tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89363928649017628712024-03-08T09:32:29.134-08:00Premiership ProseTonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-29655247901695982102011-05-23T17:03:00.000-07:002011-05-23T17:03:23.196-07:00A dramatic conclusion - the good, the bad, and the ugly go down<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">An afternoon of taut, gut-wrenching tension across the country saw fate’s pendulum swing one way then the next, before condemning the most exciting and the most banal teams in the league to relegation alongside West Ham United. Manchester United picked up their 19<sup>th</sup> top flight title in front of a rapturous Old Trafford, and said goodbye to one of finest goalkeepers of his generation; Edwin Van Der Sar. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:city></st1:place> responded to the disaster of finishing trophyless runners-up by almost instantly sacking the man who had delivered the first double in their history in his debut season. </div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">In an incredible final day where 2 of 5 teams could go down, the positions changed 14 times, before the final three relegated teams were the team who won least games; West Ham, the team that scored the least; <st1:city w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:city>, and the team who conceded most; <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place>. </div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Old Trafford saw the best early action, and Keith Southern was lamenting his early jitters, when he passed a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>fantastic low cross hopelessly wide with the goal at his mercy with less than a minute on the clock. A devious Charlie Adam cross saw Gary Taylor-Fletcher a fraction away from converting, while Dimitar Berbatov; seeking to pull away as the Premier League top scorer, executed a couple of superb touches to allow him a shot on goal, but he found Gilks equal to the task of keeping it out. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">At <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">White Hart Lane</st1:address></st1:street>, nervy <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:place></st1:city> had Ben Foster to thank for keeping out a low Sandro effort down at his near post with his boot.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">At the Britannia, Wigan had strapped their tin hats on to repel the waves of corners and long throws from Stoke, while they had to survive a heart-stopping moment when a Kenwyne Jones header was touched in on the line by Jonathan Walters, who was clearly offside in practically standing on Al-Habsi’s toes. It then got even hairier for the Latics, when a Rory Delap throw led to Jones again finding room to strike, but this time it was Emerson Boyce in the right place to clear of the goal line. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> hearts sank at Old Trafford, as two more superb touches from Dimitar Berbatov saw Park Ji-Sung galloping through. Ian Evatt chose the worst possible time to slip on his arse, and Park dinked gorgeously over the onrushing Gilks for the opening goal.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Over at Molineux with the match between the two 40-point teams, the cat was put amongst the pigeons. Some sterling work from Junior Hoilett saw him lay back for Salgado to drive a shot in flicked home by Jason Roberts, and Wolves were sweating.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The frantic action continued at Old Trafford, where some great work from Berbatov saw him wriggle through and force a great save from Gilks, while Park was upended, with <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> lucky to escape reprimand.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">At the Britannia, Ali Al-Habsi was warming his gloves up, with a great save from Jones, before beating out a Pennant drive that was hammered clear in turn by Alcaraz.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The Molineux faithful were aghast at events, as a Robinson hoof saw three Wolves players all jumping to clear, with Craddock only succeeding in teeing up Brett Emerton for a sumptuous volley from the edge of the box that practically tore the net out of the ground on its way in. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Ben Foster flapped a Younes Kaboul cross away with the greatest of difficulty as <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:city></st1:place> looked shaky.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> were dreaming once more, when their talisman Charlie Adam coaxed a delightful free-kick in off the foot of Van Der Sar’s post for a crucial leveller.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Mick McCarthy wore the look of a man about to put a rocket up every one of his players’ backsides when the majestic Junior Hoilett left three Wolves defenders on the floor before crashing a low shot into the net to put Blackburn 3-0 up on the stroke of half-time.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">At half-time then, Wolves were joining Wigan Athletic down among the dead men, and one could only imagine the ferocity of McCarthy’s intermission pep talk. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The second periods began, and another deadly Charlie Adam free-kick was batted over the crossbar by a startlingly nonchalant Van Der Sar.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The Tottenham-Birmingham game ground into life, when a courageous run from Danny Rose saw the ball cannon off the retreating Craig Gardner for substitute Roman Pavlyuchenko to curl a delicious effort wide of a surprised Foster, who clutched his head in his hands at the gravity of his error.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">At Old Trafford the picture was turned in its head once more, when an inviting low cross from David Vaughan was deftly turned in off the post under pressure by a suspiciously offside-looking Taylor-Fletcher, to give <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> the lead and a sight of salvation.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Wigan were finally beginning to stir at the Britannia, and a counter-attack dictated by Ben Watson saw Charles N’Zogbia be perhaps a little too honest, when he shrugged off a wrestling match with Jermaine Pennant to win a corner, when going down would surely have yielded a spot-kick. <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place> finally got a shot on target, when substitute Conor Sammon turned swiftly and cracked in a weak effort with his left foot, dealt with comfortably.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Blackpool’s good work was undone as they continued to leave wide open spaces at the back, seized upon by Park, who crossed for <st1:city w:st="on">Anderson</st1:city> to sweep home from close-range, leaving <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> on the brink once more. A Patrice Evra cross saw Berbatov nip in and head back across goal, only for Gilks to flick an arm up to deny the Bulgarian and keep Blackpool in touch.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Wolves finally rediscovered their bottle and began to mount a comeback, with a cunning free-kick move that saw a Hunt dummy to lay off for O’Hara peeling off his man to find the bottom corner. Stephen Fletcher then saw his fantastic header bring the best out of Paul Robinson to keep the score at 3-1. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">At Old Trafford United were taking over. A classic Smalling cross saw Nani rise but somehow put his header back towards the crosser. The pressure told when another superb Smalling delivery saw Ian Evatt swipe at it with his wrong foot, for an agonising own goal. Evatt then bounded forward to make amends, but brought a great reaction from an alert Van Der Sar flying out to block. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">So Blackpool were goners, but the team that were joining them was <st1:city w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:city>, with <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place> precariously safe on goals scored. Soon this scenario became redundant, when the Latics found the strength to seize their own destiny in the 78<sup>th</sup> minute. Maynor Figueroa glided past two men on his way to dinking in a perfect centre attacked with purpose by Hugo Rodallega, who beat his man to head past a flying Begovic for a glorious goal. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The Latics had lifted themselves well clear with that goal, dropping Wolves back into the relegation zone when Craig Gardner took the ball on his thigh on the edge of the box and crashed home with his left foot to equalise for Birmingham at White Hart Lane.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The news filtered through at an increasingly desperate Molineux, and Wolves had to throw everything at getting back into the game with <st1:place w:st="on">Blackburn</st1:place>.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Meanwhile at Old Trafford, the game was finally dead and buried as a contest with the Tangerines committed forward. Anderson slid a perfect pass through the chasm between Blackpool’s centre of defence which substitute Michael Owen ran through, before finishing with aplomb one-on-one to seal a near-perfect home record for the champions.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">At <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">White Hart Lane</st1:address></st1:street>, a Lennon cross was volleyed wastefully wide by Sandro as <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:place></st1:city> clung on by the narrowest of safety margins.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place> almost lost their safety cushion when a Glenn Whelan free-kick brushed the crossbar, and nerves were jangling.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Such was the fragility of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:place></st1:city>’s situation, one goal from Wolves would have made all the difference, and they duly got it, when a long clout from Hennessey was bravely flicked on for Stephen Hunt in the box. The Irishman took one touch to control before bending an outrageous shot beyond Robinson for a goal that brought the house down at Molineux. Despite still losing, this goal would keep Wolves up on goals scored.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The news filtered through at <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">White Hart Lane</st1:address></st1:street>, where the usual stoical ten-man defence was forced to go forward, as only a goal would save them. Ben Foster even joined at a corner, but failed to make an impact, and Birmingham’s foolhardy attacking proved their downfall, as Roman Pavlyuchenko strolled forward unchallenged before hammering in a shot that nicked off a defender on its way in off the crossbar.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Cue resignation at <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">White Hart Lane</st1:address></st1:street>, agony at Old Trafford, jubilation at Molineux and ecstasy at the Britannia. Despite the incredibly tight nature of the goal differences, survival came down to points. Wolves escaped the dreaded drop by reaching the hallowed 40-point mark, while Blackpool and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:place></st1:city> were left stranded on 39. We bid a fond farewell to the cavalier Tangerines, and a good riddance to the mind-grinding tedium of <st1:city w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:city>, who at least have the consolation of a League Cup to soothe their crushing disappointment, while flying the flag in <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> as a Championship club.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Mancitti celebrated their coronation as the new force in town with a comfortable victory at the Reebok, to leave them not only third, but only below Chelsea on goal difference, and with an FA Cup to boot. Unfortunately for Carlos Tevez, the boot he was after will have to be shared with city rival Dimitar Berbatov. With neither of them able to score on the final day, they both finished the season on 20 goals. <st1:place w:st="on">Bolton</st1:place>’s excellent season finished dismally in 14<sup>th</sup>; fatally undermined after Stoke wiped the floor with them in the FA Cup. City dominated the early stages, but Johan Elmander, playing his final match for the club, went close after sterling work from Daniel Sturridge, while Gareth Barry earned himself an entry into the ‘howler of the season’ archives, when he headed a deadly cross from Dedryck Boyata against the crossbar from five yards with an open net in front of him. City’s dominance in the first half paid off in ludicrous circumstances, when a corner was leapt at but missed by Vincent Kompany, and struck a completely oblivious Joleon Lescott on the forehead; sending it spiralling into the net. City’s second just after the hour mark came after Tevez brilliantly slipped in Gareth Barry, who crossed for Dzeko lurking in the middle. Gary Cahill intercepted initially, but the ball bounced up invitingly for Dzeko to spin and net for 2-0. Carlos Tevez ran himself into the ground attempting to force the goal that would win him the Golden Boot, but it wasn’t to be. <st1:place w:st="on">Bolton</st1:place>’s frustration was perhaps encapsulated late on, when the normally placid Daniel Sturridge was red-carded for a shin-high studs challenge on Edin Dzeko. Whether it was his last action for the club remains to be seen.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Chelsea ended their season with a pitiful performance that left them clinging to second place by only goal difference, as Everton saw them off at Goodison Park to finish the season comfortably in seventh position. An early Jagielka header bounced off the crossbar, and Osman went down under a dubious challenge from Alex, though replays showed it was a good tackle. Jermaine Beckford began an interesting afternoon’s work when a brilliant run saw him bearing down on goal, though as Cech narrowed his angles he managed to put an appalling finish so wide it drifted out for a throw-in. In a weak riposte, Nicolas Anelka forced a decent save from Howard, but it looked all <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:place></st1:city>’s game when Seamus Coleman threw himself into two reckless challenges and got sent off. John Terry almost found the breakthrough when he thundered a shot against the foot of the post with his weaker right foot. Beckford wriggled through for a second time but was denied by Cech. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:place></st1:city> thought they had the game in the bag when Ivanovic converted after Lampard was beaten out, but Terry standing offside when the shot came in thwarted their celebrations. They were left lamenting their missed chances when Jermaine Beckford’s steady improvement bore fruit, as he picked up the ball in his own half and motored forward, squeezing through three Chelsea players with a bit of luck and cantering through one-on-one, before executing a magnificent chip over the advancing Cech, whose hand was not enough to prevent the ball bouncing softly in with a clip of the post. Goodison roared, and the sword of Damocles fell on Ancelotti, who was ruthlessly dismissed following the post-match trivialities. </div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Fulham entered their final league game at home to Arsenal as the only team yet to receive a red card, and, inevitably, this record was soiled before full-time. Another record meanwhile was continued, when Robin Van Persie extended his scoring run in away games to nine matches. Arsenal imposed themselves early on, and a deep Kieran Gibbs cross was returned by Baccary Sagna for Gibbs to send in a header well saved by Mark Schwarzer. Fulham took the lead though, when Clint Dempsey’s excellent slide-rule pass sent Bobby Zamora away down the left flank, and his pull-back was converted by the arriving Steve Sidwell through Szsceszny, but just three minutes later Marouane Chamakh and Abou Diaby played a one-two, before finding Van Persie, who dispatched expertly past the advancing Schwarzer. Before half-time came an incredible moment, as Danny Murphy bundled past Szseszny and prepared to nudge it over the line from a yard out, only to be left flat on his face when Thomas Vermaelen defied physics as he lunged in from nowhere to tackle and send the ball spinning away from danger for surely the clearance of the season. In the second half, Samir Nasri sent in a belting free-kick that required a fabulous save from Mark Schwarzer, but Fulham retook the lead when Jonathan Greening made some inroads down the left flank, and lifted a magnificent cross on his weaker foot which was headed home by <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Zamora</st1:place></st1:city>. It looked as if the Cottagers would hold on for a famous result, until Zoltan Gera lunged in two-footed on Thomas Vermaelen; yielding the first red card in the last game for Fulham, and possibly jeopardising Fulham’s Fair Play ranking. The inevitable onslaught from the Gunners led to a last-minute equaliser, as Theo Walcott burst into the box and drove in off the post, with Schwarzer’s hand not quite turning it away.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">A barnstorming game at St James’ Park saw an unfeasible comeback from West Brom; coming from 3-0 down to send their travelling fans home happy. The madness began early on, with Stephen Taylor clearing brilliantly off the line as Marc-Antoine Fortune rounded Krul. Taylor’s afternoon then got doubly good, as he took full advantage of cock-up after cock-up inside the Baggies’ box to turn his man and bundle in the opening goal from a couple of yards. Shola Ameobi soon rounded Carson, only for his effort to be squeezed off the line by a combination of three defenders, but it was 2-0 after Lovenkrands bounded through to get in a lob which Carson made a ham-fisted attempt at tipping over and then catching from behind his goal line. Marc-Antoine Fortune was once again foiled by the goal line heroics of Stephen Taylor before Jonas Olsson comically made it 3-0 just after the break; lunging to stab a Luis Enrique cross into his own net with his wrong foot. The Toon fans were lording it, but were to be left with egg on their faces. It wasn’t until after the hour mark that <st1:place w:st="on">West Brom</st1:place> finally troubled the scorekeepers, when Somen Tchoyi beat a static offside trap to finish Reid’s through-ball one-on-one. Nobody expected it to be more than a consolation, but less than ten minutes later, the Cameroonian midfielder controlled a deep cross, dummied to fool Coloccini as he cut inside, and unleashed a thunderous finish to reduce the deficit to just one goal. <st1:city w:st="on">Newcastle</st1:city> were on their summer break by now, bar a couple of players standing firm, and the <st1:place w:st="on">West Brom</st1:place> onslaught was on. Finally, in the last minute the away fans were delighted, when Olsson had Newcastle retreating, before sending in a great cross to the unguarded back post, where Somen Tchoyi arrived and readjusted superbly to send a diving header into the net for the most unlikely of hat-tricks, leaving Uncle Roy toasting a fantastic conclusion to a season that started so dismally for him.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The same of course also happened for <st1:city w:st="on">Roy</st1:city>’s former club <st1:place w:st="on">Liverpool</st1:place>, who have enjoyed a sterling renaissance under the stewardship of Kenny Dalglish. From the fringes of the relegation zone, they have risen to sixth place, surpassing all expectations. Dalglish has signed shrewdly, and even Hodgson’s signing Raul Meireles is beginning to look the real deal. Unfortunately for Liverpool fans they could not steal late into the Europa League place, and were condemned to defeat at Villa Park by a blistering finish from Stewart Downing, who chested an awkward cross down before crashing it in off the crossbar. Liverpool were seething later though, as some great work from Luis Suarez saw him lay the ball across for Meireles with an open net beckoning, until Friedel and Dunne threw themselves across to block it. The problem was, both also reached out with both hands, yet incredibly replays proved inconclusive as the shot was so venomous. Villa almost sealed the game late on when Downing lovingly threaded the ball through for the rampaging Bent who turned it away from Reina but a fraction out of the reach of a stretching Agbonlahor. Bit of a damp squib finish for Liverpool, but their fans will surely be excited for next season, while Villa’s fans, though no doubt wishing their boss a rapid recuperation, were just happy there was no repeat of the Houllier love-in witnessed at Anfield, and they can look forward to a new season with a reliable striker in the excellent Bent.