Three stories with an English footballing connection as Chelsea beat West Ham at Stamford Bridge; the England Manager cuts ties with betting firm, and the Dalian Atkinson dies in Taser incident.
It was business as usual during the first weekend of Premier League action. Hull beat the champions Leicester City, and all of the big boys started with victories, the exception being Arsenal who lost a seven-goal thriller to Liverpool.
So the pressure was on as Antonio Conte’s Chelsea side lined up to face a West Ham team that took more points off the so-called bigger teams last season than any other.
N’Golo Kante made his debut at the heart of the Blues midfield. Cesc Fabregas made way for Oscar. And Diego Costa started ahead of the summer signing Michy Batshuayi.
The main bone of contention with the West Ham lineup was the absence of Dimitri Payet who started on the bench after his Euro 2016 exertions. Andre Ayew made his debut.
West Ham dominated the football in the first 10-minutes. Chelsea looked the more threatening. Conte’s men should have taken the lead in the 12th minute when Branislav Ivanovic produced a stunning save from Adrian.
West Ham’s time with the football was over soon after. Chelsea moved up a gear, and they could easily have had a penalty when Winston Reid appeared to bring Oscar down in the box. Anthony Taylor kept his whistle in his pocket; Diego Costa gesticulated in the only way he can, and Taylor promptly booked him for dissent. I am sure the new law was introduced purely to deal with Costa.
If Chelsea is going to challenge for honours this season, then the brilliance of Eden Hazard will be essential. The Belgian turned on the style in the 31st minute when he bobbed and weaved his way through the West Ham team before shooting just wide of the post.
Chelsea dominated the first half, and things got worse for West Ham when they lost their new signing Ayew with a muscle injury before the break. The West Ham fans were slathering at the potential of Payet replacing him, but he remained with his ass firmly rooted on the bench.
Chelsea Out of the Blocks The Quicker
Barely two minutes into the second half and Chelsea had a deserved lead. Michail Antonio showed his weakness as a defender when he made a complete hash of things before up-ending Cesar Azpilicueta. Taylor pointed to the spot. Hazard placed the ball onto it, and less than a minute later it was in the back of the net. Slaven Bilic replaced Antonio seven minutes later, and he walked straight down the tunnel without any eye contact with the gaffer.
It took Bilic until the 67th minute before he brought on Payet, and it was at this time when West Ham fans were seething after Costa escaped a second yellow card, and a sending off, for a stupid impetuous kick towards the shins of Adrian. Taylor didn’t believe it was worthy of a booking and Costa escaped punishment.
Then in the 77th minute, West Ham equalised out of nowhere. Payet curled in a cross from the right. James Collins rose the highest; his header dropped at the feet of Valencia; the defence blocked his shot and Collins reacted the quickest to sweep the ball into the roof of the net.
It was all square, and that’s the way things looked like they would end until a minute from time when Diego Costa picked up the ball from 25-yards out and somehow managed to squeeze the ball past the right-hand side of Adrian to give Chelsea a deserved victory.
Premier League Title Odds (Courtesy of Bodog)
Man City +200
Man Utd +275
Chelsea +450
Liverpool +650
Sam Allardyce Leaves His Contract With My Club Betting
England manager Sam Allardyce has left his role as ambassador for the online gambling company My Club Betting.
Allardyce joined the company as a representative in December, while in charge of Sunderland, and was given shares in the enterprise. His decision to quit arose after an investigation by The Sun revealed that the company Managing Director, Neil Riches, was in charge of a previous company called Worldlink that lost investors upwards of £4m. Riches was alleged to have received a £223,500 salary and a £1,076,485 bonus during that time.
Allardyce told The Sun that he joined the company because he is passionate about grassroots football, a value that My Club Betting espouses. Allardyce said he did no background work on the MD, and now the news has come to light he will be leaving with immediate effect and giving up his shares in the business.
Dalian Atkinson Tasered to Death by Police
During the 1992-93 Premier League season, I taped all of Manchester United’s games on my VHS recorder. It was a three-horse race between my beloved Manchester United, Aston Villa, and Norwich. One of the star men of that triumvirate was Dalian Atkinson. Villa finished second, and Atkinson scored one of the greatest goals in Premier League history winning him the Goal of the Season award.
Today he is dead. Tasered to death by police after an incident at his father’s house in Trench, Telford yesterday. Atkinson was 48-years old and had a weakened heart due to treatment for a liver condition.
A neighbour told reporters how she heard officers shouting and kicking Atkinson before using a Taser on him several times. The incident lies on the desk of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
Atkinson scored 23 times in 85 appearances for Aston Villa. The club will remember him with a minute’s applause during their next Championship game against Huddersfield. The applause will begin in the 10th minute to honour his #10 shirt.
Home Office statistics show that Taser use by police is on the rise in England and Wales with 10,329 incidents in 2015, a 2% increase year-on-year.
The UK Chapter of Black Lives Matter issued a statement declaring that black people were three times more likely to be the victim of a Taser attack than white people.
