PlayTheGame

Whilst Cesc Fabregas remains the youngest player to ever make his debut for Arsenal at the age of 16 years and 177 days against Rotherham in the League Cup campaign of 2003, Fabregas didn't make his Premiership debut until the grand old age of 17 years and 103 days against Everton in 2004.

Paul Robinson's calf injury has given one man the just rewards for his dedication to Blackburn Rovers. Jason Brown has had few opportunities to get between the sticks since he signed for Rovers in 2006, but that didn't stop him committing to the club until 2011 at the beginning of this year. With Robinson out for a couple of weeks, Paul Ince called on the Welsh international to keep goal against Newcastle and we imagine he'll still be there when Blackburn play Manchester United and Bolton over the coming weeks.

If you want to take advantage of the Premier League's newest goalie, he was added to the ranks of PTG at 14:38 BST and is subject to the usual 48hr notice period.

Being on the end of a 5-0 thrashing by Chelsea is not necessarily how you want to start your Premier League career, but for John Johnson (yes that is his real name), his arrival in Middlesbrough's defence could do nothing to prevent the top of the table side from scoring a few more goals on their way to victory.

Johnson was added to PlayTheGame at 14:50 BST on the 10th of October and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

All season we have had regular inquiries about when we would be adding Joey Barton to PlayTheGame 2008/09. Up until now we have decided to reserve judgment regarding the addition of this player until it became clearer where Mr. Barton's future lay.

As you will probably have noticed, the player is back in the news having appeared for the Newcastle reserves on Tuesday, and it seems clear that Barton will have a role to play in Newcastle's battle to get out of the relegation zone. If you have no idea what we are talking about, have a read of this article.

As a result we have re-activated Joey Barton's participation in PlayTheGame as of 15:54 BST on October 23. If you want to add Barton to your team, please be aware that he will be subject to the usual 48 hour notice period to give everyone a fair chance to sign him.

It is important to note that Joey Barton is not a new player to PTG. He was a participant in the 2007/08 edition of PlayTheGame and has not left the Premier League to permanently join another club. Therefore we are simply re-activating the players profile within the game now that he has come back from his extended suspension.

It has been bought to our attention that Daniel De Ridder of Wigan was not available in the PTG player lists despite having played several times this season.

De Ridder was actually part of last year's game when he was playing for Birmingham, so we have re-activated his profile as of 17:29 GMT on October 30th. Therefore he will be subject to the usual 48hr notice period if you would like to sign this player.

There are a small number of leagues where De Ridder is already associated with a team as he was in our original lists when we opened the game in mid July. In these cases, other managers in the league will not have the opportunity to pick up this player.

Jordan Henderson of Sunderland and Carlos Luciano Mineiro of Chelsea, both central midfield players, have been added to the game. Both players were added around 3pm on Monday 3rd November and the usual notice period applies.

West Ham midfielder Jack Collison has been re-activated within PTG after starting in the match against Middlesbrough at the weekend.

Collison was added at 16.35 GMT on 5th November and he is subject to the usual 48hr notice period

There are a small number of leagues where Collison is already associated with a team as he was in our original lists when we opened the game in mid July. In these cases, other managers in the league will not have the opportunity to pick up this player.

If you've seen the recent Gary Oldman promotion for ITV football, you'll know that 'good things come in threes' including the three wise men, three wishes and three lions on an England football shirt. Whilst the TV advert promotes ITVs hat trick of FA Cup, Champions league and International football coverage, it was the Premier League and Man United in particular that served up it's own threesome this weekend - three substitutes and three debuts.

Manchester City Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has been re-activated within PTG after coming on as a substitute for the injured Joe Hart at the weekend.

Schmeichel was actually part of last year's game when he made his debut for Man City, and despite being in our original player lists for this years games was removed as we did not believe he would play an active role in this years Premier League campaign for Man City. As a result of his return to action, we have re-activated his profile as of 21:00 GMT on November 17th and he will be subject to the usual 48hr notice period as has happened with all re-activated players.

There are a small number of leagues where Schmeichel is already associated with a team as he was in our original lists when we opened the game in mid July. In these cases, other managers in the league will not have the opportunity to pick up this player.

