Chelsea narrow the lead:

Chelsea kept their title dreams alive and closed the gap on leaders Man Utd with an impressive 4-0 win over Bolton.

The Reebok Stadium has proved a happy hunting ground for Chelsea over the years and so it proved again as they ran out convincing winners.

Didier Drogba gave Chelsea the lead after 11 minutes with a superb swerving shot from fully 30 yards out and Florent Malouda doubled the advantage four minutes before the break when he beat Jussi Jaaskelainen at his near post.

Nicolas Anelka got in on the act against his old club with the third goal on 56 minutes and Ramires completed the rout 16 minutes from time with his first goal for Chelsea since his big-money move from Benfica.

The win moves Chelsea to within seven points of United as they showed they are in no mood to give up their title without a fight.

The match was preceded by an immaculately observed minute's silence for Bolton legend Nat Lofthouse, who died earlier this month, and it was the hosts who threatened first when a miscued clearance from John Terry, who had shrugged off a back problem, landed at the feet of Stuart Holden in the second minute.

However, the American failed to test goalkeeper Petr Cech from a good position.

The home side kept up the momentum and Kevin Davies headed into the arms of the goalkeeper following a flick-on from Johan Elmander.

It's been a while...

Now I no I haven't updated this is a while, but come on, I was beyond, beyond busy, and then christmas and New years and all. I've begun to miss blogging, and I am here again because of that missing :). I will make regular and predictable posts from now on, I promise this time ;). So please comment and stay updated.

~JS

Wasps stung by Saints:

• Northampton moved to within a point of Aviva Premiership leaders London Irish after cruising to a 37-10 bonus-point victory against Wasps at Adams Park.

And the misery could be compounded for Wasps as England centre Riki Flutey had to be helped from the field, with his fitness for the autumn internationals now seemingly in doubt.

There was plenty more for Wasps to be concerned about as Saints prop Soane Tonga'uiha scored two tries, while Stephen Myler, Chris Ashton and Courtney Lawes also crossed the line.

Both of Tonga'uiha's scores and Lawes' try were the result of powerful drives through the heart of the hosts' pack, while Myler kicked 12 points as well as touching down.

Tony Hanks' side simply had no answer for the power game of Northampton, who added a creative flourish when needed in a dominant all-around display.
Penalty

Wasps conceded a penalty in front of the posts in the early stages after collapsing a scrum and Myler duly stepped up to give Northampton the lead.

However, the fly-half then missed a second kickable penalty and the lead remained at three points.

The visitors were already successfully executing their gameplan, with their big forwards repeatedly breaking the gain-line, aided by weak tackling from their opponents.

The Saints then capitalised on the slack defending to score their first try as Myler side-stepped towards the line before powering his way over.

Another try quickly followed in the 24th minute when Tonga'uiha was shoved over the line after the Saints had gained 15 metres with a lineout catch and drive.

Myler slotted the conversion through the posts and then Wasps suffered a major setback when Flutey was helped from the pitch after being unable to put any weight on his right leg.

No relief

There was to be no relief for the hosts as Northampton surged into a 22-point lead when Ashton collected a Myler grubber kick and touched down, with a marginal offside decision going against Wasps.

Myler converted again and then restored the cushion with another three points after Dave Walder had finally got the home side on the board.

Northampton continued to pile on the pressure after the half-time break, with Wasps confusion clear when powerful number eight Andy Powell decided to chip ahead despite being on the charge.

The bonus point was secured when Tonga'uiha crossed for his second of the afternoon, as again the Saints' line-out catch and drive overwhelmed Wasps on their own try-line.

Myler nailed a tough conversion from the touchline and then another surge from the pack let Lawes grab Northampton's fifth try.

Wasps managed to salvage a consolation score as Ben Jacobs ran in a try after charging down a chip from Ashton but there was not much to celebrate after such a crushing defeat.