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">West Ham were booed off after finishing their relegation season with a dire home defeat to strikerless <st1:place w:st="on">Sunderland</st1:place>. The humiliation began in the 17<sup>th</sup> minute, when an inviting cross from Ahmed Elmohamedy just cleared its target Asamoah Gyan, only for the diminutive Bolo Zenden to rise like a salmon and power a glorious header over Rob Green. The Hammers almost struck back but for the alert reactions of Simon Mignolet, who foiled a turn and close-range shot from Zavon Hines. The first half petered out somewhat, but the second was only six minutes old when Stephane Sessegnon advanced unchecked for some distance, before unleashing a 20-yard shot in off the post to make it 2-0. Minimal West Ham resistance saw Jordan Henderson come close, before the game was sealed by substitute Cristian Riveros controlling a cross, easily fooling Jacobsen and drilling into the roof of the net. The boos resounded around the Boleyn after a shambles of a season, while Sunderland restored some pride when most thought their complete lack of strikers would leave them winless in the final few matches. </div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">So what do we make of the final tablings?</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">1<sup>st</sup> Manchester United – Surely Fergie’s greatest accomplishment yet? With a squad most acknowledge is not the finest, he has guided them to their precious nineteenth title, overhauling <st1:place w:st="on">Liverpool</st1:place> and taking his side to another Champions’ League final. A poor away record was compensated for by a record of 18 wins and 1 draw at home.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">2<sup>nd</sup> Chelsea – Most people’s favourites to retain their title, and even stronger following their incredible start, it seemed they may run away with the league, yet a series of key injuries and bizarre interventions by owner Roman Abramovich seemed to derail their charge, as they endured an inordinately lengthy run of appalling form. Lost an amazing nine games, and once again knocked out of the holy grail, which spelled the end for a manager who brought home the Double just a year ago.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">3<sup>rd</sup> <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Manchester</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype></st1:place> – A triumphant season by anyone’s standards for the nouveau riches kids on the block; not just automatic Champions’ League qualification, but only kept off second spot on goal difference, with their first trophy in 35 years to boot. Biggest challenge may be holding on to Tevez and meeting rising expectations now they have raised the bar for themselves, but they have all the money in the world to play with.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">4<sup>th</sup> Arsenal – A catastrophic season for the Gunners was encapsulated in the final minutes of the League Cup final, when a horrible gaffe lost them a trophy which may have spurred them on to bigger things. Instead, they lost all sense of impetus and confidence, and finished fourth in a two-horse race. Wenger bought once again on the cheap, and it showed: Squillaci and Koscielny were like Laurel and Hardy at the back, while Bendtner, Rosicky, Arshavin and Walcott should all take a good look at their own contributions to this epic failure.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">5<sup>th</sup> Tottenham – Another team whose cup eliminations weighed heavily on them. After the exhilarating displays in their debut Champions’ League season, they went well off the boil and just about clung on to a Europa League place. Harry Redknapp has moved mountains, but surely needs to give Defoe and Pavlyuchenko more game time and Peter Crouch less if he wants a more clinical edge to turn those frequent draws into wins. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">6<sup>th</sup> <st1:place w:st="on">Liverpool</st1:place> – After their torpid demise under Roy Hodgson, it was clear that a change in direction was needed, and they found the right man clearly. Despite his long absence from management rigours, King Kenny knows his club inside out, he signed shrewdly and seemed to send the team out with a smile; expressing themselves far more and rising to an excellent sixth. A season without <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> may also work to their advantage.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">7<sup>th</sup> Everton – Another season of two halves for the Toffees, who can’t help but be diabolical until Christmas, before going on a run of form that would see them over a season challenging for the title. Moyes has once again struck gold with Jermaine Beckford, a striker who misses many sitters but also scores vital goals, while Osman, Arteta, Cahill and Baines all contribute goals from other areas. Think what he could do with some serious investment.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">8<sup>th</sup> Fulham – Another fabulous season for the Cottagers under a new manager. Mark Hughes proved he has what it takes by shrugging off early season relegation fears caused by crucial injuries to take his team into the higher reaches of the table based on a foundation of typically imperious home form, and, more impressively, fair play. Some shrewd signings and nous will see him potentially take them on a step further next term.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">9<sup>th</sup> Aston Villa – A great finish after a miserable season following the departure of the irrepressible Martin O’Neill. O’Neill seemed to leave when his plea for finance to take the next step was ignored, and he must have raised a wry smile when Randy Lerner forked out £24million on Darren Bent. No money for improvement but plenty to avoid the drop it would seem. With Bent, Villa finally possess a clinical edge, though cynics would argue that Houllier is not the right man to take them forward; healthy or not.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">10<sup>th</sup> <st1:place w:st="on">Sunderland</st1:place> – A remarkable accomplishment for Steve Bruce to take the Mackems into the top 10, despite a cruel injury list and a horrendous mid-season run of form that nearly took them down. Darren Bent’s departure out of the blue affected them greatly, and it doesn’t help that two of their best players; Wellbeck and Zenden, are leaving in the summer. Still, you sense Brucey may have a bonus or two in the offing for the summer.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">11<sup>th</sup> West Bromwich Albion – After a dire half-season reign at Liverpool, Roy Hodgson completed a tremendous half-season conclusion at <st1:place w:st="on">West Brom</st1:place>. The Baggies’ board were disloyal in the extreme in sacking Roberto Di Matteo, who had done great work, but Hodgson proved the perfect replacement, losing only two of his thirteen league games in charge to leave them comfortably safe early. Peter Odemwingie was one of the finds of the season, and the Baggies’ tidy footballing style wins them many neutral fans.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">12<sup>th</sup> Newcastle – Another team hideously disloyal in sacking a manager, Mike Ashley should at least go into the history books as beginning the trend of sacking a manager for actually excelling in his post. Ashley’s cronies duly appointed a powerless stooge in Alan Pardew, who would have swam the <st1:place w:st="on">Tyne</st1:place> with Ashley tied to his back for another Premier League job. Pardew achieved pretty much the same as his predecessor. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Newcastle</st1:place></st1:city> have not got great players, but they are muscular and unpredictable, while possessing goal-scoring midfielders in Barton and Nolan. Chekh Tiote is an outstanding find.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">13<sup>th</sup> <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Stoke</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype></st1:place> – Tony Pulis showed us his childish side by refusing to shake hands a couple of times, and his adult side when he bravely attended the end of a game he inspired his side to win following the death of his mother. He abandoned all pretence of flair by jettisoning Gudjohnsen and Tunçay, and guided the club to the FA Cup final and comfortable safety again, with a style that is heavy on predictability, but hugely difficult to deal with. Should get the freedom of Stoke after his achievements with them this season.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">14<sup>th</sup> Bolton Wanderers – A defining season in the making was shattered in the aftermath of an FA Cup semi-final slaughter to Stoke. Like Arsenal, <st1:place w:st="on">Bolton</st1:place> fell far from where they perhaps deserved to be on the back of a horrible cup elimination, and will reflect much on it in the summer ahead. Coyle has proved adept once again at moulding a team confident of playing expansive and imaginative football, though a worry will be losing both Elmander and Sturridge; stalwarts of the successes of the season. </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">15<sup>th</sup> Blackburn Rovers – A ridiculous sacking of Fat Sam and a raft of failed marquee signings led to an inevitable plummet down the table for Rovers. Steve Kean, to his credit, masterminded enough results to keep their heads above water, but many questions are floating over <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Ewood</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Park</st1:placetype></st1:place>. Can they really evolve their route one style?; and is Kean really a Premier League manager?; would be among the most obvious. Christopher Samba, Phil Jones and Junior Hoilett were outstanding though, and they may struggle to hold onto these.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">16<sup>th</sup> Wigan Athletic – A dignified manager and a supportive chairman make <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place> a very well-run club, but they survived on more than goodwill. When the chips were really down, the Latics pulled through; winning their final three games to save themselves. They play a swift and attractive passing game, but <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place>’s huge problem is lack of a clinical striker. Ali Al-Habsi was the signing of the season, while the maverick brilliance of Charles N’Zogbia and sporadic excellence of Hugo Rodallega kept them up. Martinez’s striking recruits; Scotland; Di Santo; Boselli; leave much to be desired, and this is a gap he sorely needs to plug if Wigan are to stay up again.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">17<sup>th</sup> Wolverhampton Wanderers – Mick McCarthy saw off many brickbats with wit during a tumultuous season at Molineux, and eventually accomplished his brief on the last day, despite a defeat. Wolves, like <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place>, can pull results out of the fire when you think they’re finished, and Mick has made some shrewd signings; Hunt and Fletcher particularly. Wolves particularly suffered during Colin Doyle’s lengthy absence, and they will hope to add dimensions to his indefatigable threat next season.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">18<sup>th</sup> <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:place></st1:city> – The League Cup winners paid the ultimate price for their negative tactics, but can be somewhat consoled with the consolation of a trophy in the cabinet. A team only based on defence lost one half of their central defensive partnership and fell apart. As the lowest scoring team, they clearly earned their place in the bottom three, and many will be glad not to be bored to tears by them next season.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">19<sup>th</sup> Blackpool – On the contrary, many will be gutted that the carefree bravado of <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> will be missing from the top flight next season. They have been nothing short of a revelation, and Ian Holloway is a national treasure. They go down as the highest-scoring relegated team in Premiership history, but the telling fact is that they conceded more goals than any other team, thus they too, sadly, earned their place in the bottom three.</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">20<sup>th</sup> West Ham United – Shambolic, disgraceful and a laughing stock. And that’s just their owners! Avram Grant was clearly the wrong man, though the rot had set in since Dean Ashton’s career-ending injury. The Hammers had far too many players; Robert Green; Matthew Upson; <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Wayne</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Bridge</st1:placename></st1:place>; who believed their own hype and didn’t back it up with performances. Having won the fewest games, they too thoroughly deserved their place at the bottom of the pile.</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-59862807812187345042011-05-17T16:03:00.000-07:002011-05-17T16:03:51.328-07:00Nineteen up for United, any old Irons down<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The title and one relegation was confirmed on the penultimate weekend of the Premier League season, as Manchester had the weekend of its life, and Millwall delighted in mocking the demise of the unhappy Hammers.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Manchester United confirmed their status as the most successful English league team of all time with a scrappy draw against relegation-threatened <st1:place w:st="on">Blackburn</st1:place>. United lost their challenge at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Ewood</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Park</st1:placetype></st1:place> last season, and were mindful of the cost of a slip-up. Rovers meanwhile knew that a win would keep them safe, though a loss would be devastating. United started purposefully, and almost took the lead early on, when a cracking Rooney cross was headed against the crossbar by Nani. At the other end, Christopher Samba couldn’t get over the ball as a chance went begging. Tomas Kuszcak began his very nervy afternoon by almost losing possession on the edge of his own box, after he decided at the last minute that he couldn’t pick up a backpass. Nemanja Vidic got him out of jail with a decisive tackle, just as Jason Roberts had outmuscled the Pole. He continued this indecision by tipping an Emerton chip wide, but got caught between retrieving and staying put on his line. Eventually he chose the latter, but when Hoilett took a return from Olsson and crossed, Jonny Evans went to sleep as his man Emerton swept the ball home. Kuszcak then unforgivably dithered over another comfortable backpass, and was forced into belting the ball against Hoilett, as he was upended by the Rovers player. Fortunately for the goalkeeper, the ball was wide of goal. Blackburn incredibly almost sealed the game in the second half, when a lovely Emerton cross was headed against the post by Martin Olsson, but the roof was lifted off Ewood Park by the sizeable travelling contingent, when Javier Hernandez took a heavy touch as he bore down on goal, before nicking it out of play as Paul Robinson stupidly went to ground at the Mexican’s feet and took him down. The rules for penalties seem bizarre when the ball has travelled out of bounds before contact is made, but the only rule that counts is the foul, and Robinson bought it all ends up. Wayne Rooney stepped up and lashed the penalty into the net, to the delirium of the away fans, some who had waited four decades for the chance to see United usurp <st1:place w:st="on">Liverpool</st1:place> as the most dominant force in the English top division. United almost sealed a win before the end, but somehow Nani couldn’t make proper contact with the most inviting of Rooney crosses, and the final ten minutes were played out in a freakish truce atmosphere, where Rovers dare not attempt to dispossess United lest they counter and win, while United were more than content with the draw that saw them over the line. Rovers now have a do-or-die relegation play-off with Wolves to look forward to, whilst United play another of the drop contenders <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place>, in a stupendous final day of action.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Wigan Athletic launched a swashbuckling comeback to bring the house down at the DW, and send West Ham crashing down out of the Premiership. West Ham started the day knowing even a win would probably not be enough, while for <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place>, a draw would leave them needing a miracle, but a win would open it right up for the final day. The Latics took the game to the Hammers early on, as Tom Cleverley cleverly found Diame, who blasted over, but from a corner, West Ham grabbed the lead. A goalmouth scramble ensued, culminating in Collison drilling in a shot that was well blocked, but Wigan seemed to believe it was job done, and switched off as the ball was delivered wide, with a great cross swung in for a completely unmarked Demba Ba to fling himself at and score. Mohammed Diame thumped in a shot in riposte that was well dealt with by Green, but from another dead ball the Hammers extended their lead. A free-kick was nodded across at the back post by Tomkins for Demba Ba to poach his second before the half-hour. It was a case of Ba-Ba back post for the Latics, who looked to be taken down with the Hammers, and they nearly surrendered a third goal in their confusion, with Piquionne meeting a free-kick missed by everyone else, but Watson was the hero in clearing off the line. Mohammed Diame continued his attacking intent by nipping onto a through ball round the back of the defender, but Rob Green stood up to block his effort well. <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place> thought they had at last seen the good end of a set-piece when Rodallega stooped to send a diving header at goal from point-blank range, yet Green found himself in the right place as it struck him and bounced away. West Ham came off at half-time with a two goal lead, and salvation a possibility, particularly against a side as goal-shy as <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place>. The Latics took to the field still brimming with attacking intent though, and maverick maestro Charles N’Zogbia began tormenting the hammers backline frequently. As he bore down on the edge of the box, he wrestled with James Tomkins, and both players hit the deck. Seemed a case of two sixes, but the referee awarded Wigan a free-kick, and we were treated to N’Zogbia clearing the wall and the ball nestling in the ‘postage stamp’ for a fabulous goal. West Ham may have been nervous, but they continued to play freely, and Ba found himself set away, but contrived to fluff the chance as Alcaraz caught up and offered enough pressure. Young prospect Conor Sammon had come on for <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place> at half-time, and he made himself a hero on 67 minutes. A couple of meaty West Ham challenges went unpunished in centre mid, and Ben Watson picked up the pieces amid the carnage, finding a moment of clarity to slide a superb slide-rule pass to Sammon inside the box. The striker stepped effortlessly outside Gabbidon and coaxed the ball past Green in the same movement to leave the <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place> fans in raptures, and the Hammers faithful in tatters. Zavon Hines saw two glorious chances at the other end to regain the lead, but he was heroically blocked, first by Figueroa, then by Gary Caldwell. Wigan were calling for a red card minutes later, when Conor Sammon latched onto a long ball, and was left in a heap by Danny Gabbidon, who would have been sent off as last man had it been deemed a foul. A cute Ben Watson effort thudded against the post, while Thomas Hitzlsperger sent in a devious cross that Carlton Cole defied physics in sending wide; replicating the howling Robbie Keane miss of last week. He paid the ultimate price for his incompetence, as Wigan surged forward in injury time, and once again that man N’Zogbia delivered when it mattered; progressing down the right flank, before beating an inept challenge from the criminally overrated <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Wayne</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Bridge</st1:placename></st1:place>, and firing a shot under the grasp of the equally criminally overrated Rob Green. So, Rob Green, how d’ya feel? Ending his Premiership season the way he did his World Cup; abject failure, surely ends the arguments over his supposed brilliance, mostly propagated by himself. Apparently, he is considering ‘doing a Ben Foster/Paul Robinson’ and ‘retiring’ from international duty, as he thinks he is better than permanent reserve. Capello must be rubbing his hands together quite frankly.