TV Rights for Premier League & Spuds preview February 7, 2009
Posted by freekicker in 2008-09 season, Arsenal, Premier League, Setanta Sports, Sky Sports, TV rights, The Independent, Tottenham Hotspurs.add a comment
Arsenal travel to White Hart Lane on Sunday with a team that looks light on the midfield with Nasri, Denilson, Song and Eboue…My god if we cme back with a win with this team we should be blessed…Arshavin most probably won’t be playing and Keane will be playing in all probability. Lets hope we keep the record of beating the Spuds intact.
Premier League sold its TV rights recently for 1.78 Billion pounds in this time of recession. Here is a break up of the deal and how the TV rights have grown over the last cople of decades…
BSkyB (paid £1.623bn) won rights to:
Package A: 23 matches shown at 16:00 on Sundays
Package B: 23 matches shown at 13:30 on Sundays
Package C: Minimum of 12 matches at 20:00 on Monday, the rest either at 13:30 on Sunday or 17:15 on Saturday or other times
Package E: 23 matches shown at 1245 on Saturdays
Package F: Seven to 13 matches on midweek evenings/bank holidays, 10 to 16 at 12:45 on Saturday and 16:00 on Sundays
Setanta (paid £159m) won rights to: Package D: Minimum of 18 matches at 17:15 on Saturday, the rest either at 13:30 on Sunday, 20:00 on Monday or other times
Total 2010-13 income from live British rights: £1.782bn.
*Current deal (2007-2010): Sky won packages A, B, E and F for £1.314bn total, and Setanta won packages C and D for £392m combined, for a total of £1.706bn.
*The rise and rise of the Premier League: How TV rights values have increased
1992-1997: BSkyB, 60 games/season, £190m – deal value, £633,000/game
1997-2001: BSkyB, 60 games, £670m, £2.79m/game
2001-2004: BSkyB, 110 games, £1.2bn, £3.64m/game
2004-2007: BSkyB, 138 games, £1.024bn, £2.47m/game
2007-2010: BSkyB and Setanta, 138 games, £1.706bn, £4.12m/game
2010-2013: BSkyB/Setanta 138 games, £1.782bn, £4.3m/game
(courtesy- The Independent)
Been missing a lot of matches :( October 28, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Arsenal, EPL, Tottenham Hotspurs.add a comment
I have been missing a lot of Arsenal matches with my reocation to Hyderabad and finding a new place to stay etc etc…The guest house that I stay in shows two channels which show only Cricket 
But I guess Arsenal has been doing a good job so far. With the derby coming up against Spurs, I hope the good form continues.
There has been some good work done by Song in the midfield which is probably alowing Cesc to play more freely. Ade’s substitution wored in the team’s favour as he came in and had a part in the first goal and scored the second.
So here is to a comfortable victory against the Spuds 
A night to forget January 24, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Adebayor, Arsenal, Bendtner, Carling Cup, Eduardo, Gallas, Tottenham Hotspurs, Van Persie, Walcott.add a comment
Well, I saw the match in the early hours of Wednesday here and could not go back to sleep. The way Jenas, Keane and Lennon outplayed the Gunners were scary and I would not want to see something like this again. These kind of defeats happen only once in a really long while and it will be a match where the opposition play out of their skins and we defend like suckers. There are lots of points to ponder on this match.
And to top the misery there was an unnecessary clash of passionated fury from Adebayor and Bendtner which now will be examined by FA. The reasons look to be silly if it is true. Another thing we need now is a suspension to either of them. With Persie injured and Walcott nowhere near the expected finished article, Eduardo seems to be the only option. Are we short of forwards? Van Persie is one player who has disappointed the team for couple of seasons now. He plays for one third of the seaons and then goes missing due to injury…but all that for another day.
We lost to Spurs because Spurs were the better team, playing better football and was the team that wanted to win the Cup. They had the desire. This was missing in the Arsenal team as half the team had to be changed due to injuries and other reasons. So Gallas and Sagna played in the back four, Hleb and Gilberto played in the middle and Bendtner and Walcott were upfront. Gallas had a very bad game getting beaten on couple of occasions. And Fabianski was a bit suspect under the bar. Overall the team played badly.
The forward line was very faulty. Walcott was completely inactive upfront. He still needs a long time to get his act going. Bendtner tried too hard and conceded the own goal. Later on Adebayor and Eduardo were introduced into the team and Ade scored the equaliser, but too little too late. What is worrying again is the firpower of our forward line, where all the current fit forwards played in a match and we scored one and conceded five. Wenger will have to rethink his strategy as Keegan would be getting ideas to stop this Arsenal team now. Hope the team bounces back against Newcastle in the FA cup on saturday.
