EPL Team Profile - Wigan

The formal name of the club is Wigan Athletic Football Club, or Wigan Athletic FC. They are popularly referred to as the Latics,and train at their home venue, the DW Stadium, in Greater Manchester, England, with a capacity of just over 25,000.

Founded in 1932, Wigan are the youngest team in the Premier League.

The owner of the club is Dave Whelan, and the manager, Roberto Martinez.

They were only promoted to the Premier League in 2005, and finished last season at 16th place on the League table.

In the current season, Wigan started badly, losing 4-0 to Blackburn, and 6-0 to Chelsea in their first two matches. Then they pulled off a surprise, beating Tottenham 1-0 in the third.

Early Season Preview:

I wouldn't blame you, if at first glance, you were pessimistic about Wigan's prospects this season. They have lost some quality players, who did duty for the Latics in the last season, and the previous.

However, with Robert Martinez at the helm and a striker of the calibre of Hugo Rodalegga, anything is possible. And Wigan might surprise all of us yet.

The team that beat Tottenham in the third round match of the ongoing season comprised of:

Al Habsi, Gohouri, Alcaraz, Boyce, Stam, Figueroa, McCarthy, Thomas, Diame, Boselli, Rodallega, Pollitt, Caldwell, Mustoe, Watson, Gomez, McArthur, and McManaman.

Left back Maynor Figouroa has been a consistently good player, and hence his great popularity with fans and rival clubs.

In fact, Wigan's biggest worry should be to hang on to Figouroa, or he could leave them, just as his predecessors, Wilson Palacios and Antonio Valencia, did.

With Sunderland managing to lure away Titus Bramble, there is a greater burden on Wigan and Figuoroa alike to keep their goal safe from rival strikers.

Crystal Palace's Victor Moses is in his second season with Wigan, and is widely believed to have great potential that he could well fufill this season.

Martinez has signed Antolin Alcaraz and Ronnie Stam, with wide experience playing in Europe, as possible replacements for Titus Bramble. He has also brought in James McArthur and Mauro Boselli.

'Keeper Ali Al Habsi is with Wigan on loan from Bolton.

The most significant departure is that of former skipper Mario Melchiot.

A relegation battle appears imminent for Wigan, and their first two matches were not the start the squad would have envisaged.

In late news coming in from the transfer window deadline day, yesterday, Wigan have done well by signing Chelsea's Franco Di Santio, and also by getting Manchester United's Tom Cleverly, on loan.

And their victory over Spurs in the third match bodes well for the Latics who could manage to stave off relegation, while not finishing much better than they did last year.

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English Premier League Best 11 For 2009-10 (August - December)

English Premier League has reached to its half way in the 2009-10 season. The League is getting very difficult or we can say it is getting more interesting. Teams like Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester City are creating problems for the top four teams. In fact at mid season Liverpool is looking to lose its place from top four of this season. We have already witnessed some great games this season along with some great individual efforts.

Picking the best eleven for this season is a very difficult thing. We have seen some great performances this season. Top eleven players can be following:

Goal Keeper
Petr Cech (Chelsea) - One of the greatest seasons for Cech. He is the main reason for Chelsea's position this season.

Defenders

Right Back: Carlos Cuéllar (Aston Villa) - Although he has played at centre back position but he can also play as full back.

Centre Backs:
Thomas Vermaelen (Arsenal) - Vermaelen is the signing of the season for Arsene Wenger, his ability of defending and scoring is a main reason for Arsenal's great performances this season.

Richard Dunne (Aston Villa) - Dunne is getting better and better every game he is playing.

Left Back: Patrice Evra (Manchester United) - Evra is the unanimous choice for this position. He is the only player from Manchester United to give consistent performance this season.

Midfield

Wingers: Aaron Lennon (Tottenham) - Stunning display in some games. He is the man behind the success of Jermain Defoe this season.

Ashley Young (Aston Villa) - He can be the best choice for right midfield.

Central Midfielders

Cesc Fabregas(Arsenal) - Fabregas is playing the best possible role for Arsenal. Game against Aston Villa has proved this. He came in for 30 minutes and showed a heroic stuff.

Frank Lampard (Chelsea) - Lampard is the most consistent player in English Premier League for last 3-4 seasons.

Strikers

Didier Drogba (Chelsea) - Chelsea's performance hugely depends upon Drogba. He single-handed defeated Arsenal at Emirates.

Jermain Defoe(Tottenham) - Defoe is scoring at great pace. He has scored five goals in a game against Wigan in a duration of 37 minutes, including three in eight minutes.

