Fantasy Insider: July 2006

EPL and FA Cup Penalties 2005/6

Chelsea's Frank Lampard might have missed a vital penalty at the World Cup but he is still the Premiership's number one penalty taker, scoring 5/5 last season. Yakubu managed 4/4, while Thierry Henry, Darren Bent and Heidar Helguson managed 3/3. Reading's Dave Kitson is one to watch from the Championship team's with the striker scoring 5/6 penalties.

Here's the full list:

Arsenal : Henry 3/3, Pires 1/3, Lauren 0/1
Aston Villa : Baros 1/1, Barry 1/3
Birmingham : Forssell 1/1, Dunn
Blackburn : Dickov 2/2, Bellamy 1/1, Neill 1/1
Bolton : Speed 2/2, Fadiga 0/1, Okocha 0/1, Diouf, Davies
Charlton : D Bent 3/3, Euell, B Hughes, Holland
Chelsea : Lampard 5/5, Gudjohnsen, Drogba
Everton: Beattie 2/3, Arteta 1/1, Ferguson 0/1
Fulham : Helguson 3/3, John 1/2, Malbranque 0/1
Liverpool :Gerrrard 3/4, D Cisse 1/2, Crouch 0/1, Fowler 1/1*
Man City : Barton 1/2, A Cole, Vassell
Man Utd : van Nistelrooy 1/2, Ronaldo, Rooney
Middlesbrough :Yakubu 4/4, Hasselbaink 1/1, Viduka, Maccarone 1/1
Newcastle : Shearer 4/4, Ameobi 1/1, Owen
Portsmouth : Matt Taylor 2/2, LuaLua
Sunderland : Whitehead 2/2, Lawrence, Arca
Tottenham Hotspur : Keane 2/3, Murphy 1/1*, Mido 1/1, Defoe 0/1
West Brom : Ellington 1/1, Gera 1/1
West Ham : Harewood 2/3, Sheringham 2/3, Ashton
Wigan : Roberts 2/2, Bullard 1/1, Teale 1/1, Kavanagh 1/1, Connolly 1/1

Championship Promoted Sides:
Reading : Kitson 5/6, Doyle 1/1
Sheff Utd : Kabba 1/1, Unsworth 1/1

* Denotes penalty scored at previous club
Information from www.footballanorak.com

EPL Friendly Round Up

Bellamy Opens Liverpool Account
(Wrexham 0 - 2 Liverpool)
Liverpool opened their Pre-season fixture list with a 2-0 win over Wrexham on Saturday. Reds' boss Rafa Benitez handed newcomers Paletta and Bellamy their debut at the Racecourse ground and both duly impressed. Paletta looked comfortable at the back throughout the 45 minutes that he appeared in, while striker Bellamy opened his Liverpool scoring account at the other end after connecting with a Robbie Fowler pass to slot one home in the 52nd minute. It was a well taken goal to add to Paul Anderson's effort in the first-half. Fowler, who was introduced at half-time, linked up well with debutant Bellamy - a sign of things to come? Another player back in the starting xi was Zenden, who had not been seen since last November after damaging his cruciate ligaments. He played in the middle of the park and looked comfortable throughout. Striker Pongolle also appeared.

Fantasy Insider's View: Well there is a lot to take from this game. Bellamy was on the scoresheet, fat-boy Fowler got an assist, Paletta got his debut and Zenden kicked a ball again. These are all positive signs for Liverpool who, at times last season, missed real squad depth. Liverpool should only be stronger this season and £5 says that Craig Bellamy will be their top-scorer come next May.

Liverpool: Dudek, Roque, Paletta, Hobbs, Finnan, Riise, Zenden, Guthrie, Anderson, Bellamy, Idrizaj. Subs - Martin, Smith, Antwi, Hyypia, Diao, Peltier, Hammill, Fowler, Sinama Pongolle, O'Donnell, Threlfall

Arsenal Youth Fail to Deliver
(Barnet 0 - 0 Arsenal)
You just had to look at Arsenal's team on Saturday to work out who Ashley Cole doesn't like - it was the left-backs wedding to the Geordie feather-weight (boxer) Cheryl Tweedy and those playing were left off the invite list, including boss Arsene Wenger. Nevertheless the Arsenal gaffer fielded a pretty strong team which included Cygan, Almunia, Hleb and Flamini. Unfortunately this failed to raise the standards as the Gunners played out a goaless draw. And to think I was contemplating going to this game...

