Substitute Olivier Giroud headed in a dramatic late winner as The Arse fought back to beat Leicester City in a thrilling start to the 2017-18 Premier League season on Friday evening. The Gunners trailed three-two with seven minutes to go before Aaron Ramsey and Giroud swung the game back in the home side's favour at a euphoric Emirates Stadium. Alexandre Lacazette headed The Gunners ahead ninety four seconds into his top-flight debut, only for Shinji Okazaki to head an equaliser just two minutes later. Jamie Vardy then shot the visitors ahead from Marc Albrighton's cross, before Danny Welbeck drew The Arse level at the end of a pulsating opening half. Leicester took the lead again when Vardy headed in Riyad Mahrez's corner before Arsene Wenger made an inspired double substitution which sparked The Arse's comeback. Substitute Ramsey smashed in an angled drive - from a corner which was won after Mesut Özil appeared to handle in the build-up - before Giroud showed athleticism and strength to meet Granit Xhaka's corner.
On Saturday, nine-man Moscow Chelski FC made a disastrous start to their Premier League title defence as they were beaten at home by Burnley. The champions had Gary Cahill sent off early on for a dangerous tackle and The Clarets made their numerical advantage count as they stormed into a three goal lead before half-time, with Sam Vokes netting twice and Stephen Ward also getting on the scoresheet. Substitute Alvaro Morata fired home on his league debut midway through the second half to reduce the deficit. Moscow Chelski's hopes of mounting a comeback looked to have been ended when Cesc Fabregas was given his marching orders with ten minutes left to play but David Luiz netted two minutes from time to set up a frantic finale. Frank De Boer's Crystal Palace reign got off to a nightmare start as Huddersfield Town stormed to victory at Selhurst Park in their first ever Premier League match. Palace defender Joel Ward turned the ball into his own net to hand The Terriers the lead midway through the first half and minutes later record signing Steve Mounie doubled the visitors' advantage. Mounie capped a dream debut with another goal after the break to earn David Wagner's newly-promoted team an impressive win. Palace fans started the season with renewed optimism amid De Boer's appointment as manager but they will be worried by their woeful performance. Wayne Rooney scored on his second Premier League debut for Everton to earn The Toffees victory against Dirty Stoke City. Jordan Pickford made a brilliant stop late on from Xherdan Shaqiri to prevent a Dirty Stoke equaliser. Mauricio Pellegrino had to settle for a point in his first match as Southampton manager as his side wasted a series of chances against Swansea who failed to muster a single shot on target and will be relieved to have escaped with a point against a Saints side which has now failed to score at St Mary's in five hundred and forty five minutes. Tony Pulis celebrated signing an extended contract in the best possible fashion as West Bromwich Albinos began the new campaign with a one-nil win over Bournemouth at The Hawthorns. New signing Ahmed Hegazi enjoyed a dream debut, heading headed home Chris Brunt's free-kick. Earlier, Watford and the Liverpool Alabama Yee-Haws shared six goals in the lunchtime kick-off. The Redds had looked set to take all three points as they twice fought back to lead three-two at Vicarage Road but Miguel Britos' injury-time strike earned the hosts a share of the spoils. In Saturday's evening game, newly promoted Brighton & Hove Albinos were beaten two-nil at home by Sheikh Yer Man City. On Sunday, at a flat and dispirited St James Park where just about all of the goodwill from last season's promotion appears to have evaporated in a cloud of lack-of-ambition, this blogger's beloved (though unsellable) Magpies were given a ruddy good hiding by Stottingtot Hotshots. Their cause was not helped, however, by Jonjo Shelvy stupidly getting himself sent off for stamping on Dele Alli.
Wandering idly through Th' Toon on Tuesday toward the bank so that this blogger could get some money out to buy something for Us Dinner at Stately Telly Topping Manor, Keith Telly Topping only went and bumped into the broadcasting legend that is his former BBC Newcastle colleague Simon Pryde. So, the pair of us had a very productive five minute whinge about how ruddy dreadfully this blogger's beloved (though unsellable) Magpies are probably going to get on this season without more investment in the squad. As we men do. This blogger was then quoted - twice - on that evening's episode of Total Sport. And, Keith Telly Topping was even quoted more-or-less accurately as well. (What he actually said was 'if somebody gave me a thirteenth place finish now, I'd snatch their hand off!')