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">A scoreline reminiscent of the ‘Stanley Matthews Final’ of 1953 saw Blackpool dare, and win, to leave them with a fighting chance of survival on the final day. In a breathless game of tit-for-tat attacking, the real winner was the neutral, and this match demonstrated more than most why it will be a crying shame for the Premier League to lose the gung-ho bravado of Blackpool. Bolton, who have somewhat lost impetus since their humiliation in the FA Cup also contributed valiantly to the contest, and took the lead in the 6<sup>th</sup> minute, when a free-kick into the Blackpool box was missed by Davies and bounced off Baptiste for Davies to readjust and flick into the net with aplomb. Before some of the crowd had taken their seats <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> were level, with a goal that owed everything to the persistence and strength of DJ Campbell. A long pass was flicked on by Taylor-Fletcher and found <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Campbell</st1:place></st1:city> scampering goal-side of Gretar Steinsson. The striker, under heavy pressure, then held off the full-back admirably, before looking up and having the composure to lob the advancing Jaaskelainen for a superb equaliser. The Tangerines thought they may have been in again soon after, but Jason Puncheon was incorrectly flagged. A Charlie Adam corner was then guided up and onto underside of the crossbar by DJ Campbell, before Gary Taylor-Fletcher fired in a rebound effort which struck a defender. <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> claimed goal or handball, but replays showed neither to be the case. Some deft footwork and movement in a tight area just inside the <st1:place w:st="on">Bolton</st1:place> area between Taylor-Fletcher and Campbell saw the ball fed to Puncheon, who lost possession, but instantly regained it, before pivoting to fire in a left-footed shot as he fell, which flew into the corner of the Trotters’ net. However, Bolton found a way back just five minutes later, when a poor clearance was returned to Matt Taylor, who fired across Gilks and in off the post, despite the goalkeeper getting a full hand to it. Gilks atoned minutes later by flying out to block Daniel Sturridge as he ran clear of the <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> backline. Sturridge came so close to converting a <st1:city w:st="on">Taylor</st1:city> cross to give <st1:place w:st="on">Bolton</st1:place> a half-time lead, while Taylor-Fletcher and Knight had an unseemly spat which earned the two a rebuke and yellow card. Kevin Davies continued his excellent performance by coaxing an outrageous shot onto the crossbar with the outside of his boot, but it was <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> who stormed in front on the stroke of half-time, with an excellent close-range volley from DJ Campbell, from a deadly Adam cross. The half still continued to see brilliant chances, and David Vaughan was so close to creating a goal from nothing, but his amazing run and cross was cut out at the last by Jaaskelainen, with <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Campbell</st1:place></st1:city> ready to strike. At the <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> end, Baptiste cut out a Lee cross brilliantly before the lurking Sturridge could convert, but the equaliser was earned early into the second period. The imperious Davies slid a cute pass inside the full-back for Chung-Yong Lee to run onto. The South Korean deftly put Gilks on his backside before dinking across for Sturridge to convert, leaving <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> staring into the abyss once more. Another Davies chip went close, but just after the hour <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> seized the initiative once more. Southern won the ball bravely just inside his own half in the process of being clattered, and DJ Campbell advanced with Adam in support. The two exchanged passes before Adam slid Gary Taylor-Fletcher in. The striker held the ball up as <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Campbell</st1:place></st1:city> dragged men away, and laid it back for Charlie Adam to lash it into the top corner for a glorious winner. A classic game in keeping with Blackpool’s memorable season so far; a season that could yet end with the ultimate prize of survival.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Wolves gave themselves every chance of escaping the dreaded drop with a priceless victory over <st1:place w:st="on">Sunderland</st1:place>, bizarrely Mick McCarthy’s first win at the Stadium of Light, despite being manager there for almost a season! The home side fired the first broadsides, with Boudewijn Zenden swerving a 20-yarder against the angle, before Sessegnon tested Hennessey with a strike. Unfortunately for Steve Bruce, his Mackems couldn’t clear a corner, and Hunt swung in a lovely cross that evaded everyone before former <st1:place w:st="on">Sunderland</st1:place> man Jody Craddock volleyed crisply in at the back post. Jamie O’Hara hit the top of the bar, while at the other end a Zenden corner swung all the way across as George Elokobi air-kicked, and Sessegnon swivelled expertly to steer the ball in at the back post for the equaliser. John Mensah then survived a handball claim, and Elmohamedy defended excellently to deny Stephen Fletcher. Steed Malbranque was only denied by the reflexes of Hennessey, and it looked as if <st1:place w:st="on">Sunderland</st1:place> were giving as good as they got; that is, until Matt Jarvis came on. The <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region> winger bolted down the flink and floated in a tantalising cross; too tantalising for Mignolet, who clutched and missed as it also drifted over Mensah’s jump, leaving Fletcher to nod into the unguarded net. Wolves were now on course for victory, yet they got away with a penalty claim it is difficult to believe was actually denied, when Stephen Hunt lunged in from behind as Sessegnon was about to shoot. His legs taken away, Sessegnon crashed clumsily to the ground, yet incredibly Mike Jones spotted nothing untoward. Wolves sealed the points with a diving header from powerful full-back George Elokobi, while at the death Sunderland youngster Ryan Noble fractionally missed his attempt at a diving header, to leave a heavily depleted <st1:place w:st="on">Sunderland</st1:place> well beaten.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">An excellent and very rare away win for Fulham left <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:place></st1:city> right in the mire on the final day. Most assumed, even with their poor post-Cup win form, that this was a home banker, and yet Birmingham were appalling, and now go into the final day with a very real chance of winning a cup and going down in the same season. The fun started when an enormous clearance from Mark Schwarzer was ducked under by Roger Johnson just inside his own box. The bounce was so high it almost caught out Ben Foster, who leapt backwards to superbly make up for his error by tipping it wide. Another goal conceded to a goalkeeper, following his <st1:place w:st="on">Watford</st1:place> gaffe allowing Paul Robinson to score, would have made an undesirable career statistic. Unfortunately for Foster, his redemption didn’t last long, as Brede Hangeland climbed all over his own player Senderos to head into the net. Bobby Zamora headed a free-kick against the post, and then Jiranek incredibly managed to chest a cross onto the post at the other end. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Zamora</st1:place></st1:city> was presented with, and spurned, some glorious chances as the second half wore on, and Steve Sidwell thumped a great effort against the foot of the post as Fulham looked to kill the game off. They completed this objective in a mad scramble, as a corner was almost bundled into his own net by Jiranek, where <st1:city w:st="on">Zamora</st1:city> helped it on, only for <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ferguson</st1:place></st1:city> to head off the line, but see the return lobbed into the net by Hangeland again. Fulham almost ran away with it at the end, as some great persistence by the tenacious Andy Johnson won the ball back and squared for Eidur Gudjohnsen, whose shot brought a scrambled save from Foster.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><st1:city w:st="on">Newcastle</st1:city> snatched a last-minute equaliser to deny <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:place></st1:city> the chance to close the final gap on champions Manchester United. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:place></st1:city> took the lead as early as the second minute, with Branislav Ivanovic volleying in a corner flicked on by Fernando Torres at the near post. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Newcastle</st1:place></st1:city> withered not though, and equalised with a ridiculous goal from Jonas Gutierrez, who deflected a Ryan Taylor free-kick into the opposite corner with his back. The second half saw <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:place></st1:city> regain control, when a deep Lampard free-kick tempted Krul out of his goal, only to miss at and allow burly centre-back Alex to head into the unguarded net. The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Stamford</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Bridge</st1:placetype></st1:place> faithful were celebrating their final home game as a victory as Shola Ameobi’s brother Sammy came on, to a warm reception from the away contingent. With <st1:city w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:city> seeming to play the game out, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Newcastle</st1:place></st1:city> almost sprung a surprise when Ryan Taylor’s diving header was deflected narrowly wide. If the home fans breathed a sigh of relief at that, they were left frustrated from the resultant corner, which was nodded back by Sammy Ameobi for Stephen Taylor to guide past Cech from close range. There was no time for a response, and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:place></st1:city> performed their lap of honour with an air of slight despondency, while Carlo Ancelotti seemed resigned to the fact this will be the last time he will address these fans.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Arsenal finished their Emirates season as they have done many times throughout it: by disappointing their long-suffering fans with a dismal surrender. The victory for Villa owed much to some fine movement and absolutely clinical finishing by Darren Bent, who helped himself to an impressive brace to justify his big price tag, as essentially he has single-handedly saved Villa the £40million it would have cost them to be relegated. A long pass from Kyle Walker was taken on his chest and exquisitely volleyed in with the outside of his boot for a stupendous opener. He then got himself goalside of a sleeping Squillaci to receive a lovely ball from Ashley Young and dispatch past Szceszny with the greatest of ease just four minutes later. Arsenal should feel aggrieved when clumsy lump Richard Dunne got away with scything down Aaron Ramsey inside the box; an offence which could and should have seen the Irish defender add to his impressive collection of red cards. Robin Van Persie was as usual Arsenal’s most potent weapon, and he did all his own work in turning Collins inside out before striking the post with a cracking drive. In the second half Villa almost added to their haul, but Szceszny was alert enough to deal with first Young’s drive, then Downing’s sneaky effort. The game wore on, and Arsenal were aggrieved when a goal was disallowed, though Chamakh clearly pushed Kyle Walker in the back before heading in Walcott’s cross. They finally scored a consolation with a minute to play, as Van Persie gobbled up a close-range chance, but it was too late to salvage a result. How Arsenal could use another Van Persie next season.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><st1:place w:st="on">Liverpool</st1:place> fans were brought crashing down to earth twice, as they kicked off against Spurs knowing Manchester United had replaced them as the country’s most successful league side, before losing at home to the team who may beat them to fifth place. Tottenham have not shown much form since their Champions’ League adventure ended, but they seized the chance to at least grab pole position for fifth place, as Rafael Van Der Vaart returned a Skrtel clearance with interest, before a Luka Modric penalty for a Flanagan foul on Assou-Ekotto was dispatched. Andy Carroll headed a fantastic chance over, and Jonjo Shelvey swerved an effort narrowly wide, but Spurs always looked in control, and Pienaar led some nice football around the edge of the <st1:place w:st="on">Liverpool</st1:place> box, before whipping in a low shot that only just went wide. Spurs go into the final day a point ahead of <st1:place w:st="on">Liverpool</st1:place> in the Europa League placing.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">West Bromwich Albion continued their superb form under Roy Hodgson with a hard-earned win over Everton at the Hawthorns. The game was settled as early as the ninth minute, when their star of the season Peter Odemwingie finished some brilliant work by beating Jagielka and crossing low for Youssouf Mulumbu to plunder a goal. Victor Anichebe, looking sharp in Everton’s new gold away kit, turned his man but couldn’t beat <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Carson</st1:place></st1:city>, while an excellent run from Jerome Thomas saw him round the goalkeeper, but only hit the recovering Hibbert on the goal line. Odemwingie was rubbing his eyes in disbelief when Tim Howard made a magnificent point-blank save from him, after Jonas Olsson had flicked on a long throw into the box. Anichebe tested <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Carson</st1:place></st1:city> again with a header, while Simon Cox was a stud’s length from converting a delicious Odemwingie cross. The most bizarre moment of the game actually came from one of the more curious red cards of the season. Diniyar Bilyaletdinov was red-carded just five minutes after coming on as a substitute, for a challenge that was neither dangerous nor high. Even his ‘victim’ James Morrison could be seen pleading his case to a referee who clearly had already made his mind up. The final big chance came when Odemwingie progressed deep into Everton’s box, but shot and forced a save, instead of giving Chris Brunt a goal on a plate. Still, Baggies fans will be over the moon at the season they have enjoyed, with Odemwingie at the forefront. Di Matteo’s sacking may have shown gross disloyalty, but the <st1:place w:st="on">West Brom</st1:place> board have certainly been proven to have picked the perfect replacement. </div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Mancitti, having claimed their first trophy in 35 years against Stoke, proceeded to demolish the Potters for the second time, to snatch third place from Arsenal going into the final round of matches. Carlos Tevez also made a grab for glory with his brace; he is now level with Dimitar Berbatov at the top of the scorer’s charts. Tevez beat two men inside the box before lashing home in the 14<sup>th</sup> minute, and Stoke showed little in response as City took control. It was early in the second half when Joleon Lescott headed in Adam Johnson’s set-piece, and just after the hour mark Tevez put the icing on the cake with a fabulous free-kick, to leave Stoke down and out, and City dreaming of automatic qualification to next season’s Champions’ League.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">And then there was one…</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-79701187315900788572011-05-11T04:18:00.000-07:002011-05-11T04:18:40.132-07:00Chelsea smiles red and buried<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">It took until well into May, but Manchester United finally reached out to wrench the title firmly away from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:place></st1:city>’s possession, with a resounding victory built on a true champions’ display. At the other end, Wolves have made a late break for freedom, while West Ham are slipping away with a whimper.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">This was it. Essentially a title decider at Old Trafford; champions elect versus defending champions with the title up for grabs for the winner. A draw would see United favourites, but to all intents and purposes, this was a title playoff. The one thing that neutrals were hoping for from the game was a frenetic pace and opening, and the crowd were left agog at just how fast the contest burst into life. After a <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:place></st1:city> free-kick from kick-off in their own half was launched forward by Cech and headed clear, old master Ryan Giggs picked the ball up at halfway and darted forward, before feeding Park. With David Luiz napping, Park’s dynamism saw him slide a perfect through-ball which Luiz lunged at and missed, leaving Javier Hernandez to race through, adjust in a second and finish superbly cutely inside Cech’s near post. The crowd erupted, as did Carlo Ancelotti; directing his ire towards Luiz, who played the innocent but must have been pretty nervous when Alex immediately began warming up. United seized the initiative after this catalyst, and Cech had to be at his past to palm a rocket from Rooney wide with both hands. A nice interchange between the architects of the opener saw Giggs again find Park, who dinked an inviting cross in, which first Luiz and then Hernandez missed, when any meaningful contact would have seen the net bulging. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:city></st1:place> took a while, but managed to carve out an opening of their own, when a dangerous cross saw Van Der Sar tumble over players, but the Dutchman responded in time to excellently deal with Kalou’s goal-bound shot. The little man for the big occasions, Park Ji-Sung, stung Cech’s fingertips with a belted effort later, and the resultant corner saw the lead extended. With <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:city></st1:place> again inert, Giggs took the corner short and received the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>return from Park. Kalou put in a pitiful challenge as Giggs beat him all ends up and sent in a beautiful delivery that saw Drogba and Luiz get in each other’s way as it fell behind them for a predatory Vidic to beat his Serbian counterpart Ivanovic and head into the roof of Cech’s net. Before half-time, Van Der Sar made certain of a good team talk, when he reacted superbly to tip Kalou’s effort from a scrambled corner away. At half-time, Ancelotti rang the changes, later explaining he felt most of the team should have been changed, and Luiz predictably came off. Each team had a penalty shout denied, before <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:place></st1:city> finally worked their way back into the game. A Ramires cross was deflected up and into the danger area, where Ivanovic got a flick that Lampard helped into the net. Almost immediately United surged back into attack mode, when a magnificent tackle from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Valencia</st1:country-region></st1:place> saw an Hernandez cross evade Cech and find Rooney, who was only denied by the most incredible sliding goal-line clearance from Alex. Rooney knocked on the door again, but after being thwarted by Cech, he saw his final effort deflected over by Alex. Hernandez then proved he is human, heading over a glorious chance from a <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Valencia</st1:place></st1:country-region> cross after he couldn’t adjust. Finally, a champions display from United, while Ancelotti will be fearing a p45 as his reward for a season of near-misses.