Fantasy Insider's View: Jeremie Aliadiere looked sharp on his return to the Arsenal side. He has something to prove to boss Wenger and he looks like a man on a mission. Listening to Aliadiere talk in interviews recently it amazed me to hear that he is a Frenchman that talks with a cockney accent. Zut alors me geezer, init. Everybody else looked rusty on a hot Saturday afternoon. No fantasy relevance.

Reading Win in Bizarre Fashion
(Bromley 0 - 1 Reading)
It took a goal from reserve Aussie keeper Adam Federici to resolve this one. Federici was pushed up front after a bad ankle injury to Aaron Brown, taking the injured man's place in attack and within ten minutes had put away a neat goal for the winner. The game got even more surreal when Reading assistant kit man Selby Armstrong came on to play the last 10 minutes as Shane Long was given a rest. Why play two games in two days if you haven't got the players?

Fantasy Insider's View: Reading were tired after their 9-1 endevour against Didcot on Friday night. Man of the match in the last game, Leroy Lita, played the first 45 minutes as he continues to build up match fitness for the start of the Premiership.

Reading: Federici, Halls (Joseph-Dubois HT), Golbourne, Brown (Hamer 60), Makin (c) (Ujah HT), Cox, Osano, Davies, Hayes, Lita (Rendell HT), Long (Armstrong 80)

Fulham Look for the Nearest Exeter
(Exeter 1 - 0 Fulham)
Fulham kicked off their pre-season fixtures with a drab 1-0 defeat to Exeter on Saturday. Chris Coleman had put out a fairly good squad with most of the first team figuring in the match at sometime or another. There were also debuts for Bullard and Zakuani, who had signed in the summer transfer window. Bullard appeared in the first half but had little impact on the game, while Zakuani did relatively well at the back in the second half.

Fantasy Insider's View: Fulham struggled with their away form last season and it looks like they might again for the forthcoming season. They failed to convert their chances, with John and Diop missing opportunities. McBride and Boa Morte were absent due to their World Cup campaigns and it showed. Fulham are too reliant on their influence and they will definitely struggle if either gets injured this season.

Everton Double
(Port Vale 0 - 2 Everton) & (Bury 1 - Everton 3)
David Moyes decided to play two games at the same time on Saturday as his A and B sides took on Port Vale and Bury respectively. There were double victories as Port Vale were beaten 2-0 and Bury 3-1. All non-World Cup players were on display apart from new boy Lescott who was suffering from a virus. Striker Victor Anichebe had a good day against Bury as he scored two and Everton player of last season, Mikel Arteta, struck a trademark freekick in that game. James McFadden and Kevin Kilbane got the goals against Port Vale.

Fantasy Insider's View: Arteta is certainly one to watch for the upcoming season. If he isn't banging in goals from set-pieces he getting assits from whipping them in. He is a consistant performer and is recommended as a good fantasy purchase. New boy Andy Johnson also made his debut.

Now I am off to dance to Club Tropicana at Ashley Cole's wedding...

Didcot Town 1 - 9 Reading

Honestly, hand on my heart I have been saying that Leroy Lita is the shits since I saw him demolish West Brom in the FA Cup last season, notching up a hat-trick against the perpetually grim-faced Mr United, Lord Byron Robinson. He impressed me again on Friday, scoring FOUR against, well ok, against Didcot Town, but still not bad for your first game back from a broken ankle!

Stevie Coppell's men breezed through their first test of the pre-season with Shane Long(2), Kitson(1), Doyle(1) and Gunnarson(1) all getting in on the act. New signing Seol Ki-Hyeon also made an impressive debut, although how could you not be impressive against a side that lets in NINE goals.