Two players who made their Premier League debuts this weekend have also been added to the ranks of PTG. Both players are listed below and were added at around 16:00 GMT on December 1st. The players are subject to the usual 48 hour notice period

Chris Basham – Bolton Wanderers
Miroslav Stoch – Chelsea

It has been bought to our attention that we failed to add Stelios Giannakopoulos of Hull City after he made his Hull debut on the previous weekends matches. The player was re-introduced to PTG at around 16:45 GMT on December 1st and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

After Kasper Schmeichel made a reappearance a couple of weeks ago, we decide to make sure that there were no other players who were in PTG last year who are active or potentially active in this years Premier League. We found one player, Johnathan Grounds who has been on the Middlesbrough bench since he was called back from his loan spell at Norwich. The player was re-introduced to PTG at around 16:45 GMT on December 1st and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Stelios Giannakopoulos - Hull City
Jonathan Grounds - Middlesbrough

After coming on as a substitute in last nights home defeat to Spurs, Diego Tristan becomes the latest player to join the list of available players in PlayTheGame. Tristan, who plays as a forward was added to the game at around 14:23 GMT. He will be subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

PlayTheGame sees one new addition after this weekends matches, a Stoke player who goes by the name of Vincent Pericard. Whilst the player has graced the Premier League before in a Portsmouth shirt, this goes back to the days before PTG, so this is the first chance to get your hands on the Cameroonian.

Pericard was added at around 15.00 GMT and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Two new players have been added to PTG on January 7th 2009. The players added include all relevant players signed to a Premier League club from the start of the transfer window until the afternoon of January 7th. All players were added at around 17:01 GMT on January 7th. All players are subject to the usual 48 hour notice period. For more deatils on the January transfer window and the addition of players to PTG, please see http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/2008/12/january_transfer_window.html

The new players that have been added are:

Zoran Tosic - Manchester United
Jay Simpson - West Bromwich Albion

Players who have moved from one Premier League club to another will have their clubs updated on a daily basis as and when necessary e.g. Wayne Bridge now shows as a Man City player rather than a Chelsea player.

Please be aware that the reported transfer of Jermaine Defoe is not yet officially completed.

One new player has been added to PTG on January 9th 2009. For reference, no new players were added on January 8th.

The new player is Sebastien Puygrenier who has signed to Bolton from Zenit St Petersburg.

The player was added at around 16:59 GMT on January 9th and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

For more details on the January transfer window and the addition of players to PTG, please see http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/2008/12/january_transfer_window.html

The next transfer upload will be on the afternoon of Monday 12th January.

Players who have moved from one Premier League club to another will have their clubs updated on a daily basis as and when necessary including Jermaine Defoe whose transfer officially completed today.

One new player has been added to PTG on January 9th 2009, however the new addition is a player who made his debut at the weekend rather than a transfer window signing.

The new player is Joshua Walker of Middlesbrough who made his Premier League debut against local rivals Sunderland on Saturday.

The player was added at around 17:03 GMT on January 12th and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

One new player has been added to PTG on January 13th 2009. The new (or should we say returning) player is James Beattie who has joined Stoke from Sheffield United.

The player was added at around 17:00 GMT on January 13th and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

There are a small number of leagues where Beattie is already associated with a team as he was in the original PTG player lists when we opened the game in mid July. In these cases, other managers in those leagues will not have the opportunity to pick up this player.

For more details on the January transfer window and the addition of players to PTG, please see http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/2008/12/january_transfer_window.html

Two new players have been added to PTG on January 15th 2009. Both players were added at around 17:06 GMT and are subject to the usual 48 hour notice period. For more deatils on the January transfer window and the addition of players to PTG, please see http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/2008/12/january_transfer_window.html

The new players that have been added are:

Gael Givet - Blackburn Rovers
Marc-Antoine Fortune - West Bromwich Albion

Thanks to those of you who spotted that a llittle gremlin had entered the system today and had changed the Premier League clubs some players were associated with. We are in the process of fixing this and identifying why it has occurred.

One new player has been added to PTG on January 16th 2009. The new player is Ariza Makukula who has joined Bolton on loan from Benfica.

The player was added at around 17:00 GMT on January 16th and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

For more details on the January transfer window and the addition of players to PTG, please see http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/2008/12/january_transfer_window.html

The next scheduled player upload will take place on Monday afternoon.

One new player has been added to PTG on January 22nd 2009. The new player is Nigel De Jong who has joined Manchester City from Hamburg.