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Arsenal well and truly blew their chances of even finishing runners up, with a display of defending that plumbed new depths in this season of continued failure after bright prospects. Meanwhile, Stoke City head for the FA Cup final in high spirits, after dominating Arsenal for long periods, if not on possession at least goal threat and poise. Despite a ridiculously avaricious share of possession, Arsenal were clueless; constantly attempting to play through a middle more congested than the M25 at rush hour. They had no width, no ‘plan B’, and, as usual, their only clinical finisher was Robin Van Persie. Forget Fabregas, Arsenal could not do without their Dutch striker, the only direct Gunner, who looks for goal rather than players. People who compare Arsenal to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Barcelona</st1:place></st1:city> must be blind. The only possible comparison is the quality of passing, but still Arsenal struggle when really pressed, they do not press enough without the ball, their defence is paper-thin and susceptible to set-pieces time and again, while they do not value goals as much as intricate approach play. This season, even the quality of their approach play has been lacking for long periods, while players such as Andrei Arshavin, Nicklas Bendtner, Tomas Rosicky and Theo Walcott have let everybody down with their lack of influence, while Marouane Chamakh really went off the boil. The opening goal for Stoke came after Arsenal had had practically all of the ball, before Arshavin stupidly gave away a soft free-kick at the corner flag. Pennant delivered, Van Persie missed the header at the near post, and John Djorou began his one-man self-destruct mission by falling asleep and nearly tripping over his own player, as he failed to prevent his man Kenwyne Jones from strolling in unhindered to bundle the ball over the line. What Arsenal would give for Walcott to have the deliveries of a Pennant or Etherington. The game was up for Arsenal minutes later, when Pennant ran across their box hardly challenged, before unleashing a drive which was pretty safe until it nicked up off the boot of the hapless Djorou, though Wojciech Szczeszny did not cover himself in glory with his weak hand on the way over him and into the net. Robert Huth then sent a diving header over, injuring himself and provoking Alexandre Song’s face arm to find his face in the subsequent melee. The match then descended a little into a series of hefty challenges, the most amusing when Jack Wilshere upended Pennant, before himself being upended by Wilkinson; leaping up to remonstrate before being challenged for his own sin by a furious Pennant. The handbags were soon called off, and substitute Bendtner found Van Persie in the box, but the Dutchman was smothered by two defenders and goalkeeper. Glenn Whelan thumped in a near post effort that Szczeszny kept out, and it looked an important save when another substitute Chamakh fed Van Persie, who elegantly ghosted past Shawcross and cracked a low shot through Begovic with his weaker right foot. Being Arsenal though, this proved yet again to be a false dawn, and within a minute, Stoke were at the other end sealing the game. Jonathan Walters, who had a magnificent game, held up well inside the box, before laying back to Wilkinson, whose awful effort was returned perfectly for Walters to bury by the inept Djorou, who completed his hat-trick of cock-ups leading directly to goals. </div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Wolves seized the chance to leap across the chasm and escape the clutches of the relegation beast, at least for a week, by comfortably beating formerly formidable <st1:place w:st="on">Black Country</st1:place> neighbours West Bromwich Albion at Molineux. From kick-off, Wolves were on the front foot, and Scott Carson had to be at his best to tip a Jamie O’Hara free-kick wide of the post, though he could do little about the resulting corner, which Guedioura helped on for Stephen Fletcher to stab in from close range. From another corner the roles were reversed, with Fletcher nodding back across for Guedioura to swivel and volley home. Wolves strength at set-pieces was proving the difference, and Fletcher later sent another corner narrowly wide, before the Baggies finally showed signs of resistance through an Odemwingie dribble and shot superbly tipped wide by Hennessey before half-time. The second half had only just begin, and surely <st1:place w:st="on">West Brom</st1:place> had a Hodgson rocket up their arses. This soon became an impending boot for Abdoulaye Meite, whose diabolical error saw any chance of salvation snatched away within minutes of the second half beginning. Kevin Foley played a long pass which was comfortably within interception range of Meite, yet the centre-back decided to attempt to trap a speeding ball with his wrong foot, allowing it to skid under his boot and see Stephen Fletcher through one-on-one. The Scottish striker made no mistake, and Meite didn’t know where to look. It only took ten minutes for the Baggies to finally rouse themselves and seize control, when Jerome Thomas’ trickery in the box saw him scythed down, and Odemwingie notched the penalty to give <st1:place w:st="on">Albion</st1:place> a fighting chance of a miracle. Wayne Hennessey then had to pull of a superb reaction save, when Simon Cox got on the end of a cross from close-range, and soon after Tchoyi slipped a lovely ball through for Jerome Thomas, who smashed it against the woodwork. Tchoyi could himself have reduced the arrears further, but got it all wrong when he sent a completely free header over the bar with everything to aim at. The Baggies seemed to realise the game was up at this point, and the final flourishes came from Wolves; first from Ward driving a fraction wide, thenEbanks-Blake, who kept <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Carson</st1:place></st1:city> busy at his near post. Wolves move two points clear of danger with two games remaining.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Spurs’ faint hopes of Champions’ League football for next season were crushed when yet again they could only draw a fixture they would normally expect to win, though Blackpool were equally as distraught, with the result doing neither side many favours, though every point is better than none for the Tangerines right now. New striker Sergey Kornilenko almost got off to the perfect start for Blackpool, but saw his effort blocked, before an Adam volley follow-up was superbly saved, and the same scramble saw <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Campbell</st1:place></st1:city> also thwarted. Kornilenko then ruined a great chance by heading a corner over, and was replaced at half-time. Some great work from Modric fed Bale, and his gorgeous cross was narrowly missed by both Defoe and Van Der Vaart. A Charlie Adam driller was parried, and Van Der Vaart unusually blazed a glorious chance over under pressure from Neil Eardley. Gareth Bale swerved a shot just wide, and a Modric header cleared the crossbar. Unfortunately, Charlie Adam, who had been at the centre of everything good for <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place>, then sullied his reputation with a horrible moment, as Bale nutmegged his man and was challenged on one side, Adam barged in from the opposite side and scissored him, stamping on the Welsh winger’s ankle at the same time and sending him off on a stretcher. Blackpool went on the attack again, with <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Vaughan</st1:place></st1:city> and Puncheon at the forefront, leading to an instinctive effort from DJ Campbell which was somehow kept out by the athleticism of Heurelho Gomes. The <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> faithful’s eyes lit up when Michael Dawson claimed a push as he stupidly handled a cross. His pleas fell on deaf ears, and Charlie Adam stepped up, but again Gomes somehow kept out his well struck effort, much to the chagrin of the <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> fans. Yet there was a steely determination etched across Adam’s face as he followed the ball out for a corner, and this was well founded, as from the corner Gomes spoiled his good work by spilling at Gary Taylor-Fletcher’s feet, before lunging to recover and taking him down. This time, Adam kept his nerve to drill the penalty in, and <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> were dreaming of salvation. They could have sealed the game late on, after <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Campbell</st1:place></st1:city> had seized on a William Gallas error and held up, before laying back to Jason Puncheon, who produced an awful finish just when composure was required most. He rued this with just two minutes to go, when<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lukaa Modric worked some space and nudged the ball to Jermain Defoe, who leathered the ball into the bottom corner to break <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> hearts.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">West Ham fans were forced to accept that they will be watching Championship football next season, after they could only manage a draw in their must-win game against relegation rivals <st1:place w:st="on">Blackburn</st1:place>. The Hammers set about their task quickly though, and Da Costa was denied only by a goal-line clearance from Morten Gamst Pedersen. Unfortunately for the Irons, Jermaine Jones slid Brett Emerton down the line, and his cross was converted by Jason Roberts, and they were staring down the barrel of relegation. West Ham didn’t wilt, and recovered to test the Rovers backline, led by Freddie Sears and Demba Ba, while Robinson had to beat out a Thomas Hitzlsperger swerver. Junior Hoilett almost carved an opening at the other end, while Stephen N’Zonzi was well saved by Green. Demba Ba sent a header just wide, and the Boleyn faithful were suffering, until Carlton Cole held the ball up inside the box surrounded by Rovers defenders, and managed to lay the ball back neatly for Hitzlsperger to drive between two players and in for a precious equaliser. West Ham had to go for broke now, and they had the one shining beacon of opportunity presented to them wrapped up crisply with a red bow, when Frederic Piquionne sent in a low cross; finding Robbie Keane just six yards from goal. With destiny calling, Keane contrived to open his foot too much and miss a howling clanger of a sitter. The final few minutes featured a superhuman display of heroic defending from Christopher Samba; blocking a Ba shot, intercepting a dangerous Spector cross, and finally lunging to block a certain goal as Cole was about to pounce, to leave Rovers mathematically safe and West Ham all but mathematically down.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Wigan once again squeezed a result out, but not the win they so desperately needed at <st1:place w:st="on">Villa Park</st1:place>. For the second week in a row they scored early, when they won the ball in midfield, and Victor Moses charged past three players and fed the marauding Charles N’Zogbia, who finished perfectly across Brad Friedel. Lamentably for the Latics, an Ashley Young free-kick conceded some seven minutes later was dispatched perfectly into the corner of <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place>’s net. Ali Al-Habsi will be disappointed, as he took a step to his right which shifted his weight enough for him not to recover to turn it around the post. Emile Heskey then swivelled and saw the best of the Omanian, as he reacted to turn his effort away from no distance. Other than this, the most interesting incident in the first half happened when Heskey went down in an aerial challenge clutching his head. Clearly he had no feelings of forgiveness for his old team mates, as he ranted, raved and rampaged at referee Mike Jones, even barging into him. Jones, for his leniency only showed him yellow, but Heskey was removed at half-time by Gary McAllister for his sins. A goalmouth scramble to end all goalmouth scrambles saw Wigan cursing their luck, as Rodallega was blocked out, his layback to Cleverley was also blocked, there was a claim of hands as the ball was played back in to an offside Alcaraz, who was certain to bundle it in until a heroic lunge from Collins and Richard Dunne sent his effort over the Villa crossbar. At the other end Al-Habsi intercepted a dangerous Young cross, and Di Santo flicked on for Rodallega to swivel and fire an effort a fraction wide. <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place> hands shot to heads in desperate rumination, but they were later in relief, as Darren Bent was sent through, only to lose his one-on-one battle of wits with Al-Habsi. A point closer to survival for <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place>, or two closer to the dreaded drop?</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Mancitti blew their chance of sealing the precious Champions’ League place by capitulating at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Goodison</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Park</st1:placetype></st1:place>, despite threatening to run up a cricket score in the first half. David Silva flashed an early effort across goal, while a game of ‘headers and volleys’ between Milner, Silva and Vieira saw the veteran Frenchman volley wastefully over from close range. James Milner sprung the Toffees’ offside trap but couldn’t find his man, yet the inevitable happened after 28 minutes, when Distin lost out in a tackle, and David Silva slipped a lovely ball through to Yaya Toure, who dinked over Howard for an excellent goal. Phil Jagielka was then called into action for a last-ditch block-tackle on Aleksandr Kolarov, shaping to shoot. Everton finally offered some threat of their own, and Vincent Kompany had to be at his imperious best to intercept, after former Toffee Joleon Lescott could only deflect a Baines effort towards his own goal. Yaya Toure had another opportunity, but this time Tim Howard won the one-on-one battle, while Edin Dzeko jinked past Sylvain Distin but could only fire wide. City soon regretted their profligacy, when former player Distin rose to meet an Arteta free-kick and send it into the net, though Joe Hart seemed to get a full hand to it and will be disappointed with his efforts. Five minutes later, the game had been turned on its head. Phil Neville was given space to weigh up his options, and sent in a floated cross which little Leon Osman launched himself at and planted a superb header past Hart as he was clattered in the air, for a glorious goal. Substitute Jermaine Beckford then dashed across the front post to get an effort in which was saved, while City’s final meaningful effort came when Milner’s shot was deflected over by Leighton Baines.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Kenny Dalglish was left with a smile as wide as the Mersey, after Liverpool’s trip to the <st1:place w:st="on">Thames</st1:place> provided a goal-laden away-day victory at the normally tight Craven Cottage. Fulham have been nothing short of formidable at the Cottage thus far this season, but after surprising everyone with a resounding away victory at <st1:place w:st="on">Sunderland</st1:place>, it was perhaps inevitable that they would do the reverse amid the comforts of home. The game was over as a meaningful contest as early as the 16<sup>th</sup> minute, by which time the away side were three goals up. Almost from kick-off, a slip from Aaron Hughes let in Suarez, while Salcido and Schwarzer were at sixes and sevens as the striker’s cross was converted by Maxi Rodriguez. Chris Baird then played Glen Johnson onside, allowing the full-back to find Rodriguez, who again dispatched clinically. Mark Schwarzer continued his lacklustre night by fumbling Dirk Kuyt’s near post effort into the net after sixteen minutes and it was goodnight and God bless for the Cottagers. The half-time rollicking from Hughes seemed to work, as Fulham finally came out of the traps in the second half, creating a few chances before substitute Bobby Zamora held up well before teeing up Moussa Dembele for a goal. If Fulham had any thoughts of a miraculous recovery, those thoughts were shot down on 70 minutes, when Maxi Rodriguez completed his second hat-trick in three games in the grand manner; launching a scud missile into the top corner from 25 yards. The Argentinian, who seemed nothing short of peripheral under Roy Hodgson, has clearly found his best position under Dalglish, and looks reborn. <st1:place w:st="on">Liverpool</st1:place> racked up a fifth when JonJo Shelvey’s through-ball found Luis Suarez, who expertly rounded the goalkeeper and put the gloss on a superb team display. There was still time for Fulham to reduce the arrears, and Steve Sidwell obliged with a crisp half-volley from just outside the box, to give the home fans something to cheer. Strangely, stoppage time then produced a mad glut of action, with Schwarzer saving brilliantly from Shelvey, Jay Spearing seeing a shot cleared off the line, and Kuyt being blocked by Baird at the last.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><st1:city w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:city> still retain their status as relegation candidates, as a red card contributed to their demise at <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Newcastle</st1:place></st1:city>. Alex McLeish was furious early on, when Steven Taylor appeared to lead with his elbow in an aerial challenge; poleaxing Cameron Jerome but receiving no reprimand. Joey Barton then saw a long range effort tipped wide, but from his corner, madness descended on St James’ Park. A header from Shola Ameobi was saved and Foster tipped a follow-up effort from Coloccini onto the post, but as the ball was returned the goalkeeper was helpless. Liam Ridgewell didn’t know much about the ball coming down onto his arm on the line, but he certainly knew about it when he nudged it away with his elbow to prevent a certain Nolan finish, and he was duly red-carded. Ameobi dispatched the penalty clinically, and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Newcastle</st1:place></st1:city> were in control. Foster continued his excellent form though, denying Lovenkrands superbly at his near post, and making an incredible point-blank reflex stop as Kevin Nolan swivelled to pummel Tiote’s mishit effort at goal. Unfortunately for Foster, his hard work was undone from the resultant corner, which <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Taylor</st1:place></st1:city> headed in past a hapless Larsson on the line, who miscued his ‘clearance’ over his own shoulder and into the net. Against all odds, Brum were back in the game just two minutes later, on the stroke of half-time. Ben Foster was pressured on a clearance, but for once he stayed calm and dummied his pursuer, before launching a booming kick deep into the Newcastle half which saw Cameron Jerome round Tim Krul. Fabriccio Coloccini made a great last-ditch recovery challenge to prevent Jerome putting it in to the unguarded net, but, as Toon fans breathed a sigh of relief, Lee Bowyer arrived on the scene to guide a shot in, which this time Coloccini was responsible for deflecting past the recovering Krul. In the second half Nile Ranger produced a fantastic dribble and shot which was saved excellently, while Larsson miskicked horribly for the second time, this time with a gaping net, as Krul dropped at his feet. The game ended with <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Newcastle</st1:place></st1:city> on the attack. A break spearheaded by Ranger saw the ball delivered in for Barton to help across the box to Ameobi, who stole in at the back post to dink over the onrushing Foster, only to see Roger Johnson clear magnificently off the goal line. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:city></st1:place> need another result to be safe, but they are notoriously erratic, so you would be a brave man to bet on it.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Despite possessing no strikers once more, Sunderland grabbed an excellent away win at the Reebok, with <st1:place w:st="on">Bolton</st1:place> ruing some sterling defending and wasteful finishing of their own. This win came despite Phil Bardsley missing an absolute sitter of a header early on. He then redeemed himself partially, by deflecting Daniel Sturridge’s whipped shot onto the crossbar. <st1:place w:st="on">Sunderland</st1:place> took the lead in first half stoppage time, as Sessegnon sent a suspiciously offside-looking Bolo Zenden through to round Jaaskelainen and score. Daniel Sturridge seized the game by the throat in the second half, and fired just wide after great work from Ricardo Gardner, before combining with Lee, only to see Bardsley once again thwart them. Rodrigo Moreno saw a great effort parried, but his cross late in the game was deftly headed back across goal and in by potent substitute Ivan Klasnic. There was no time left, yet Bolton almost pressed for a winner, when <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moreno</st1:place></st1:city> volleyed across for Davies to score a certain goal, but incredibly, hero of the hour Bardsley contorted to head the ball over from under his own crossbar. Steve Bruce was prepared to pat his defender on the back for earning his side a point, but it got even better deep into stoppage time, when a fabulous through-ball from Sessegnon saw Sulley Muntari beat Jaaskelainen to the ball in driving it across goal, where Zat Knight could only clumsily help it into his own net, earning the praise of Bruce and rebuke from his own manager.</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-16027015222443796202011-05-04T07:20:00.000-07:002011-05-04T07:20:31.144-07:00Bin Laden dead from Heskey miscue<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The title race, from being something of a procession, is now on a knife edge again. The Manchester United-Chelsea match has now become a title decider. If United get any result, they will be favourites, but if <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:place></st1:city> win, the title will be in their hands. Who would have said that ten games ago? Other than that, the teams around the bottom five all picked up points bar West Ham, so the merrygodown goes on.