchester United recently agreed a £120 million d...

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Norwich City v Reading: Can the Canaries bounce back from their Arsenal hell?

For 84 minutes last Saturday, Chris Hughton and Norwich City were on course to record a memorable victory at Arsenal. Six minutes later they were left stunned and furious after losing the game 3-1. Today they take on a Reading side that all but down, but can the Canaries send the Royals packing and ...

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Premier League: Has Aston Villa's Brad Guzan been the best keeper this season?

Readings Alex McCarthy was in the form of his life against Liverpool at the weekend. The Royals shot-stopper denied the Reds at every opportunity with a string of world class saves. This got me thinking, who has been the best goalkeeper this season in the Premier League? Manchester Citys Joe Hart w...

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Squarefootball's Team of the Week - Week 32

Another exciting week of Premier League and FA Cup football saw Manchester City and Wigan make a date at Wembly, Reading hold Liverpool, Arsenal beat Norwich City and Sunderland outclass Newcastle. But who made it into our Squarefootball Team of the Week? Heres Mitch Waddons best XI from the w...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: Millwall, Chiles and Aguero ensure unedifying scenes all round, but let’s keep the One Direction boys out of it

It was a weekend of football in which the seamier, more ugly side of the game sprang forth. A dispiriting reminder of a time we’d hoped had passed; a nightmarish collage of unedifying horror and depressing folly. Yep, Adrian Chiles was fronting the FA Cup again. Obviously, the game on Saturd...

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Arsenal v Norwich City: Can Wenger avoid getting in a flap against the Canaries?

With Chelsea facing Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday and Spurs having a week off, Arsenal have the perfect opportunity of moving up to third in the Premier League, but first they must get past Chris Hughtons Canaries. The boys from Carrow Road have been a real thorn in the side of...

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Predict the Premier League: QPR, Spurs and Arsenal lead the way

Its been a good fortnight for the three London clubs - well off the pitch any way - with QPRs John Jaycock and Tottenhams Adam Crawford picking up 19 points, with Arsenals Josh Ben Moshe on 18. Its not been so good for Stoke City, Southampton or Norwich City, with the sides occupying the bottom thr...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: Di Canio attempts to form his first impression while West Ham’s Brady dispels hers

Fascist, egotistical, divisive, authoritarian, plain bonkers; these words are ringing around all our ears right now thanks to a recent media storm it’s been impossible to escape from. No, not the death of a former Prime Minister yesterday, although I can see why you’d think that. Instead it i...

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Norwich City v Swansea City: Can the Canaries keep the edge over Swansea?

Norwich City and Swansea City came up to the Premier League together in 2011, but while the Swans may have gone on to cup glory and taken all the plaudits for their brand of football, Norwich City remain unbeaten against their Welsh rivals. In their previous three meetings, Norwich have emerged vic...

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Premier League: Where has all the excitement gone?

ThePremier Leagueseason should be coming to the boil, but for me its been strictly alukewarm affair.The last nine months have had an air of inevitability about them. Manchester United havebreezed to their 20th top flight title and even Sky have struggled to sell this title race. From them...

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Squarefootball's Team of the Week - Week 31

Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool, Man City, Man United, Southampton, Wigan and West Ham all picked up three points in a weekend that produced a whopping 23 goals - five of which came at the Emirates. There was a number of outstanding individual performances at the weekend, but who has done enough to win...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: Sunderland swap experience for explosive as all eyes focus on Wearside

On the day the new bombastic series of Doctor Who crash landed on to the screens of the BBC, there was the cataclysmic beginnings of a regeneration of a different kind in the otherworldly realms of the North East. That’s right, Martin O’Neill, football’s very own wide-eyed madcap enigma was u...

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Wigan v Norwich City: Latics target first league win over Norwich

Wigan get back to action following their controversial meeting with Newcastle United a fortnight ago and Roberto Martinez will be hoping his players can build on that fortunate victory. Wigan have to move on from the McManaman incident now and concentrate on survival. They are three points adrift o...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: Gazza’s running out of chances while England run riot in San Marino

Let’s face it, there’s an awful lot of guff on TV isn’t there? In the ever-burgeoning crevasse of broadcasting channels, the sheer volume of half-baked tripe and lightweight, hollowed-out husks of regurgitated twaddle leaves the average viewer starved of visual stimulation and viewing conten...

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Predict the Premier League: Liverpool are on top of the pile

Its been almost a month since the scores for Squarefootballs Predict the Premier League were last updated, so without further ado lets get cracking. Liverpool 5 Swansea City 0 The Reds were braced for a tough game against the Capital One Cup finalists, but Michael Laudrups mind was already focused...

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Predict the Premier League: Sunderland and Wigan remain neck and neck

Sunderlands Tony Ratton was the man to beat in our Predict the Premier League competition, but since the turn of the year Wigan Athletic fan Jimmy Shine and even Manchester Citys Callum Rothwell have both taken over top spot. However, today, as we update the league for the first team in a month, the...

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Squarefootball's Team of the Week - Week 30

Arsenal gave their Champions League hopes a huge boost at the weekend by beating Swansea City. Tottenhams shock defeat at home to Fulham gave Gooners even more reasons to cheer, but the biggest reaction at full time definitely came at Villa Park as Aston Villa saw off QPR in a five-goal thriller...

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Sunderland v Norwich City: Can the Canaries outfox the Black Cats?

Did you know the home side in this fixture has emerged victorious in the past eight meetings? That will be music to the sound of Martin ONeills ears who could climb above rivals Newcastle United this afternoonand their opponents. The last time the away side ran out winners in this fixture was 16 ye...

