Photo by Joe Toth/ISIPhotos.com
By JUSTIN FERGUSON
Two days removed from an entertaining Boxing Day of action, a jam-packed stretch in the English Premier League schedule continues Saturday with six matches to kick off the weekend.
After West Bromwich Albion and West Ham United kick off the day at Upton Park, second-place Manchester City could take over the top spot in the league for at least a temporary basis with a home victory against Crystal Palace. Man City have been dominant at the Ethiad Stadium so far this season, posting a 9-0-0 record and a +31 goal differential. A surprise result for Crystal Palace could be a big boost in their campaign to stay out of the relegation zone.
Elsewhere, Manchester United will look to follow up their comeback road win against Hull City with a road win against Norwich City. The day’s action will wrap up in South Wales as Cardiff City try to end their disappointing run in recent weeks with a victory against Jozy Altidore and last-place Sunderland, who are coming off a shock 1-0 victory at Everton.
If you will be watching today’s action, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action. (Today’s TV schedule is after the jump):
TODAY’S SOCCER ON TV
7:45am – West Ham United vs. West Bromwich Albion – NBC Sports Network
10am – Manchester City vs. Crystal Palace – Premier League Extra Time
10am – Norwich City vs. Manchester United – Premier League Extra Time
10am – Aston Villa vs. Swansea City – Premier League Extra Time
10am – Hull City vs. Fulham – Premier League Extra Time
12:30pm – Cardiff City vs. Sunderland – NBC
Jozy’s movement is awful as is his work rate. That’s the honest truth.
+1 he doesn’t get stuck in challenges and he looks lazy.
Funny how people who say things like, “that’s the honest truth,” when they are giving an opinion usually don’t even know what they’re talking about.
Diakite and Dossena are both horrible!
Too bad Jozy couldn’t get his feet underneath to score. It really wasn’t as easy as it looked because of the angle; but he should have put on frame. The bottom line is that he needs more service. He’s not involved because he doesn’t get any service. You need to get passed the ball to do something. I don’t think Jozy is losing any confidence, but it can be frustrating not scoring.
His rhythm and confidence are off because he doesn’t see the ball and only gets a tough half chance or two per match. It’s tough for a striker to thrive in that environment. If he can figure out how to keep his form in that setting it will serve him well for USMNT matches against top opponents. It’s a real skill and a mindset that needs to be learned.
I do agree that it is tough to thrive in this condition and think this experience will serve him well. As long as he scores goals for the U.S. all will be o.k..
Sorry guys, Jozy Altidore is just never going to make it in an elite level European League, he would have been better off staying in B tier leagues like the Eredivisie where the defending is worse.
If I was a Sunderland supporter I would be wondering why he hasn’t been taken off for Fletcher.
Because he is much better than Fletcher.
?? He will be fine. He has time and there are teams in BPL that will see role for him.
are you watching what’s happening in the 2nd half? Sunderland are still Sunderland, but new formation with Jozy in the playmaker role by design underneath for first 15 minutes, and Sunderland have actually linked thru midfield and into the final 3rd as often so far as the entire first half. He’s been in the middle of most of it with simple one touch passes; Poyet is using his holdup play in midfield because the other options are so very inept at the role seems to me
Sorry, Mutant, but you don’t know what you’re talking about. Maybe you should stick to comics and action figures.
Pretty sure reality is his ally on this one.
At least if Jozy doesn’t score, can he at least sky one into the crowd and knock the sunglasses off of Vincent tan’s face, only to be carried into the stadium basement afterwards by two burly security guards. Har har.
I would service Jozy if you know what I’m saying.
Good for you Liz; good for you.
2nd half starts with Jozy coming way back to get involved, looks to be stationed underneath now, not up high on the island
yes, he’s underneath…this could be fun
come on Jozy!
They should play celebrities in Jozy’s position. It would be funny to watch, NBC would get better ratings, and it’s not like they would do much worse. Maybe they won’t score any goals but its not like Jozy is going to score any time soon.
They could make a reality show out of it. whoever wins a cooking contest gets to play striker for Sunderland for a season.
Sunderland comes out in a 4-4-2 in the 2nd half. Should bode well for Jozy.
My thoughts as well.
Poyet does seem to have faith in Jozy. Borini (sp?) played much better than he and de got pulled.
yep, much dfferent already, more like a 4 1 1 so far in actual deployment
Normally I would hate for a player to go to a new club so close to the World Cup but playing on this team is destroying altidore’s confidence
He isn’t going anywhere, it’s not even worth talking about. Lets just hope Sunderland buy a midfield in the window.
I think you are right, but I hope you are not.
yeah, he is playing a similar role that he played under Bob for USMNT. Only there to keep the backline honest and open the midfield up. Didn’t work for US and won’t work here either, because Sunderland midfield sucks. The thing is, Sunderland can get that role played from a lot of strikers and they don’t need a scorer like Jozy just to fill that role. He needs a new team much more than Sunderland needs him.