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><st1:city w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:city> didn’t so much share a kiss with Lady Luck as violate her chastity at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Stamford</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Bridge</st1:placetype></st1:place>. Spurs travelled to their bogey ground hoping to derive some kind of result to keep them with a hope of securing a Champions’ League place for next season, and thought they may have got it. After Didier Drogba had pummelled the crossbar with a free-kick, Tottenham took the lead from out of nowhere. Rafael Van Der Vaart expertly took an awkward ball under his spell and flicked it over his head for Sandro to crash a first-time half-volley past Petr Cech. Heurelho Gomes tipped a close-range Essien header over, while Torres couldn’t readjust as another corner was flicked across the box by Drogba. John Motson, in his senility, proclaimed Gomes to be having a good game, thus provoking the Brazilian into his usual disaster. Frank Lampard struck a long-ranger straight into the Brazilian’s body, yet seconds later Gomes was scrambling behind him to claw it away from the line, successfully as it would happen. The linesman, however, despite having an impossible view, decided to use guesswork for a decision that required certainty. If he was certain, then he is blind. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:place></st1:city> were unjustifiably level, and it got worse for Spurs. Gomes almost cost them again, when he could only bat another Drogba free-kick out in front of him, only to be let off as Salomon Kalou did his usual comical screw-up in blazing the chance over. Chelsea were livid when Younes Kaboul was extremely fortunate not to concede a penalty for a dubious challenge inside the box, but Chelsea snatched victory from the jaws of draws, when a goalmouth scramble saw Anelka and Drogba get in each other’s way, before Drogba screwed a hopeless shot going well wide, until it found Kalou, lurking a half-yard offside, who put it in. Two awful officials’ decisions that will haunt Tottenham next season.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Arsenal stuck two fingers up to their detractors, as Manchester United put in an appalling performance to leave their title charge in the balance. From first to last minute the Gunners bossed this game. Theo Walcott was as wasteful as ever, blazing over from point-blank range when a delightful <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Clichy</st1:place></st1:city> cross found him in the middle. A Wilshere cross-shot then almost found the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region> winger lurking at the back post, before an alert Evra intercepted. United were thanking their lucky stars later, when a Walcott cross was headed right on to the head of Robin Van Persie, before the desperate Nemanja Vidic reached out a hand to divert it with his fingertips. Unbelievably, the linesman did not see that the Serbian defender clearly could not have reached it with his head, and there was nothing blocking the view of his arm stretching in front of him. A Wayne Rooney free-kick was well saved, but Arsenal finally got what they deserved in the 56<sup>th</sup> minute, with Van Persie dribbling into the box and feinting, before laying back to Aaron Ramsey, who slotted it in nicely. United briefly threatened a resurgence, but Nani greedily took on a shot saved by Szceszny when he had men in the middle. Robin Van Persie could only find the side netting from a deep Walcott cross, and the referee Chris Foy evened up the bad calls when Gael Clichy’s studs on Michael Owen’s calf sent him sprawling inside the box, only to find no penalty awarded.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Mancitti practically sealed their Champions’ League berth with a curious victory over the unhappy Hammers at the City of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Manchester Stadium</st1:place></st1:city>. Curious in that they began like a house on fire, with wave after wave of attacks threatening to sink West Ham for good. Nigel De Jong opened what looked like the floodgates by crashing in from the edge of the box after a corner was half-cleared for his first City goal, and then a beautiful dink through from David Silva found the marauding Pablo Zabaleta, who drilled across Green and in via the boot of Jacobsen and the crossbar. Yet after looking like they’d run up a cricket score in the first fifteen minutes, City suddenly decided to take a nap. Robbie Keane nipped through their slumbering backline to be denied by Hart, but minutes later the Hammers reduced the arrears. Thomas Hitzlsperger’s cross was flicked on and up onto Joleon Lescott’s arm, but before the referee had to whistle, Demba Ba reacted in a flash to the loose ball; swivelling to turn it in. Suddenly, City woke up again. Mario Balotelli was fed on the left-hand side of the box, cut effortlessly back outside his man and curled an exquisite effort which thudded back off the bar. That man almost sealed it again on a lightning break from a save by Hart, when David Silva cantered through, rounded the goalkeeper and left it to Balotelli, whose shot couldn’t beat the three retreating defenders guarding their goal line. Edin Dzeko thumped in a shot that cannoned off the body of Green, but Balotelli was flagged offside as he pounced for the rebound. David Silva came close late on, when his effort deflected up and over off Spector, but in the end Mancitti took what they came for, and West Ham remain entrenched in the relegation zone up to their waists.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Liverpool moved above Tottenham with a resounding victory over a feeble <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Newcastle</st1:place></st1:city> side at Anfield. Young full-back John Flanagan sent over a floated cross which was cleared poorly and drilled back into the net with a deflection off Simpson by Maxi Rodriguez for the opener. A dangerous Joey Barton free-kick in response flashed across the face of the <st1:place w:st="on">Liverpool</st1:place> goal with nobody able to profit. The game was most bizarre for <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Newcastle</st1:place></st1:city>’s all-white away strip. First of all, an away kit is surely meant to be a completely different colour from your home kit, and secondly how does red clash with black and white? These questions were not answered, though Barton should have answered his critics, when a delicious low cross from Kevin Nolan fell invitingly for him at the far post, but the humble midfielder could only skew his effort wide from close range. Some great work by Luis Suarez saw his shot deflected wide by Mike Williamson, and Rodriguez saw his mishit cross bounce off the top of the Toon bar. Williamson then made a fool of himself, as he attempted to shield a long Reina kick out of play, only to have his pocket picked by Luis Suarez, who rounded the dozy defender and made the most of the contact to go to ground in the box. Dirk Kuyt slotted in the penalty and <st1:place w:st="on">Liverpool</st1:place> were coasting. Dirk Kuyt then sullied his afternoon by missing a sitter of a header from close range, but the performance was complete when the crafty Suarez exchanged passes with the Kuyt just inside the box, taking three <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Newcastle</st1:place></st1:city> men out of the game before slotting past Tim Krul.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Blackburn grabbed a vital win against neighbours <st1:place w:st="on">Bolton</st1:place>, at a ground which has been historically bad for the Trotters. Martin Olsson made the difference with a man-of-the-match display at left-back. He had almost set up Benjani for a goal, before dribbling into the box and forcing a goal-line clearance from Paul Robinson. <st1:place w:st="on">Bolton</st1:place> almost struck a sucker punch, but Rodrigo Moreno, arriving late for a cross, went for a half-volley with his wrong foot, and could only stab onto the post from close-range. Olsson then made him rue the miss, when he took a pass from Salgado, raced past David Wheater and stabbed past Adam Bogdan in the <st1:place w:st="on">Bolton</st1:place> goal. The left-back had more opportunities too, and had an effort with either foot in the same move, forcing Bogdan to save low at his post. <st1:place w:st="on">Blackburn</st1:place>’s Plan B almost came to fruition too, when a Robinson clout saw the giant N’Zonzi outjump Bogdan, only to see his header drop the wrong side of the post for Rovers. Mame Biryam Diouf blazed wastefully over after a scramble, and Stephen N’Zonzi missed a glaring headed chance late on, in between Martin Petrov drilling into the side netting for <st1:place w:st="on">Bolton</st1:place>. Blackburn need just another win to escape the relegation trap-door, while <st1:place w:st="on">Bolton</st1:place> have slipped back in their challenge for sixth.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Wigan Athletic picked up a vital point against Everton, but may wish they had seen the win out come the end of the season. After a cagy opening, <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place> took the lead on 21 minutes, when Ben Watson dinked a lovely ball through for Charles N’Zogbia. The Frenchman appeared to miscontrol and lose his footing as Howard confronted him, but the winger picked himself up, turned quickly and rifled the ball past the Everton goalkeeper. <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place>’s other star man Ali Al-Habsi pulled off a splendid save from Leon Osman, but minutes later the Omanian goalkeeper was required further. N’Zogbia ruined his heroics by rushing in and attempting to beat Osman to the ball, while the Everton midfielder turned and shielded the ball in time to be taken down and accept a penalty. Former <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place> star Leighton Baines surrendered the duty to Mikel Arteta, but the Spaniard saw Al-Habsi plunge to his left and thrust up a strong hand to parry the ball away for a magnificent save. After this it was Tim Howard called upon, first to deny N’Zogbia one-on-one, then a cracking near post save to deny Victor Moses, after Jagielka had cut out the initial cross from Emerson Boyce. Moses then saw another belter kept out by the in-form Howard, while Al-Habsi denied Jagielka. Unfortunately for <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place>, the resulting corner saw Hugo Rodallega leap like a salmon, before losing his bearings and seeing the ball strike his arm. He was clearly infuriated with himself as the penalty was awarded, and well he might have been, as regular penalty taker Baines stepped up to crash it past Al-Habsi. Seamus Coleman had a deflected effort saved by the Wigan goalkeeper as they attempted to snatch a win, but <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place>’s counterthrust saw a Watson rocket well saved, and a goalmouth scramble that could only see Rodallega blast a presentable chance over. All over for <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place>? Not yet.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Wolves may feel this was a useful point, as they kept Birmingham on the cusp of the relegation dogfight, while at least increasing their own points tally, though after taking the lead they may have wished for more. The opener came when a lovely through ball from Jarvis saw Stephen Ward race through and take a tumble as Foster bought it hook, line and sinker. Stephen Fletcher notched the penalty, and Wolves were where they wanted to be. After this though, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:city></st1:place> decided to come out of their shells somewhat, and Sebastien Larsson cracked the crossbar with a superb free-kick., before a horrific mistake from Michael Mancienne gifted Brum parity just before the half-hour. A long pump forward saw the Wolves defender caught in two minds as to whether to duck under it or clear, and in the end he let it be cushioned down off his bonce, leading to that man Larsson galloping through to slide under Hennessey for 1-1. The eventful first half ended with Craig Gardner bizarrely sent off for a second caution, after diving <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">outside</i> the area. Replays showed, although very difficult to see on first watch, the referee had been on-the-ball, as the Brum midfielder ran between two Wolves players and threw himself to the ground with minimal contact. Fans may have been excited to see how the second half would pan out, but unfortunately nothing happened, as Brum deployed the old ‘parked bus’ method to preserve a point that leaves them one win away from salvation.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Fulham earned only their second away win of the season, against a <st1:place w:st="on">Sunderland</st1:place> side with no strikers to speak of. Starting with the diminutive Steed Malbranque and Stephane Sessegnon up-front, the Mackems started strongly, with Elmohamedy heading a cross narrowly wide, and Malbranque charging down a Philippe Senderos clearance, only to dink wide one-on-one. After this, Fulham were ruthlessly clinical. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Zamora</st1:place></st1:city> found Gael Kakuta in the box, and after brilliantly getting a difficult ball out of his feet, the youngster poked past the goalkeeper for an excellent opener. <st1:place w:st="on">Sunderland</st1:place>’s ripostes came in the form of a pitifully weak finish from Lee Cattermole and a Muntari shot deflected over. At the other end, forgotten man Eidur Gudjohnsen took down a cross and drilled across the box, narrowly missed by Bobby Zamora. A fine Fulham move saw <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Zamora</st1:place></st1:city> brilliantly release Steve Sidwell on the left-hand side of the box, and his cross was converted adeptly by Simon Davies for 2-0. The third goal was a disaster for <st1:place w:st="on">Sunderland</st1:place>, as Ferdinand ended up tackling his own goalkeeper as the ball eluded them and was nudged over the line by Davies as Elmohamedy barged into him. <st1:place w:st="on">Sunderland</st1:place> trooped off the pitch to much home chagrin, but they will simply be hoping the season’s climax arrives as soon as possible to avoid more strikerless punishment.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><st1:place w:st="on">West Brom</st1:place> continued their superb conclusion to the season under Roy Hodgson, with a well-earned win over Aston Villa. Despite an early comical own goal from Abdoulaye Meite, the Baggies retrieved the points with a poacher’s effort from star man Peter Odemwingie and a persistent run and finish from Youssuf Mulumbu, aided by some abject defending from Luke Young. The one blot was a second yellow card for Paul Scharner for a rugby-style foul on Stylian Petrov, but the home fans were too busy relishing their first victory over their neighbours for 26 years. </div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The biggest shock of the season possibly came at <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Bloomfield Road</st1:address></st1:street>, where <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> failed to score for the first time in the Premier League, and even more surprisingly kept a clean sheet, as they endured a goalless draw against Stoke, who celebrated a rare away result. There were a few presentable chances, but clearly the defining moment in the game came when Kenwyne Jones found himself clean through, rounded the goalkeeper, but astonishingly fired hopelessly wide of a net left open by covering defender Ian Evatt’s untimely loss of footing. The Tangerines live to fight another day.</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-21025670666630099702011-04-27T04:16:00.000-07:002011-04-27T04:18:32.972-07:00Gunners shoot selves in feet<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Arsene Wenger cut a disconsolate figure as his Arsenal team surrendered their slender chances of a title win at the Reebok, while West Ham’s renaissance is well and truly over, as they sink back to the bottom of the league. </div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">‘Chicharito’ was the late hero as Manchester United took a step closer to clinching their record nineteenth top-flight Championship crown by seeing off a resilient Everton at Old Trafford. Hernandez had already tested Tim Howard’s reflexes, first with a snapshot turned aside low down at the American’s near post, the second brilliantly parried after Rooney had found him deftly lurking with intent just outside the six yard box. He then inadvertently ruined Nani’s chances of opening the scoring, after Luis Antonio Valencia had outmuscled Leighton Baines and sent in a low cross. Hernandez slipped at the crucial time as Nani dispatched a shot towards the far corner of the net, only to see it strike the Mexican on the ground, and send it wide. Victor Anichebe and Rio Ferdinand went arm to arm in the box, and the Everton striker went down in a heap, though the fact his final touch had practically taken the ball into Van Der Sar’s arms probably negated the chance of a spot-kick. Jack Rodwell gave United a taste of what they may try to buy, he executed a smart turn and shot from the edge of the box, which called Van Der Sar’s agility into question. The Dutchman responded with an outstanding tip round the post at full stretch. Michael Owen was surprisingly brought on, but responded with a typical poacher’s movement across the front post for a Fabio cross, and his effort deflected off Sylvain Distin and onto the outside of the Everton post. United continued to lay siege to the Toffees’ goal as the game progressed into its latter stages. Patrice Evra bombed forward and found Valencia with a thunderous volley which cannoned back off Jagielka, and was returned with a dinked cross by the Ecuadorian winger, which Hernandez brilliantly climbed to meet, but Howard even more brilliantly tipped over. Everton’s centre-backs were immense, but they were to be undone in the 84<sup>th</sup> minute, when Distin slipped, and from the resulting loss of possession was faced by a wily Valencia, who left him for dead as he delivered a cross which nicked off the Frenchman and looped up invitingly at the back post, where Hernandez had peeled off to with some fantastic movement and nodded down and in with Howard helpless. This win set a new club record for United: 13 home victories in a row. Not bad for a side even their own fans have rated as mediocre for much of the season.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><st1:city w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:city> confirmed they are now the only credible challengers to United, as they spanked West Ham at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Stamford</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Bridge</st1:placetype></st1:place>. With Drogba, Malouda and Kalou starting as the attacking trident, the pattern of the game was dictated very early. A Drogba flick let in Florent Malouda, who forced a manic Green to fly out and block, after just two minutes. West Ham did hit back though, through some great work from Freddie Sears, who nudged the ball past Cashley Cole, and incredibly did him for pace, before cutting back and delivering a cross which Spector was caught in two minds about. Eventually the American stooped to head, and Cech turned it round the post. Sears then almost topped this with an audacious backheel volley as the corner missed everyone else, but Cashley was covering his goal line superbly. The game approached the break in soaking conditions, after some torrential rain, and the Hammers may have had one eye on the dressing room as <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:place></st1:city> launched a late attack in the half, with Drogba sliding a fabulous ball between defenders to release Cashley on the left. The full-back then cut back for Frank Lampard to nearly take the net off with a magnificent drive. The second half saw Chelsea seek to kill the game off, and a Lampard shot was well parried, with Malouda extremely wasteful later on in the same passage; hitting only the side netting when so much more was on. Prolific Brazilian centre-back David Luis then thundered the crossbar from all of 25 yards, while the Hammers launched an immediate counter-attack which culminated in a Ba effort being parried, and Keane shot being gathered by Cech. West Ham began to seize the initiative, but Carlton Cole made a pig’s ear out of a sow’s purse as he declined to fire a great low cross in first time, instead taking myriad touches to try and elude the attentions of three <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:place></st1:city> defenders and eventually crashing to the deck without the ball. Robbie Keane then confirmed why he has gone from playing for English and Scottish Champions’ League teams to relegation battlers, when a lovely slide-rule pass found him ten yards from goal with space, only for him to inexplicably knock the ball wide of the post, to the general astonishment of the away players and fans. Finally, the much maligned man came on for Drogba, with most fans rolling their eyes at the introduction of Fernando Torres, who has even been missing his banjo these days. However, Torres seemed to take to the watery conditions like a duck to…water. He received a cute pass from Lampard and slid it across early to put Nicolas Anelka clean through. The Frenchman beat Green with his shot, but not Gabbidon, who had manned the line adeptly. Finally, the roof came off of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Stamford</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Bridge</st1:placetype></st1:place>, as Anelka returned the favour and found a delightful through-ball to release the Spaniard. As Torres burst into the box he looked as if he would round Green, but the ball held up in a puddle. The crowd prepared to groan, but Torres simply turned in a flash and buried it with his left foot. Cue ten-man pile-on. After Torres recovered from that crushing, he inadvertently continued his good form, as his strange pass found not its target, but Florent Malouda, arriving on cue to unleash the fury all the way into the roof of the West Ham net. Game, set and match.