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Bale, Michu, RVP or Suarez: Who is your Player of the Season?

There have been some outstanding performers in the Premier League this season. Gareth Bales stunning goals and man of the match displays have helped Tottenhams top four dreams, Luis Suarez is currently topping the leagues scoring charts, Robin van Persies arrival at Old Trafford has all but wrestled...

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Norwich City v Southampton: Can the Saints march out of Carrow Road as winners?

Just three years ago Norwich City entertained Southampton in League One. Today they meet in the Premier League indicating just how far both sides have come in a short space of time, but can the Saints - who sit just three points off the drop zone - beat the Canaries and ease their relegation woes? ...

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Squarefootball's Team of the Week

Arsenal lost the crunch north London derby while Liverpool and Manchester United went goal crazy, QPR gave their survival hopes a boost with victory over Southampton and West Ham became only the second side this season to win at the Britannia, but who has made it into our Team of the Week? Here i...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: Comical Colin losing his seat could mean Match Of The Day 2 losing much much more

It could be argued that watching football on television has become a full-time endeavour. Well obviously for me it is because each week I force my rambling and churlish thoughts on the subject on to your computer screens in a senseless demonstration of puerile envy. But for all of us now, it ...

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Manchester United v Norwich City: Can the Canaries spoil Giggs' big day?

Manchester United star Ryan Giggs is expected to feature in his 1,000th competitive game this afternoon against Norwich City but can Chris Hughtons men spoil the Welshmans party? The Canaries defeated the league leaders 1-0 at Carrow Road in November and are searching for their first double over Un...

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Squarefootball's Team of the Week - Week 28

Arsenal and Spurs picked up three points at the weekend to put the pressure on Rafa Benitez and Chelsea. Spurs are now two points clear of Chelsea in third place with Arsenal just two behind the Blues, but with the north London giants squaring up to each other this weekend, Chelsea may have the op...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: A lack of fanfare for the Final but Swansea make worthy champions nevertheless

There was a time in football, about six or seven years ago when it all became a bit tedious. Mourinho’s Chelsea and Fergie’s United were so far ahead of everybody else that those two goliaths monopolised the English game completely. It seemed as though every piece of silverware was theirs to ...

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Norwich City v Everton: Can Toffees keep pressure on Arsenal and Spurs?

Carrow Road has been something of a bogey ground for Everton. The boys in blue have managed just one win there in the past 25 years - that was courtesy of Big Duncan Ferguson in 2004 - but can David Moyes men keep their Champions League hopes alive with a vital win this afternoon? Norwich City have...

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Predict the Premier League: Man City on top with Wigan and Sunderland in close pursuit

Manchester City may have blown their Premier League chances following their defeat at Southampton but Citys Callum Rothwell could be about to continue the clubs push for honours in our Predict the Premier League competition. Mr Rothwell, a former winner of this competition, has put his disappointme...

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Squarefootball's Team of the Week - Week 26

Manchester Uniteds victory over Everton at the weekend combined with Citys defeat at Southampton has put Fergies men 12 points clear of their rivals and the title looks to be heading back to Old Trafford. City just werent at the races and were duly punished by the Saints and United made sure the...

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Norwich v Fulham: Can the Canaries get revenge?

Fulham gave Chris Hughtons Canaries a rude awakening on the opening day of the season. Norwich were beaten 5-0 by Martin Jols men at the Cottage, but will today by payback time? Well looking at the clubs recent history you have to emphatically say no. Fulham are unbeaten in their past 11 meetings w...

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Why Royal Mail's Dream Team fails to deliver the goods

Royal Mail has assembled its Home Nations dream team to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Football Association. Legends of the game like Bobby Moore, George Best and Denis Law all feature in the special stamp collection, but eyebrows have been raised at some of the names who have missed out. H...

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QPR, Wigan, Villa, Reading or Southampton - who are going down?

The battle to beat the drop is really hotting up. With the promise of extra millions for clubs in the Premier League next season due to the new TV deals coming into play everyone is desperate to stay in the top flight. QPR, Wigan, Aston Villa, Reading and Southampton all picked up vital points at...

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Squarefootball's Team of the Week - Week 25

It was another exciting week in the Barclays Premier League with wins for Arsenal, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Reading, West Ham and Spurs. A total of 23 goals were scored as Manchester United extended their lead at the top to nine points, while those at the bottom all put in sterling p...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: Deadline Day drama as Simon gets angry and Peter gets lost

The more attentive among you might have noticed we endured the annual manic torture–fest that is Christmas recently, indeed you may still be recovering from it’s stress-pounding effects even now. Probably the most excruciating facet of the festive period, aside from having to spend uncomforta...

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QPR v Norwich City: Can the Hoops pick up only their third league win of the season?

QPR held the champions Manchester City to a goalless draw in midweek, thanks mainly to the heroics of Brazilian shot stopper Julio Cesar. That point ensured they kept their unbeaten league record in 2013 going. Today they host Chris Hughtons Norwich City, who have managed just two points from a poss...

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Norwich City v Spurs: Will Hughton or AVB suffer a cup hangover?

Norwich City were embarrassed on Saturday by non-league Luton Town in the FA Cup but they will be in great company this evening when they entertain Spurs, who themselves bowed out of the competition at the hands of Leeds United. Chris Hughtons men became the first top flight side to lose to non-lea...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: Not-so-safety Hazard means the game’s integrity takes another kicking

There just aren’t enough programmes on TV that include adults kicking children are there? Since the good old days of exploitation and corporal punishment were deemed “unacceptable”, we’ve slowly evolved into a culture in which little toe rags run around doing whatever the hell they please. Sm...

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