Fantasy Insider's view: Take this result with a small pinch of salt, Didcot aren't exactly Liverpool at Anfield, but Leroy Lita's return is something to talk about. He is an England U-21, has proved his worth in the Championship and looks, to quote a friend, a "live-wire". Reading look like they could perform like West Ham have done recently, especially with the news that Steve Sidwell is likely to stay for the rest of the season. Tougher tests will follow for Reading..., wait Bromley away followed by Rushden, hmm maybe not. Lita could score 25 in the pre-season!

Nice 0 - 1 Tottenham

Ledley King returned to action in Friday nights friendly win over Le Championnat side Nice. King has been absent with a broken metartasal - oh the bane of the modern footballer - and managed seventy minutes in a distinctively scrappy game.

Nice proved tough opposition for the North-East London club, forcing young keeper Fulop into a few excellent saves throughout the match. Fulop, who was hotly linked with a move away from White Hart Lane recently, gave manager Martin Jol some food for thought, as the goalie pulled out a string of fine saves to deny a Nice attack that was keener than Ronaldo when presented with hors d'oeuvre tray.

Jol will have also been encouraged by the performances of two more of his youngsters at the opposite end, as strikers O'Hara and Barnard combined well to score the only goal of the match: O'Hara's low cross from the left touchline deflected slightly into the path of the ever-lively Barnard who prodded home from six yards. The duo gave the Nice defence a tough time throughout the match and showed that the youth of tomorrow is healthy at The Lane.

Spurs were found lacking in other areas though, with Tom Huddlestone and Hossam Ghaly failing to impress in the midfield. Luckily, Jermain Defoe came on towards the end of the match and produced a touch of magic to impress the handful of Nicely tanned supporters who had turned up (Spurs haven't exactly garnered the same numbers in the last two friendlies as Brazil did for their recent World Cup warm-ups, don't people know that Danny Murphy can do four keepy-ups?!!).

Fantasy Insider's View: Fulop impressed, but he isn't going to get a sniff around the first-team. King's ease back into his first game from injury is the main plus for Spurs. The rest of the reserves did a relatively good job against a Nice side that looked up for it, especially former Man Utd man David Bellion. Lee Barnard looks like he could make the transition into the first-team this year after spending the last few years out on loan. If any of the big three get injured then he certainly is with a shout, he is also a favourite with the Spurs faithful too.

Line-ups: Nice (squad) Gregorini, Onyekashi, Fanni, Abardonado, Yahia, Echouafini, Balmont, Rool, Hnondrato Campos, Camara, Moussilou, Bellion, Diakite, Gace, Kante, Scotto, Toure, Traore, Lloris, Moreaua.

Spurs: Fulop, Stalteri, Ziegler, Huddlestone, King (Murphy, 72), Davenport, Routledge (Defoe, 46), Ghaly, Barnard (McKenna, 85), Tainio, O'Hara. Subs: Cerny, Defoe, Ifil, Lee, Barcham.

Nice v Tottenham Friendly Preview

Ledley King is DEFINITELY back in for Tottenham's game against Nice on Friday night. He is set to partner Calum Davenport at the back. Other regulars to be included are Teemu Tainio and Paul Stalteri. Striker Robbie Keane has picked up a slight neck strain and he won't be risked, so Lee Barnard and Defoe are expected to start up front. Rookies Tom Huddlestone and Hossam Ghaly are expected to "pull the strings" in midfield according to Jol.

Fantasy Insider's View: Spurs have a strong backline on display for Friday nights encounter with Nice. I was hoping to see Keane in attack but we can analyse Defoe's progress a bit more. I expect King to be slightly rusty, although it is nice to see him back in action. Watch out for Hossam Ghaly. His best mate Mido might have left but Ghaly still has a chance in Jol's plans for the upcoming Premiership season.

Bordeaux 1 - 2 Tottenham

Tottenham's Jermain Defoe was on the scoresheet for Spurs as they edged a close 2-1 victory over French side Bordeaux. Spurs' manager Martin Jol opted for a mixture of reserve players and few first team memebers for his sides' opening game of the season. Newcomers Dimitar Berbatov and Benoit Assou-Ekotto both made their first starts for Spurs in Albertville. But it was striker Defoe who stole the show and looked sharp alongside Berbatov in attack scoring a typical Defoe-esque strike to put the Spurs ahead (Murphy assist). Bordeaux struck back before the end of the first half through a Micoud goal. Youth player McKenna then clinched the winner towards the end of the match. Jol told Spurs club website: “It was good to see Benoit adjusting when we played with three in the centre of defence (from a 4-4-2) in the second half. He’s quick, dynamic and he has to cope with the English game but I think he will do that."