The player was added at around 17:25 GMT on January 22nd and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

For more details on the January transfer window and the addition of players to PTG, please see http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/2008/12/january_transfer_window.html

Five new players have been added to PTG on January 26th 2009. All players were added at around 17:10 GMT and are subject to the usual 48 hour notice period. For more details on the January transfer window and the addition of players to PTG, please see http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/2008/12/january_transfer_window.html

The new players that have been added are:

Vitor Hugo Pele - Portsmouth
Ben Watson - Wigan Athletic FC
Savio Nsereko - West Ham United
Hugo Rodallega - Wigan Athletic FC
Fabio Da Silva - Manchester United

One new player has been added to PTG on January 27th 2009. The new player is Mark Davies who has joined Bolton from Wolves.

The player was added at around 17:00 GMT on January 27th and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

For more details on the January transfer window and the addition of players to PTG, please see http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/2008/12/january_transfer_window.html

One new player has been added to PTG on January 28th 2009. The new player is Richard Eckersley who came on for Gary Neville in Manchester United's victory over West Brom.

The player was added at around 17:00 GMT on January 28th and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Whilst this player is not a January transfer window signing, you can find more details on the January transfer window and the addition of players to PTG at http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/2008/12/january_transfer_window.html

There have been some queries regarding the time at which player allocations from the January transfer window are actioned. It is important to remember what is stated in the January transfer window blog post regarding the time of allocation:

"Each day, all new players processed will be added to the game at the same time, which means that all players 48 hour notice period will end at exactly the same time. However, the time at which allocation happens in individual leagues will not be exactly the same time as the system does not run the allocation for all leagues at exactly the same time. Therefore some leagues will get slightly longer than 48 hours to claim the players."

This becomes particularly prevalent when there are multiple players being allocated at the same time - an example of this is the allocation of five spearate players that took place on Wednesday 28th January for the players added on Monday 26th January. The process will also take longer depending on the number of leagues that require an allocation to be processed.

So if you find that an allocation hasn't happened precisely when you expected, please be patient - it will happen soon.

As most of you will know, today was supposed to be the last day of the 'January' transfer window and therefore the last day that we added any players to PTG. Due to the snowfall that has hit the UK, the Premier League has given special dispensation to transfers that have been agreed in principle before the 5pm deadline, but are finalised afterwards as a result of weather constraints. The full details of the statement from the Premier League are copied at the bottom of this post.

All through the January transfer window we have been adding players at around 5pm GMT. As a result of the extenuating circumstances we have just added all players that had been confirmed by 6pm GMT.

If any players are subsequently confirmed as being signed to the Premier League on Monday evening or through Tuesday, these will be added to PTG on the afternoon of February 3rd. We will make further announcements as and when necessary if there are still outstanding transfers.

Today's player upload includes all the players signed from the evening of Friday 30th January through to the close of the transfer window and up until 6pm GMT on February 2nd. All players listed below were added at around 18:47 GMT and are subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Please be advised that the time at which allocation happens in individual leagues (on Feb 4th) will not be exactly the same time for every league. This is due to the number of players and leagues that have to be processed. Therefore some leagues will get slightly longer than 48 hours to claim the players, but claims should be made within 48 hours to guarantee acceptance.

For more details on the January transfer window process, please see http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/2008/12/january_transfer_window.html

There are 8 players in total that have been added to PTG today, as listed below.

Elliot Omozusi, Fulham *
Radoslav Kovac - West Ham United
Giles Barnes - Fulham
Theofanis Gekas - Portsmouth
Angelos Basinas - Portsmouth
Youssouf Mulumbu - West Bromwich Albion
Olivier Dacourt - Fulham
Juan Carlos Menseguez - West Bromwich Albion

* Elliot Omozusi was in our original PTG player list at the beginning of the season and some leagues may have a team that already includes this player. In these cases, the player will not be available to sign.

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Premier League statement regarding transfer window extension:

"The Premier League has announced that it will grant applications from clubs to complete transactions after the 5pm deadline provided that:

"The board will take a decision on a case-by-case basis as to when the registration documents have to be submitted after taking into consideration weather conditions and ability to travel."

Although the transfer window has now shut, there are still some transfers being finalised as a result of delays caused by the bad weather.

There are two players being added to PlayTheGame today.