Arsenal Shop-Bangkok & Carling Cup semi January 22, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Arsenal Shop, Bangkok, Carling Cup, Highbury, Phuket, Thailand, Tottenham Hotspurs.1 comment so far
I am in Bangkok for a week and went to visit the Arsenal shop in Central World in Chidlom. Nice shop with a lot of goodies. There is one more shop in Thailand in Phuket.
The shop is run by two gooners, Ali and Sujet(very similar to my name). They are very friendly guys and gave me a nice discount for the goods that I bought there.
One of the exhibits they have in the shop is a penalty spot from Highbury.
They also have a seat from Highbury as one of the exhibits.
Last but not the least is a seat from Emirates.
I hope Arsenal lads will be able to beat the Spurs first team at White Hart Lane and advance to the finals. This young team has played some wonderful football this year and it would do their confidence a lot of good to beat their traditional rivals on their ground. So lets hope it will be a exciting match with the honours going to the visitors.
Spurs dominant but honours even January 10, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Arsenal, Carling Cup, Tottenham Hotspurs.1 comment so far
Arsenal escaped with a draw thus setting up a interesting return leg at White Hart lane in two weeks time. Carling cup is not a tournament that Wenger is desperate to win but definitely is a tournament that he would like to win with his youngsters. Having reached atleast the semi-final stage in the last four years with his young mostly-reserve team this will be a creditable achievement already given that couple of Premiership teams have already succumbed to this team.
Tottenham were very good no doubt about that. But the point is that even when they are very good, Arsenal fielding a second string team came away with honours even. Walcott somehow getting his body to deflect a shot into goal in the second half. Spurs dominated possession and chances in the whole of 90 minutes and Berbatov, Keane and Jenas combined well for a poor clearance from Djourou to set up the Spurs goal. Defoe and Malbranque wasted huge chances in each half to gift Arsenal a draw at Emirates.
Djourou, Senderos, Persie and Walcott are all likely to be added to the injured list and this would mean a very difficult few weeks for the defence department. Djourou put in a shabby display while Senderos was more solid and I thought came up with a few good tackles. Diaby needs to reduce on his dribbling and look at opportunities to give that killer pass, Walcott still needs to work on the final ball to culminate all his runs into the box. Fabianski was excellent and Denilson also looked good and I hope Wenger gives these youngsters one more chance to go at the Spurs.
Carling Cup semi will be a good watch January 9, 2008
Posted by freekicker in Arsenal, Carling Cup, Tottenham Hotspurs.add a comment
No doubt about that. Spurs have been improving as the season progressed and have some good record scoring goals as well as conceding. They are the joint top scoring team in the Premier League with Arsenal but where they differ is in the goals conceded and ofcourse in the style of play.
Tottenham miss Didier Zokora, Huddlestone, Younes Kaboul, Darren Bent and Gareth Bale. Arsenal start with Van Persie (he should atleast play 60-70 mins or substitute Bendtner and play 20-30 mins) upfront most probably with Eduardo. Senderos and Djourou would be at the centre of defence flanked by Traore and Hoyte on the left and right. Gilberto or Diarra should be starting the match with Denilson.
Tottenham is definitely a good team and if this young Arsenal team can get anything out of this match it should be a good result. Since it is a home match a victory would be sweet and would set up the return leg just nice. Lets hope staying up at 3.40AM is worth the fun. Tomorrow is a holiday here so it should be fine.
Almunia & Bendtner star in another derby win December 23, 2007
Posted by freekicker in Almunia, Arsenal, Beckham, Bendtner, EPL, Tottenham Hotspurs.3 comments
Arsenal played well in patches but those patches produced a brilliantly orchestrated move and a towering header from a super sub to clinch all the the three points and complete a double against Spurs. Credit should also go to Almunia for saving the penalty at a very crucial juncture in the match. So Arsenal will remain on top of the table during Xmas time and has put Man Utd in pressure to get all the three against a tough game against Everton.
Gunners had a very poor first half, in which they tested Robinson couple of times, once Eboue with a shot at goal and then Toure with a header. On the other end, Almunia was rarely tested for all the possession Spurs enjoyed. It was all the more disappointing because the Spurs team were playing with an under-strength side for this match.