“Berbatov is a stylish striker who will score goals. We were a little tired in the second half and that meant we couldn’t really create enough for him because he will always be on the end of attacks."

He showered most of the praise on Defoe saying: “Jermain started training with us on Monday, just three days ago, so I was pleased for him. I know if he faces onto goal, five out of 10 it’s a goal. He’s back and the first thing he did was score a goal."

Fantasy Insider's view:
Not much can be taken from this match apart from the fact that Defoe looks hungry for goals. He looks set to challenge Keane for his starting spot this season. Keane will have his chance to reply as he should start against Nice on Friday evening.

Bordeaux v Tottenham Preview

Tottenham v Bordeaux

Team News:
Martin Jol has said that he will use his full squad against Bordeaux tonight - that's 26 players. Ledley King is expected to return to the side against either Bordeaux or Nice after recovering from a broken metatarsal.

Fantasy Insider's View: Watch out for Benoit Assou-Ekotto, who signed for Spurs this summer from RC Lens. He is a strong left-back who will challenge Lee this season. He helped Lens to 4th place in Le Championnat last year, as well as winning the Inter-toto Cup. He then played in seven of eight UEFA Cup matches for the French side.

Assou-Ekotto's 05/06 Stats-
Games 34 Assists 1 Goals 0 Yellows 10 Reds 1

Line ups:

Line-ups: Bordeaux (squad): Olimpa, Dos Santos Souza, Jurietti, Alonso, Darchaeville, Francia, Valencia, Micoud, Laute, Rame, Baysse, Faubert, Ducasse, Balde, Bregerie, Marange, Cid, Obertan, Tremoulinas.

Spurs: Cerny, Ifil, Assou-Ekotto, Davids, Dawson, Gardner, Routledge, Murphy, Berbatov, Defoe, Reid. Subs: Davenport, Fulop, Huddlestone, Ziegler, Barnard, O'Hara, McKenna, Lee.

Pre-Season Friendly Fixtures EPL

Games highlighted in Blue are today's fixtures those in Green have already been played. Those in black are upcoming fixtures.

Arsenal
Pre-Season Friendly 15 Sat A Barnet 3pm
Bergkamp Testimonial 22 Sat H Ajax 4.15pm
Pre-Season Friendly 25 Tue A SV Mattersburg 7pm
Pre-Season Friendly 31 Mon A Schwadorf 5pm

Aston Villa
Pre-Season Friendly Walsall vs Aston Villa 21-07-2006
Pre-Season Friendly Hull vs Aston Villa 25-07-2006
Pre-Season Friendly Wolves vs Aston Villa 29-07-2006
Pre-Season Friendly 05/08 Hannover 96 (A)
Pre-Season Friendly 08/08 NEC Nijmegen (A)
Pre-Season Friendly 11/08 FC Groningen (A)

Blackburn
Pre-Season Friendly Accrington vs Blackburn 19-07-2006
Pre-Season Friendly SV Hamburg vs Blackburn 23-07-2006
Pre-Season Friendly Olympiakos Ritter-von-Halt Stadium, Fri 28 July 18:30
Pre-Season Friendly Alemannia Aachen Stadion Tivoli, Sat 5 Aug
Pre-Season Friendly Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Stadion, Wed 9 Aug
Pre-Season Friendly New Zealand Ewood Park, Sat 12 Aug

Bolton
Pre-Season Friendly Saturday 22 July 2006 (ko 3pm) away to Burnley
Pre-Season Friendly Tuesday 25 July 2006 (ko 8pm) home to Glasgow Rangers
Pre-Season Friendly Saturday 29 July 2006 (ko 3pm) away to Derby County
Pre-Season Friendly Tuesday 8 August 2006 (ko 10pm) away to Recreativo Huelva
Pre-Season Friendly Wednesday 9 August 2006 (ko 10pm) away to Sevilla (played at Recreativo Huelva)
Pre-Season Friendly Saturday 12 August 2006 (ko 2pm) home to AZ Alkmaar