The first is Ricardo Quaresma who was confirmed as having signed to Chelsea from Inter Milan at around 7pm last night. This signing was confirmed after we had made yesterdays player upload.

The second is Andrei Arshavin, who was confirmed as signing for Arsenal from Zenit St Petersburg just before 5pm on February 3rd.

Both players were added at around 17:08 GMT on February 3rd and are subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

There may be a small number of players who will be confirmed as having signed for a Premier League club as the week progresses. If this happens then these players will be added at around 5pm GMT on the day that the Premier League confirms the signing. Please check this blog for further updates.

For more details on why we are where we are, take a look at this post - http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/2009/02/new_players_2nd_feb_final_day.html

The transfer window has been closed for two days, but the Premier League is still sanctioning transfers. Today it is the turn of Stephen Kelly who has joined Stoke from Birmingham.

The player was added to PTG at around 17:12 GMT and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Stephen Kelly was in our original PTG player list at the beginning of the season and some leagues may have a team that already includes this player. In these cases, the player will not be available to sign.

If there are any other players who are confirmed as having signed for a Premier League club this week (Thurs/Fri) as part of the January transfer window then these players will be added to PTG at around 5pm GMT on the day that the Premier League confirms the signing. Please check this blog for further updates.

If there are any other players confirmed after 5pm on Friday 6th February, these players will be added as and when they play in the Premier League following our usual process. There will be a blog post regarding this next week.

For more details on why we are where we are, take a look at this post - http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/2009/02/new_players_2nd_feb_final_day.html

One new player has been added to PlayTheGame on February 9th 2009. Kieran Gibbs made his debut in the Premier League for Arsenal on Sunday 8th February.

Gibbs is being added to PTG player lists as is normal practice for players coming through the ranks and playing in a league match.

The player was added at around 17:00 GMT on February 9th and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

One new player has been added to PlayTheGame on February 16th 2009. Shaleum Logan made his debut in the Premier League for Machester City on Saturday 14th February.

Logan is being added to PTG player lists as is normal practice for players coming through the ranks and playing in a league match.

The player was added at around 17:02 GMT on February 16th and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Two new players have been added to PlayTheGame after the midweek Manchester United versus Fulham match. Unfortunately for Robert Milsom and Wayne Brown they found themselves on the losing side, but their Premier League debuts now mean that can be listed with the PTG elite.

The players are being added to the PTG player lists as is normal practice for players coming through the ranks and playing in a league match.

The players were added at around 17:45 GMT on February 19th and are subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

One new player has been added to PlayTheGame on March 2nd 2009. Michael Mancienne made his debut in the Premier League for Chelsea on Sunday 1st March.

Mancienne is being added to PTG player lists as is normal practice for players coming through the ranks and playing in a league match.

The player was added at around 17:00 GMT on March 2nd and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

One new player has been added to PlayTheGame on March 4th 2009. Fran Merida made his debut in the Premier League for Arsenal on Tuesday 3rd March.

Merida is being added to PTG player lists as is normal practice for players coming through the ranks and playing in a league match.

The player was added at around 17:03 GMT on March 4th and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

One new player has been added to PlayTheGame on March 16th 2009. Nathan Delfouneso made his debut in the Premier League for Aston Villa on Sunday 15th March.

Delfouneso is being added to PTG player lists as is normal practice for players coming through the ranks and playing in a league match.

The player was added at around 17:05 GMT on March 16th and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

One new player has been added to PlayTheGame on March 17th 2009. Junior Stanislas made his debut in the Premier League for West Ham on Monday 16th March.

Stanislas is being added to PTG player lists as is normal practice for players coming through the ranks and playing in a league match.

The player was added at around 17:05 GMT on March 17th and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

One new player has been added to PlayTheGame on March 23rd 2009. Josh Payne made his debut in the Premier League for West Ham on Saturday 21st March.

Payne is being added to PTG player lists as is normal practice for players coming through the ranks and playing in a league match.

The player was added at around 17:0 GMT on March 23rd and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

This one really doesn't need any introduction because you must have had your head in the sand if you are surprised by the fact that we are adding a new player to PTG today.

