To people all around the world, I wish you a very happy New Year! To football fans around the world, I wish you a very happy and hopefully fruitful silly season!
Yes, at long last, transfer season is here. January 1st not only signals the beginning of a new year, but for many teams in the world of football it signals a new beginning. For teams like Arsenal it symbolizes hope. Hope that even though Cesc Fabregas is hurt, a replacement can finally be purchased. Hope that even though the season …

As an American, I love nothing better than to watch the Premier League and see a fellow American being successful. This past week was a perfect example. The match pitted an overachieving Fulham side against a powerful Chelsea side. Coming into the match, Chelsea was undefeated on the road at 8-1-0, and they had only given up 1 goal. Everything seemed as though this would be an easy victory for them. They obviously did not plan very well for Clint Dempsey. Dempsey has not seen consistent action all season. He’s …

Part 1 discussed just how close the relegation battle is this year, and in Part 2 we move even further down the table.
15. Manchester City
When City was taken over in the summer, everyone pictured another Galacticos side. With Robinho as the only big name signing in the summer, we didn’t quite get to see that. With January right around the corner, it is only a matter of time before Mark Hughes revamps his team and marches up the table. Granted, City haven’t been terrible thus far, they’ve just been ridiculously …

Every year football fans around the world gawk at the English Premier League, wondering which one of the Big Four will win the title. Less impressive, though, is the other end of the table: the infamous relegation battle. While it’s a tight race at the top of the table, it’s an even tighter race towards the bottom.
While the top seven sides in the Premiership are looking to lock down a European spot, teams from 8th place and below are all fighting for survival.
Yes, it’s true, EIGTH placed Fulham has more …

Overcoming adversity. Something that everybody should know how to do, but something that not everybody is capable of doing.
We’ve seen it happening all year in the Premier League. Hull has been up against long odds all season, yet they still sit way up on the Premier League table. Burnley took down Arsenal and Chelsea en route to their Carling Cup semifinal draw against Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham squad.
Then there is David Moyes and Everton.
Projected to be another solid team in the Premier League this season, Everton have been meeting expectations thus …

For the second time this season, the so-called Big 4 have all failed to win, and consequently gain ground on each other in the race for this year’s title.
Just two weeks ago, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal astonishingly all failed to score and could only manage 0-0 draws. This weekend, the same occurred, with United only managing a goalless draw at Spurs, Chelsea failing to capitalize at home to West Ham, Arsenal drawing 1-1 at the Riverside against ‘Boro, and Hull managing to pick up more points on the …

With the year coming to a close, many media sources will be compiling lists of some of 2008’s best moments. Yes, admittedly, Premiership Talk is one of these sites, too. Joe Warrington is compiling a list of reader’s fondest 2008 memories in the forum, so head on over there to give him your memories.
This feature is not one such list, though. With the year winding down, Premiership Talk is going to highlight the twenty Premier League players who are under-rated. These are the players that, throughout the course of their …

So close. That is what Marton Fulop was thinking as the whistle blew at Old Trafford on Saturday. Fulop had played his heart out for all 90 minutes - stopping shot after shot from relentless United attacks. As the final minutes ticked away, Fulop seemed to have helped Sunderland secure 0-0 draw against the defending Premier League champs.
However, that would not be the case. As it got later and later into stoppage time, the United fans were getting more and more antsy for a goal. Carrick got the ball a …

What more could Everton ask for after locking up their new midfielder in April? How about a game winning goal at Spurs? Well that is exactly what the 26 year old South African did on Sunday. After going into the half tied 0-0 a piece, Pienaar came back onto the pitch with a slight problem - he was wearing the wrong jersey. How that happened during the break is beyond me, but it is because of what happened after the delay was over that we are discussing Mr. Pienaar.
Approximately six …

We are now one-third of the way through the 2008-09 Premier League campaign. The table is starting to shape up into something that resembles the normal order of the league (with a few exceptions, of course). Some teams are losing steam (Arsenal) while others are hoping that their seasons are truly just getting underway (Manchester United and Tottenham). This weekend is pivotal for almost all teams in the league, as we get the chance to see many derby matches and other close matches. Here is a general overview of these …