Charlton
Pre-Season Friendly Sat Jul 22 Millwall 15.00 A
Pre-Season Friendly Tue Jul 25 Hibernian 19.45 (local time) A
Pre-Season Friendly Sat Jul 29 Valencia 20.00 (local time) A
Pre-Season Friendly Wed Aug 02 Welling United 19.45 A
Pre-Season Friendly Sat Aug 05 New Zealand 15.00 H
Pre-Season Friendly Tue Aug 08 Germinal Beerschot 19.30 (local time) A
Pre-Season Friendly Fri Aug 11 FC Utrecht 20.00 local time A

Chelsea
Pre-Season Friendly MLS All Stars v Chelsea 5-08-2006
Pre-Season Friendly Feyenoord v Chelsea 8-08-2006
Pre-Season Friendly Chelsea v Celtic 9-08-2006

Everton
Pre-Season Friendly Bury OR Port Vale Sat 15th July 15:00 A
Pre-Season Friendly Preston North End Wed 19th July 19:45 A
Pre-Season Friendly Celtic Sun 23rd July 14:00 A
Pre-Season Friendly Columbus Crew Wed 26th July 19:00 A
Pre-Season Friendly Club America Sat 29th July 20:30 A
Pre-Season Friendly Aberdeen Tue 8th Aug 19:45 A
Pre-Season Friendly Athletic Bilbao Sat 12th Aug 15:00 H

Fulham
Pre-Season Friendly Exeter vs Fulham 15-07-2006
Pre-Season Friendly Luton vs Fulham 21-07-2006
Pre-Season Friendly 26/07 Macabi Peteh Tikva (A)
Pre-Season Friendly 28/07 FC Augsburg (A)
Pre-Season Friendly 05/08 B Monchengladbach (A)
Pre-Season Friendly 12/08 Boavista (H)

Liverpool
Pre-Season Friendly Wrexham vs Liverpool 15-07-2006
Pre-Season Friendly Crewe vs Liverpool 22-07-2006
Pre-Season Friendly Kaiserslauten vs Liverpool 29-07-2006
Pre-Season Friendly Grasshopper Zurich vs Liverpool 01-08-2006
Pre-Season Friendly FSV Mainz vs Liverpool 04-08-2006

Man City
Pre-Season Friendly Wrexham vs Man City 19-07-2006
Pre-Season Friendly Rochdale vs Man City 22-07-2006
Pre-Season Friendly 26/07 Port Vale (A)
Pre-Season Friendly 29/07 Bradford City (A)
Pre-Season Friendly 12/08 Porto (A)

Man Utd
Pre-Season Friendly 22 July Manchester United v Kaizer Chiefs or Orlando Pirates
Loftus Versveld, Pretoria, South Africa (Vodacom Challenge)
Pre-Season Friendly 26 July Celtic v Manchester United Celtic Park
Pre-Season Friendly 29 July Preston North End v Manchester United Deepdale Stadium
Pre-Season Friendly 31 July Macclesfield Town v Manchester United Moss Rose Ground
Pre-Season Friendly 4 August Manchester United v FC Porto Amsterdam ArenA (LG Amsterdam Tournament)
Pre-Season Friendly 5 August AFC Ajax v Manchester United Amsterdam ArenA (LG Amsterdam Tournament)
Pre-Season Friendly 12 August Manchester United v Sevilla Old Trafford

Middlesbrough
Pre-Season Friendly Rangers vs Middlesbro 22-07-2006
Pre-Season Friendly Saturday July 22* 3pm Darlington (a)
Pre-Season Friendly Tuesday July 25* 7.30pm Barnsley (a)
Pre-Season Friendly Friday July 28* 7.45pm Doncaster (a)
Pre-Season Friendly Saturday July 29 3pm Sheffield Wednesday (a)
Pre-Season Friendly Thursday August 3 8pm** Athletic Bilbao (in Cologne)
Pre-Season Friendly Thursday August 3 9pm** Cologne (a)
Pre-Season Friendly Sunday August 6 2.30pm** Feyenoord (a)
Pre-Season Friendly Tuesday August 8 7.30pm** Heerenveen (a)

Newcastle
UEFA Intertoto Cup Newcastle vs Lillestrom 15-07-2006
UEFA Intertoto Cup Lillestrom vs Newcastle 22-07-2006
Ok these aren't friendlies but they are interesting to look at!

