Chris Kamara - Sky Sports Expert

Potters are Fuller joy!

Fuller, Gerrard and Given among this week's highlights

Posted: 25th August 2008 17:43

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Ricardo Fuller

Fuller: fine strike against Villa

People scoff at the Championship and say the teams that come up are just cannon fodder, but Stoke and Hull have made their mark already.

Chris Kamara
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Chris Kamara reveals his picks of the weekend from the Premier League and answers YOUR questions.

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It's been another fabulous weekend full of surprises. Who said the Premier League was predictable?

Fulham's win over Arsenal was completely unexpected and who'd have thought Stoke - who lost so convincingly to Bolton on the opening day - would play so well against an Aston Villa side full of confidence. It goes to show you can never write any team off.

It was ridiculous for a bookmaker to consider paying out on Stoke's relegation after the first game. I know they did it for publicity purposes, but it certainly galvanised the players.

I was at St James' Park on Saturday where there was a really optimistic mood among the Newcastle fans after their draw with Manchester United.

To be fair to Bolton, they defended very well and it took the cleverness of Michael Owen and a penalty save from Shay Given to undo them in the end.

Newcastle fans were saying they didn't have much luck throughout last season, but maybe we're seeing signs of things going in their favour this time.

Sunday's matches were also very interesting. Things were all doom and gloom for Mark Hughes and Manchester City but he came away with a good win. Then Chelsea, who were full of style last weekend, showed their battling qualities and their willingness to graft against Wigan.

Kammy's picks of the weekend...

GAME - Stoke 3 Aston Villa 2
 It was fantastic for Tony Pulis and Stoke to get off to a good start at home. People scoff at the Championship and say that the teams that come up are just cannon fodder, but Stoke and Hull have made their mark already. Now we just need West Brom to get going.

GOAL - Steven Gerrard
 For individual skill you won't see anything better than Ricardo Fuller's goal, but because of the importance of it, I'm picking Steven Gerrard's. He has a habit of scoring last-minute goals and it just goes to show how ice cool he is. He doesn't put them over the bar when it matters, he puts them in the net.

SAVE - Shay Given
The turning point in this game was Shay Given keeping out Kevin Nolan's penalty. I felt that whoever scored the first goal would go on and win the game, so this was the save of the match as far as Newcastle were concerned. It wasn't the greatest penalty ever taken, but it wasn't the worst either and it was a very good save at a key moment.

PLAYER - Ricardo Fuller
His work-rate, his skill and his belief were all fantastic. As Tony Pulis mentioned on Goals on Sunday, the problem with him is he's so laid-back so you're never 100 per cent certain what you're going to get from him. You can't change that part of his character, but apart from that he's top drawer.

TEAM - Fulham
 It has to be Fulham without a doubt. They've got no right to beat Arsenal having lost at Hull but they put up a great performance. They kept a clean sheet, which is something they did at the end of last season, but before that they were shipping goals for fun. That shows they're an improving side and you have to play very well to beat any of the big four.

GAFFER - Tony Pulis
To get Stoke's first ever win in the Premier League out of the way on the second weekend of the season was very important. And of course he came on Goals on Sunday and was in fine form! Mark Hughes was a contender because he was under pressure, but he had a helping hand from Mark Noble's sending off so I'll give it to Pulis.

GRIPE - Referees keeping quiet
This is my normal gripe. I originally thought the equalising goal for Aston Villa at Stoke shouldn't have been allowed because when Ashley Young rolled the ball forward to Stiliyan Petrov, John Carew was in an offside position. Phil Brown explained on Goals on Sunday that the goal should have stood because Carew wasn't interfering and everybody who saw the show will be clear on that. Why couldn't the referee come out and explain why that decision was made? They're jumping up and down about this Respect campaign and I'm pleased for them but why can't they come out and clarify the laws of the game?

Kammy answers your e-mails...

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RED-DY FOR THE TITLE
Kammy, I'm a Liverpool season ticket holder and have been for many years now. Every year I think it's THE season to finally deliver the Premier League, what have Liverpool to do (and what kind of signings are required) to finally put together a sustainable challenge? Peter Oakshott (Liverpool fan)

KAMMY SAYS: Liverpool haven't played great in two games now, but they've come away with six points, so that bodes well for when they start playing better. Arsenal didn't play well this weekend and got beat and Manchester United only got a draw last weekend so Liverpool fans should be delighted. They're in with a great shout, even though the partnership between Fernando Torres and Robbie Keane might take longer to click than you might have thought. Tony Pulis made a great point on Goals on Sunday when he said they both like to play with somebody else who sets them up. I don't entirely agree because Keane and Dimitar Berbatov used to set each other up at Tottenham. All it needs is for Torres and Keane to start linking together in the same way.