You know his name is Federico Macheda, you know he plays for Manchester United, you know he scored on his debut, a goal that just happened to seal victory for United in the final minute to take them back to the top of the league. Which means that all you really need to know is that he was added to PTG at 17:10 BST on the 6th April and that any claims on this new hotshot are subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

If you have no idea what we're talking about, you'd better have a look at the match report and goals video

Two new players have been added to PlayTheGame after the Easter weekend matches. So if you're looking for a last minute addition to your squad you can now sign up Aaron Doran of Blackburn Rovers or Chris Woods of West Bromwich Albion.

The players are being added to the PTG player lists as is normal practice for players coming through the ranks and playing in a league match.

The players were added at around 17:00 BST on April 13th and are subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

It has been bought to our attention that Richard Kingson came on as a substitute for Wigan's injury prone goalkeeper Chris Kirkland in their defeat against West Brom at the weekend. He therefore needs to be added to the ranks of PTG.

The player was added at around 19:00 BST on May 12th and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Unfortunately the delay means that managers will not be able to acquire the player before the Wigan match against Manchester United on Wednesday evening.

There are a small number of leagues where Kingson is already associated with a team as he was in our original lists when we opened the game in mid July. In these cases, other managers in the league will not have the opportunity to pick up this player.

After the penultimate weekend of matches in the Premier League, Cho Won-Hee of Wigan is potentially the last player to be added to PlayTheGame for the 2008/09 season. Only a Portsmouth or Sunderland player can take this title away from him, should any player make their debut on Monday evening.

So if you want one last throw of the dice, the player was added at around 17:00 GMT on May 18th and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

The Monday night match between Portsmouth and Sunderland threw up one final debutante to be added to the ranks of PlayTheGame for the 2008/09 season. The scramble can now begin to sign Asmir Begovic of Portsmouth.

The player was added at around 17:02 GMT on May 19th and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Two new players were added to the PlayTheGame player list last night

Frederic Piquionne: French Striker has signed to Portsmouth from Lyons
Fabian Delph: England Under 21 has signed to Aston Villa from Leeds

Three players were added to the PlayTheGame player list last night, all of which have moved on season long loans to their respective clubs.

Scott Sinclair: Midfielder who has moved to Wigan on a season long loan from Chelsea

Jozy Altidore: American striker who has moved to Hull on a season long loan from Villareal

Fernando Guerrero: Ecuadorian Midfielder who has moved to Burnley on a season long loan from Independiente del Valle

If your league player allocation has already taken place then these players will be subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Goalkeeper is a key position for any Premier League manager and making sure you have good cover should your first choice keeper get injured or have to serve a suspension is critical to keeping the momentum going if you have to change the man between the sticks. As a result we've made sure that we have good coverage of the first and second choice keepers for each of the Premier League clubs in the PTG player list. As of last night, the following keepers have been added to the list:

Two new players were added to the PlayTheGame player list on Monday evening

Habib Beye: Joined Aston Villa from relegated Newcastle
Alberto Aquilani: Italian midfielder who has joined Liverpool from AS Roma.

If the player allocation has already taken place in your league, then these two players will be subject to the 48 hour notice period, otherwise the new additions will be found at the bottom of the player list.

Three new players wered added to the PlayTheGame player list on Thursday night. Players will be subject to the 48 hour notice period.

Andy Marshall: Goalkeeper signed to Aston Villa from Coventry
Kamel Ghilas: Algerian forward who has signed for Hull from Celta Vigo
Stephen Hunt: Returns to the Premier League after signing for Hull from Reading

Three new players were added to the PlayTheGame player lists on Friday night. For those in a league yet to be allocated these players can be found at the bottom of the player list. For everyone else, the players are subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Twelve players have been added to the PlayTheGame player list on Monday night after making appearances in the weekend matches. All will be subject to the usual 48 hour notice period

Sam Vokes: Wolves forward
Jody Craddock: Wolves centre back
Marc Wilson: Portsmouth midfielder
Jordan Henderson: Sunderland midfielder
Daniel Ward: Bolton midfielder
Chung-Yong Lee: Bolton midfielder who made his debut coming on as a sub against Sunderland on August 15th
David Hoilett: Blackburn midfielder
Paul Gallagher: Blackburn forward
Marc Albrighton: Midfielder who made his Premier League debut for Aston Villa against Wigan on August 15th
Daniel Sanchez Ayala: Liverpool centre back who made his debut on August 16th
James O'Shea: Signed to Birmingham from Galway United, made his debut against Manchester United on August 16th
Keith Fahey: Birmingham Midfielder

PTG Blog feed - Subscriber to a feed of the PTG blog at the following URL and get the latest posts straight to your browser or feed reader. http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/index.xml

The brains behind The Times daily transfer bulletin is back to take your questions today at 1pm live on Times Online. You can take part by clicking here

Gary Jacob, who is an expert in the workings of the transfer window, will answer your queries from who is moving where to how much for and why there might be a hitch.

With the window closing at the end of August, activity among players, managers and agents is frantic. Late deals will be struck - and Gary will be the first to bring you the news.

The previous three transfer webchats have each received over 20,000 hits, with Gary typing feverishly for an hour trying to get in as many responses as he can. He promises to do the same again so if you want to know who your club is looking at or how it might affect your PlayTheGame team, then log on at 1pm and ask him a question.

PTG Blog feed - Subscriber to a feed of the PTG blog at the following URL and get the latest posts straight to your browser or feed reader. http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/index.xml

Five new players were added to the PTG player list on Wednesday morning, including confirmation of the protracted signing of Nikola Kalinic to Blackburn. All five players were added at around 05:50 BST on 19th August and will be subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Nikola Kalinic: Croatian forward who has joined Blackburn from Hadjuk Split
Antonio Carazo Amaya: Spanish centre back who has joined Wigan from Rayo Vallecano
Nemanja Matic: Serbian Midfielder who has joined Chelsea from MFK Košice
Andre Bikey: Has joined Burnley from Reading
Damien Duff: Has joined Fulham from relegated Newcastle

PTG Blog feed - Subscribe to a feed of the PTG blog at the following URL and get the latest posts straight to your browser or feed reader. http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/index.xml

Two defenders have been added to the PlayTheGame player lists this afternoon and were added at around 15.40 BST on Thursday 20th August. Both players are subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Michael Salgado: Real Madrid defender signed for Blackburn
Darren Ward: Wolves defender

PTG Blog feed - Subscribe to a feed of the PTG blog at the following URL and get the latest posts straight to your browser or feed reader. http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/index.xml

Take a look at our Premier League preview videos for all nine matches this weekend and the Monday night match between Liverpool and Villa. Match preview videos are available from early evening every Thursday and in the run up to mid week matches.

VIDEO: Premier League Match previews for August 22/23/24 2009

Saturday August 22, 2009
Arsenal v Portsmouth, 3:00 pm
Birmingham City v Stoke City, 3:00 pm
Hull City v Bolton Wanderers, 3:00 pm
Manchester City v Wolverhampton Wanderers, 3:00 pm
Sunderland v Blackburn Rovers, 3:00 pm
Wigan Athletic FC v Manchester United, 3:00 pm

Sunday August 23, 2009
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur, 1:30 pm
Burnley v Everton, 3:00 pm
Fulham v Chelsea, 4:00 pm

Monday August 24, 2009
Liverpool v Aston Villa, 8:00 pm

1 player has been added to the PlayTheGame player list on 22 August 2009. The player was added at 04:30am BST and is subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Mohamed Diame, Wigan Athletic FC, Central Midfielder

5 players have been added to the PlayTheGame player list on 24 August 2009. The players were added at 9:00pm BST and are subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Fran Merida, Arsenal, Central Midfielder
Asmir Begovic, Portsmouth, Goalkeeper
George Elokobi, Wolverhampton, Left Back
Sam Hutchinson, Chelsea, Right Back
Zavon Hines, West Ham United, Forward

Four players have been added to the PlayTheGame player list on the 25th and 26th August 2009. Each days players are listed below and are subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Player added on 25/08/2009 at 6:04am BST
Sotirios Kyrgiakos - Liverpool

Players added om 26/08/2009 at 3:53am BST
Sylvio Sylvinho - Manchester City
Jonathan Greening - Fulham
Diniyar Bilyaletdinov - Everton

Tommy Smith, the former Watford forward/midfielder has signed to Portsmouth on Thursday and has therefore been added to the PlayTheGame player lists. The player was added at 4:10am BST on the 28th August and will be subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Three players have been added to the PlayTheGame player list on 29th August 2009. The players were added at 05:20 BST and are subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Alessandro Diamanti - West Ham
Tuncay Sanli - Stoke City
Robert Huth - Stoke City

Three players were added to the PlayTheGame player lists late on Monday evening after makeing appearances in the Premier League over the weekend. The three players were added at around 23:45pm BST on the 31st August and are subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Ciaran Clark: 19 year old defender who made his Villa debut against Fulham
Kevin McDonald: Burnley midfielder
Gary McSheffrey: Birmingham Midfielder

The Summer transfer window closes at 5pm BST, today September 1st. Check back on Wednesday for the final transfer window additions.

After a relatively quiet final day of the Summer transfer window, eleven players have been added to the PlayTheGame player list. The players were added at 18.00 BST on September 2nd and will be subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Ivan Klasnic, Bolton Wanderers
Aruna Dindane, Portsmouth
Hassan Yebda, Portsmouth
Diego Arismendi, Stoke City
John Mensah, Sunderland
Manuel da Costa, West Ham
Segundo Castillo, Wolves
Stefan Maierhofer, Wolves
Mike Williamson, Portsmouth
David Elm, Fulham
John Heitinga, Everton

After a short break the Premier League was back with a bang this weekend and gives us three new players to add to the PTG player list. The players listed below were added at around 5pm BST on Monday 14th September and are subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Matthew Hill: Wolves defender who played against Blackburn at the weekend
Danny Webber: Forward who was a free agent, signed for Portsmouth and came on as a sub against Bolton
Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink: The forward made his Hull City debut when he came on as a substitute in the defeat to Sunderland

PTG Blog feed - Subscribe to a feed of the PTG blog at the following URL and get the latest posts straight to your browser or feed reader. http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/index.xml

Two new players were added to the PlayTheGame player list on Monday evening, both of Italian descent and both playing in the 'big four'. The players were added at around 18.56 BST on Monday 21st September and are subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Fabio Borini – Italian striker who made a substitute appearance for Chelsea in place of Anelka
Vito Mannone – Italian goalkeeper who kept a clean sheet for Arsenal against Wigan

One new player has been added to the PlayTheGame player list this afternoon at around 17.03 BST on Monday 28th September.

Liam Cooper – A Premier League debut to forget for the teenage Hull defender as his team lost 6-1 to Liverpool

As usual, any manager looking to sign the player will be subject to the 48 hour notice period.

One new player has been added to the PlayTheGame player list this afternoon at around 17.05 BST on Monday October 5th.

Kagisho Dikgacoi – South African midfielder, who made his debut for Fulham against West Ham against the weekend. Little point in signing him at the moment though as he got sent off in the 41st minute for slapping Scott Parker.

If you do wish to sign him, the player will be subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Nick Szcepanik gives us his verdict on five of the best performing players from the weekends matches. You can read the full article here and feel free to let us know who the star man was in your team.

Don't forget that Hull play Fulham tonight at Craven Cottage, 8pm, live on ESPN.

PTG Blog feed - Subscribe to a feed of the PTG blog at the following URL and get the latest posts straight to your browser or feed reader. http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/index.xml

After the international sideshow over the last couple of weeks, it was back to serious Premier League action at the weekend which has given us three new players to add to the PTG player list. After much deliberation, none of them is a red beach ball.

The players listed below were added at around 17.30 BST on Monday 19th October and are subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Guillermo Franco – Striker with roots in Argentina, Mexico and East London (West Ham)
Boudewijn Zenden – After stints at Chelsea, Middlesbrough and Liverpool, he's back in the Premier League with Sunderland
Jay Spearing - Midfielder who made an excellent Premier League debut for Liverpool against Sunderland

Nick Szcepanik gives us his verdict on five of the best performing players from the weekends matches. You can read the full article here and feel free to let us know who the star man was in your team.

PTG Blog feed - Subscribe to a feed of the PTG blog at the following URL and get the latest posts straight to your browser or feed reader. http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/index.xml

Another weekend of Premier League action gives us four new players to add to the PlayTheGame player list.

The players listed below were added at around 17.32 GMT on Monday 26th October and are subject to the usual 48 hour notice period.

Jeffrey Bruma – 17 year old Dutch centre back debuted for Chelsea against Blackburn
Lucas Neill - A free agent after leaving West Ham last season, the Aussie is back in the Premier League and was pivitol in Everton's two goals against Bolton
Seamus Coleman – 21 year old Irish U21 and U23 defender came on as a sub for Everton against Bolton
Seol Ki-Hyeon – Back in the Fulham team after a loan spell in Saudi Arabia

PTG Blog feed - Subscribe to a feed of the PTG blog at the following URL and get the latest posts straight to your browser or feed reader. http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/index.xml

Take a look at the Premier League preview videos for the nine matches on Saturday, and one match on Sunday

VIDEO: Premier League match previews for Octber 31st and November 1st 2009

Saturday October 31, 2009
Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur, 12:45 pm (Sky Sports 1)
Bolton Wanderers v Chelsea, 3:00 pm
Burnley v Hull City, 3:00 pm
Stoke City v Wolves, 3:00 pm
Sunderland v West Ham United, 3:00 pm
Portsmouth v Wigan Athletic FC, 3:00 pm
Everton v Aston Villa, 3:00 pm
Fulham v Liverpool, 3:00 pm
Manchester United v Blackburn Rovers, 5:30 pm (ESPN)

Sunday November 01, 2009
Birmingham City v Manchester City, 4:00 pm (Sky Sports 1)

FIFA has announced a 23 man shortlist for their Player of the Year award which includes eight players from the current Premier League.

Wayne Rooney, Fernando Torres, and Steven Gerrard make the cut from Manchester United and Liverpool, but Chelsea dominate with Frank Lampard, John Terry, Michael Essien, Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba all in contention. Former Manchester United star and last years winner Cristano Ronaldo has also been shortlisted.

If we take a look at the facts and figures from PTG last season Frank Lampard was the best overall player, Steven Gerrard was second and Ronaldo was third. So far this season, Fabregas of Arsenal is the best performing player in the PTG rankings, but Drogba is second and Lampard third.

For sheer consistency Lampard has to stand out from the players listed from the Premier League, but maybe the winner will come from one of the other 15 players from the rest of the world and therefore a player just out of reach of any PTG manager.

The full list is shown below and the winner will be announced on December 21st 2009.

FIFA World Player 2009 shortlist:
Michael Ballack (Germany)
Gianluigi Buffon (Italy)
Iker Casillas (Spain)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Diego (Brazil)
Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast)
Michael Essien (Ghana)
Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon)
Steven Gerrard (England)
Thierry Henry (France)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden)
Andres Iniesta (Spain)
Kaka (Brazil)
Frank Lampard (England)
Luis Fabiano (Brazil)
Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Carles Puyol (Spain)
Franck Ribery (France)
Wayne Rooney (England)
John Terry (England)
Fernando Torres (Spain)
David Villa (Spain)
Xavi (Spain)

Nick Szcepanik gives us his verdict on five of the best performing players from the weekends matches. You can read the full article here and feel free to let us know who the star man was in your team.

PTG Blog feed - Subscribe to a feed of the PTG blog at the following URL and get the latest posts straight to your browser or feed reader. http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/index.xml

After the weekend matches, one new player has been added to the PlayTheGame player list. The player was added at around 17.00 GMT on Monday November 2nd and is subject to the the usual 48 hour notice period.

Nathan Eccleston - 18 year old Liverpool striker who came on as a late substitute against Fulham.

PTG Blog feed - Subscribe to a feed of the PTG blog at the following URL and get the latest posts straight to your browser or feed reader. http://blog.stats.com/playthegame/index.xml

Take a look at the Premier League preview videos for the five matches on Saturday, four on Sunday and the evening kick-off on Monday.

VIDEO: Premier League match previews for November 7th, 8th and 9th 2009

Saturday November 07, 2009
Aston Villa v Bolton Wanderers, 3:00 pm
Blackburn Rovers v Portsmouth, 3:00 pm
Tottenham Hotspur v Sunderland, 3:00 pm
Manchester City v Burnley, 3:00 pm
Wolves v Arsenal, 5:30 pm (ESPN)

Sunday November 08, 2009
Hull City v Stoke City, 1:30 pm (Sky Sports 1)
West Ham United v Everton, 3:00 pm
Wigan Athletic FC v Fulham, 3:00 pm
Chelsea v Manchester United, 4:00 pm (Sky Sports 1)

Monday November 09, 2009
Liverpool v Birmingham City, 8:00 pm (ESPN)