Portsmouth
Pre-Season Friendly Torquay vs Portsmouth 19-07-2006
Pre-Season Friendly Yeovil vs Portsmouth 21-07-2006
Pre-Season Friendly Southend United v Portsmouth 26th July
Pre-Season Friendly AFC Bournemouth v Portsmouth 29th July
Pre-Season Friendly Oxford United v Portsmouth 4th August
Pre-Season Friendly Portsmouth v FC Porto - 10th August

Reading
Pre-Season Friendly Didcot Town vs Reading 14-07-2006
Pre-Season Friendly Bromley vs Reading 15-07-2006
Pre-Season Friendly Rushden vs Reading 19-07-2006
Pre-Season Friendly Northampton vs Reading 22-07-2006

Sheff United
Pre-Season Friendly Monday 17 A Worksop Town
Pre-Season Friendly Friday 21 A Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Pre-Season Friendly Monday 24 A Morton
Pre-Season Friendly Friday 28 A Rotherham United
Pre-Season Friendly Saturday 29 A Scunthorpe United
August
Pre-Season Friendly Tuesday 1 A Notts County
Pre-Season Friendly Thursday 3 A Worcester City
Pre-Season Friendly Saturday 5 A Sparta Rotterdam
Pre-Season Friendly Tuesday 8 A Ado Den Haag
Pre-Season Friendly Friday 11 A Matlock Town

Tottenham
Pre-Season Friendly July 13 Bordeaux 1 - 2 Tottenham
Pre-Season Friendly July 14 v Nice at Stade Municipal d'Evian, France.
Pre-Season Friendly July 18 v Celta Vigo at Stade Municipal d'Annecy, France.
Pre-Season Friendly July 22 v Birmingham, St Andrews, 3pm.
Pre-Season Friendly July 25 v Stevenage, Broadhall Way, 8pm.
Pre-Season Friendly Jul 30 v Inter Milan, White Hart Lane, 3pm.
Pre-Season Friendly Aug 05 v Borussia Dortmund, Westfalonstadion, 3.30pm (2.30pm UK).
Pre-Season Friendly Aug 12 v Real Sociedad, White Hart Lane, 3pm.

Watford
Pre-Season Friendly Tue 25 July Northwood (A)
Pre-Season Friendly Wed 26 July Wycombe Wanderers (A)
Pre-Season Friendly Sat 29 July Boreham Wood (A)
Pre-Season Friendly Mon 31 July AC Horsens (A) (In Denmark)
Pre-Season Friendly Tue 8 August Inter Milan (H)

West Ham
Pre-Season Friendly FC Trollhatton A 20 July
Pre-Season Friendly IFK Goteborg A ko 16:00 22 July
Pre-Season Friendly Ljungskile A 25 July
Pre-Season Friendly Gillingham A ko 15:00 29 July
Pre-Season Friendly Cambridge United A 01 August
Pre-Season Friendly West Ham United v Olympiakos August 12, 2006

Wigan
Pre-Season Friendly Persepolis Tehran Austria (Training Camp) Tue 25 July
Pre-Season Friendly Utrecht Austria (Training Camp) Thu 27 July
Pre-Season Friendly Barnsley (A) Oakwell Tue 1 Aug, 7.45pm
Pre-Season Friendly Southport (A) Haig Avenue Wed 2 Aug, 7.45pm
Pre-Season Friendly Halifax (A) The Shay Sat 5 Aug, 3pm
Pre-Season Friendly Brann Bergen (A) Brann Stadion, Norway Wed 9 Aug
Pre-Season Friendly Vit. Arnhem JJB Stadium Sat 12 Aug