Also, these commentators suck. Jozy had about .02 milliseconds to react to that ball coming off the keeper’s hands. I’ve been there before and you just don’t have time to make a good play, no matter how close you are to the goal. English commentators love to say things like “he really should have scored” or “it was always going wide…” as if they were in the trenches themselves and have first hand knowledge. Really, all they have is the perfect crystal ball of hindsight. Bottom line is that when a ball is hot off a keeper’s hands and you are present, it is actually a disadvantage to be that close, you just don’t have time to react. You only score if it bounces right.
You make a good point. Also, many people, even former players now commentators, fail to mention how the ball can have crazy spin on it and go anywhere before and after you kick it. In my playing days I remember balls coming at me and then bouncing away at 90 degree angles. With a deflection a ball can have an awful lot of spin on it.
In cases like these, it’s unfair to call it a tap in. A tap in is a ball that needs a tap to go into an open net. Jozy had an empty space to put the ball, but it did not require a tap. It’s an effort to redirect a ball with lots of weird mustard with an incredibly small time to react. He reacted, got his foot on it, but couldn’t get the proper touch on it to make it change direction and spin and go in. Honestly, this is a harder shot than having to measure up a goal keeper from the top of the eighteen.
Oh please. The man is a professional athlete. He gets paid a whole lot of money to make that shot. Or frankly any. Sport sucks sometimes with bad bounces and spin and whatnot, but he’s being paid to score goals, and he’s not doing it. That’s a problem.
Sunderland is awful. their midfield sucks. Jozy is the beyyyysst and needs service
/thread
I bet Sunderland fans don’t think he’s the best, considering he’s missed many sitters throughout the season. Even missed from a yard out today
Many? Can you name the others? I remember a bad miss against West Ham, but not that many others.
I AGREE!! JOZY IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN SUNDERCRAPLAND> HE NEEDS TO GET SERVICED.
Hey graham Zusi! If you’re trying to get a winter loan before the World Cup, go help your buddy altidore at Sunderland!
+1 he could help that team..
Why is Jozy so bad?
He isn’t. It is just the insane people who comment on this site who over analyze (usually wrongly) every single thing he does. I mean just look at all the comments about body language, lack of effort and hustle. It is stupid and reminds me to stop looking at the comment sections on this site for any insight.
I dont know man he really looks pretty bad today. I have supported him for a while but it really looks like he isnt even trying today.
I hope you’re kidding. Try the Sunderland message board for a more (ahem) negative rendering of his performance. This is nothing.
And he’s been poor today, so let’s be fair.
What’s most disappointing to me is Jozy’s lack of effort. He doesn’t look hungry. Plenty of heavy legs out there.
agreed, he got service and was called upon by his team but looked careless and lazy.. Sunderland are destined for the championship .. Jozy on the other hand has a chance to impress other EPL clubs and get a better job next year and he is not helping his cause.
His situation went from Goalzy Altiscore to Lazy Outthedoor.
Jozy’s movement has been minimal today, he doesn’t drop deep at all to try to connect with the midfield. That is a big difference from last year.
Watching my first full half of Sunderland football this season. I can totally see how Jozy hasn’t scored much. This team is a bunch of stinkers. Everything from bad chest traps to errant dribbling runs. It is wonder these guys get out of their own half. And they are playing against Cardiff! Winter transfer window here we come.
Somebody tell Lee Cattermole its not 1978 anymore. Those shorts a little bit too short.
Even worse was his positioning on the next chance. W|The rebound came but Jozy wasn’t there to push it on — only to collect it later at the edge of the box. If he had the right instincts, he would have broken for goal as the shot was being struck, and then he might have had a chance to play the rebound.
He had broken for goal but the keeper pushed it wide of his run,
If anything he actually might have done better if he had stayed and read the ball once it came off the keeper to get the angle right
It funny how nobody says anything about Fletcher’s miss yesterday. I don’t think Jozy misses that one. Fletcher had time to measure and missed.
I’d say people don’t talk about it because Fletcher doesn’t play for the USMNT.
Don’t thing USA fans care about fletchrr
Watch Fletcher come in at the 85th minute and a rebound goes off his rear end and goes into the net, relegating Jozy to the bench forever. That kind of a year for him.
This is my first Sunderland game I’ve seen this season and wow, people were not exaggerating when they said they were an awful team. Altidore himself has also not given himself any favors on the very few chances he gets the ball
That’s not the first tap in Jozy has missed this season right?
His effort is just awful.
I don’t get this complaint. His finishing was obviously poor on the one chance, but his hold-up play has been quality, he’s been making runs without the ball, and chased a few lost causes. What exactly do you want to see?
You can tell Jozy’s confidence is very low. He just doesn’t look sure of himself, and it’s sad to see.
Kim is easily the best player on the pitch. which is more sad than impressive lol. but seriously he’s got game
Jozy, you HAVE to put those away. An opportunity squandered.
Jozy’s performances have been terrible as of late.
Sunderland being made to look the fool in this competition.
actually he’s been pretty good in December imo up until last weekend so if you’re referring to that match specifically OK, but before that he was hardly terrible in 2 separate matches vs. Chelsea, for example
needed to put that one away tho, agree
That miss could be the end of Jozy at Sunderland if he doesn’t pull out something magical. That was absolutely inexcusable in so many ways.
oh my Jozy just missed a sitter. in his defense it looked like his foot got caught in the grass right before kicking it but that sadly might’ve been jozys only chance all game 🙁
Jozy just missed a tap in after it was saved by the Cardiff keeper. That was really bad.
Wow jozy from 3 feet away misses
bang bang chance for Jozy far post but no
SUNDERLAND IS AWFUL. JOZY NEEDSS TO GO TO A GOOD TEAM WHERE HE CAN GET SERVICED!! JOZY IS THEIR BEST PLAYER
Sometimes you have to make your own luck and Jozy is doing himself no favors. He missed a tap in from a yard on a rebound. ANY striker needs to finish that. That was poor.
NO. YOU ARE WRONG> JOZY IS NOT GETTING SERVICED. HE IS THE SHINING STAR ON SUNDERLAND. THEY WOULD BE RELEGATED ALREADY WITHOUT JOZY.
Lol he’s only got 1 goal. With or without him they’rerelegated.
wwwwwwwwwwwwwwtffffffffffffffffffffff jozay bench his a s s
Fletcher would have put that away. That missed chance is the reason 98% of Sunderland fans hate him
The same Fletcher who put a breakaway shot 5 yards wide 3 days ago?
LOL!!!!
Wow! This Sunderland team is so horrible that they’re making Cardiff look like a world class side. Just horrible! Get out as soon as you can Jozy!
That Sunderland counter was so Sunderland. Phil Bardsley going forward is a joke.
Sunderland is terrible. just horrible. please Jozy find another team!!!
I am blown away by how awful the midfield at Sunderland is. I know everyone has said this, but they are an EPL team. Horrendous.
They’ve only had possession in the other half once in first 25 minutes
they’re likely not an EPL team beyond May of 2014. That midfield is absolute garbage
seriously! they are honestly unwatchable. I can’t bear it. I think maybe once Jozy has touched it all half simply due to the ineptness of the midfield holding on to possession
The football IQ among their midfielders is poor. And that is being kind. Some of their decisions are headscratching.
Also: how utterly ridiculous does Cardiff’s owner look? Cartoonish at the least.
Terrible passing, and they just get shoved off the ball.
You can only beat a dead horse so many times…. but on this topic that’s not the case…
You’re right, everyone keeps repeating it because it’s so true…
It’s awful to watch this so-called midfield
On top of that their back line too often gives it away cheaply and makes poor long passes. It’s a wonder Sunderland ever scores.
Jozy is on regular NBC. That’s just damn cool; lets not lose sight of that.
Sunderland down 1-0 so let’s bring in Fletcher to get a head on balls pumped into the Cardiff box.
Jozy starting.
yikes, Fulham getting destroyed by Hull.
helps set up Clint to be the hero maybe? hope so but wow
i certainly hope so.
Yeah I don’t think we want Bradley going there.
not unless you want Bradley playing in the Championship next season. Personally, I think Bradley is doing great at Roma, but if one insists on seeing him in the Prem, I think he would excel in a side like Everton or Southampton.
I think I’d rather he go to Sunderland then Fulham or Cardiff at this point
yeah no way, i hope MB stays at Roma.
Jozy is indeed starting for Sunderland, needs to have a good one
So, is Jozy going to score today?
Anyone taking bets? What are the odds?
Is he going to start? Any news?
I’m sure the odds are much higher that a Sunderland player gets a dumb red card in the first 30 minutes and any plan goes to crap.
Figure Jozy’s a good bet to start as Fletcher and Borini went 87 and 90 minutes just 48 hours ago.
MATCH FIXING. I’M ALERTING SEPP AND THE AUTHORITIES. EVIDENCE RIGHT HERE. IVES IS IN ON IT TOO.
+ 1 BRILLANT
You know Jon, I think you are correct sir.
That is usually how it goes down. 🙁
At least Jozy will start! Right! Whose with me!?
Typo…that should read “Who’s with me….”
Odds on Jozy scoring are 4-1 at Bwin.
Sorry – 3-1.
I’ve seen a few west Bromwich game cause I liked Steve Clark and Anelka. So I’ve seen Barahino before. But wow it’s amazing Chelsea or United or arsenal or any other stockpiler of young English talent has taken this kid and put him on the edge of their second bench.
Not a complaint this kid is thriving. If he keeps developing thus who knows.
This west ham west brown game is amazing end to end game… adding this to phrases I never thought I’d say.
Haha! it was a great match to watch today
Direct TV is listing Man City and Crystal Palace on NBC Sports Network.
yeah, i’m currently watching that game on NBC Sports Network. AT&T U-Verse.
Anelka for France!
He probably blew that today, earning the enmity of Jewish people and those who believe in greater tolerance everywhere.
this picture: James Millner – TOUCHDOWN!!!