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Arsenal fans have come to expect a disastrous dénouement to a title challenge, and more often than not at the Reebok Stadium. Once again, their fragile grip on a potential title was wrenched away by Bolton Wanderers. The Gunners set the tempo early, with Theo Walcott, once again having a season of unfulfilled potential, seeing a cross-shot saved then cleared. The <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region> winger then claimed a penalty under a dubious challenge from Matt Taylor, and replays showed it should have been awarded. Cesc Fabregas took the initiative and ran purposefully through the heart of the Trotters before firing just wide. Bolton were gutted they didn’t deliver a sucker-punch, when Chung-Yong Lee burst clear, but inexplicably attempted a backheel across to Taylor, who was guarded, and the chance was gone. Johann Djorou’s error let in Matt Taylor; an omen of things to come. Szceszny produced a great save from Lee as Daniel Sturridge crossed, but <st1:place w:st="on">Bolton</st1:place> did take the lead when a corner was headed over the line before Nasri could clear by Gary Cahill. The referee hadn’t signalled and linesmen hadn’t flagged however, so it was necessary that Sturridge forced in the rebound. Arsenal responded quickly, with Fabregas striking the post from twenty yards, but they were almost out of it, when another naïve error from Djorou saw him concede a soft penalty, as Sturridge got goal side of him and went down. Fortunately for the Gunners, Kevin Davies produced an inept spot-kick and they equalised rapidly, with Robin Van Persie exchanging passes with Fabregas and drilling the return home. Samir Nasri could have swung the game Arsenal’s way, but was foiled first by Jaaskelainen and then Cahill. Marouane Chamakh then bizarrely attempted to head across to Nasri rather than head towards goal. Some karma returned to haunt Paul Robinson; whose appalling challenge had crocked Abou Diaby in their last meeting; when Chamakh slipped and accidentally upended him painfully. Sczeszny made a late save from Elmander, and most fans were hoping Arsenal could snatch a late winner, but disaster struck when substitute Tamir Cohen darted to the front post to head in a corner in the closing stages, with Nasri miserably ineffective on the post. Cohen then emotionally stripped off his shirt to reveal a t-shirt paying tribute to his dead father Avi. Arsenal were finished, while <st1:place w:st="on">Bolton</st1:place> continue to hold their own in the top eight.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Wigan were dropped straight back into the relegation zone, as Sunderland ensured their safety with a four-goal blitz, despite losing all of their remaining strikers through injury during this game. The Stadium of Light saw a nightmare scenario staring them in the face, as Phil Bardsley and Danny Wellbeck were stretchered off within twenty minutes. The first half only saw one decent chance, when Lee Cattermole’s ponderance almost cost him, but Rodallega’s thumping drive was beaten out by Mignolet. The second half saw things go from bad to worse for the Mackems, as Mohammed Diame turned brilliantly on the edge of the box, and unleashed a super strike past Mignolet to put Wigan a goal to the good. This lead lasted just over two minutes, as a free-kick not cleared properly saw Steed Malbranque deliver a fine cross which Asamoah Gyan rose to head in above the crowd. Just as Sunderland saw a route back, their star striker Gyan pulled up from a chase with a hamstring pull, and <st1:place w:st="on">Sunderland</st1:place> were strikerless. Sulley Muntari came on, and he was involved with the second goal, as Jordan Henderson brilliantly chested his teased return across the box past two defenders, and rattled in at Al-Habsi’s near post. Stephane Sessegnon was then clattered by <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place> captain Antonin Alcaraz for a blatant penalty; duly dispatched by the aggrieved. The fourth goal caught Wigan cold with a lightning counter-attack, though there was an incredible lack of responsibility in their defence, as players ambled back in no particular hurry, leaving Sessegnon to pick out two Sunderland men in ten yards of space inside the <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place> box. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Henderson</st1:place></st1:city> once again took responsibility, and finished crisply. Wigan only got a consolation in the last minute, as a lovely pass set Moses away into the box, and his cross was drilled low through a defender’s legs for Franco Di Santo to poach at the back post, incredibly only his second goal in 67 appearances in the English game.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Wolves were left galled, as a telling double substitution saw Fulham snatch a draw with just ten minutes remaining. Fulham began the brightest, with Mexican left-back Carlos Salcido cutting onto his right foot and belting an effort in from outside the box which required an excellent save from Hennessey. Salcido then sent in a delicious cross, but his American team-mate Clint Dempsey missed a sitter in the middle of the box, as he skied the chance. Stephen Fletcher got the reward for his endeavour, as he headed in a cross at the back post to leave the Molineux fans dreaming of salvation. Jamie O’Hara almost improved the picture with a spin and shot which went narrowly wide. Wayne Hennessey inexplicably failed to cut out a low cross, but Karl Henry proved the hero as he dived in front of Moussa Dembele to leave his net intact. Guedioura sent in a cracker which was saved at full stretch by Schwarzer, and it looked as if Fulham were finished. That is, until their three inspired substitutions. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Zamora</st1:place></st1:city> and Kakuta were sent on after 69 minutes, but the breakthrough came ten minutes later, with the introduction of livewire Andy Johnson. A long clip forward saw <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Zamora</st1:place></st1:city> knock the ball down in the box under heavy pressure, and Johnson took a deft touch to control before readjusting his feet and burying the chance. Kakuta then almost turned the game completely on its head, but his lovely dribble and shot was kept out at his near post by Hennessey, to leave both teams somewhat satisified with their afternoon’s work.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Despite the history of this fixture suggesting a draw, Liverpool conspired to humiliate <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype></st1:place> at Anfield, with the most unlikely of hat-trick scorers. Well, other than maybe Jamie Carragher! Maxi Rodriguez, the Argie with a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp, gobbled up a rebound after a shot from Jay Spearing; the man with a face like a bulldog chewing a wasps nest that fell from the ugly tree before the ugly tree fell on his face, was spilled by Ben Foster. Some superb work from Luis Suarez then found Dirk Kuyt in the box, and despite his first effort being saved, the Dutchman with a face like a butch tranny in a blond ringlet wig spun to fire in the rebound expertly. Things then went from bad to worse for Brum, when Foster was carried off, following an injury attained in the collision with his own man Carr in a bid to stop the second goal. Kuyt headed a free-kick across goal and wide to leave it 2-0 at the break. Luis Suarez delivered a great cross for Maxi to volley in his second, and <st1:place w:st="on">Liverpool</st1:place>’s third, from close range. When Luis Suarez played in Rodriguez again, substitute goalkeeper Doyle beat his effort out, but Jiranek, in his panic to clear, only succeeded in sliding the ball straight back to the Argentine, who gleefully dispatched his hat-trick. The rout was complete when Colin Doyle made a prat of himself, fumbling substitute Joe Cole’s cheeky near post drive embarrassingly into the net for 5-0.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Spurs were crestfallen at giving away a priceless lead to resurgent West Brom, as Roy Hodgson continues to navigate the good ship <st1:place w:st="on">Albion</st1:place> safely into the Premier League docks for next season. Peter Odemwingie; who has been a revelation in his debut season in the Premier League and would surely have been a strong contender for Player of the Year had he not experienced injury and a bit of a slump mid-season; superbly took down a deep cross, outmuscled Benoit Assou-Ekotto, and switched feet to expertly steer the ball across Gomes for the opener just five minutes in. Spurs almost equalised quickly, but William Gallas missed a sitter when he sent a close-range header over from a Rafael Van Der Vaart free-kick. The Lilywhites did get back on level terms before half-time, through a moment of pure class from Roman Pavlyuchenko. The Russian received a short pass on the edge of the box, deftly switched feet and cracked a left-foot drive in low via the post. Minutes later, the Russian proved he is mortal when he blazed a rebound over after a crafty effort from Van Der Vaart had been parried to him. An Odemwingie header was brilliantly saved, and then Jermain Defoe’s moment of immortality came. Searching for his 100<sup>th</sup> goal for Tottenham and his 100<sup>th</sup> goal in the Premier League, he took on Youssouf Mulumbu before firing a left-foot bullet into the corner of <st1:place w:st="on">Albion</st1:place>’s net; reaching not only those two landmarks, but also scoring Tottenham’s 1000<sup>th</sup> Premier League goal at the same time. Tottenham perhaps got caught up in the glory of the moment, but this bubble of contentment was burst crudely in the 81<sup>st</sup> minute, when Simon Cox received the ball at the corner of the 18-yard box, skipped outside Gallas and whipped a lovely effort over Sandro’s head and into the top corner to earn a crucial point which probably sees the Baggies safe, whilst simultaneously crushing Spurs’ hopes of usurping Mancitti into that precious Champions’ League berth. </div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Mancitti’s £27million boy Edin Dzeko joined Fernando Torres in the ranks of the relieved, as he finally began paying back his huge price tag with a crucial winner against Blackburn at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Ewood</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Park</st1:placetype></st1:place>. Rovers are crumbling, as this was their tenth match in a row without victory, and they sit just one point above the relegation zone. Despite re-signing talisman Roque Santa Cruz, Rovers have suffered from a chronic lack of firepower, and many would say they have the most to fear of all the relegation-threatened teams, having no Sam Allardyce to turn to when you need percentage play to drag you out of the mire. Mancitti carved them open in just the third minute, when David Silva struck the post, and Gareth Barry saw his header cleared off the line by Michel Salgado before <st1:place w:st="on">Blackburn</st1:place> offered some resistance in the form through Samba and later Olsson hitting the side netting. David Silva just missed the target with a curling effort, before Adam Johnson was replaced by that man Dzeko, and within three minutes he had struck the decisive goal; smashing a poor Phil Jones clearance from a Silva cross into the net in an instant. Still Rovers had a chance of salvation, but Jones’ night got worse as he headed a great chance over, and Hart denied Olsson.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Blackpool are still alive and kicking, after picking up a crucial point at home to Newcastle, but will be kicking themselves that they couldn’t rediscover their early season cutting edge. Martin Atkinson did the Seasiders no favours when he turned down a blatant penalty, as DJ Campbell nicked the ball away from Mike Williamson, who swiped and missed the ball totally, sending <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Campbell</st1:place></st1:city> down. Gary Taylor-Fletcher then sent a shot narrowly wide and agonisingly missed a cross, before Charlie Adam lazily gave the ball away, leading to Lovenkrands receiving it and driving it home from the edge of the box. <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> were seething that they were denied another penalty claim through a moment of farce. An incredibly moronic backpass across his own area by Jose Enrique saw Tim Krul scrambling to reach it. DJ Campbell got to the ball first and went down under Krul’s challenge, though replays show the striker actually poked at goal a split second before going down, and Krul turned the shot away before their collision. <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> got themselves level just after the half-hour, when DJ Campbell flicked a corner in at the near post. Jose Enrique, having one of those games, was clearly standing a couple of yards behind the line when he attempted to head it clear, thus the goal was awarded. Matty Phillips had a good effort saved and then claimed Danny Simpson had handled his return, while a scramble ensued later on in the Toon penalty box. A Charlie Adam cross was nodded back across goal by Ian Evatt; a centre-back who spends more time in the opponent’s area than his own; and an Alex Baptiste volley was cleared off the line. A magnificent Phillips cross was then only directed into the side netting by <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Campbell</st1:place></st1:city>, before Taylor-Fletcher headed a glorious chance over. The chance for a win ended with a thud, when Charlie Adam picked the ball up and drove a crisp shot through Simpson’s legs which came back off the post and away. If <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> go down it will be a tragedy for the Premier League.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Surprise FA Cup finalists Stoke City grabbed a surprise away point, as Aston Villa edged further clear of danger in the absence of their convalescing manager. Brad Friedel produced a couple of outstanding saves from first Huth and then even better from Jones, but a long, flat throw from Rory Delap saw Jones outjump Richard Dunne to give the Potters the lead. The equaliser was clinical in its execution, as a <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Walker</st1:place></st1:city> cross saw Darren Bent run across the ball and glance it in off the post superbly. Ricardo Fuller had the ball in the net late on, but it was disallowed for a clear offside, and both sides were reasonably happy at the end; looking forward to at least another season of this fixture.</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-72006280664944683932011-04-18T07:04:00.000-07:002011-04-18T07:57:35.664-07:00Pool fall down<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">As the two underdogs reached the FA Cup final, the Premier League saw little movement at the top, but much at the bottom.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Wigan Athletic grasped the survival bull by the horns and rode it to temporary safety with a crucial win against fellow relegation candidates <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place>, who were well and truly gored. The <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Bloomfield Road</st1:address></st1:street> faithful were desperate to see <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> stop the rot and put some daylight between them and the bottom of the table, but instead it was the Latics who finally lifted themselves from the foot of the table and indeed out of the danger zone, however temporarily. Ian Holloway would surely have instilled the importance of defensive discipline in his players, but you just can’t legislate for the kind of slapstick buffoonery displayed by Ian Cathcart within a couple of minutes of kick-off. With a free-kick just inside Wigan’s half, there was absolutely no danger, until Cathcart played the ball away from all nearby team-mates, and watched in horror as Charles N’Zogbia pounced and bombed into the <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> half with half the opposition in his wake. Cathcart then completed his comedy masterclass by slipping on his backside in retreat, allowing Hugo Rodallega to make a diagonal run through the heart of the <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> defence, receive a slide-rule pass from N’Zogbia and drill across the advancing Gilks for the opening goal. Wigan got away with a slip up themselves, when a Crainey cross saw Alcaraz take a tumble as Campbell got a touch, but not a potent enough one to send it into the net as it drifted just wide. A tidy Wigan Athletic move saw Diame feed Charles N’Zogbia, who could only find the side netting, and Ian Holloway must have thought he would be making a half-time speech on how to recover from a goal down, before his talk got a lot tougher. It was another comedy of errors when a throw-in that should have been sent up the line found Charlie Adam short, who bizarrely surrendered what should have been a comfortable pass, to Charles N’Zogbia scenting blood. The French winger galloped forward and had both retreating <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> centre-backs with twisted blood as he made his way into the box, before brilliantly poking the ball wide of a stunned and flat-footed Gilks for a magnificent individual goal. You could almost hear the Tangerine despondency. <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place>’s attempts to recover before the half ended were foiled when Al-Habsi dealt with a Grandin header comfortably. The second half saw the usually composed Gilks flap at an N’Zogbia cross-shot, and it was 3-0 when Diame was allowed to find room on the edge of the box to strike a shot that cannoned in off the luckless Neil Eardley. <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> continued their enviable home scoring record late on after Charlie Adam’s free-kick fell to Matty Phillips, who sent in a lovely low cross converted ahead of Gary Caldwell by the predatory DJ Campbell. Hot prospect Phillips later had a jinking run culminate in a decent shot, but Al-Habsi covered it, and <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> now suffer the inevitable consequence of their appalling run, as they sink down among the dead men. Can their insatiable optimism see them out again?</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">A ludicrous finale to this match saw Arsenal throw away yet another lead, as their long-suffering fans accepted they cannot win the title. The game began with such Arsenal dominance that it was difficult to foresee such a climax. Abou Diaby had already flicked a Nasri free-kick narrowly wide when Laurent Koscielny beat Jose Reina to a Van Persie corner; seeing his header bounce back off the crossbar. Van Persie himself was denied a superb volleyed goal by the linesman’s flag, while at the other end Luis Suarez bobbed and weaved an opening, but lost control at the point of shooting. When Fabio Aurelio was forced off with injury, Liverpool were forced into having two teenagers; John Flanagan and Jack Robinson; at full-back, a position which the <st1:place w:st="on">Liverpool</st1:place> academy seems to produce for in abundance. The two seemed to be coping well, but in the second half the veteran Jamie Carragher suffered from heading the top of Flanagan’s head and knocking himself unconscious. This long stoppage led to the injury time which saw both goals. Suarez and Kuyt cut Arsenal’s defence to ribbons, but Suarez’s shot was well saved by Szczesny. An intricate Arsenal move saw Van Persie put in, but his shot was superbly dealt with by Reina. Finally, six minutes into stoppage time, Fabregas performed a drag-back inside the <st1:place w:st="on">Liverpool</st1:place> box, bought hook line and sinker by the facially-challenged Jay Spearing, who took him down. Van Persie executed the perfect penalty, and the Gunners hoardes were in raptures. Little were they to know that a moment of foolishness from Emmanuel Eboue would surrender their short-lived lead in the eight minute of stoppage time. After Dirk Kuyt had almost caught out Sczczesny from the kick-off, the ball found its way into the Arsenal half . Lucas was fouled, and from the resultant free-kick, the same player chased a loose ball going away from goal, and Eboue stupidly barged into him as the Brazilian cynically stopped and bought the foul. Kuyt bagged the penalty, and Wenger got in a spat with Dalglish, as the game ended in farce. The Gunners fire blanks once again.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The battle of the Clarets ended with West Ham once again spilling into the gutter like a cheap bottle of plonk, while like a fine vintage, Villa get better as the season progresses, picking up vital points which should see them clear of danger. The Hammers were definitely happy after a couple of minutes, when a scramble from a corner culminated in Hitzlsperger nodding the ball back in for Robbie Keane, who spun and fired in from close range, after being played onside by the sluggish man on the post. Carlton Cole then took an awkward ball superbly on his chest, before swivelling and forcing a low save from Friedel. Darren Bent was aggrieved when he was denied a well-taken equaliser for an alleged push on Jakobsen, though it appeared as if the West Ham defender just failed to get off the ground early enough. David Dunne was then fortunate to get away with a typically clumsy last-man foul on Carlton Cole sans red card, and this looked a vital decision when Villa did equalise. Mark Noble fatally dithered in clearing inside his own box and was dispossessed. Ashley Young worked an opening and whipped in a peach of a cross which was dispatched via the head of Darren Bent. Bent then forced Rob Green into an excellent near post save, while Green had to be even more agile to tip a superbly bent free-kick from Ashley Young wide of the mark. Darren Bent then contrived to miss his usual sitter, when he made a pig’s ear out of a Kyle Walker cross. Carlton Cole had a chance when the ball bounced over Richard Dunne, but the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region> striker couldn’t convert. Villa looked to have earnt a draw, but they got their just rewards for attacking intent when Stewart Downing advanced in the last minute, cut inside his man and drilled at goal. Green saved but could only parry, and the ball was eventually picked up, turned and crossed by Ashley Young for Gabriel Agbonlahor to score a priceless last minute winner which lifts Villa as high as ninth; ending their relegation fears and renewing West Ham’s.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Sunderland continue to plummet, as they lost to a <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:place></st1:city> side who are edging towards safety. Cameron Jerome was foiled in a one-on-one, before <st1:place w:st="on">Sunderland</st1:place> almost scored. The tenacity of Lee Cattermole won the ball in the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:place></st1:city> box, and a scramble ensued, before the loose ball was hammered towards goal by Sessegnon, only to see Roger Johnson manipulate his body to block on the goal-line. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:place></st1:city>’s goal was a sucker-punch few saw coming, as the normally excellent Simon Mignolet boobed big time. Jerome flicked on a Foster hoof, and Mignolet clearly called for the ball as Bardsley attempted to shield. Mignolet did not get to the ball in time, and allowed Larsson to steal in and poke under his body as Bardsley chastised his goalkeeper. Asamoah Gyan curled a shot which was expertly tipped wide by Foster, while Jordan Henderson bent a shot just wide. Lee Cattermole forced a low save, and Barry Ferguson was forced to make another goal-line clearance as Turner attempted to force a corner in. The Sunderland pressure looked intolerable as Danny Wellbeck headed another corner narrowly over, but it was <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:place></st1:city> who notched a second against the run of play, as Craig Gardner picked up a pass on the edge of the box and unleashed a swerving left-foot drive past Mignolet’s despairing dive. This appeared to knock the stuffing out of the Mackems, and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:city></st1:place> could have had a third as substitute Alexander Hleb broke and slipped a lovely through-ball to Matt Derbyshire, who showed the advantage of looking up, as he failed to and scuffed an embarrassing effort well wide.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">West Brom finally lost under Roy Hodgson, to a <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:place></st1:city> side who look most clinical when their season has already faded into obscurity. The Baggies began bravely, after Morrison laid back to Mulumbu, who cleared the crossbar. An intricate set of passes under pressure saw Jerome Thomas fend off three defenders and play through John Terry for Peter Odemwingie, who dinked the ball lovingly over the advancing Cech for a cracking opener. Unfortunately for the home fans, Scott Carson was in one of those moods where an inexplicable clanger is just around the corner. Cashley Cole stabbed the ball wide for Salomon Kalou on the overlap, and his low cross should have been dealt with, though Carson misjudged it spectacularly, missing it even at full stretch, and when a desperate Shorey’s attempted clearance only fell invitingly for Didier Drogba, the writing was on the wall. West brom’s lead had lasted less than five minutes. Less than five minutes after that goal, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:place></st1:city> were in front. Perhaps the Baggies were caught feeling sorry for themselves, as Drogba rode a challenge and fired in a shot which was spilled by Carson, who then did not cover himself in glory as Kalou struck the loose ball across him and in. Carson finally did something right when he dealt with a stinging Lampard free-kick, but when a Chelsea break saw Florent Malouda lay back to Frank Lampard, this time the England midfielder took a touch and drilled in before two defenders could challenge. Didier Drogba then proved his worth at the opposite end by clearing off the line, while Salomon Kalou went from the fantastic to farcical, when his attempt at a diving header failed miserably. He almost returned to fantastic with a lovely swivel and shot, but the effort incredibly bounced into the ground off a defender, and back up onto the crossbar. Everyone’s favourite target of mockery came on, and immediately had to deal with the derision that follows when you think you have finally broken your scoring duck, only to look up and see the linesman’s flag taunting you. Chris Brunt could only direct a fantastic headed chance straight at Petr Cech in reply, before it got even more embarrassing for Fernando, as his team-mates were obviously doing everything to get him a goal. A Malouda free-kick was laid to Torres in space as <st1:place w:st="on">West Brom</st1:place> went to sleep, but the Spaniard completed his afternoon with a horrendous miskick.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The injury-crippled Everton keep on trucking, as they picked up another fantastic victory at home to relegation candidates <st1:place w:st="on">Blackburn</st1:place>. Beckford and Neville had both seen efforts saved, before French youngster Magaye Gueye cracked an effort just over. The Toffees’ hero of the hour has recently been Leon Osman, and the diminutive midfielder received a short corner, beat a statuesque Emerton and drove a well-placed shot across Robinson, which took a nick off Samba’s toes as it flew in. Everton’s second arrived when young Phil Jones foolishly whipped Seamus Coleman’s leg away inside the box, and Leighton Baines converted the penalty adeptly. <st1:place w:st="on">Blackburn</st1:place> looked poor throughout, and their best chance was thrown away, when Baines and Jagielka crashed into each other and the ball fell invitingly to Morten Gamst Pedersen, who somehow volleyed wide with the goal at his mercy. Rovers continue to drop, Everton continue to rise.</div><br />
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</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-4672206850779453202011-04-13T05:45:00.000-07:002011-04-13T05:46:40.506-07:00No change for a change<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">No change at the top or bottom in one of the more predictable weekends of Premiership action so far.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Manchester United comfortably brushed off a Fulham side who have yet to shake off their reputation as easy touches on the road. Fulham actually began the game the stronger, with <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:place></st1:city> loanee Gael Kakuta producing a classy backheel turn and snapshot which was well saved by Tomas Kusczak, while Bobby Zamora screwed a chance set up by a rare Scholes error well wide. The Cottagers were made to rue this profligacy, when a superb move saw the home side open the scoring. Dimitar Berbatov backheeled to Nani and got on his bike. Nani dipped and swerved past three men, before playing a one-two in a hugely tight area with <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Anderson</st1:place></st1:city>, and in the same movement beautifully slipping the ball through for Berbatov to slot home. Replays showed a marginal offside decision, but the Bulgarian was allowed the benefit of the doubt. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Anderson</st1:place></st1:city> dragged his effort wide after being put in by Berbatov, but it was 2-0 just after the half-hour, with Patrice Evra superbly setting Nani away, who duly rounded the goalkeeper and attempted to lob the goal-line defenders. The first defender saved the goal, but only delayed it a second, as it was nodded over the line by the well-placed <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Valencia</st1:country-region></st1:place>. The rest of the match was remarkably languid, bar an <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Anderson</st1:place></st1:city> effort beaten out by Schwarzer, and a cracking rising drive from Eidur Gudjohnsen which was fantastically saved, though not noticed by the officials, by Kusczak. Finally, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Zamora</st1:place></st1:city> found Chris Baird rampaging from full-back, but he could only clear the crossbar with his effort. United looked comfortable without Rooney, suspended of course for swearing into a Sky Sports camera after netting a hat-trick against West Ham. A few ‘experts’ have suggested his behaviour was ‘unprecedented’, though they must have very short memories:</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/drogba-rages-as-chelsea-crash-out-in-blaze-of-fury-1680489.html</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">A tremendous spectacle at the Stadium of Light ended with Roy Hodgson celebrating a crucial victory, at the same time as extending his unbeaten stewardship. The Baggies’ board might have shown grotesque disloyalty to Roberto Di Matteo, but they have partially redeemed this with their choice of successor. Hodgson has instilled a defensive nous into <st1:place w:st="on">West Brom</st1:place>, apparently without compromising much of their attacking verve, and in doing so has almost guided them to safety with six games remaining. Meanwhile, <st1:place w:st="on">Sunderland</st1:place>’s appalling run of one point from seven matches became one from eight. In fact, since Darren Bent left, they have amassed just four points from a possible twenty-seven. It all seemed so promising when Elmohamedy pressured Nicky Shorey into heading a Gyan cross into his own net. But <st1:place w:st="on">West Brom</st1:place> are made of stern stuff these days, and they came roaring back with a close-range equaliser from Peter Odemwingie. <st1:place w:st="on">Sunderland</st1:place> shrugged this off when Kieran Richardson laid off a free-kick for Phil Bardsley, with the aid of a slight deflection, to unleash into the top corner. Mackems fans were gleeful at the break, but it was all to be turned to despair in the second period, as only the Baggies came out bouncing. Some patient passing and movement around the edge of the Sunderland box saw a series of intricate one-twos let in Youssuf Mulumbu to stab cutely past Mignolet with the outside of his boot. A Brunt free-kick was nodded down by Olsson to force a magnificent point-blank save from Mignolet, before another patient and precise build-up saw substitute Andy Reid slide the ball down the line for Odemwingie, who pulled back for Paul Schnarner to ghost in between defenders and guide the ball into the net for a glorious winner. </div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><st1:place w:st="on">Liverpool</st1:place> confirmed their renaissance under Kenny Dalglish by wiping the floor with Champions’ League place contenders Mancitti. Andy Carroll scored a brace, putting his ‘makeweight’ Fernando Torres in the shade, while for City it was the worst possible circumstance before their FA Cup semi-final against city rivals United, as Carlos Tevez limped off with a hamstring injury. Uruguayan schemer Luis Suarez had already seen an effort from him tipped against the post by Joe Hart, but when Raul Meireles’ long-range stinger thudded back off Vincent Kompany, Carroll thundered the loose ball home from the edge of the box; with his weaker foot no less. Kompany’s evening got worse, as once again he deflected a cross right to into the stride of a Liverpool player, this time Dirk Kuyt, who ran onto the gift and slid it precisely into the corner of Hart’s net. City’s misery was compounded when Meireles sent a searching cross into the box, and Aleksandr Kolarov could only head onto the muscular challenge of Carroll, whose head guided it sweetly into the net past a despairing Hart. City were bereft of inspiration, even when hothead Balotelli came on for Tevez and then, humiliatingly, was substituted himself for hatchet man Nigel De Jong. Perhaps Mancini felt he needed to tighten up? Yaya Toure produced perhaps the best effort for the away side with a 30 yard rocket that Reina kept out well, but Kuyt narrowly nodded a cross wide and Carroll narrowly over at the death, to leave the crowd in no doubt as to whom had bossed the game.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Tottenham ensured they have not fallen out of contention for a Champions’ League berth next season, as they beat <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Stoke</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype></st1:place> 3-2 in a pulsating match at <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">White Hart Lane</st1:address></st1:street>. Perhaps the most incredible statistic that Match of the Day pulled out was that Stoke had actually shared 53% of possession, against a home side whose game is based on incisive passing, so the route one-ers seemed to adapt their game adeptly. Even the two Potters goals were superb examples of flowing open play. Gareth Bale had already tested Asmir Begovic, before Roman Pavlyuchenko lifted the ball cutely over the goalkeeper, only to find Wilkinson diligently guarding his goal. Unfortunately for Stoke, the resultant short corner was not pressed, and Pavlyuchenko swung in a delightful cross for Crouch to head in virtually on his knees. Just seven minutes later and it was two. Luka Modric instigated a move and received a clever return from Pavlyuchenko, before cantering through and nutmegging Begovic for a fabulous goal. Last week, Jonathan Walters nicked the ball on the halfway line, before racing clear and scoring an incredible goal. This time, Matty Etherington was determined to prove he could do it just as well. Again nicking possession on halfway, Etherington’s Ferrari steamed clear of Huddlestone’s tractor, before beating Gomes from a seemingly impossible angle. The away fans were in raptures and roared their team on to level, but it was Spurs who maintained their two goal cushion. The ball was raked from right to left to Assou-Ekotto, who sent a searching ball cross-field to his fellow full-back Corluka. The Croatian gave the ball to Huddlestone, whose floated cross found Crouch lurking with intent. The beanpole did the business, and Spurs were once again in control, but before half-time the game was flipped on its head once more. Gareth Bale proved he can do wrong, as his dithering on halfway saw him dispossessed with a classic tackle from Wilkinson. Kenwyne Jones took the slack, and before Spurs could compose themselves, the Trinidadian belted a tremendous 25 yard shot in off the crossbar. The fans could not believe what they were seeing, and unfortunately that was it for goals, though the second half was not lacking in incident. Stoke had a clanger of a chance to take a point, but when Jones’ low cross was touched by Gomes, it hit Walters four yards out with an open net and came off the post. Pavlyuchenko’s diving header from a devious Bale cross went inches wide, while Youned Kaboul was bemoaning the officials, when he scored what he felt was a legitimate goal from a corner; appearing to head the ball out of Begovic’s grasp with no foul. A Pavlyuchenko stonger was beaten out by Begovic, and Jones responded in kind with his own vicious effort, but 3-2 it remained. Crouch redeemed.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">West Ham’s revival was killed off mercilessly by Bolton Wanderers, at a ground which has never been particularly kind to the Hammers. They had never won at the Reebok, and they never looked like doing so this time. Daniel Sturridge was a class apart for the Trotters, and his relationship with both Kevin Davies and Johan Elmander created umpteen opportunities. That he didn’t claim the matchball was something of a mystery. After Sturridge had spun and fired an early effort just wide, Johan Elmander helped on a Davies flick, and the youngster controlled in an instant, switched feet and guided it beautifully into the net with no backlift. A brilliant Martin Petrov centre found the smallest man on the field; Chung-Yong Lee, who nevertheless headed in expertly for 2-0. Sturridge brought the house down with his second, as he picked the ball up in a seemingly harmless position, out on the left touchline. He then proceeded to move across the box unchallenged, before cutting niftily outside Scott Parker and drilling low into the net with his left foot. He must have thought his hat-trick was secure when he cantered through later on, but was foiled by a last-ditch challenge from James Tomkins. West Ham still showed signs of life, and Jaaskelainen had to be at his best to save a Demba Ba Header, while at the other end, Sturridge’s next chance of a hat-trick was spurned, when he couldn’t clear Green with his attempted lob. Demba Ba again was West Ham’s most potent threat, and slipped as he sent a shot cannoning off the post. Finally Sturridge once again showed the Hammers defence a clean pair of heels, but could only fire his cross-shot wide of the post.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">With West Ham losing, Wolves could have done with a result at home to an unpredictable Everton side again shorn of any experience on the bench, and youngster Maguaye Gueye making an appearance. The Old Golds gave their fans something to cheer first, when Stephen Fletcher had a header cleared off the line by Leon Osman. It was the first action of a man-of-the-match display from the diminutive midfielder. Wolves felt they should have had a penalty when Sylvain Ebanks-Blake wriggled into the box, and went down under a dubious challenge from Phil Jagielka, though they both had firm hold of each other’s shirts. Everton took the lead somewhat against the run of play, when a perfect cross into the ‘corridor of uncertainty’ between goalkeeper and defenders saw Jermaine Beckford gambling and running across his man to nod into the net. Guedioura replied by bending a good effort narrowly wide, and Osman superbly turned Berra before sending in a dangerous cross for Beckford to head powerfully at goal which Hennessey saved brilliantly. A goalmouth scramble at the other end saw Wolves only fail to score because of a magnificent saving block from a combination of Jagielka and Osman, and this proved crucial when they scored the killer second. George Elokobi had almost scored an own-goal, and in the aftermath Jermaine Beckford picked up the pieces; holding the ball up and laying back to Phil Neville, who struck a rising drive that took a nick on its way into the top corner. Youngter Gueye was sent through soon after, but ran out of legs as he approached goal under pressure, and could only poke an effort that was saved by Hennessey’s legs. The third goal was a collective disaster for Wolves before half-time. Stephen Fletcher won a 50-50 on halfway, but Jamie O’Hara left it for a team-mate, only to see the loose ball seized upon by Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, who advanced a few yards before swerving a belting shot into Hennessey’s top corner for a glorious third. The Molineuk faithful let their team know in no uncertain terms that this was not acceptable. The second half saw an improvement of sorts, though efforts from Henry, Guedioura and a near own-goal from Jagielka all fell short of the target Wolves needed, and David Moyes celebrated a fantastic victory, despite his threadbare squad reaching breaking point.