The Full English: Life Is Grand

By Shane Evans

Isn’t life wonderful?! Everything is going well in the life of this Goal.commer. Gas prices are low again, so I can afford to fill my unnecessarily large car. Guy Ritchie is making good movies again and Oasis is touring. Things could not be better (my daft predictions, withstanding).

But wait, they do get better! Monumentally better. I of course am speaking of how the Three Lions marched into the Olympiastadion on Wednesday evening and stuck it to our hated rivals Germany 2-0 (their goal obviously didn’t count). Maybe that’s why I’m in such a good mood lately, as I’m sure everyone on our little island is as well. It was glorious, absolutely glorious. Certainly not the 5-1 drubbing of 2001, but it still felt awfully nice. That must be the most exciting thing on my mind, you say. What could possibly top that in the eyes of a football-crazed Englishman?

How about going there?! That’s right my loyal readers, the next three editions of TFE will be written with a real cup of tea and some beans on toast straight from my old stomping grounds of Leicestershire, England! Really doesn’t have much effect on the column, but morale will be through the roof, that’s for sure. Wrong predictions or not, this Limey is headed home.

I am still here in the US, at least until Tuesday, so let’s just try and quell my excitement and my rambling by getting down to business. We’ll make this edition ‘to-go’.

The Bacon (as in Bringing it Home)

Aston Villa v. Manchester United (Villa Park, November 22nd, 12:30 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer Channel)

Pretty easy pick for the top game of the week. Two big clubs battling for positioning among the league’s second tier. You see, Liverpool and Chelsea have become their own class in my eyes. At the rate they’re going, it’s going to be a two-horse race the rest of the way, and neither of these teams will have much chance of stopping them. But obviously, a win here would help both teams’ chances, however slim they are.

Manchester United has the talent. Aston Villa has the will. Manchester United has the history. Aston Villa has the future. Who has the edge in this one? Both teams are coming off of huge victories last weekend with ManU thumping Stoke for five, while Villa undid my top prediction for the 5th week on the trot by beating Arsenal. It’s a tough one to call, but Alex Ferguson knows anything but three points here and he may be packing it in for the year (same goes for Giggys, Scholesy and Neville...except it’ll be for good).

TFE Prediction: Manchester United shows how class they are and I finally get a prediction right. Rooney leads the way in the 2-1 win.

Liverpool v. Fulham (Anfield, November 22nd, 9:30 a.m. ET, Setanta Sports)

Fulham is having a hell of a year under Roy Hodgson, much to many people’s surprise, including mine. Their defense is air-tight and now that Andy Johnson is finally coming to form, they have a legitimate goal-scorer to put the ball in the net. 10th place is quite the accomplishment for a team that escaped relegation on the last day of the season a year ago.

But Anfield is a beast like few in the league, so they’ll be hard-pressed to continue the strong form against a Liverpool squad who have been virtually dominant this year. I hope, for Clint Dempsey (who made a big start last weekend against Tottenham) and the rest of the Cottagers sake, they pull out some kind of result, it’s just very, very hard to see.

TFE Prediction: Liverpool keep the ball rolling with a 3-0 win, sending Fulham back to London with their tail between their legs.

Portsmouth v. Hull (Fratton Park, November 22nd, 10 a.m. ET, Not Televised)

An intriguing match-up here. Portsmouth are lead by one of the probably three Arsenal players I have ever liked in Tony Adams. Fantastic, honest guy, who you can’t help but root for after Harry buggered off to London. His team aren’t playing well and need a win now. Only one win out of their last six matches, Pompey needs a result big time. They could also do with scoring some goals, as they’ve tallied more than two just once this campaign.

The team they’re playing, another squad you have to pull for. Parity is something the EPL lacks, and Hull have certainly done their best to change that this year with their inspiring performances. Can they upset another formidable team? We shall see, but I think this one may be too close to call, although I would like to see Crouchinho do the robot a few times.

TFE Prediction: Hull outdo themselves again scraping a point from the more talented, but less-driven Portsmouth, game ends 2-2.

The Toast (as in Of The EPL): The Leadership Edition

William Gallas, Arsenal: It’s hard to like this guy. Not only is he French, but he has a big yammer, and never keeps it closed. Not fit to lead a pub league team, let alone one of the biggest clubs in the world, Billy decided to blame Arsenal’s shortcomings on internal problems with the team.

John Terry, Chelsea and England: It’s hard not to like this guy. Yes, he plays for Chelsea, a team I like less than Bayern Munich and Portugal, but his leadership is something that young players should follow. Captain Courageous helped Germany score one of the flukiest goals I have ever seen on Wednesday. What’d he do? Come right back and knock in an ‘all guts, no glory’ beaut of a header to seal England’s win. If only he had the chance to make up for his missed PK in the Champions League final. Ooh, low blow, I know.

Javier Mascherano, Liverpool and Argentina: Diego Maradona’s first decision in charge of Argentina was surprisingly wise as the former World Cup “hero” named Masherano as his captain. Much deserved as the holding midfielder is exactly what you look for in a leader, determined and unrelenting, though not always cool-headed (see ‘Pool-ManU last season). The Albicelestes now have someone to rally around. Perfect.

Leicester Update:

Here it is, folks: the big one. My Foxes are set to take on Scunthorpe this Saturday in a classic 1st place-2nd place clash. Only a point behind the Northerns, Nigel Pearson and the boys will want all three points to return to the top of the table. Will it happen? Of course. We are just too strong. Maybe that’s just my hubris speaking, but regardless, I see big things for Leicester in the coming months. Dominating things.

Other news: I shall be in attendance at Walkers Stadium when the Foxes take on Southend United on December 6th. This my friends, even more great news.

And finally...the Black Pudding of the Week:

Carlos Tevez, Manchester United: The diminutive spark-plug known as el Apache will surely see time for the Reds on Saturday when they take on Villa in a vital top four match, given Dimi Berbatov’s injury. He’s had a tough year, but the Argentine has been a solid teammate and has not complained or stated he is a want-away. Here’s hoping he scores a brace and supplants the lazy Bulgarian in the starting line-up, if only for the short term.

Shane Evans in an Associate Editor of Goal.com USA. The Full English appears every Friday.