Second half was a different deal altogether and Arsenal again played one of those good patches in this game. A very scintillating move, Fabregas gave the ball to Rosicky and ran ahead, Rosicky overcame two challenges and falling over, gave a deadly through ball to Fabregas, who held it on for Adebayor to run in from the left side and with complete knowledge of where his team mate is, back heeled it to him to complete a beautifully orchestrated move into goal.
Spurs got their act together and a lapse in concentration from Clichy found Keane inside the box, a back heel to Berbatov, who was silent till then, got his shot from an acute angle somehow past Almunia. Honestly I thought Almunia should have blocked it. He seems to be getting beaten from these angles at the near post (remember the Champions league final, winning goal). That is one area of improvement for him.
But Almunia was in his elements in effecting a save from the Robbie Keane penalty resuting from a Toure foul on Berbatov. Penalty saving is 5% skill and 95% luck. Both these were with Almunia as he blocked a later-hugely-dissapointed Keane shot. This was a morale shattering incident in the match for Spurs from which they never recovered.
At the other end, just as Fabregas was about to take a corner, in came Bendtner for Eboue who ran staright to the box and in that spirit made a jump (trust me I think he jumped over the crossbar height, though I dont have any evidence to prove this) and headed in a unstoppable ball past Robinson. Game over.
Here is another pic to suggest the height.
A very inspired performance from the Gunners and maybe Beckham’s presence in training in January will help this young team hone some free-kick taking skills.
Merry Xmas!
If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best December 22, 2007
Posted by freekicker in AC Milan, Arsenal, Boca Juniors, Champions League, Europe, London Derby, Tottenham Hotspurs.1 comment so far
When Fabregas said this about a fortnight ago, little did he expect to draw the current Champions AC Milan in the knockout phase of Champions League. This along with Liverpool facing Inter Milan are the standout fixtures in next round of CL t be played in February and March.
Milan, the current champions are also the newly crowned Fifa World Club Champions after beating Boca Juniors last weekend. Though their form in Serie A is suspect, when it comes to Europe, they are a different class, with Kaka, Inzaghi, Seedorf all in their elements. Does Arsenal have a chance??? Well they will definetely not go down without a fight and who knows maybe on their day they might be able to beat Milan. Beating Milan is not like the 1-0 victory over Chelsea, it will require much more than that and to me will be the biggest challenge of the season.
Lets take one match at a time and we will think about the CL in January end. Next up is the Spurs match, the return leg of the London derby. It is true that there are lots of injury problems in the Spurs camp and Arsenal are back with a full squad after a long long gap. They are fresh as the reserves played the Carling Cup and won impressively. So unless they turn complacent, they cannot lose this match. So lets all enjoy the match and see if we can keep that 1 point lead at the top.
Comments from the Spurs match September 18, 2007
Posted by freekicker in Arsenal, Sky Sports, Tottenham Hotspurs.2 comments
Ok this is the last one on the Spurs match. Last nite the match was shown on ESPN and I sat and watched the whole match again. So here are a few comments made by the Sky Sports commentators :
On Clichy being offsided:
There is something about this Arsenal side if the Left-Back is offsided
On an Arsenal Counter-attack following a Spurs corner:
Martin Jol is on the sideline, yelling at his players to get back, get back quick
On Arsenal missing another chance
A cat has nine lives and they(Spurs) have lost four or five already
As Spurs make a forward move after defending for a long time.
Some respite for Spurs as they cross the half way line
Fabregas Goal. 1-2
Oooh…Dynamite…Absolute dynamite
On Darren Bent miss.
Oh my goodness gracious me, he would have wished if White Hart Lane could eat him up. He gets it absolutely Horrendously wrong.
The crowd goes chanting
“What a waste of money”
The fourth official says 4 minuted added time.
Nobody in their right mind is leaving White Hart Lane just yet.
On Adebayor goal.
Adebayooor…Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.
Camera shows Spurs fans leaving the stadium after the goal. Score 1-3
It is going to be a long weekend in North London for Spurs fans.
When Camera catch a worried Jol standing on the sideline
What about Martin Jol, would he be around when they meet them next.
A Glorious way to top September 16, 2007
Posted by freekicker in Adebayor, Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Fabregas, Tottenham Hotspurs.3 comments
Great team work, good fighting spirit – Thats Arsenal for you this year.
Once again Arsenal beat their North London rivals in a brilliant comeback game that saw the resilience and the spirit of the squad that Wenger has been talking for some time now. It was once again a brilliantly orchestrated performance from Fabregas who was the man-of-the-match. This win coupled with Liverpool and Chelsea draw means that Arsenal will be on top of the table for the first time this season, two points clear of Liverpool, Chelsea and Man U.
The best player on display was the wonderful Spaniard who is winning rave reviews for his play making, assists and goal scoring this year. He has so far scored in 5 of the last 6 matches (EPL & Champions League included). He was back with a stunning 25 metre shot which once again proved lethal against Robinson (who otherwise came up with some 3-4 good saves to deny Arsenal in the first half) . Fabregas took the free kick which was headed in by Adebayor and also gave the assist for the third goal. He is genuine class and if there is another 20 yr old who is more talented than him and plays football, please let me know.
Adebayor has this tendency to score in the crucial games and especially against the Spurs. He missed a sitter earlier when Sagna covered a lot of ground and pulled one back inside the box for someone to slot it in. That someone turned out to be Adebayor and what does he do, chip it over the bar. Disappointment and disbelief was written all over his face. He had to score at some point of time as Arsenal was creating so many chances. And score he did when he rose to head the ball in from a fabregas free-kick. Its great to see headed goals scored by Arsenal.
His second strike and the 3rd goal for the team was an even brilliant shot. He was standing with his back to the goal outside the box and Fabregas slotted it to his right. A brilliant first touch which made the ball rise towards his left side and he jumped and turned and blasted it past the hapless Robinson who o be fair could do nothing about it. It will be one for the cameras I am sure. Brilliant stuff from Adebayor.
Asia viewers of ESPN could see the match only from 30 minutes due to the overlapping finish of the first match (Everton vs Man U, which was quite sad). I was wearing my Arsenal tee (Henry old one, yet to get a Fabregas tee in Malaysia) and follwing the score on BBC website. That Gareth Bale goal made me miss a beat as I was a bit sceptical of this Arsenal team away from home, especially in a high-tension derby match and when you are a goal down so early in the game against a team which has got some decent strike power you have to be worried. But how this team is all about come-backs and winning in style was proven yet again. To be fair to Tottenham, they had their chances and did not take it. Bent was substituted and he missed a easy chance. I mean if this is what £16.5 mil buy can offer, I am glad we don’t spend millions on such atrocious players. Berbatov, Keane everyone had their chances but Almunia, Toure all came to the rescue.
Toure had a wonderful game overall. How many times have you see him getting forward when we are a goal down, trying to do something out of nothing, bringing in his aggressive instincts into the game. He is one solid player at the back and in situations like this all over the park. Diaby started the match and had a decent outing but he should have scored when Hleb put him in with one of the easiest of chances. He rattled the cross bar. He should have done better. Rosicky’s introduction in the 56th minute was another change in the balance of the game. He was instrumental in getting the team forward and linked with Fabregas for his goal. His involvement with the game is getting better and better. Hleb had a wonderful game beating a lof of Spurs with his dribbling skills. He is very under-rated for his skills. Denilson missed an easy chance on the right side. Almunia made a good save coming forward to Keane but he was caught out of position against Berbatov and should thank Toure for stopping a goal.
Having played this match without a centre-back, Giberto had to don the roe of one. He was caught out of position couple of times but those chances were not taken by Spurs. So much was the Arsenal domination that, when they crossed the centre line the commentator was saying ” Finally they get to cross the half”. It was one of the best matches that Arsenal played this season and should do them a world of good.
There has been lots of remarks coming from different circles on the Spurs performance. Here are a few of them :
Tottenham possess a meagre four points from a possible 24, and as one disgruntled fan said as he headed for the exit: “That works out at about £10m a point.”
As one ex-player said afterwards: “You wouldn’t trust this lot to walk your dog – they can’t hold on to a lead.”
Does this win make Arsenal genuine title-contenders? Doubtful. This young side has shown lot of spirit and consistency, but we are yet to be tested away from home against the big three or even the likes of Everton, Portsmouth & even Balckburn. So till that happens I think this team should play the way they know to play this sport. Arsenal is the most exciting team to watch in the Premier League by miles. They have been doing that last year too, but this year they are finishing well, scoring from the mid-field. This is genuine good stuff. And if they remain in the top 2 or 3 after Christmas, then we have a chance at the title. Till then be entertained.
Arsene Wenger said after the match:
“It shows our spirit and belief and I was very happy with our game and our mental strength and togetherness. We have showed them all again.
“Having lost Thierry (Henry), it has helped the belief and mental strength of the team to start well. We never forget Thierry but we know that the team is blossoming and growing.
“There is something in the side; quality, of course, but also mental strength.
“I hope the good form continues. At half-time I could not complain because all we did wrong was not to take our chances. I felt that if we kept the pace high, we would have a good chance of winning.”