Children as young as ten were injured after a brawl broke out between more than two hundred football fans in a coach park. Five people were arrested in the wake of the fight after the Middlesbrough Smog Monsters versus Sheffield United game on Saturday. Cleveland Pollis said that youngsters were 'terrified' by the geet rive-on violence with kids getting sparked and aal sorts, which left one police officer in hospital. Disorder began just before the final whistle when Blades fans - whom this blogger has never particularly liked since one of them pulled a knife on him at at FA Cup Semi Final a couple of decades ago - thought their team had scored a last minute equaliser, only for it to be disallowed. Those held remain in custody while inquiries continue. Cleveland Police Assistant Chief Constable Jason Harwin said that the force would 'absolutely not tolerate violence of this nature.' He added: 'The vast majority of fans accept that football is a family game, watched by children, parents and grandparents. It is terrifying for children to witness such violence, or be innocently embroiled in it as their parents frantically try to keep them safe. Unfortunately a small minority of people behave in a manner which puts innocent fans at risk.' The Smoggies won the Championship game by a single goal.
Sky could be forced to pay an extra six hundred million knicker annually to retain the lion's share of Premier League matches when the next rights auction launches this year, with Amazon emerging as a potential competitor for the biggest prize in UK sport broadcasting. Google, Apple, Facebook and Netflix are other possible rivals for Britain's most valuable sports rights, which are split between Sky and BT under the current three-year deal. The prospect of a heated auction involving deep-pocketed tech firms has led analysts to estimate that Sky might have to pay a premium of up to forty five per cent on the four billion smackers plus it paid last time. That means a further £1.8bn, or six hundred million quid annually, to keep Silicon Valley off the ball. 'We expect Sky to pay forty to forty five per cent more in the next Premier League rights auction,' Thomas Singlehurst, an analyst at investment bank Citi, who has rounded up his peers' forecasts told the Gruniad. 'The base case consensus [of Sky analysts] is that payments go up by six hundred million pounds a year from the 2019-20 season.' This year there has been significant inflation in the sports rights market: the UK rights to the Champions League rose by thirty two per cent, the England and Wales Cricket board nearly trebled its deal for the England cricket team and the Football League is set to increase its next deal by more than thirty per cent. This month it emerged that Amazon has entered British sports broadcasting by outbidding Sky for the UK rights to ATP World Tour tennis, to go alongside its small deal with the NFL in the US. Amazon's surprise move comes at a perfect time for the Premier League, which has been happily flagging the potential interest of tech groups and streaming powerhouses in a bid to ensure it tops the last auction, when Sky and BT bid £5.14bn for one hundred and sixty eight matches per season over three years. 'It would be daft if we didn't think about how different auctions play out,' said Andy Haworth, the managing director of content and strategy at BT. 'The content market is always evolving with new players entering all the time.' The value of Premier League rights has rocketed five-fold from what seemed a heady one billion notes in 2004. It means that generating a profit from broadcasting top-flight football is no easy business even for global digital giants. The ten million knicker cost of a year of Amazon's ATP tennis deal would buy it about eighty one minutes of one match of the eleven million quid per game Sky pays under its current deal. The next auction will kick-off before the year end with a tender that will outline how many matches are available, over what time period and in how many packages. Last time, Sky won five of the seven packages. The auction is expected to conclude early next year.
Soccer AM presenter Helen Chamberlain is leaving her role on Sky's once very popular football chat show after twenty two years. The Torquay United fan will be replaced by comedian Lloyd Griffith and former footballer Jimmy Bullard. The news was shared by Soccer AM in a tweet which read: 'Farewell and thank you to Mrs Soccer AM. This place won't be the same without you.' Hells Bells joined the Sky Sports show in 1995 and presented it - brilliantly - alongside Tim Lovejoy until he left in 2007. Along with three quarters of the audience at the time, including this blogger. She most recently co-hosted with John Fendley (no, me neither) who will continue to present the show alongside its new hosts.