Still to play fixtures

 Here you will find all the still-to-play fixtures in the Barclays Premier League, with the dates and time they are played, as the matches are played I will comment on what I thought of the ones I do get to watch, for now though, just the fixtures:

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• Saturday 16th October

15:00 Arsenal vs Birmingham
15:00 Bolton vs Stoke
15:00 Fulham vs Tottenham
15:00 Man Utd vs West Brom
15:00 Newcastle vs Wigan
15:00 Wolverhampton vs West Ham
17:30 Aston Villa vs Chelsea

• Sunday 17th October

13:30 Everton vs Liverpool
16:00 Blackpool vs Man City

• Monday 18th October

20:00 Blackburn vs Sunderland

• Saturday 23rd October

12:45 Tottenham vs Everton
15:00 Birmingham vs Blackpool
15:00 Chelsea vs Wolverhampton
15:00 Sunderland vs Aston Villa
15:00 West Brom vs Fulham
15:00 Wigan vs Bolton
17:30 West Ham vs Newcastle

• Sunday 24th October  

13:30 Stoke vs Man Utd.
15:00 Liverpool vs Blackburn
16:00 Man City vs Arsenal

Premiership played fixtures

To get the blog up to date I am posting all the results of the Barclays Premier League, In a future post I will be posting all the matches left to play, I will comment on some of the matches and give my thoughts on them. But foe now the matches already played with the final scores

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• Sunday 3rd October

Man City 2 - 1 Newcastle
Liverpool 1 - 2 Blackpool
Chelsea 2 - 0 Arsenal

• Saturday 2nd October

Wigan 2 - 0 Wolverhampton
Tottenham 2 - 1 Aston Villa
Stoke 1 - 0 Blackburn
Sunderland 0 - 0 Man Utd
West Brom 1 - 1 Bolton
Birmingham 0 - 2 Everton
West Ham 1 - 1 Fulham
Sunday 26th September
Barclays Premier League
Bolton 2 - 2 Man Utd
Wolverhampton 1 - 2 Aston Villa
Newcastle 1 - 2 Stoke

• Saturday 25th September

Man City 1 - 0 Chelsea
West Ham 1 - 0 Tottenham
Fulham 0 - 0 Everton
Birmingham 0 - 0 Wigan
Liverpool 2 - 2 Sunderland
Blackpool 1 - 2 Blackburn
Arsenal 2 - 3 West Brom

Londen Irish V. Munster

Date: Saturday 8th October
Kick off: 17:45
Venue: Madejski Stadium

London Irish:
Top of the Aviva Premiership, Irish have started well, but now they will have to find another level. Their win over Newcastle was impressive but against Leeds they were sloppy in defense. Irish know that they can beat the best teams after winning against Leinster in Dublin last year, and they will need all of that belief if they are to be successful this weekend. Moreover, if they don’t win this first game against Munster, then their chances of progressing will be all but shattered.

Munster:
The Red Machine rolls into Reading having lost to Leinster last weekend in Dublin. In all honesty, whilst a blow, this should not affect Munster too much going into this weekend. The Heineken Cup is their competition; it is impossible to think of the tournament without Munster’s name coming to mind. They will see the game against Irish certainly as a tough one, but also one they can win.

What to expect:
Every example of why the Heineken Cup is the best club competition in the world. It is a mouth-watering tie between two of the best sides from their respective countries: London Irish with all their attacking flair, and Munster with their hard-edged, confrontational style. Irish will hope for a packed out stadium and a buzzing home support, and for dry weather. If it's wet then Munster should have the edge.

I think the match will be one be or lost by few points, however I think the winners will be Munster, with all there experience in the competition. I will be keeping a close eye on Ronan O'Gara playing for Munster, his opposite number Ryan Lamb is a very skilled player and I think how these two perform could make all the difference.

A Fantastic Game:

This is the highlights from a fantastic game between Wasps and Leicester, The final score was 37-30 to the wasps, despite being down by 18-30 at half time, Richard Haughton scored a sensational late try for wasps first win of the Avivia Premeriship: