Premier League Football Welcome to our English Premier league football page. As always we'll give our columnists license to say what they really think about the Premiership...Enjoy. The Premier League season is now well under way... Title Race Back On? As Man Utd falter, can they be overhauled by Liverpool or Chelsea? Is money bleeding the game dry? Mid Season Update An overdue update of all the shite in the Premier League. Big shit players, and depressing news. Week 6: 2008-9 Season Sept 27/8th - Hull City on cloud 9. Big John Carew, a song for you?, Liverpool win at Goodison. Week 5: 2008-9 Season Sept 20/21st - Man City trip the light fantastic, all draws at the top, Newcastle struggling. Week 4: 2008-9 Season Despicable Danny Guthrie. Sendings off & the bell-ends on the FA Panel. Some football to follow. Week 3: 2008-9 Season Aug 31st: 100 % records all gone, Wigan are rampant and the Hammers dish out a hammering to Blackburn. Man City & Portsmouth both unlikely 3-0 away winners. Week 2: 2008-9 Season Excitement at the bottom already, Hull unbeaten & only Chelsea & Liverpool are 100%. Week 1: 2008-9 Season Chelsea off to a flier, Man Utd held & Hull win 1st Premier League game. Nearly ready for the off in this season's Premiership, so who's going to challenge for honours, and who's going down the slippery relegation slide/ Our big, fat hairy tipster Minty lets us all know here... Last season......... Tuesday, May 13 Manchester United duly retained their Premier League title on Sunday after a 2-0 win at Wigan that was not without its' anxious moments. The real drama on the last day of the season came at the other end of the table, however. United knew that victory at Wigan would see them crowned champions and while they never really hit top gear at the JJB you always felt they had enough in the tank to make sure of the three points. When they needed it most they certainly got the benefit of the doubt on three occasions from the referee in the first half, however. The first big call was denying Wigan a penalty appeal when Rio Ferdinand leant his body into a shot from Jason Koumas and ended up blocking the ball high up on his arm/shoulder. It was a tough call but looked highly suspect. United got away with it. The second big call was awarding United a penalty when Emerson Boyce tangled with Wayne Rooney. Boyce ended up playing the ball but looked to have taken Rooney's legs before doing so. This looked a fair call. The third big call was deciding not to show Paul Scholes a second yellow card shortly before half time after the Ginger Ninja blocked the run of Wilson Palacios along the right flank. United definitely got away with it. Scholesy is a strange man to work out. With all his experience he can still come up with something that stupid in such a massive game in such a meaningless area of the pitch. Strange. United had taken the lead from their penalty courtesy of Ronaldo and should have been given the opportunity to extend that lead from the spot when Scholes was blatantly taken out by a Titus Bramble special early in the second half. Maybe someone had informed the ref that there were a couple of things he needed to even up and no penalty was forthcoming. Apart from the odd close call United's control increased as the clock ticked down but the relief was tangible when Ryan Giggs slotted home the clinching goal with ten minutes left. Picked out astutely by Rooney in the area Giggs took a touch before calmly shooting past Chris Kirkland. Giggsy's powers are certainly not what they have been but this was a fitting way for United to clinch another title and for him to mark the day when he equalled Bobby Charlton's appearance record for the club. Chelsea endured a torrid afternoon as they waited in vain for news of a United slip up. John Terry was stretchered from the pitch with a dislocated shoulder having been pummelled by Petr Cech as the keeper came to collect a high ball into his box. Then there was a hugely frustrating wait for the goal they needed in case United did hit a banana skin. Schevchenko finally struck from close range around the hour mark but all hope was then ended as news of Giggs' strike filtered around the ground. To cap a disappointing day Bolton scored an injury time equaliser through Matt Taylor and the sight of Didier Drogba having ice packed to his knee was the last thing anyone at Stamford Bridge wanted to see with the Champions League final in mind. While losing out in the title race is obviously massively disappointing for Chelsea and their supporters it is hardly a surprise. They have never had their destiny in their own hands and have done well to push Manchester United so long and so hard. You always had the feeling that United had enough in hand, however. Chelsea's real target has to be the Champions League. Their progress in that competition has been relatively comfortable and they are just one big performance away from their share of the glory. At the bottom a late goal by Danny Murphy ensured Fulham's safety and condemned Reading, who were demolishing Derby 4-0 at Pride Park, to relegation. Birmingham City will also be playing Championship football again next season despite beating Blackburn Rovers 4-1 at St Andrews. Fulham had the toughest looking game, away to Portsmouth, of the endangered trio although Harry Redknapp's men have been something of a shambles since clinching a place in the FA Cup final a few weeks ago. This was a game of few chances but massive tension as Fulham strove manfully, but without much inspiration, for the goal that would secure their survival. With news of Reading's victory at Derby becoming ever more certain Fulham knew that only a win would be good enough and the goal finally arrived with fourteen minutes to spare. Jimmy Bullard whipped over a free kick from the right and Spud Murphy was the unlikely man rising to head home. Obviously nobody had been detailed to pick Danny up at set pieces during the Pompey tactic talks. An anxious quarter of an hour remained for Fulham to survive but Portsmouth never looked like spoiling the party. Whether they can simply turn on a performance at Wembley when they need to is debatable, especially without the cup-tied Jermain Defoe who looks their one potent striker. Murphy's goal certainly ruined the day out of the Reading supporters who had been gleefully lapping up another ritual slaughtering of the Rams. Birmingham's supporters had long since been put out of their misery. Reading's victory was always going to seal their fate and the 4-1 victory over Blackburn became an irrelevance. This game was notable for two absolute shockers, however. Brad Friedel, superb all season, will find the summer isn't long enough to work out how he let in David Murphy's opener and Cameron Jerome will also be scratching his head throughout the close season as to how he spooned over an open goal from five yards in the second half. At least Jerome did recover to score a couple of goals in City's futile victory. Everton scored a 3-1 victory over Newcastle to confirm their place in next season's UEFA Cup with a couple of goals from Yakubu and a smartly taken finish from their impressive defender Joleon Lescott. The obvious highlight from the games' with nothing much at stake was Middlesbrough's 8-1 rout of Manchester City. Spirits in the City camp are obviously pretty low at present and there was little sign of a rearguard action being staged once Richard Dunne had been sent off in the first half for a professional foul. Conceding eight to Middlesbrough is quite a feat in any circumstances, however. The pick of the bunch was a neat volleyed effort by Stewart Downing and a truly explosive free kick from Fabio Rochemback. Elano's strike for City was also a quality effort but could not realistically be classed as even a consolation goal on this occasion. Events at City during the close season promise to be more entertaining than at most others. Apparently the owner has insisted that Eriksson remains in charge while the club tours Thailand. I'm not so sure I would be up for that. People have been known to disappear in that neck of the woods and if the City owner doesn't fancy paying Eriksson a big compensation package the Swede might never be seen again. Anyway, that's it for this season. See you again in August.
Wednesday, May 7 The Premier League title race is set for a thrilling climax this Sunday as Manchester United and Chelsea go into the final round of matches level on points. United's goal difference is hugely superior but they have the more difficult looking fixture as they travel to Wigan while Chelsea entertain Bolton. Both Wigan and Bolton have now confirmed their safety which could make it easier for the top two to overcome them but Wigan are a team in good form at the moment, unbeaten in five and not having lost at home since January, so a trip to the JJB might not be as easy as most people probably expect for Alex Ferguson's men. The Wigan pitch may also pose United a few problems while I think it is safe to assume that The Latics won't be doing United any favours. Steve Bruce would prefer United to win the league rather than Chelsea but it is unlikely that many others in Wigan share that sentiment and it would cap a wonderful second half of the season for the locals if they got to see their team deny United the title before setting off to Blackpool for the wakes. Both title hopefuls won reasonably comfortably at the weekend. United cruised into a three goal first half lead against West Ham before conceding a goal and losing a player to set a few nerves on edge. Another goal after half time ensured that there were no real traumas, however. Ronaldo helped himself to a couple more goals in his remarkably prolific season while Carlos Tevez rifled home spectacularly against his former club. Old Trafford was not overly concerned when Dean Ashton reduced the arrears with a superb overhead kick but became more disturbed when Nani got himself sent off after a pathetic incident with Lucas Neill. Neill, as is to be expected, mildly baited the United winger who proceeded to put his head into Neill's face. Nothing vicious but a certain sending off. Why do footballers insist on pretending to be hard? A deflected Michael Carrick goal after the break stilled any lingering nerves around Old Trafford although The Hammers had never suggested that they might be able to make their numerical advantage tell. Chelsea were therefore under pressure to win at Newcastle on Monday to keep the title race alive and their first half performance betrayed some tension. There was little to get excited about as a series of hopeful shots endangered the fans rather than the goals but the outcome was never seriously in doubt once Michael Ballack had put Chelsea ahead early in the second half. Ballack has been instrumental in Chelsea's powerful end of season showing and proved his considerable aerial threat once again with a clinical header from a Drogba free kick. Victory was confirmed when Florent Malouda slotted home after a slick passing move between Essien, Ballack and Lampard for his first goal since well before Christmas. Chelsea need Wigan to do them a favour, then, if they are to regain the title from United but they will surely take advantage if their rivals do slip up. Wigan confirmed their place in the Premier League with an excellent victory at Aston Villa where Antonio Valencia scored both goals. Also instrumental in this victory was Chris Kirkland who is likely to be an important figure when United come calling on Sunday. Bolton would have been happy to be facing Sunderland at home a week after the Wearsiders secured their own safety and duly overcame tepid opponents to record a 2-0 win. El Hadji Diouf scored just before half time with an own goal by Daryl Murphy late on settling all Bolton's nerves. Fulham capitalised on their great escape at Man City last week by defeating relegation rivals Birmingham 2-0 at Craven Cottage and are now, incredibly, out of the drop zone. Brian McBride and Eric Nevland scored the second half goals which both owed much to generous defending by former Cottager Franck Queudrue who had only come on as a half time sub for the injured Liam Ridgewell. Reading are now also in the relegation places after losing to Robbie Keane's goal at home to Tottenham and even an away game with Derby may not be enough to save them.
Tuesday, April 29 Chelsea drew level on points with Manchester United at the top of the Premier League at the weekend after defeating their title rivals 2-1 at Stamford Bridge. While it is certainly true that the late penalty from which Michael Ballack gave Chelsea victory was a highly contentious decision it is equally certain that the result was the right one based on the full ninety minutes action. Alex Ferguson picked a much changed team from the one which got a goalless draw in Barcelona but the gameplan was exactly the same. Sit back, soak up pressure and hope to get a draw. While this had worked in Spain it was never likely to be successful at Stamford Bridge. For one thing United were trying to hold out with a weakened team and for another Chelsea put you under far more physical pressure than Barcelona. By allowing Chelsea to apply pressure United were asking for trouble. The ball was generally in and around their box as the home team threw men forward in numbers. There was only one outcome. Chelsea, with Essien, Ballack and Drogba imposing themselves on the game, dominated the first half almost totally but could not find the breakthrough until stoppage time. Drogba was instrumental as he showed great strength, control and footwork to keep three United defenders at bay before clipping a superb cross to the far post where Ballack had peeled away from his marker to score with a decisive header back across goal. United came out more eager to make a game of it after half time and the contest was more even with both sides suddenly looking capable of scoring. When the visitors did equalise, however, it was the direct result of incredible Chelsea generosity. Ferreira took a free kick needlessly quickly back to Carvalho who was not under enough pressure to explain his bizarre pass back into the path of Wayne Rooney who sprinted away to score. Drawing level was again the signal for United to retreat into their shell and the introduction of John O'Shea to anchor the midfield still deeper alongside Michael Carrick ensured that Chelsea were able to pile on the pressure as the clock started ticking down. The dam burst when Carrick was adjudged to have handled a centre from Essien and Ballack stepped forward to leather his penalty past Van der Sar. The ball had certainly caught Carrick on the arm but it was not the kind of decision you would want given against you. I presume the linesman had told his wife to set the video. The futility of United's general approach was then exposed as they attacked desperately for the remaining few minutes in the search of another equaliser. This was time enough for both Ronaldo and Darren Fletcher to see efforts cleared off the line by Ashley Cole and, bizarrely, Schevchenko but there would be no way back a second time. The game ended in acrimony with United venting their obvious grievances about the penalty decision with all and sundry before the disturbing episode after the game involving the United subs and the Chelsea stewards. Whatever is finally made of this incident the biggest question to be answered surely has to be what the *!$? where the stewards doing getting involved in the first place? They are there to control the crowd, which had gone home so why hadn't they?, and United have every right to send their players out for a warming down session anyway. Stewards in general disturb me. They are forever manhandling players who are celebrating goals and stopping them from going towards the crowd. That is the responsibility of the referee. It is also possible that with some stewards it is just a case of the hooligans swapping one side of the fence for the other. United remain firm favourites for the title despite this defeat as victories over West Ham and Wigan will still see them confirmed as champions but the last two games have done nothing to continue the momentum they had built up with a series of attacking displays. While I would expect them to have enough left in the locker to go on and win the league I have serious doubts about their chances going into tonights' second leg with Barcelona. The players will have to respond in style to put in a performance good enough to bring victory after two drab, uninspired displays. There are also injury concerns. Vidic went off after taking a knee in the face from Drogba while Rooney aggravated a knock he had sustained at Blackburn. It's all well and good Ferguson thinking he is restinbg players but the ones who had to stand up to the battering they took from Chelsea emerged showing the scars. Chelsea on the other hand can feel good about themselves and face their end of season run in probably in the best form of their season. They will feel doubly confident of finishing their European job against Liverpool and will be waiting for one more slip from United in the league. The situation at the bottom remains intriguing. Fulham looked to have surrendered their status as they trailed 2-0 at Manchester City with only twenty minutes remaining but then a Diomansy Kamara double inspired them to an unlikely 3-2 victory and they live to fight another day. Birmingham City, on the other hand, remain in grave danger after seeing a two goal advantage at home to a seriously understrength Liverpool disappear and the point they were left with is of dubious benefit this close to the end of the season. Reading kept their heads just above water with a goalless draw at Wigan while Bolton will be even happier with a draw at Tottenham even though they had led at one stage. Sunderland are now definitely safe after a thrilling 3-2 win over Middlesbrough who remain in potential danger. Boro took the lead in this one after just four minutes through Tuncay but immediately surrendered this advantage when they allowed Danny Higginbotham to head home after a corner was not properly cleared. Michael Chopra scored dramatically off the underside of the bar at the end of the first half to give Sunderland the lead but Alves levelled things up again on a rare Boro attack and it looked as though things would finish all square until Sunderland struck from another corner right at the death. Daryl Murphy was the man with the header although the effort required a sizeable deflection off Emanuel Pogatetz to find the net. Cue delirium for the Wearsiders while the Teesiders remain looking over their shoulders for another week at least. Finally Derby managed to concede six goals at home for the third time this season after being slaughtered 6-2 by Arsenal. This game really could have finished up as anything and The Rams will be happy that Adebayor was only introduced as a half time substitute. If he'd been on from the start he would surely have robbed Derby of more than just the one match ball.
Tuesday, April 22 It looked as though the title race was going to be blown wide open as Manchester United trailed at Blackburn on Saturday evening with the game in its' dying minutes but a headed goal from Carlos Tevez earned United a point which means they can go to Chelsea at the weekend and lose and still retain the championship. Blackburn made things difficult for United in a combative display with men behind the ball being the order of the day. The home side did not attack often or in great numbers but there was an early warning that the United machine might not be running totally smoothly when a bad error from Paul Scholes gave Jason Roberts a clear chance but Tomasz Kuszczak came out to tackle the forward deep inside the area and United survived. They were not so fortunate when Ferdinand and Vidic got themselves in a tangle from a long throw in and, with Patrice Evra failing to react, Roque Santa Cruz cruised in to slot Rovers in front. United were patchy at best for the first hour of the game. Tevez failed miserably from close range having been teed up by Rooney and they were denied a penalty when Rooney, having been clearly fouled, went to ground belatedly and theatrically. Rooney was obviously not best pleased at the refusal and within seconds had launched a ridiculous flying challenge from behind on Christopher Samba. Basically this had to be a sending off although Rooney did go round the sides of Samba rather than straight through the back. The referee contented himself with a yellow card, however, and this, plus the decision not to book Rooney for diving despite refusing him the penalty, suggested that the official realised that a foul had taken place in the first incident. Eventually United got up a head of steam and the last twenty minutes or so saw the Rovers goal under siege. There were several more penalty calls and one of these should certainly have been answered in the affirmative when Brett Emerton clearly handled. Ronaldo smacked a cross shot against the post and when United did hit the target they found Brad Friedel in inspired form. Friedel made a good save to deny Rooney at close quarters and pulled off two genuinely world class stops to thwart Tevez and John O'Shea as United piled forward. Eventually the pressure told, however. Nani swung over a corner from the left, Paul Scholes glanced a header across goal and Tevez rose well to direct the ball into the roof of the net from close range. The celebrations from both players and fans were unrestrained and the point maintains United's position as clear favourites for the Premier League. At the other end the waters continue to muddy. Bolton, who didn't seem to have gained a point since around Christmas until beating West Ham last week, pulled clear of the relegation zone with a single goal victory at Middlesbrough which came courtesy of a scrappy effort from Gavin McCann. Birmingham, who have given the impression of doing significantly better than Bolton in general, now replace them in the relegation zone after suffering a galling mauling at Villa Park in the second cities' premier derby on Sunday. Ashley Young and John Carew both scored twice as Villa drubbed their neighbours 5-1 and left The Blues with the blues and more to worry about than the comprehensive loss of local bragging rights. Reading also remain in serious trouble although their 2-0 defeat at Arsenal was scarcely unexpected and could easily have been of a much larger scale. Wigan should be okay as they continue to pick up points. Having put a spanner in Chelsea's title ambitions by drawing at Stamford Bridge they picked up another useful point at home to Spurs after a 1-1 draw. Sunderland should also survive although they backed up a limp home defeat to Man City with a feeble defeat at Newcastle in their big derby clash. Michael Owen flicked home an early header then snuck a penalty under Craig Gordon to give Newcastle a 2-0 win and continue both his own and his teams' sudden resurgence. Looking doomed, however, are Fulham. Having won well at Reading the previous week Roy Hodgson's men surrendered tamely at home to a much changed Liverpool. Waving the white flag most noticeably was goalkeeper Kasey Keller who seemed to ignore the two goals that went past him. Jermaine Pennant hit the first with a well struck shot that appeared to go straight over the top of the static keeper who looked as though he might have been more concerned with fighting back a turtles' head at that particular moment. Then Keller made a complete hash of dealing with a low drive from Peter Crouch and ended up helping the ball into his own net. It could have been more for Rafa Benitez's fringe players but two was enough to ensure there was no repeat of last seasons' acrimony when Liverpool lost at the same venue with a weakened team and gave Fulham a massive boost in their relegation fight. In this instance I have to side completely with Benitez. He has come under scrutiny in the run up to this game, taken further criticism from Neil Warnock about last year and, incredibly, been offered advice from Bolton manager Gary Megson. When Benitez immediately pointed out that Megson has also fielded weakened sides whenever it has suited him I hope the Bolton boss felt appropriately stupid. Nobody really likes seeing weakened teams being played at any time but it is a fact of modern football and Benitez has nobody to answer to except the Liverpool board and their fans. And how can anybody suggest Benitez is calling into question the integrity of the Premier League when they have done exactly the same in both the FA and the UEFA Cups?
Thursday, April 17 Okay, it's been a few weeks since our last Premier League review and much has happened in the meantime. Basically the championship looks like remaining at Old Trafford while Bolton and Fulham finally roused themselves at the other end to suggest, ever so slightly, that it might not be themselves accompanying Derby down to the Championship next season. Manchester United offered their title rivals hope when they dropped two points in an eventful 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough but then effectively ended Arsenal's challenge by beating them 2-1 at Old Trafford and when Chelsea then conceded a last minute equaliser at home to Wigan this left Alex Ferguson's men with one hand back on the trophy. Arsenal have suffered a harrowing few weeks having not only slipped out of contention in the title race but suffering defeat in the Champions League to Liverpool as well. One of the most interesting aspects of their demise has been the monologue of manager Arsene Wenger who has never been so talkative as things fell apart around him. To some extent he was justified in believing that the difference between success and failure has been miniscule and he also has some grounds to feel hard done by. It was hard not to feel that there was more desperation than belief behind his comments and opinions, however. They might have been intended as inspirational but did not appear to carry real conviction and may even have contributed to his sides' problems. Wenger acknowledged that his side had suffered a blip but then, bizarrely, claimed that they were over it even though they had yet to win another game. If his players took any notice of this comment they would have been excused for continuing not to win, after all, if we're over our blip we might as well just carry on drawing games. Defeat at Chelsea, having taken a second half lead, confirmed that the blip was still going and despite scoring an amazing win at Bolton, coming back from 2-0 down with only ten men, defeat over two legs in Europe and a home draw in the league against Liverpool ensured that the blip was still going strong. Last weekend Arsenal then went to Old Trafford, or last chance saloon as they had renamed it, and once again slipped to defeat despite taking a second half lead. Hardly the stuff of champions and the blip had now developed into a rut. Arsenal continue to get plaudits for the way they play and rightly so. This is becoming faint praise without trophies to back it up, however. When Wenger basically handed Chelsea the Carling Cup last season by playing his second string he said it would help the club win trophies in the future. After missing the boat completely this time around he is making the same noises. Nothing is for certain in football and Wenger should undoubtedly be making a bigger play for the prizes on offer now rather than planning too far ahead in the hope of glory later. Unsurprisingly Wenger has also had a lot to say about the bad luck that has apparently dogged his team. He had reason to gripe over their European exit although he should also be aware that his players lacked the killer instinct when they were in position, on several occasions, to take real control of the tie. His gripes following the defeat at Old Trafford were completely unfounded. He moaned about the penalty decision which allowed Ronaldo to equalise and he moaned about the free kick award from which Owen Hargreaves scored the winner. The penalty was cast iron, Gallas couldn't control the ball with his feet but did much better with his hand, and I also thought the free kick was blatant. Wenger complained that Gilberto hadn't touched Patrice Evra but surely the free kick was actually given for handball again. The only thing Gilberto played, sliding in full length, was the ball but the only thing he played it with was his hand. If a ball's rolling along the floor and you play it with your arm then it's handball, isn't it? Typically Wenger didn't bother pointing out that Adebayor's opening goal in the same game had been punched in, but there you go. Again Arsenal would have been better off looking at themselves to explain their defeat. They were clearly the better side in this game for long periods, especially in the first half, but they were not able to confirm this superiority where it mattered, on the scoresheet. As for Chelsea they also seemed to talk themselves into the wrong frame of mind and perhaps paid the ultimate price. Due to the demands of Sky they were faced with playing on Monday night at home to Wigan before their Thursday night fixture at Everton. This scheduling brought a constant stream of complaint from Stamford Bridge and was offered as a reason for Avram Grant tinkering with his side for the game with Wigan. The upshot of Chelsea's indignation was that they refused to give interviews to Sky at Everton. Firstly, it is important to point out that it was actually the police who insisted on this game being played on the Thursday. Sky would have been happy with it being played Friday but we can only assume that this would have interfered with Merseyside Police's social calender. So really it should have been the police that Chelsea were cold shouldering, perhaps they could have let the tyres down on a few Black Maria's. With it being in Liverpool nobody would have thought it was them. John Terry might also want to consider whether he should be holding a grudge against Sky when he next opens his £150,000 weekly pay cheque. The other thing I think it is worthwhile to point out is that playing on Monday and Thursday nights offers a longer rest period than playing Wednesday night and Saturday afternoon. Now am I mistaken but don't teams play Wednesday night then Saturday afternoon all the time? Anyway, Chelsea slipped up badly by conceding an injury time equaliser to Emile Heskey against Wigan on Monday and although they won by the only goal at Everton tonight they are now relying on beating United at Stamford Bridge and hoping that their rivals' slip up somewhere else as well. At the other end of the table Bolton finally managed a win, against the completely out of form West Ham, while Fulham produced a fine display at Reading to win 2-0 and open up the relegation possibilities once again. Bolton and Fulham still look good bets to join Derby as relegation fodder but both Reading and Birmingham will be feeling far less comfortable after these results. Special mention to already relegated Derby. Some teams rally when the inevitable is confirmed and manage a few improved performances. Paul Jewell's men kept things real by collapsing at home to Aston Villa 6-0. I still can't understand why fans of Championship clubs are so eager for their sides to get promoted. Loads of over paid foreigners and has beens and a season load of pastings. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? And if you think Derby were bad just wait until next season.
Monday, March 24 Grand Slam Soccer Sunday, or whatever the hell it was, came and went with Manchester United drubbing a Liverpool side that played just over half the game with ten men and Chelsea coming from behind to beat Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. Most attention was focussed on the sending off of Javier Mascherano at Old Trafford. With his side trailing by a goal to nil and half time fast approaching Mascherano decided to question a booking just given to his teammate Fernando Torres and Steve Bennett immediately pulled out another yellow card. As Mascherano had already been booked for a foul he had to go. The Argentinian was not easily persuaded to leave the field, however. His teammates, coaching staff and manager had their work cut out in getting him from the pitch as the manic midfielder sought to prolong his argument with the official. As for the sending off it was harsh when taken in an isolated context but Mascherano had apparently been intent on goading the referee ever since his early yellow card for a foul on Paul Scholes. He had questioned virtually every decision that went against his team, encouraged the official to show yellow cards to United players when they were pulled up for offences and waved an imaginary card or two. It looked as though he was daring Bennett to send him off and referees usually take up the challenge sooner or later so his eventual dismissal was hardly surprising. Indeed it was obvious that members of his own camp could see the second yellow coming even if Mascherano couldn't. Liverpool seemed to feel that Bennett was not giving them the rub of the green with his decisions but they failed to take into consideration that the referee had refused Wayne Rooney a blatant early penalty which, had he given it, would also have resulted in the dismissal of Jamie Carragher. As for the game it was surprisingly tepid. Liverpool came into the game in supposedly good form but never suggested that they had any real conviction about getting a result at Old Trafford. Before the sending off they had one deflected drive from Steven Gerrard that flew just over the bar to encourage them whereas United had already scored once and wasted at least three clear cut opportunities. Wes Brown was the unlikely scorer of the first goal as he rose to meet a Wayne Rooney cross and somehow found the target with his back. After half time it was United in cruise control and the goals that gave them their 3-0 win eventually came through a Ronaldo header and a cracking low drive by the substitute Nani. Other chances were spurned with Rooney, Anderson and Ronaldo all culpable. Summing up a ridiculously uneven performance by the visitors was goalkeeper Jose Reina. Despite making several excellent stops Reina was badly at fault for the first two goals, almost threw one into his own net and kicked like a moron all afternoon. He also had his own little hissy fit after the second United goal for no discernible reason. One last point about the sending off of Mascherano. For all the words spoken about player behaviour and respect for the referee if football wants to put an end to the harrassment of officials then it is the officials themselves who have the power to achieve this. If players knew that they would risk being sent off for arguing with officials then they would quickly learn to hold their tongues. The second game was also surprisingly low key. Neither side attacked with any real conviction before half time. Didier Drogba was clear at one point but miscontrolled badly while Chelsea survived one huge scramble in their goalmouth which ended with William Gallas poking against the post from close range. The second half was more adventurous with Arsenal starting brightly and snatching the lead around the hour mark when Bacary Sagna headed home from a corner. Sagna soon had to depart injured and with Chelsea throwing on Nicolas Anelka to partner Drogba the Gunners defence lost its' assurance. Drogba shot Chelsea level when the Arsenal defence failed to cope with a long ball and scored the winner after Anelka flicked on another punt forward. It is hard to see Arsenal recovering from this blow as they seem to lack true confidence in all departments at the moment. Arsene Wenger had claimed before the match that his side were over their blip but he will now realise that you only know you are over a blip when you actually start winning games again. Manchester United are now strong favourites to retain the Premier League title but still have to travel to Stamford Bridge and entertain Arsenal so there is still room for developments. Elsewhere Newcastle United scored their first win since Kevin Keegan's return with a vital 2-0 success over struggling Fulham while there were huge wins for Sunderland (1-0 at Aston Villa) and Reading (2-1 over Birmingham). Friday, March 21 Manchester United kept on course to retain their title with a 2-0 win over Bolton on Wednesday night, courtesy of two more Ronaldo goals, but although Chelsea dropped two points in their pursuit on the same night they can take consolation from the fact that they took part in the undoubted game of the season. Their 4-4 draw at Tottenham was an absolute cracker. Chelsea started with urgency and real intent and were ahead inside three minutes. Didier Drogba saw his free kick cannon away off the Spurs wall but when it was returned from the angle of the box by John Terry the centre forward was stealing in unmarked to head past Paul Robinson from point blank range. The blue touch paper had been lit and both sides went in search of further goals. Spurs pressed forward with a series of free kicks in promising positions but it was Chelsea creating the chances. Salomon Kalou was inches away from touching home Joe Cole's low, driven centre in front of an open goal and then Cole himself was denied by an offside flag as he turned home the rebound when Robinson could only parry Drogba's low drive. On twelve minutes, however, Spurs made one of their set pieces count as Jonathan Woodgate rose prodigiously above Drogba to power home a header from a Jermaine Jenas free kick. Chelsea were not long in restoring their lead. The superb Joey Cole darted away from a couple of defenders before slipping a pass through which found Drogba and Michael Essien breaking clear of the Spurs defence. Essien seemed to nutmeg his teammate before scooping a clever finish beyond the advancing Robinson. There were no further goals before half time but there was one huge talking point as Ashley Cole escaped with only a yellow card after an ugly, studs up lunge which caught Alan Hutton flush on the shin. Cole violently protested his innocence along with most of his frothing at the mouth teammates (Lampard's mouth was so far open in protest that you could have squeezed six proper sized pork pies in there all at once) and then displayed remarkable contempt for the referee by refusing to face him as the yellow card was being issued. Mike Riley showed admirable composure and did the game a massive favour by keeping it at eleven a side but he had erred badly in not sending Cole off. Half Time: Tottenham Hotspur 1 Chelsea 2 Chelsea looked to be heading for a vital victory when Joe Cole danced away from Pascal Chimbonda, who suffered a harrowing night at left back, to score with a low shot that ballooned into the net off Robinson's leg early in the second half. The action continued unabated, however, and when Dimitar Berbatov got above Terry too easily to head Spurs back into contention following a left wing corner the scene was set for a breathtaking last half hour. Both sides began making substitutions. Tottenham sent on an extra attacker in Darren Bent while Chelsea countered by sending on an extra defender in Alex. This was not a game you could shore up, however, and when Berbatov picked out Keane bursting into the box it took a superb save from Carlo Cudicini to keep Chelsea level as the striker took the ball down on his chest and rifled in an instant half volley. Chelsea almost gave themselves daylight again when Joey Cole danced through to release Essien whose cross shot rebounded to safety from the base of the far post. The next goal came at the other end and it was yet another set piece giving Spurs joy. Another corner came in from the left which eventually bounced across to Tom Huddlestone, lurking beyond the far post, and he had the home side level with a lazy swing of his left foot that sent the ball arrowing into the far corner. This website described Berbatov's volley away to PSV recently as sweeter than the witches' house in Hansel and Gretel. This strike was sweeter than that goal and the witches' house in Hansel and Gretel put together into a giant bowl and mixed in with the Tate and Lyle sugar factory. That's how sweet it was. The goal must have left a bitter taste in the mouth of all Chelsea sympathisers but Joey Cole was not in the mood to let things lie. Receiving from Drogba on the edge of the area he once again skinned the hapless Chimbonda before firing into the roof of the net. There were only ten minutes left for Tottenham to save themselves but this was time enough for anything to happen in this remarkable game. With eight minutes left Avram Grant decided he could do without this outstanding games' outstanding player and withdrew Joey Cole in favour of Michael Ballack. Ballack's a great player but this was a pointless and unfathomable change. Whether this move directly affected the outcome will never be known but having trailed for the majority of the game Spurs roared back to equalise and almost ended up snatching an incredible victory. With two minutes remaining Ricardo Carvalho turned his back on a long through ball to see where Darren Bent was going and when the ball hit him unawares on the corner of the area Robbie Keane reacted sharply to curl an exquisite shot into the far corner beyond the desperate dive of Cudicini. Then, with the game deep into stoppage time, Spurs came again. With the Chelsea defence in some disarray the ball was played through low to Berbatov. He shaped to shoot and allowed the lunging Alex to fly yards past him, he won't want to watch that again in a hurry, but then saw his rising drive somehow turned aside by Cudicini's flailing right arm. An appropriately dramatic end to a game that had been dramatic and completely compelling throughout. Undoubtedly a draw was the most suitable outcome to such a magnificent game of football but Chelsea would not have been happy about squandering the lead three times as they looked to claw their way back into title contention. This point might not win Chelsea any prizes but everyone connected with the club, and the same goes for Tottenham, should be rightly proud to have put on such a thrilling exhibition. With the possible exception of Ashley Cole of course. Full Time: Tottenham Hotspur 4 Chelsea 4
Tuesday, March 18 He plays down the left Alex Ferguson normally has something to say about something. Generally it's mildly entertaining and often, particularly if he's not talking immediately after a game, it's interesting and thought provoking. We all know that he, like most of his fellow managers, is prone to remarkably blinkered vision when it comes to assessing games in which his team have taken part but in general he is worth listening to and when he does overstep the mark the result is more comic than anything else. Take his rant after United were knocked out of the cup by Portsmouth. He really went off on one about the referee and may still find himself in trouble with the FA if anyone within that organisation has the appropriately sized testicles to stand up to him. Many onlookers were probably howling in outrage when they heard Fergie's comments after that game but, in truth, they should have simply sat back and enjoyed the show. This was manic ranting at its best and did nothing but offer the watching world a good old giggle at the pissed up old Scotsman's expense. In truth it wasn't far short of the "I'd love it if we beat them now" Kevin Keegan classic which Fergie probably still gets out on the video every so often so that he can enjoy a good old game of pocket billiards. I found his comments this weekend far more insidious and disturbing, however. They were also completely hypocritical and that is a most unpleasant trait. Ferguson chose to tell us, after his side had made a meal of beating Derby County 1-0, that Ronaldo is considering quitting English football if referees don't start protecting him properly. By that we can only assume he means that if a free kick/penalty/yellow or red card isn't awarded every time anyone goes anywhere near Ronaldo then he is going to up and leave. What a crock of shite. Firstly I honestly don't think I've seen a bad foul on Ronaldo all the time he's been in this country. There is no doubt that he is fouled often but in general it is nothing worse than a trip or a bit of obstruction, except when Michael Ball decides to stamp on him of course. If he thinks defenders in Italy or Spain are likely to stand on ceremony when he's doing his ridiculous stepovers then I think he has a big shock in store. Especially in Italy defending is far more cynical and nasty. Ferguson is obviously trying to arrange special treatment for one of his star players and gain his side a massive advantage at a crucial stage of the season. The double standards of Ferguson's comments are almost shocking. He can see such terrifying intent in the tactics of Portsmouth and Derby but I don't suppose he thinks there is a problem when he has players booting Arsenal all over the pitch. His side were superb in hammering Arsenal in the cup a few weeks ago but the leeway his players, especially Darren Fletcher, were allowed during the first half of that game was amazing. How Fletcher was not at least yellow carded is anyones guess and yet you can be certain Ferguson would have been storming out into his technical area demanding explanations from the fourth official if a card had been produced. So I'm sorry Fergie but the rules will have to stay the same for everyone. Most English football fans would feel United's approach against Arsenal was fair enough which means, by the same token, that United themselves will have to expect a reasonably physical approach to be used against their players too and if Ronaldo can't handle it then he can just pack his bags and go. By the way, does nobody foul Wayne Rooney? I don't hear him complaining. For the record it was Ronaldo, yet again, who scored the vital goal against Derby just as it looked as though United might be about to make a huge slip up in the title race. His tap in from Rooney's centre looked simple enough yet was really a truly magnificent finish. His celebration was also outstanding. Teaching himself to count in front of thousands of baying United fans was truly inspired and it was good to see him apparently overcome with excitement and emotion and forgetting his studiously arranged air of arrogant detachment for once. Instead of whining about a few fouls from Derby players Ronaldo should have been remembering the feeling he must have had when he finally settled the match in inimitable fashion. It is moments like that that gives English football its' special attraction. But if he'd rather be in Spain or Italy then so be it. Arsenal slipped up again and someone needs to tell Arsene Wenger's men that late equalisers don't actually win you the title in the end. This time it was Middlesbrough who looked like putting one over on the Gunners only to be denied at the death. Jeremie Aliadiere put Boro ahead against his former club but Arsenal finally forced an equaliser when Kolo Toure's late header squirmed through goalkeeper and defender on the line. There is no doubt that the crisp assurance of Arsenal's football before Christmas is now missing and it will need to return quickly, with a really tough run of fixtures in the offing, if they are to capture silverware this season. Chelsea remain in a position to challenge after a John Terry goal earned them a narrow victory at Sunderland. By the end of this week Avram Grant's men would be three points clear of Arsenal if they were to win the two games they are playing. At the bottom the situation remains extremely congested with Wigan scoring the biggest win of the week after overcoming rivals in distress Bolton. Wigan played virtually all of this game with ten men after the dismissal of Jason Koumas but still claimed the points thanks to an Emily Heskey goal. That must be at least three for the season now for Emile.
Monday, March 3 It looks increasingly likely that this years' Premier League will provide an exciting run in before the title is finally decided. Arsenal slipped up again allowing Manchester United to close once more to within a point while Chelsea's emphatic win at West Ham keeps them right in contention. In fact Alex Ferguson's pointed reference to their position suggests that he might actually see Chelsea as the biggest threat to his sides' attempt to retain their crown. Arsenal handed Aston Villa the lead at the Emirates on Saturday when the hapless Senderos poked into his own goal and then laboured for over an hour in search of an equaliser. With seconds of injury time remaining Bendtner finally managed to find a finishing touch from close range and a point was duly salvaged. This has been a testing couple of weeks for The Gunners with an FA Cup mauling at Old Trafford, a disappointing goalless draw in Europe, Eduardo's horrific injury, Gallas's sit down protest and two successive league draws all suggesting that Wenger's men are beginning to feel the heat. In terms of their league challenge it is surely vital that they gain maximum points from their next two fixtures, against Middlesbrough and Wigan, before they square up to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Villa will have been disappointed to have dropped two points in this game after soaking up Arsenal's pressure with some assurance as well as consistently threatening on the break through the pace of Agbonlahor. Manchester United never looked like slipping up at Fulham where an Owen Hargreaves free kick set them on the way to a 3-0 win that was confirmed by a rare headed goal from Ji-Sung Park and a Simon Davies own goal. Much as I don't care for Hargreaves I have to give him credit for his free kicks. This one was a clever, whipped shot over the wall and into the corner of the net from just beyond the penalty area, generally the toughest spot to get the ball up and down from. He has also come close with several other efforts since joining United and he does actually try to put the ball in a particular place when shooting, unlike Ronaldo who just basically toe bungs it and hopes for the best. 27 straight into the wall then one flies in and everyone is telling us how great his technique is and how it's down to hours of practice. Chelsea remain real contenders. Their squad looks stronger than ever and they swept West Ham aside on their own ground with almost embarrassing ease. They will feel that the title is theirs for the winning if they can beat Arsenal and United when they visit the Bridge. Three goals in five minutes early on settled this one with Fat Frank slotting a penalty before Joey Cole and Ballack scored with sumptuous finishes. Fat Frank then indulged in a bit of Sumo/Giant Haystacks/Kick Boxer tomfoolery with Boa Morte and was sent off with an hour remaining. Chelsea made light of this setback and added to their lead in the second half when Ashley Cole swept home from close range. I cannot disagree with the almost universal opinion that Lampard's sending off was incredibly harsh but, likewise, I cannot feel any genuine sympathy. He did nothing to avoid the pathetic, petulant little girly spat that developed between himself and Boa Morte and did have a little nibble at his opponent with his foot before pushing him gently in the chest (actions which Boa Morte also indulged in but without censure). If players want to behave like babies then they can expect to be punished every so often. The battle for 4th also promises to be a tight one. Villa could still challenge but have ground to make up on the two Merseyside teams who both won on Sunday. Liverpool were worthy 3-1 winners at Bolton even though they needed a giant helping hand from Jussi Jaaskelainen to set them on their way. The Bolton keeper dived full length to deal with a shot from Gerrard that was patently going wide and somehow managed to spoon the ball back into his own net. Babel and Aurelio scored emphatically to seal Liverpool's win before Cohen grabbed a consolation for Bolton who had started brightly but looked clueless having fallen behind. The Reds remain behind The Blues for the moment, however, after Everton followed this with a 3-1 win of their own at home to Portsmouth. This game was on a knife edge after Jermain Defoe cancelled out a first minute Yakubu effort before half time but Everton stepped up the pace after the introduction of Andy Johnson and clinched the points with goals from Tim Cahill and another by The Yak. Blackburn also remain on the fringes of the Champions League places after a 1-0 win at Newcastle who are still without a win under Kevin Keegan. This was undoubtedly the best performance Keegan has seen his side give since returning to Tyneside but the goalkeeping of Brad Friedel combined with the profligacy of Michael Owen ensured another miserable afternoon at St James'. The mood of the locals was not helped by Blackburn's last minute winner. With the home defence AWOL Bentley sent Matt Derbyshire running through on goal and his finish was clinical from the edge of the box. Perhaps Derbyshire is the new Michael Owen. Spurs did Birmingham a massive favour by changing half their side for the trip to St Andrews and those that did turn up did so in spirit only as the home side romped to a 4-1 win. Chief destroyer was Mikael Forssell who helped himself to a hat trick while Seb Larsson spanked home another free kick. Jermaine Jenas slotted home a last minute reply for Tottenham but this was very definitely a day to forget for Spurs after a week to remember. The remaining games were perhaps competing with each other for the worst game of the week award. Middlesbrough's home game with Reading was not great but provided the visitors with a vital victory thanks to James Harper's last minute goal. Derby and Sunderland served up a goalless draw that had little other than Daryl Murphy's drive against the post and a dubiously disallowed Michael Chopra goal to recommend it while the stalemate between Manchester City and Wigan was perhaps the worst of the lot. Wigan sat back and soaked up what little City pressure there was and should probably have snatched victory when Heskey teed up Wilson Palacios but, having shot too close to Joe Hart with his first effort, the Honduran then lifted his volley way over the bar from the rebound. City still have their derby victory at Old Trafford to crow about but, somewhat typically, they now seem to be trying to make their supporters pay for the privilege with a series of dreary displays.
Monday, February 25 The Premier League title race took another turn this weekend as Arsenal managed to surrender two points at Birmingham after conceding a bizarre last minute penalty before Manchester United went to Newcastle and recorded a 5-1 victory that was every bit as emphatic as it sounds. Fernando Torres struck a hat trick for Liverpool in their 3-2 victory over Middlesbrough who gifted the Spaniard two of his goals with defending of the Keystone Cops variety, At the other end of the table Derby lost yet again, 2-0 at Wigan, after giving a performance that their manager Paul Jewell described as the worst he had ever seen in the Premier League. I think Jewell is actually beginning to hate the players he has been saddled with at Pride Park. Then, tonight, Everton jumped back into fourth place above Liverpool after strolling to a 2-0 win at Manchester City. These events, and all the others in this weeks' Premier League, were completely over-shadowed by the horrific injury suffered by Arsenal's Eduardo in the opening minutes of their game at Birmingham, however. The Croatian striker had his leg completely shattered after a challenge by Martin Taylor. It was a sickening moment and one that obviously caused a huge reaction. On the pitch the reaction was unusually muted. There was obviously no rolling around from Eduardo, as is always the case when a player is genuinely hurt and not just lying down trying to get an opponent into trouble, and his teammates quickly became aware that it was more important to get help on for the stricken forward rather than pursue any recriminations against Taylor. The defender himself looked to be almost in a state of shock and the red card brandished in his face possibly even came as a source of relief. The challenge itself had been no worse than many others made every week in the Premier League and it is likely the sending off came mainly because of the extent of the injury rather than the excess of the challenge but it is debatable whether Taylor would have been in the frame of mind to continue anyway. It was unfortunate that reaction from within the Arsenal camp immediately afterwards was so ill advised. William Gallas set the tone by spitting the dummy after the award of the last minute penalty which cost his side two points but Arsene Wenger's comments directly after the game when he declared that Taylor should never play again were infinitely more regrettable and reprehensible. Wenger gets more annoying by the week with his one eyed statements and opinions. These should be worthless but are actually highly dangerous given the respect his record as Arsenal manager has earned him within the game. For instance he thinks it's a good idea to play Premier League games abroad because they played games at neutral venues when he was a manager in Japan. How very interesting. Here's another classic from the archives; Theo Walcott should be in the England World Cup squad. His rant about Taylor was offensive in the extreme. It was grossly exaggerating the violence of the challenge as well as once again patently displaying the mans' complete hypocrisy. The fact that none of his players have caused a similar injury is merely down to luck not judgement and only the previous week Wenger was actually blaming an opposition player after his players had blatantly gone out to kick him. Nani's crime? To do a little showboating in what is supposed to be an entertainment industry. At least Wenger later retracted his statement about Taylor and cited the fact that he was emotional and had spoken in the heat of the moment. That is fair enough and understandable although the suggestion that his retraction came after pressure from within his own club does make you wonder whether it was entirely heartfelt. Having said all this in a basic defence of Taylor against the charge of malicious intent something does need to be done about the number of dangerous challenges being made in the Premier League. Tackling is a part and parcel of football and it is important that this remains the case. Injuries also are an inevitable consequence and every player goes into the game knowing that this occupational hazard could strike them at any time. The biggest trouble appears to be that very few professional footballers now actually know how to tackle. Just like shooting, dribbling or trapping the ball tackling is a skill. There are basic techniques involved, timing is necessary and a fair degree of bravery if a player is going to be able to tackle properly. Any player using the sole of his boot to make a challenge, as Taylor did against Eduardo, is tackling incorrectly and dangerously. Taylor is a centre half and should know the basics about how to tackle. Tackles should be made with the instep of the boot. If you have to stretch into a challenge so far that your foot becomes raised and studs are showing then you are not in a position to make the challenge to start with. If a player tackles you with the instep of their boot and they mistime it you still won't get really hurt no matter how hard they've gone into the challenge. Once someone hits you with a raised boot and with their studs then it's pot luck whether you come out of it in one piece or not. I don't think the recent spate of over the top challenges result from players deliberately trying to hurt an opponent but this in itself is possibly more of a worry. If players are going in dangerously just because they can't tackle properly then there is nothing you can do to stop it. Every club has a host of highly qualified coaches, however. Why don't these people actually teach the players under their control how to tackle? Why don't managers sign players who are efficient in such a basic skill to start with? Why is it more important to be able to run and to be an impressive physical specimen than to have basic football abilities such as tackling? All the time our coaches are making the game faster and harder, as these are the aspects of the game they can control, and if the headless chickens flying around the pitch aren't able to tackle correctly then we will continue to see red cards being brandished at will and players like Eduardo will remain at serious risk of serious injury. If a forward didn't have the basic techniques needed for shooting straight then he would never get to play in the Premier League (with one or two notable exceptions) and a winger who couldn't dribble would also probably have to continue playing on the park for the rest of his life. It's time that defenders and midfield players, most of them internationals and all earning copious amounts of money every week, started showing that they have the ability to tackle properly. All that remains to be said is to wish Eduardo the best of luck for a full recovery and hope that he is able to return from this awful injury, and sooner rather than later. Whatever your allegiance this is still simply a game and serious injuries are always upsetting, especially when suffered by players of extravagant talent which Eduardo has certainly proved himself to be this season.
Tuesday, February 12 It's been nip and tuck most of the way in the Premier League this season but Arsenal have been able to open up a five point gap at the top over the past couple of weeks as their rivals faltered. Five points is not decisive at this stage of the season but it has proved impossible to overhaul teams at the top in the last few seasons once they got their noses in front so Manchester United and Chelsea will realise they have little margin for error remaining. The weekend just gone must have been a particularly enjoyable one for Arsenal sympathisers everywhere. They were able to enjoy the spectacle of both their rivals dropping points on Sunday before completing a routine home win over Blackburn Rovers on Monday night. Most attention was obviously focussed on the Manchester derby this weekend for several reasons. Concerns that the minutes' silence in remembrance of the Munich air disaster would be spoiled by rogue City fans proved unfounded. The silence was respected impeccably and Old Trafford looked a fine sight with the huge crowd decked out in the free scarves handed out in the colours of both clubs. Everything seemed set fair for a game to remember but somehow this never materialised. The game will certainly be remembered, with glee by the City fans and with stunned incredulity by United's I would imagine. City turned in an organised, constructive and competitive display which was easily good enough to win the day against a remarkably lacklustre United side. There was no spark of invention or even aggression in a tepid United display in which the suspended Wayne Rooney was badly missed. Big name players such as Rio Ferdinand and Cristiano Ronaldo had shockers, looking laboured and misplacing passes with abandon. City, on the other hand, had all the bite in midfield, passed it crisply and supported attacks quickly and in numbers when the opportunities arose. In Martin Petrov they also had the most creative player on show. It was a slide rule pass from Petrov which led to the carnage inside United's penalty area that eventually ended with Darius Vassell shooting past Van Der Sar for the opener and City strolled into a two goal half time lead when Benjani shouldered one into the United net from a Petrov centre. Anybody expecting a cavalry charge response from United after the break were to be disappointed as Joe Hart remained generally redundant in the City goal. Michael Carrick sidefooted one past him after coming on as sub but the referee was preparing to blow for full time at that point and City had their first win at Old Trafford since 1974. There will have been plenty of sniggers at United's claim that the international week had contributed to their lethargic display. Most people will look back a week further and wonder about the wisdom of flying off to the Middle East for a testimonial fixture in the middle of this busy schedule. Arsenal's Sunday then got better as Chelsea and Liverpool slugged out a goalless draw that began to feel like it might never end. This was a game high on effort and endeavour but precious little quality football. To take full advanage of these results Arsenal needed to beat Blackburn Rovers at the Emirates and this always looked likely after they had swept into an early lead courtesy of Philipe Senderos. There was a degree of nervous energy around the ground as the home side failed to add a second goal despite enjoying almost total domination as Brad Freidel put up inspired resistance. Rovers had one fine chance to punish this profligacy but Benni McCarthy, enduring a lean spell, could not head on target and Arsenal finally wrapped up the points in stoppage time through anouther goal from Emmanuel Adebayor, currently virtually unstoppable. Hleb, who was again impressive and had hit a post himself, supplied the pass and Adebayor thumped his shot beyond Freidel to ensure the Gunners enjoy a five point lead at the top of the table. Elsewhere there is no sign of Kevin Keegan inspiring a revival on Tyneside just yet. Having watched his side take an early lead at Aston Villa through Michael Owen and hold that advantage until half time Keegan then had to watch them disintegrate after the break as a John Carew hat trick inspired Villa to a 4-1 win. With Joey Barton under investigation again after an ugly clash with Shaun Maloney Keegan will be beginning to understand just how big a job is in front of him. The biggest result at the bottom of the table was Sunderland's 2-0 victory over Wigan Athletic which has them breathing easier than for some time. Daryl Murphy's splendid goal wrapped this victory up but there looks to be plenty of mileage left in the relegation battle with most of the sides in trouble beginning to pick up points.
Tuesday, January 22 Kevin Keegan's second, or is it third, coming on Tyneside got off to the dampest, squibbiest of starts on Saturday evening as his Newcastle United side laboured to the dullest of dull goalless draws against Bolton Wanderers. Indeed it is hard to imagine that Bolton would not have won this game had they still been able to call on the services of Nicolas Anelka. By the way, are the Trotters planning on spending any of the money they got from flogging their star player or do they actually want to go down? Anyway, back to the Toon. The appointment of King Kev has been viewed in most quarters as being nostalgic, sentimental and emotional rather than logical or even sensible and it is hard not to be sceptical about Keegan's chances of inspiring this comatose giant in the startling fashion he managed when last in the post. It is hard for me to join the detractors as it leaves me feeling uneasily hypocritical. I absolutely hate Sam Allardyce and simply cannot sit through an entire game when one of his teams are playing because the "football" is such dross. I also hate his "scientific" approach to football, his peddling of modern coaching techniques, his army of backroom staff, his long throws, his Steps style mouthpiece and his manic gum chewing. There is no point bleating on about the pointlessness of an Allardyce and then deciding that one of footballs' true romantics has no chance of succeeding, however. For the beautiful game to have a future it has to be possible for it to be effective. Of course there is a future for the beautiful game as Manchester United and Arsenal prove year in and year out but will Keegan be able to inspire a revival on Tyneside and produce the sort of football which the clubs' owners and supporters seem to think will come naturally just because he is now sitting in the seat Big Fat Sam's just vacated? It is this very insistence on free flowing football that could make Keegan's chances of success so slim. Why should anyone be able to take over from a football Philistine like Allardyce and magically get the same players to produce fantasy football and win games? Turning dross and struggle into excitement and success is akin to turning water into wine. Keegan possibly really does need to be the Messiah to sort things out at St. James'. Keegan has apparently already drawn up a highly impressive shopping list which would obviously help his prospects of effecting a swift improvement but it is difficult to imagine other Premier League clubs happily trading in quality players to a rival in distress. First and foremost Keegan will have to get a lot more out of the players he has inherited, which is the basic job of any manager, and look to add to his squad judiciously now and, more obviously, in the summer. Players such as Viduka, Owen, Duff and Milner are capable of providing attacking threat but their is a chronic shortage of creativity in the midfield (thanks Sam) which needs urgently addressing. Keegan apparently fancies Michael Carrick and he would be a cracking signing but surely United wouldn't sell, would they? If Keegan is to succeed this time around I think it is crucial that expectations on Tyneside itself do not become a burden. For the remainder of this season any kind of improvement in terms of the teams' results should be looked on as a job well done. The attacking football that everybody would like to see should not be expected until next season at the earliest. Keegan has never been one to look to the basics first but he would be well advised to do so now. Then, with some of his own players in place, he might be in a position to become more expansive. As I have said, however, it would certainly be a great thing for football in general if Keegan does do the business again on Tyneside and provides us all with some colour and excitement. Elsewhere there were expected away wins for Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea while Liverpool dropped more points at home with a draw against Aston Villa. Chelsea were very lucky to come away from Birmingham with a 1-0 win and continue to look outsiders for this seasons' Premier League title but they keep on picking up points and if they stay in contention through the African Nations Cup and then get Drogba and Anelka in tandem then they might just surprise us all. It should be remembered that United, Arsenal and Liverpool all have to visit Stamford Bridge as well and this too could have a huge bearing on the destination of the title.
Tuesday, January 15 Manchester United roared back to the top of the Premier League by destroying a sorry Newcastle United after Arsenal had been surprisingly held at home by Birmingham City. Arsenal, possibly tired and certainly lacklustre, never really got going against Birmingham and were made to pay despite having taken the lead through a somewhat dubious first half penalty converted by Adebayor. That goal was equalised early in the second half when Gary O'Connor's deflected header found its' way into the net and the visitors resisted manfully thereafter to claim a point. Arsenal pressed hard for a winner but the inciciveness which has been such a feature of their performances this season was conspicuously absent on this occasion and the visitors held on without undue alarm. Manchester United took full toll by then trouncing Newcastle 6-0 at Old Trafford. The game actually reached half time goalless with United, after a bright opening in which they should have taken the lead, looking somewhat lethargic themselves. At this stage Newcastle could actually feel aggrieved that a Michael Owen goal had been erroneously ruled out for offside but after the interval it was a different story as United stepped up the pace and ended up embarrassing their opponents. There was a hat trick for Ronaldo, two for Tevez and one for Rio Ferdinand, who spent the last fifteen minutes joining in the fun, and the damage could have been greater as the Newcastlre defence disintegrated. Indeed, in hindsight, Newcastle should feel grateful that Rooney wafted a first minute sitter over the bar. If United had gone ahead that early God knows what the final score might have been. Liverpool slipped up again by only drawing at Middlesbrough but Chelsea kept up their challenge with a 2-0 win over Tottenham. Nicolas Anelka made a decent enough debut for the Blues after moving from Bolton but the limelight was snatched by the right back Belletti who ventured forward to slam in the all important opener from 30 yards midway through the first half. Questions were asked of Spurs keeper Cerny, although that seemed harsh to me, but this looked like another victory for the modern football as it veered nastily into the top corner whereas the old style casie would surely have just trickled straight through to the keeper from Belletti's hopeful strike. Shaun Wright-Phillips, currently prolific, confirmed victory late on to keep Chelsea in the title hunt. It is hard to give Avram Grant any credit yet for making Chelsea any more attractive to watch but his side have done exceptionally well to stay in touch at the top given genuine problems with injuries, suspensions and now the loss of players to the African Cup of Nonsense. Elsewhere the real interest was at the bottom where Wigan Athletic and Sunderland scored crucial victories. Steve Bruce will be feeling pretty smug after seeing Antoine Sibierski come off the bench and immediately score the only goal of the game away at Derby who remain bottom of the table with just seven points. This increased the pressure on Sunderland who faced Portsmouth at home the following day but Roy Keane's men responded with a deserved 2-0 victory secured by two Kieran Richardson goals. Keane has taken a lot of stick over the quality of his signings going into this campaign but he hardly had a queue of world class players knocking on his door wanting to join and he has been unlucky not to be able to field Richardson, Carlos Edwards and Kenwyne Jones in the same team. If those three got, and stayed, fit then you would fancy Sunderland to win enough games to survive. With Derby gone and Fulham sinking fast there are now four teams joined on twenty points with at least a couple others looking nervously over their shoulders. This seasons' relegation battle could be even more frought than usual.
Thursday, January 3 Arsenal It wasn't all plain sailing for the Gunners but the 10 points they collected from their 4 games strengthened their position at the top of the table.
Aston Villa Martin O'Neill's men can be rightly chuffed with going through the holiday period unbeaten especially given two tricky home games and a trip to Chelsea.
Birmingham City 4 points was an adequate return for Birmingham and there are signs that the team is improving under Alex McCleish but plenty of questions still need to be answered.
Blackburn Rovers Rovers had been limping badly going into Christmas and will have been satisfied with a haul of 7 points.
Bolton Wanderers Bolton can feel mighty relieved to have scored two vital home wins against fellow strugglers to ease their own relegation worries.
Chelsea 10 points was a fantastic haul given the stuttering nature of Chelsea's performances over the holiday period.
Derby County 1 point from their 4 games might not have been unexpected but the manner in which this occurred will have probably shattered any last remaining confidence or self belief at the club.
Everton Everton might well be unhappy with their tally of 6 points from the holiday programme. Victories over Bolton and away at Middlesbrough confirmed that the Toffees' are rapidly widening the gap between themselves and that calibre of team but defeats against Manchester United and Arsenal demonstrated that they are not yet ready to really compete at the highest level.
Fulham Roy Hodgson showed himself to be a fairly frugal Santa Claus as he delivered only 2 points from the 12 on offer. To be fair to Hodgson he has a big job on keeping Fulham's heads above water this season.
Liverpool Liverpool started with a bang, hammering Portsmouth 4-1, but then needed a last minute Gerrard goal to defeat rock bottom Derby.
Manchester City City stayed unbeaten through the holiday programme but without the win at Newcastle in the last of their four games this would have been little consolation.
Manchester United This was nowhere near vintage United and they might feel thankful that they ended up with three wins out of four.
Middlesbrough 'Boro continue to look rubbish for the most part while being able to pull out the odd excellent result to keep them just out of real trouble.
Newcastle United Christmas was like having teeth pulled for followers of Newcastle United. A point from the home game with Derby felt like a kick in the gonads at the time but this was as good as it got for the Toon Army.
Portsmouth Losing at Liverpool and drawing at home to Arsenal did not represent disasters for the Fratton Park club but when they then lost at home to Middlesbrough it looked like a miserable holiday was in the offing.
Reading This was a trying time for Reading who ended the holiday programme grateful for the last minute win over Sunderland, courtesy of a generous linesman, with which they began the festive season.
Sunderland Sunderland may live to regret their tally of 3 points over Christmas. Despite being well beaten at home to Manchester United they had the opportunities to back up a home win over Bolton with some rare points on their travels.
Tottenham Hotspur Can anything or anyone stop Spurs from being Spurs?
West Ham United Not a bad Christmas at all for the Hammers but their fans might just be wondering how a side that can come from behind to beat Manchester United can fail to beat a Reading side forced to play most of the game with only ten men.
Wigan Athletic It will probably feel as though it was more than 5 points gained over the Christmas period by those at the JJB.
Tuesday, December 18 After the hype we got the tripe. That's maybe a little harsh but the showdown of the Premier League's top four on Sunday was high on commitment, aggression and spite but low on any real quality or excitement. Supporters of modern football, especially the coaching types, love to harp on about why football these days is so much better than it used to be. The main evidence they offer is that footballers are so much stronger, faster and fitter. Why that makes the football better I've still to work out. These two games were perfect examples. There were plenty of quality players on view but nobody was really able to make an impression in games played at 200 mph with tackles flying in left, right and centre and everybody more interested in making sure the other team didn't create anything to think of creating anything themselves. Footballers are fitter and faster now but all this means is that they can continue hounding the opposition for the entire ninety minutes and make it almost impossible for the flair player to flourish. Liverpool and Manchester United were the first to go hammer and tongs with United scoring another 1-0 victory at Anfield. Liverpool will feel aggrieved. They had the bulk of the pressure and forced several good situations but the final ball was usually a yard or so out. United were twice forced to hack clear off the goalline and survived a few hairy moments when Edwin Van Der Sar came for crosses without any real conviction. The home side also wasted several set piece situations in promising positions but, in truth, they struggled to fashion any clear chances with Torres kept in check by the excellent Ferdinand and Vidic while Dirk Kuyt simply looked out of his depth. United's attacking play was sporadic but there was generally more sense of threat when they did come forward. The one goal they did manage was the result of sloppy defending, however. Giggs slid a corner low to the edge of the box where Rooney was lurking completely unmarked and when he shot low into the goalmouth the ball evaded a couple of defenders and the lunging Reina to find Tevez completely unmarked in front of goal six yards out and the Argentinian turned the goal high into the roof of the net. After the break the visitors had one outstanding chance to seal victory when a quick break split the Liverpool defence wide open but Rooney produced a feeble finish at the far post and the chance went begging. In the final analysis the miss did not matter and the men from Old Trafford could sit back and watch Arsenal and Chelsea kick lumps out of each other in a fairly relaxed manner. The game between the two London rivals was just as frenetic and actually even more spiteful with nasty fouls and flare ups in abundance. Arsenal were basically at full strength whereas Chelsea were missing several important players and then lost John Terry after another unpleasant challenge by Emmanuel Eboue. Eboue himself later went off injured after a bad tackle by Joey Cole and you couldn't help feeling a glow of satisfaction at this poetic justice. This game saw more chances than the earlier one, especially in the second half, but brought only one goal which was again the result of inept defending at a corner. Petr Cech must shoulder the blame after coming for a corner and not getting there thus allowing William Gallas to head into an empty net against his former club. As Chelsea fought for an equaliser in the second half play began to get stretched and chances appeared at either end but, on a day of real acrimony, nobody possessed the composure to make one count. Shaun Wright-Phillips wasted Chelsea's best opportunity while both Van Persie and Fabregas were culpable for the Gunners late on. So when the dust had settled Manchester United and Arsenal emerged the winners. Football, most definitely, didn't.
Sunday, December 16 While the build up to this weekend's Premier League action was inevitably centred on the two Sunday games the Saturday action provided everyone with plenty to be going along with. The most surprising events unfolded in the game at the JJB between Wigan and Blackburn. Few would have predicted that this game would be an eight goal thriller. Fewer still would have predicted that Wigan would score five of those goals. Fewer still would have predicted that both sides would provide a hat trick hero. Maybe it was predictable that one of the hat trick heroes would be called Santa and end up wearing a Santa hat. I mean, that's commonplace. Perhaps most surprising of all was the performance of Marcus Bent who was truly inspired. Bent rattled in three of Wigan's goals against his former club and proved a real handful all afternoon. His best moment came when he released Denny Landzaat to score Wigan's first with a delightfully deft touch as the ball came down with snow on it from a punt forward. The home side then raced into a three goal lead as Blackburn contributed to their plight through a missed penalty by Benni McCarthy. To be fair his kick did produce a save from Chris Kirkland and he perhaps felt guilty after suspect ref Mark Clattenburg pointed to the spot for no apparent reason only moments after having a chinwag with the Rovers striker. Roque Santa Cruz then pulled Blackburn back into contention with goals either side of half time but their recovery seemed to have been scuppered when Brett Emerton then got himself needlessly sent off. Anything is possible against Wigan, however, and Santa duly completed his hat trick to draw the visitors level and don his festive hat courtesy of an obliging fan. Wigan were able to make their man advantage count, however, as Bent scored twice to complete his own hat trick. He looked suspiciously offside in netting the first of these goals and when Julius Aghahowa provided the assist for the clincher the Nigerian looked a good five yards off. Although Wigan collect three invaluable points they have the worry of a nasty looking injury to Emile Heskey to contend with and the knowledge that their defending was once again little short of abysmal. They won't score five every week and need to sort things out at the back quickly if they are to survive. The other surprisingly entertaining game came down the road as Manchester City took on Bolton Wanderers. City made it nine wins out of nine at home this season in a topsy turvy game in which they took the lead, went behind then came back to end up 4-2 winners. The pick of the goals was Bolton's first, a cracking passing move which sliced City wide open and El-Hadji Diouf just beat Anelka to supply the finishing touch. It was a goal that would have had Big Fat Sam sacking everyone involved for being far too constructive. Bolton's other goal was also interesting, Kevin Nolan scoring with a genuine old fashioned toe bunger. Straight from the Gary Wignall school of toe bunging except it was with his right foot. I've complained about these new balls before and I have to do so again. Nolan toe bunged the crap out of that ball yesterday and there was no way it was ever going to hurt him. In the old days the toe bunger was always an option but you knew beforehand that you would pay the price for weeks to come if you decided to employ the technique. What was that price? Bunged toes of course. At the heart of the City performance was another impressive display from Michael Johnson who is emerging as a serious English talent. With his calm assurance and excellent technique Johnson is hardly a typical English midfielder although he is very similar to Michael Carrick. Perhaps the best moment of this game came with injury time being played when Gary Megson had a go at Dietmar Hamann for not taking a throw in quickly enough. While Hamann completely ignored everyone and everything another City player ran up, threw the ball up the line where City had a serious powerplay situation and wrapped up the game with their fourth goal. Happy now Gary? The other games were lively enough but not worth too much of a mention. Sunderland were denied victory over Aston Villa when a last minute header was dubiously ruled out for a supposed foul on Scott Carson. This sent Roy Keane into his first mini rant at an official. It's surprising that he didn't bring up the incident where Craig Gardner somehow escaped with a yellow card for an outrageous mid air assault on Dwight Yorke which was surely the clearest red card offence we've seen so far this season.
Monday, December 10 While Manchester United and Chelsea completed routine home wins over struggling Derby and Sunderland at the weekend the two remaining unbeaten sides, Arsenal and Liverpool, both came a cropper at unlikely venues. There was little of real interest to report from the United and Chelsea games. Ryan Giggs scored his 100th league goal for United in their 4-1 victory over Derby while Andriy Schevchenko registered a flying header in Chelsea's 2-0 win over Sunderland. The latter game ended in unpleasant scenes as Liam Miller was sent off for pushing a hand into Claudio Pizzaro's face. Hopefully Pizzaro will be punished retrospectively for the sly kick on Miller which, unseen by the referee, provoked the reaction. These two games kicked off at 3pm on Saturday and these clubs could then sit back and relax as their big rivals slipped up. Liverpool were at Reading for the Saturday evening game and endured a torrid time. Reaing took the lead through a disputed penalty in the first half conceded by Jamie Carragher and stroked home by Stephen Hunt. Carragher's awful lunge at Brynjar Gunnarsson possibly made contact just outside the area but the decision to award a penalty was understandable. Taking his opponent out around the top of the thighs Carragher actually swept his man clean through the angle of the area and only came to rest beyond the other side. Steven Gerrard slotted Liverpool level and the visitors were apparently in command at half time. After the break this momentum was lost, however, and Reading sealed victory through goals from Kevin Doyle and James Harper. Doyle got the faintest of touches to Nicky Shorey's wicked inswinging free kick and then Harper outpaced the Liverpool defence to walk round Reina for the third. Liverpool did hit the woodwork twice but basically got what they deserved. Benitez started with Hyypia on the bench and withdrew Torres, Gerrard and Carragher before the game was finished with an obvious eye on the fixtures against Marseilles and Manchester United this week. You can argue the rights and wrongs of this forever but one thing is surely obvious. There can be no benefit in taking Gerrard off on a freeezing cold night when it's pouring with rain and then letting him sit on the bench for the last twenty minutes in a soaking football kit without even putting a tracksuit on. If you've got the balls to drag him out of the action in the first place you have to insist that he then goes straight down the tunnel and gets changed. Don't you? The following day Arsenal then surrendered the last remaining unbeaten record as they lost 2-1 at Middlesbrough. This defeat was not the shock it seems at first glance. The Gunners had only managed a draw at Newcastle in midweek and it doesn't matter how good your reserves are it is not going to be easy coping without Fabregas, Hleb and Flamini all at the same time. Especially when Van Persie is missing as well. Middlesbrough employed an obvious gameplan of high energy and commitment and, boosted by an early goal, kept it up for ninety minutes to register their 2-1 win. Stewart Downing scored from the spot in the fourth minute after Kolo Toure brought down former Gunner Jeremie Aliadiere and Boro refused to sit on what they had. Their victory was sealed with just under twenty minutes remaining when Sanli Tuncay swept home the rebound after Almunia could only parry a drive from Gary O'Neil and Tomas Rosicky's neat injury time goal was little more than an irrelevance on the day. Next weekend sees Arsenal host Chelsea while United travel to Liverpool so things could be really tight by this time next week. Tuesday, December 4 Money is supposed to make the world go round. It certainly makes the managers go round. With Premier League survival meaning so much from a financial point of view our top flight clubs are becoming quicker than ever to hit the panic button when it comes to hiring and firing their managers. Six Premier League clubs have already changed their managers since the season kicked off with at least two or three others finding themselves in precarious situations as well. Funnily enough, if Arsene Wenger got the England job, Harry Redknapp got sent down and Alex Ferguson drank himself to death before the season was out it would not be impossible for every club in the division to change managers before the summer holidays. Only kidding. How likely is it that a change of manager will improve the fortunes of a club? At the end of the season three teams are going down come what may no matter how many managers bite the dust in the meantime. Are Derby any more likely to avoid the drop having poisoned their very own dwarf Billy Davies and brought in Paul Jewell? Jewell just about kept Wigan up last season while, apparently, driving himself to the verge of a breakdown. The answer to that is surely no. Jewell might well improve things at Pride Park but relegation looks inevitable whoever is in charge. If Derby do go down then they might have made a big mistake getting rid of Davies. His successor may not fancy life back in the Championship that much whereas Billy the Midget is nothing if not a scrapper and would have relished the challenge of trying to get Derby back into the top flight. Watford look to be reaping the rewards of keeping faith with Aidy Boothroyd after their emphatic relegation last season and good luck to them. Boothroyd over achieved in getting the Hornets up in the first place and he wasn't rewarded with the sack when the club then struggled. Davies worked wonders to get Derby up and should not have been made a victim of his own success. It is possible, I suppose, that Davies might have said or done things to hasten his departure. He certainly irritates me. Jewell has his work cut out and suffered a massive blow when his new side lost to one of their main relegation rivals, Sunderland, at the weekend. Derby did enough to win the game at the Stadium of Light in the first half but paid the ultimate price for missed chances when Anthony Stokes popped up with a last minute winner to give Sunderland three priceless points and relieve the pressure on Roy Keane. Steve Bruce jumped from one unsteady ship to another when leaving Birmingham for Wigan Athletic. There does not look to be much to choose between these two sides at the moment but Birmingham undoubtedly enjoy a larger fan base and look a better prospect long term for Premier League survival. Bruce will have been encouraged by the battling qualities his new team have shown him since his arrival and a Paul Scharner goal ensured that the Latics recovered from a first minute howler by Titus Bramble to earn a draw at home to Manchester City at the weekend. Even with Emile Heskey returning from injury Wigan might struggle to score the goals required to stay in this league and Bruce's biggest task might be remedying that problem in January. Birmingham may just be hugging themselves at Bruce's defection. The club never really seemed completely comfortable with their former manager and will feel they have come out smelling of roses in replacing him with Alex McLeish while pocketing a reasonable amount of cash into the bargain. McLeish is a typical no nonsense Scot very much in the image of David Moyes and Birmingham will be hoping that he can do a similar job at St Andrews as the one Moyes has done at Goodison. McLeish had a dream start as his new team went to Tottenham and won. This was an unlikely win in every sense and owed much to the highly controversial sending off of Robbie Keane with the scores level at 2-2. It looked as though Birmingham would be unable to make their extra man count until right at the death when Seb Larsson struck a magnificent 30 yard screamer that ensured Tottenham, and their very own new manager, remain in trouble. I don't think anybody seriously thinks Spurs will stay dangerously close to the relegation places as the season progresses but the club will doubtless be monitoring Ledley King's comeback from injury closely and with crossed fingers. Without King the Tottenham defence is desperately fragile as it proved when parting like the Red Sea to allow Cameron Jerome to stroll through and pull Birmingham level at 2-2 after a storming start to the second half had apparently put the London club in command. Gary Megson is almost a veteran after a month or so in charge at Bolton but his excellent start to life at the Reebok came to a crashing halt at Anfield on Sunday. Liverpool roasted his Trotters 4-0 and nobody could have complained if the score had reached double figures. The Bolton defence was non existant as Liverpool continued their recent rampant form. While Liverpool's finishing was hardly lethal, it didn't need to be on this occasion, nobody in Red missed a chance as easy as the open goal Nicolas Anelka managed to spurn after a comedy collision between Reyna and Carragher. With Anelka seemingly wanting to end his stay at the Reebok come January Bolton could well have a struggle on their hands despite their recent improvement and this result and performance will have done nothing to improve confidence. The men coming under the most pressure elsewhere are Newcastle's Sam Allardyce and Middlesbrough's Gareth Southgate. The shadow of Alan Shearer is clouding Big Fat Sam's horizon while the ghost of Boro past Steve McClaren might be about to put the frighteners on Southgate. I know, unbelievable isn't it? Big Fat Sam saw his team turn in an improved display at Blackburn at the weekend but their chronic lack of confidence was there for all to see as they still managed to lose 3-1 despite taking the lead early in the second half. Southgate was grateful for a late goal from substitute Sanli Tuncay that rescued a draw for his side at Reading and kept his back safe for another week at least. It's hard not to want Southgate to succeed, especially if it keeps Steve McClaren out of a job, but it is hard to notice any progress made at the Riverside since he took control. If Southgate makes it to January he needs to improve vastly on his transfer dealings so far if he is to give himself a real chance of making a proper go of his first job in management. One thing's for sure, no matter how frantic the past few weeks have been January will be significantly more so. Wednesday, November 14 Well, it's a tale of three cities just as long as Sunderland is a city these days. I think it is but you can never be quite sure. Anyhow, the weekend saw two derby clashes which might not be the biggest in the national consciousness but, given that the participants are less likely than some to be challenging for honours, perhaps these games are more important than any other on a local level. With little prospect of a trophy to crow about come the end of the season bragging rights over the neighbours is obviously going to be of extreme importance. Sunderland missed a gilt edged chance to put one over their arch rivals Newcastle United. In fact they missed several gilt edged chances to do so. With Big Fat Sam's team adopting an incredibly cautious approach Sunderland dominated the first half almost completely and without ever really tearing Newcastle apart they had the chances to take the lead. Ross Wallace side footed over on the volley with the time and space to take a touch and after Grant Leadbitter had been unlucky to see Alan Smith clear his goalbound shot from under the bar he had no excuses when heading over from point blank range moments later. It did not take the Mackems long to forge ahead after the break, however. Newcastle switched off completely as Sunderland took a short corner and when Leadbitter swung the ball to the far post Danny Higginbotham came steaming in to head his side into the lead. Typically this goal encouraged Newcastle to take over and caused Sunderland to get all tentative. Just over ten minutes later the visitors were level. James Milner cut back onto his right foot to curl a low inswinging centre towards the far post and with Craig Gordon waiting for someone to get a touch the ball bypassed everyone to sneak inside the post. Typically this goal caused Newcastle to give up the initiative and saw Sunderland take up the running again. Why the hell is that? Why don't teams just try to play football whenever they can? There was less threat about Sunderland's attacks now as they looked a fairly tired side but they had one more great chance to snatch victory when Ian Harte's corner found Michael Chopra unmarked at the far post. From close range, but with bodies in the way, Chopra's header hit the face of the bar and was scrambled clear. Honours even then and although nobody could seriously argue that Sunderland weren't the better team on the day that is scant consolation to the teams' followers. One unpleasant footnote of course is Joey Barton. In a predictably feisty encounter it just had to be Barton overstepping the bounds of acceptable commitment. His jumping stamp into the groin of Dickson Etuhu was another example of a supposed hard man who is in fact simply a coward. How the FA can decide that the referee has seen the incident clearly enough to deal with it appropriately is another mystery. If the ref has seen it properly and not taken any action then he should not be taking charge in the Premier League again for a few weeks. As it was he obviously saw the incident but with an obscured view which prevented him from dealing adequately with the situation. That being the case punish Barton retrospectively. Moving on to Sunday and we had the second city derby at St Andrews and this turned into a disaster for Birmingham City in general and Liam Ridgewell in particular. In a first half dominated by Villa Ridgewell was the fall guy as he allowed a right wing centre to bounce off his knee into his own goal to gift his former side the lead. Birmingham improved after half time and drew level when the lively substitute Mikael Forssell powered home a header just after the hour mark. From here on either side could have gone on to win the game. Nigel Reo-Coker sliced an absolute sitter miles wide of the target and Ridgewell was within an inch of atoning for his own goal with a header that Gabby Agbonlahor turned off the line at full stretch. It was not to be Ridgewell's day, however. In the closing minutes Ashley Young sent over a cross and Agbonlahor rose higher than the centre half to head in Villa's winner. As per usual Steve Bruce, one of football's biggest whingers, had a moan about the referee after the game for refusing two penalty claims from his side and it is fair to say he had a reasonable case on this occasion.
Tuesday, November 6 The much anticipated meeting between Arsenal and Manchester United provided those at the Emirates and the millions watching on tv with a game that was good but never remotely close to being great. Interesting rather than captivating. United set out to contain and generally did so. They will have ended disappointed to have nicked two goals and still not won the game. Overall, however, a draw was the right result. Only one of the four goals scored was of any real quality. United's opener was thrown into his own net by William Gallas as he slid in to try and block a Rooney effort and both Arsenal's goals, scored by Fabregas and Gallas, were somewhat scrappy. Only United's second, superbly crafted by Louis Saha and Patrice Evra and swept home by Ronaldo, was a goal worthy of the pre-match hype. As ever this game provided both camps with the opportunity to snipe and complain afterwards but the game never really contained it's normal edge. This was probably due in equal measure to the early kick off time, not ideal for any game, and the annoyingly officious display of refereeing from Howard Webb. What the game did do was leave the stage set for someone else to steal the thunder and the team that did so was Portsmouth. On their longest away trip of the season Pompey roared out of the starting gates and were three up on Newcastle in eleven minutes. Noe Pamarot set them on their way with a screamer, Benjani curled them further in front with another beauty and then John Utaka strode through to round Steve Harper for the third. Within minutes Sulzeer Campbell had pulled one back for the home side with a comedy own goal, possibly feeling sorry for them, but Portsmouth offered the home side no further encouragement and Newcastle were incapable of making things happen for themselves. Pompey's 4-1 victory was confirmed in the second half when the Newcastle defence ignored an inswinging free kick from Niko Kranjcar and the ball duly crept in at the far post. Joy for Harry Redknapp's men whose pace and power will upset more teams before the season is out. Despair for Big Fat Sam who is only a couple of shite home performances away from coming under pressure on Tyneside. That would be a shame, wouldn't it? Big Fat Sam having to find out what it's like having people scheming after his job. Elsewhere Chelsea beat Wigan with two early goals. After Lampard and Belletti had struck in the first 20 minutes at the JJB the visitors pulled out the deck chairs and lit their cigars. You can feel sympathy for Chris Hutchings, who was sacked in the aftermath, to lose his job after a defeat to Chelsea but his decision to play with one up front at home was another case of a manager reading too much into the instructions in his coaching manual. No point packing midfield unless you've got players who can pass to each other, is there? Liverpool managed a goalless draw at Blackburn after survivng another Jamie Carragher penalty that was but wasn't incident. Hopefully FIFA will get someone else to write their next set of rules rather than Mr Carragher. Special mention goes to Middlesbrough's Luke Young for scoring the goal of his life to deny Tottenham victory at the Riverside. Surely Luke hasn't scored too many 35 yard screamers from the right touchline into the top far corner. It was so good you couldn't even blame Paul Robinson.
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