BRIGHT FUTURE FOR BORO
As a Boro fan, I'm wondering what do you see in Boro team at the present time? I see lots of change has been made in terms of attitude and spirit because so many home grown players are coming through the youth ranks. Can they follow the example of Manchester United when the likes of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, the Nevilles and David Beckham came through the youth system? I think we may suffer some inconsistency, but I'm optimistic that Gareth Southgate can follow what Sir Alex Ferguson has done. Sorathan Phiama (Middlesbrough fan)
KAMMY SAYS: Gareth's no Fergie at this moment in time, but they one thing you can say is that Middlesbrough are a different proposition from the word go this season. They were fantastic against Spurs and were superb against Liverpool - but Gareth will be disappointed that they lost their concentration after playing so well. The equaliser was unavoidable because it took a deflection, but the two midfielders Gary O'Neil and Mohamed Shawky were out of position for Liverpool's winner. They should have been happy to take a point from Anfield, but they were up the field trying to win the game. Gerrard was left all on his own and even though he still had to produce a wonderful finish, it could have been avoided. I'm speaking as somebody who used to be very loose at times in midfield, but I'm sure Gareth was screaming at them to sit in and keep it tight. It was a harsh lesson for a team who had performed so well.

INCE'S SIX APPEAL
Hi Kammy. I am a Blackburn supporter and have been all my life. This summer I have worried a lot about who Incey was going to sign and who he was going to let go. I'm glad the season has kicked off and what a way to start the season. On the opening weekend, it was the best I have seen Rovers play for a long, long time. My question is can Incey achieve our ultimate goal. Can we get into the top six this season? Alan Yardley

KAMMY SAYS: I don't suppose many Blackburn fans were too delighted at drawing at home to Hull because if you want to finish in the top six then you've got to win those games. Winning at Everton on the opening day was a terrific result, but they needed to follow it up. However, there isn't too much wrong at Blackburn. There were reports of problems behind the scenes before the season started, but that first 90 minutes at Everton wiped all that away immediately. That was great for Paul Ince and also for a few of the supporters who were fearing the worst. As for a top-six finish, we'll have to wait and see.

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Comments

Windell Wignal (Arsenal fan) says...

kammy, now that Fabregas is back we saw what Arsenal are about in their CL qualifier against Twente do you think we can win the league........if we get a quality midfielder to play in the middle with Fabregas.say a De Guzman from Feyernoord........and off-course with a healthy Rosicky and Eduardo and a healthy van Persie

Posted 05:28 29th August 2008

Andy Huzzard (Sunderland fan) says...

enter comment...Kammy, I would like to know what your thoughts are on Roy Keanes new signings including Anton Ferdinand who has just joined. I personally think that it is now looking very encouraging at the club and we will see a step up in class aswell as the gritty determination that the lads showed last season. The win at spurs was a typical example and for Cisse to come off the bench and claim his first goal without full match fitness shows that he can be a class act with a good touch. Surprisingly the only member of the panel that commented was Merse saying that Diouf was a barking buy? I think a lot of big teams will find it very tough against us this season as Liverpool found out and only a touch of class from Torres saw them through. So let's have some positives from the lads on the panel, I think were going to be skillful and steely. Haway The Lads!

Posted 09:19 28th August 2008

Scott Collins (Newcastle United fan) says...

kammy, do you think after last nights win over coventry city that the rest of the country may finally realise why we were so happy when KK came back to St James? we are not stupid, we dont expect to be winning the premier league any time soon, but what we do want is to have some fun watching the toon. if last nights match proved anything its that kevin is getting the team playing football in the right way again. its great to see him looking a bit more like his old self again too. well done king kevin!

Posted 10:42 27th August 2008

Richard Patterson (Arsenal fan) says...

as a arsenal fan i feel we should be making a few more signings before the transfer window closes with edurado injured and the midfield weakend i feel our title challenge might never start defeat at fulham was a sign of things to come

Posted 15:12 26th August 2008

Jon Knowles (Newcastle United fan) says...

Hi, just thought i'd ask what your honest opinion is on our new signings - i believe, personally that Gutierez will be a legend by the time the season is out, that Guthrie i probably the buy of the season - nd will prove it and Coloccini - that speaks for it self - a top six finish? with the way we are now getting the results and a bit of luck - i think it is a believable goal. Come on the Toon!

Posted 14:05 26th August 2008

Matt Young (Stoke City fan) says...

Hi Kammy, Great praise from you but its also an honest opinion so thanks a lot. As a former Stoke Player I was wondering how you think you'd fit in with the current team and gaffer? Tony Pulis likes players with commitment and you always seemed to give 110% so I'm sure you'd have no worries in getting along with him!

Posted 12:47 26th August 2008

Richard Kearney (Newcastle United fan) says...

Hi kammy.As a newcastle united supporter I was delighted with the win over bolton,especially as i feel bolton have a very strong squad.I know we need to buy players and it showed when martins went off we only have owen now fit and with ameobi on his way we need a striker,do you think with a striker and a midfieilder and a centre half we can realistically challenge for the top6?.richie.

Posted 02:41 26th August 2008

George Wilkinson (Newcastle United fan) says...

It was great to see Michael Owen back in the Newcastle line up and scoring. But I feel The Toon have three BIG problems Owen, Martins and Viduka. All three will be missing most of the season with injury problems. Newcastle have the most injury prone front line in any league and need to fill the void with another top class striker. Do you think The Toons front three will last the season and will they play more than a few games together?

Posted 20:44 25th August 2008

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