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How to Choose the Best Football Academies Internationally

So you're ready to begin your international sports adventure, and eager take your game to a completely new level. But which football academy is right for you? Where can you find the best mix of training and exposure?

We'll cover the fundamentals for choosing an international football academy in this article, and help point you in the right direction.

Football Academy Coaching
You can't become the best unless you train with the best. That's why international-level coaching staff is so important to maximize your potential.

Some international football academies will have partnerships with premier league coaching staff in their respective countries. This means you'll be training with professional coaches on a daily basis.

Research the camps you want to attend and find out who will be coaching you and what their credentials are. How long have they been coaching? Have they coached any professional teams? What do they focus on in their training?

These are the kind of questions to ask when deciding on the perfect football academy for you.

Football Academy Scouting
Visibility is as important as top-level training. If the right people never lay eyes on you, it doesn't matter how great your skills are. Look for a football academy with proven relationships with professional teams and scouts.

This network is invaluable for finding the right opportunities, so make sure that the football academies you consider have access to it. Find out if they partner with FIFA agents to secure professional trials for their players. Check up on the alumni of the program and see where they are now, and if they play for any professional teams. If others have found professional soccer success with the program, chances are you will, too.

Football Academy Living Conditions
Since you won't be spending 24 hours on the pitch, you need to think about where you'll be staying. This is where the friendships solidify, as you live and work with other elite players. Parents will definitely want to know you're safe before they sign off on an overseas adventure. Many football academies facilitate regular communications with home and keep parents updated on player progress through the semester.

Some football academies offer an option to stay in the home of a local host family. This is a great chance to get a day-in-the-life view of how another culture lives. Players form life-long friendships in these football academies, becoming part of the global football culture.

Culture & Language
International football academies offer a full-immersion cultural experience. You'll experience the world like never before, and carry the memories with you for a lifetime. Language immersion gives you the fastest possible learning curve, with an insider view of what life is really like in a foreign country.

If you're making the journey, you should take time to see the sights. Will the football academy you attend give you time to see famous monuments or historical icons? Make sure you'll get a chance to enjoy the culture of the area as much as the soccer aspect of it.

Football academies in across the world can give you the language, culture and football experience of a lifetime. So the real question is, where do you want to go?

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New English Premier League Rules Come Into Force

As all avid EPL fans are probably aware, new rules stipulating a minimum number of homegrown players in the squad of each English premier league club come into full force this season.

Given the woeful performance of England at the recent world cup, many would argue that these rules could not come a day sooner. Critics of the influx of foreign players in the EPL will argue that as the number of foreign players has steadily risen, the quality of home grown talent has also declined steadily.

This is not to say that the premier league clubs have now seen the error of their ways are. If you were hoping to see clubs focus on developing a new stream of academy stars such as those that came through the ranks at Old Trafford in the 1990s or those that have come through the academies of Everton (including the likes of Wayne Rooney and more recently, Jack Rodwell) and West Ham (including household names like Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard to name a few); you may be disappointed.

Why? Because the new rules state that each of the 20 premier league clubs have to submit a squad of up to 25 players. Each squad must include no more than 17 players who do not qualify as homegrown. So the issue is the requirement for qualifying as home grown.

To qualify as homegrown according to these less-than-onerous Football Association rules, all that is necessary is that a player, "irrespective of his nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to the Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons or 36 months prior to his 21st birthday".

OK, sorry, I'm sure like most fans, you simply thought homegrown meant British - or at least, someone who could one day be in a position to play for the Three Lions of England! Well, sorry! The new rules apparently makes Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas a home grown player. Great!

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Premier League Preview - Fulham Vs Everton

Fulham will host Everton, this Saturday, in an afternoon kick off at Craven Cottage.

Both teams will be seeking to win the match and take away three points from the game. Head to head, in their last games with Fulham, Everton have won all five matches hosted by them at Goodison Park, while winning one at Craven Park.

Fulham have won the remaining four home games, making it 6-4 in Everton's favour. The last match played by these teams was at Craven Cottage, and the hosts won that one, 2-1.

Believe it or not: Fulham are the only unbeaten team, this Premiership season, other than Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United.

With a win and four draws in their five matches played, Fulham are seventh on the points table, ahead of their sixth match. Fulham have been scoring a lot of goals, getting seven in those five matches, while conceding six.

Everton are in 19th place on the points table just ahead of West Ham, thanks to two losses and two draws in their five matches. They flattered to deceive against Manchester United, coming from 3-1 behind to draw the match, on the back of injury time strikes by Cahill and Arteta.

However, Everton have found it hard to score goals, and in their five matches have managed just four, while concedng seven.

For Fulham, Zamora is unlikely to get back to football action till February. Manager mark Hughes has to decide between playing Dempsey and Gera upfront, or the pair of Eddie Johnson and David Elm. I think he is likely to opt for the former attack pair.

David Stockdale has been out, ever since his ankle injury against Blackpool. Stockdale is back to fitness but may still not replace Schwarzer between the sticks.

Damien Duff, who missed the match against Stoke City, is also back in the reckoning and is likley to start, for Everton.

For Fulham, Danny Murphy's battle for the midfield with Mikel Arteta could be the deciding factor.

For Everton, Tim Cahill is the key man; the Australian is just the man Everton would want in an aerial battle in the Fulham area.

Given the current form of the respective teams, Fulham have the edge in this match.

Fulham's starting eleven is likely to include the following players: Schwarzer, Salcido, Hangeland, Hughes, Kelly, Davies, Etuhu, Murphy, Duff, Dempsey, Gera

Everton are likely to select the following players in their starting eleven for this match: Howard, Baines, Distn, Jagielka, Hibbert, Heitinga, Fellaini, Osman, Yakubu, Pienaar, Arteta

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Portugal Football Team - Get the Latest About Euro Cup and World Cup

The national football team of Portugal is member UEFA and it is organized by the Portuguese Football Federation. The team got its greatest performance in 1966 in England when they managed to qualify for the final tournament, in a semifinal, when they were defeated by England. We have to mention that England obtained the title that year. They were leaded by Eusebio, a legendary football player and they managed to defeat Brazil with nil to three and defeated North Chorea with 5 to 3. That year Portugal was the third football team in the world and Eusebio was considered the best player of the tournament.

Now, in 2008, the Turkish coach, Fatih Terim, has declared that he has been disappointed at the result obtained in the match with Portugal, in which his trainees have lost with a score of two to nil.

He said that at a moment, they were equal in the first half and the Portuguese had moments of weakness as well, but the first goal did change the match. Portugal is one of the best football teams in Europe and the result of this game has confirmed it.

In order to show their sympathy for the Portuguese team almost 12,000 fans have bought tickets to watch the training of this team in Neuchatel.

The entrance tickets cost almost 15 dollars and the training with audience was programmed on the stadium called La Maladiere in Neuchatel. Tickets were sold at a price four times higher than the official one. All in all these aspects show that Portugal is a popular team with great chances to be a top team this year as well.

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Premier League Preview - West Brom Vs Tottenham

Tottenham travel to the Hawthorns this Saturday, for an afternoon kick off against West Brom.

The Baggies have just one goal to show, in their three matches, this season. That came in their home match against Sunderland, thans to a late strike by Nigerian import, P Odemwingie.

The Baggies lost their away match at Anfield 1-0, revealing a fairly defensive mindset, in the process. That game came after a 6-0 thrashing from defending champions Chelsea.

Spurs on the other hand have been aggressive, and despite their loss to Wigan, the signs are there that the White Hart Lane squad want a repeat of their 4th place finish of last year, and the Champions League qualification that goes with it.

But Spurs are beset by injury woes, going into Saturday's match against West Brom. Dawson, Bentley, Crouch and Modric are all likely to sit out, even as there's good news in the form of the return from injury of 'keeper Gomes, along with defender Corluka.

Redknapp's squad could rely on Defoe and Pavlyucenko to lead the attack, although theres a question mark over Defoe's fitness, in which case Keane could start in Defoe's place.

The real weakness is in central defence, where Dawson's absence is sure to hurt Spurs. An out-of-form King is a poor replacement, while Bassong is not certain to start.

After their accidental loss to Wigan, Tottenham will look to set things right against the Hawthorn's squad, in what could be a one-sided encounter.

That said, West Brom have done reasonably well against a much stronger Tottenham. Since 2002, in ten matches West Brom have won two against Spurs' five matches won.

De Matteo's squad have won their last two home matches against Redknapp's side. Spurs fans could blame it on the chilly winter weather, they encountered in their last visit in December.

So it will be left to spurs to break the ice  in what is likely to be a watchful defensive game by West Brom.

The probable starting eleven for West Brom are: Kiely, Jara, Olsson, Shorey, Tamas, Mulumbu, Brent, Dorrans, Morrisson, Odimwingie and Scharner.

The starting eleven for Spurs are likely to be: Gomes, Kaboul, Corluka, King, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Huddlestone, Palacios, Bale, Keane, and Pavlyuchenko.

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