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Another storming game at <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Bloomfield Road</st1:address></st1:street>, another demoralising defeat for ‘Ollie’s Tangerine army. <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place>’s vibrant attacking play was countered by the kind of laissez-faire defending that Arsenal wish they could face every week. A raking crossfield ball from a Cesc Fabregas who couldn’t believe his space found Robin Van Persie on the left, and he was given adequate time to comfortably deliver a low cross for a completely un-noticed Abou Diaby to glide into the box and finish. Keeping tight after a goal is an alien concept to <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place>, and so less than three minutes had elapsed before Emmanuel Eboue of all people had exchanged passes with Wilshere before crashing the ball into the net with his left foot before a challenge could be made. Fabregas’ favourite piece was the chipped dink over the top of an incredibly high Blackpool offside line, and it let in Samir Nasri to swivel and volley brilliantly past Kingson, but his effort bounced off the outside of the post. A carbon copy Fabregas through-ball then let in Robin Van Persie, though this time Kingson had made himself a makeshift sweeper. This delayed the striker enough to have to look for Diaby in support, and the big midfielder dithered and tried to walk the ball in; inevitably losing out. <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place>’s offside trap finally worked, when a Squillaci flick was volleyed in from close range by Van Persie, only to be correctly flagged. <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place>’s attempts to reduce the arrears before half-time were thwarted, when somehow a combination of Lehmann’s legs and Nasri’s composure cleared a scrambled effort off the line. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The second half finally saw <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> take the game to Arsenal, and they reduced the deficit quickly. Jack Wilshere made a scything foul on halfway, but the referee waved play on as <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> launched a lightning counter-attack. The ball was slid superbly into DJ Campbell in the box, who rounded Lehmann and was wiped out. Luckily for the German, the referee once again allowed play to continue, avoiding a red card but allowing Gary Taylor-Fletcher to slot in the loose ball. <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> then took charge and had Arsenal under the cosh. The referee, who had up til then handled the game well, then made an absolute howler, when <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> worked the ball to Taylor-Fletcher two yards inside the box. As Koscielny approached he nudged the ball across to a team-mate, but was clattered by Koscielny’s ill-judged slide well after the ball had gone. The referee appeared to only have eyes on the ball and did not award the cast-iron spot-kick. Keith Southern met a devious cross at the near post from point-blank range, but could only nod across goal, and <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place> lamented these moments, as Arsenal sealed the game. Diaby brilliantly held off a challenge in his own half before feeding Fabregas on halfway, who flicked expertly to Theo Walcott, who turned on the afterburners and crossed low for Van Persie to finish. There was one more chance from <st1:city w:st="on">Campbell</st1:city> saved by Lehmann, but this was a tale of what could have been for <st1:place w:st="on">Blackpool</st1:place>.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:place></st1:city> somehow ground out an ugly win over a team they beat by eight goals in this fixture last season. <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place> offered little in attack, but held out remarkably, until the referee bizarrely allowed a goal which relied on the £50 million substitute Fernando Torres sticking his arm right into Al-Habsi’s face and not getting anything on the ball. Florent Malouda eventually bundled the ball into the net, but it was a shocking decision. Otherwise, Al-Habsi made excellent stops from Malouda, Drogba, and late on a superb reflex save from the one great effort from Torres. <st1:city w:st="on">Chelsea</st1:city> loanee Franco Di Santo had the best effort for <st1:place w:st="on">Wigan</st1:place>, who nevertheless must have expected a defeat here. Their lack of goal threat however will cause much consternation amongst the Latics’ support in their increasingly desperate bid for survival. </div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Two of the uglier sisters in the Premiership pantomime met at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Ewood</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Park</st1:placetype></st1:place>, and it ended in a stale stalemate. Lee Bowyer opened the account with a minging goal; bundling in on the line from Cameron Jerome’s centre. Sebastien Larsson sent a free-kick thudding against the inside of Robinson’s post, while Craig Gardner cleared a Rovers effort off the line. Birmingham must have thought they were heading for a half-time lead, but after a Roger Johnson head injury had meant seven minutes of additional time, Liam Ridgewell’s head was clearly already in the dressing room, as he was caught napping and dispossessed by Junior Hoilett, who proceeded to round Foster and score on the stroke of the whistle. The second period saw Hoilett again work his magic, but his dinked cross could only be headed onto the top of the bar by Roque Santa Cruz. It is a mystery worthy of Sherlock Holmes as to what has happened to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Santa Cruz</st1:place></st1:city>’s ability. Perhaps he has left it in the same place as Fernando Torres.</div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Gerard Houllier breathed a hefty sigh of relief as his Villa team nicked a vital victory against a <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Newcastle</st1:place></st1:city> side who obliterated them 6-0 earlier in the season. Of course that team had Andy Carroll, and Newcastle were also missing their defensive midfield lynchpin Chekh Tiote, their goalscoring midfielder Kevin Nolan, and their next most potent strikers Leon Best and Shola Ameobi, although they did possess ‘England’s best midfielder’ in Joey Barton. Villa’s goal came after Mr Modest had conceded a cheap free-kick to Ashley Young, who picked himself up to deliver a whipped masterpiece of a free-kick which James Collins just had to run across his man to meet and help on its way into the corner of the net. Villa had the chance to extend that lead, but Darren Bent does what he tends to do sometimes; miss a howling sitter, after an inviting floated cross from Downing left the goal at his mercy. Bent then made up for it after Jean Makoun had turned his man brilliantly and sent in a perfect pass for the England man to spin and find the net, though it was wrongly adjudged to be offside. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Newcastle</st1:place></st1:city>’s best chances fell to Peter Lovenkrands, who was denied by the continued excellence of Brad Friedel. Gabriel Agbonlahor tested Steve Harper at the other end, but in the end it was the narrowest of margins for a fragile-looking Villa, who live to fight another day.</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-11421770615158432702011-04-05T14:08:00.000-07:002011-04-05T14:08:06.087-07:00Blue air green grass<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">A stirring second-half comeback and the air turned blue, as Wayne Rooney found his shooting boots to gun down the Hammers and increase Manchester United’s lead at the summit of the Premier League to six points, as Arsenal stumbled to an unlikely goalless home draw to Blackburn. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Upton Park has always proved a troublesome travel spot for Manchester United, having lost the title there twice amongst other results. It looked very much as if history would repeat itself when West Ham raced into a two goal first half lead, chiefly down to another inept display from this unpredictable United side. Within eleven minutes, a long ball from Thomas Hitzlsperger caught Patrice Evra on his heels, and as he raced goalside of Carlton Cole, the <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">England</place></country-region> striker flicked the ball up onto the Frenchman’s raised arm for a penalty. Mark Noble coped with the pressure admirably, stroking the penalty expertly low into the corner of the net. West Ham looked confident, and when Carlton Cole deployed a double stepover, Nemanja Vidic’s legs turned to jelly and he reacted by lunging to bring down Cole right on the line of the penalty box. Noble netted one of the finest penalties you will ever see the second time, hitting the ‘postage stamp’ of the opposite corner. United finally came out of their daze, with Rooney firing in a low cross which Park Ji-Sung met fiercely from point-blank range, though Rob Green was in the right place to parry it brilliantly. The Hammers went in for the break two goals to the good, and United were not showing much to suggest a revival was on the cards. The second period saw Javier Hernandez sent on for Patrice Evra, and, incredibly, Ryan Giggs dropping to play at left-back. Being Ryan Giggs, he then proceeded to make the position his own. Nemanja Vidic continued as he left off, this time hauling Demba Ba down as last man. Fortunately for the big Serb, the ball’s bounce favoured Kuszcak rather than Ba, thus saving him from a sending off. He really tested Lee Mason’s resolve minutes later though, when he made another clumsy foul on Ba which a lot of referees would have cautioned. United were displaying more purpose after the introduction of Dimitar Berbatov, and within a minute of his arrival, Michael Carrick was scythed down on the edge of the box by penalty hero Noble. Wayne Rooney stepped up to whip the ball into the corner of Green’s net, though incredibly West Ham’s wall did not jump, which most likely would have prevented the goal. Berbatov was looking full of finesse, and his lithe trickery saw him almost profit, but for Green’s alertness, low at his near post. The waves of attack were mounting, and when Luis Antonio Valencia cut back onto his left foot and coaxed a low cross in, Wanye Rooney took an immaculate first touch to get the ball out of his feet and leave Da Costa and Upson reeling, setting himself for his second; a superb drive into the corner of the net for the equaliser. West Ham visibly sank, and when Matthew Upson stupidly went to ground in reaction to Fabio’s burst into the box, he got up just in time to see the ball strike his arm. A bit harsh, but <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Wayne</place></city> Rooney thrashed home the spot-kick before indulging in some naughty language directly into the Sky Sports cameras. Didier Drogba eat your heart out. The final few minutes saw some West Ham resistance, but United ended the contest with five minutes to go. A languid Berbatov held the ball up until Giggs arrived on the scene, and when the makeshift veteran left-back drove into the box and thumped the ball across, Matthew Upson was nutmegged and Hernandez reacted in a split second to slide the loose ball in.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Arsenal dropped yet more crucial points and even failed to score at home against a <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> side in freefall. Theo Walcott nearly made a difference early on, being denied by Robinson and almost forcing Ryan Nelsen into an own goal. Samir Nasri then clashed heads with Nelsen and received a lump the size of an ostrich egg. Despite his painful injury, the toothy Frenchman was involved in an excellent move which culminated in a low cross which Jack Wilshere unbelievably put wide from the centre of the box with time and space. While you expect Arsenal to miss a shedload of chances, you are always also expecting Laurent Koscielny or Manuel Almunia to produce a howler at the other end. It was the Manuel show this time, as first he shovelled a routine catch from a nicked Olsson effort a fraction wide, and was then easily beaten to the punch from a Robinson clout by the towering Stephen N’Zonzi, which again dropped just wide of the post. Gunners fans were chewing their fingernails to the knuckle, until N’Zonzi got himself sent off for a stupid stamp tackle on Koscielny. At this point it seemed Rovers had surrendered their chance of a result, but despite Wenger throwing on the aerial threats of Bendtner and Chamakh, Arsenal couldn’t make a breakthrough. A Bendtner header found Salgado dutifully guarding his post, and Robin Van Persie leapt into Chamakh’s path to head a fantastic chance well over. And that was that.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Stoke finally put up a fight against <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> at the Britannia Stadium, and could quite feasibly have come away with a win. They took the game to <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> and opened the scoring with a magnificent goal completely outside the normal Stoke handbook. Jonathan Walters nicked a loose ball away from a statuesque Luis on halfway, and galloped the length of the half, before showing composure in cutting outside the challenge of Essien and firing low past Terry and Cech inside the near post. It was a special moment, and typically the Potters faithful erupted. Predictably there came a response, and Asmir Begovic had to be at his best to deny a diving header from Ashley Cole, though he was wrongly judged onside. The goalkeeper brilliantly kept out a Lampard volley, while Nicolas Anelka couldn’t readjust in time to convert the rebound. The Frenchman made amends before half-time by coaxing in an inviting cross which Didier Drogba dived to head in at Begovic’s near post. The second half swung one way then the other. First Jermaine Pennant was denied at the near post by the long legs of Cech, before Ramires set Drogba through. The Ivorian coaxed a shot across Begovic, only to see it clip the foot of the post and come away. If fans thought this was the signal for one way traffic they couldn’t have been more wrong. A Stoke free-kick most would have expected to be clipped high into the box was laid off to Mark Wilson, whose blockbusting effort had to be tipped onto the crossbar by a full-length Cech; a world class save which was incredibly bettered from the resultant corner. The dead ball was clipped in and attacked from point-blank range by Robert Huth, but his belting header once again saw a superlative reflex save from Cech; lunging an arm out to once again help a certain goal onto the crossbar and away. After these two incidents, it was inevitable that <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> went up the other end and almost won it, with a corner falling for Drogba retrieving and spinning to thunder a shot against the crossbar and away again, though the move eventually led to Essien getting away a shot well dealt with by Begovic. Both teams within a whisker of grabbing the victory, but the best chance was last, when a lovely stood-up Etherington cross saw Cech fail to reach and find Ricardo Fuller with the whole goal to aim at a few yards out, but the big Jamaican somehow nodded back across goal rather than in. This game was seemingly destined to be a stalemate. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Mancitti strengthened their grip on a Champions League berth with a five goal demolition of a hapless <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place>. Adam Johnson exchanged passes with Yaya Toure and scored an excellent opener, before Carlos Tevez proved too elusive for Phil Bardsley, who fouled him for a penalty which the Argentinian duly converted, despite Simon Mignolet’s best efforts. <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> finally mustered a form of resistance when Asamoah Gyan flicked the ball up and volleyed narrowly wide from the edge of the box. Headcase Mario Balotelli skinned John Mensah and tested the reflexes of Mignolet once more, before a lovely Tevez ball to Balotelli was blocked, only for the loose ball to be stabbed past Mignolet by the lurking Silva. City’s fourth was borne of a bit of a scramble, with the ball eventually driven across by Kolarov and slid in with his thigh by Patrick Vieira, despite Mignolet’s astonishing agility almost preventing it crossing the line. Balotelli’s swerving, dipping effort was then beaten out by the Belgian to deny him again, but City were not to be denied. Lee Cattermole was harried into playing a ludicrous backpass across his box, and Yaya Toure strode between centre-backs to finish assuredly. There was still time for Elmohamedy to somehow head a Zenden free-kick wide when it looked easier to score, and for Mignolet to win his ongoing duel with Balotelli by superbly tipping the Italian’s glorious free-kick safely over the crossbar. No goal for Balotelli, but a supreme performance from City to worry Tottenham fans particularly.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Liverpool fans always seem to be quick to scorn Roy Hodgson, but he came back to haunt them at the Hawthorns, where has now presided over a 5-match unbeaten run since his arrival, compensating somewhat for the West Brom board’s appalling lack of loyalty displayed to Roberto Di Matteo. Despite the taunts from the away end, and the fact that the dream duo of Carroll and Suarez were unleashed from the start together for the first time, <place w:st="on">West Brom</place> did not play like a team about to be potentially relegated. Nor did they play anything like as negatively as Hodgson’s <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> were oft-accused of. Liverpool did make the early running, and when Andy Carroll nodded down to Dirk Kuyt just four yards out, former <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> goalkeeper Scott Carson earned his corn with a great reflex stop, before Kuyt’s follow-up could only clip the bar on its way over. At the other end, a teasing Jerome Thomas centre was dangerously backheaded by the clumsy Skrtel; bringing a fine diving catch from Jose Reina. Reina then saved well from Cox, but <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> were clearly unsettled by losing both Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger early on to injury. Despite this, they took the lead early in the second half from a set-piece, with Skrtel heading into the unguarded corner. West Brom did not let their heads go down, and Reina was forced into action again, after a goalmouth scramble saw Chris Brunt fire straight at the <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> goalkeeper. Just after the hour the pressure told, when Sotirios Kyrgiakos made a pig’s ear out of holding off Odemwingie as he chased a long ball, bringing the Nigerian down for a blatant penalty, converted expertly by Chris Brunt. Odemwingie began to run riot, and thumped in a shot parried at Reina’s near post. The next time he went shoulder-to-shoulder with Kyrgiakos, the Greek once again turned it into a tragedy, this time collapsing under an aerial challenge for the bouncing ball as Odemwingie took control before expertly turning back away from Reina’s hopeless lunge and being wiped out. This time Brunt even more emphatically belted the penalty in to send the Hawthorns faithful into delirium. Evil Egg Skrtel missed a sitter of a header before Luis Suarez drew a cracking save from <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Carson</place></city>. Minutes later, with the game in the balance, Suarez again found a route to goal and deftly lobbed Carson, only for Jara to heroically head off the line, even with his own player sending him careering into the net. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The most common fixture in the English top flight ended in an entertaining, if unsatisfying, draw. Incredibly, Everton did not possess a minute of Premier League experience on their bench. They could have taken the lead early on when Kyle Walker’s dopey backheader let in Jermaine Beckford, but his shot just forced an excellent save from Brad Friedel. Tony Hibbert’s brilliant lunge blocked a goal-bound shot from Nigel Reo-Coker, before Everton took the lead. Diniyar Bilyaletdinov won the ball in midfield and played in Leon Osman, who zipped past James Collins and nudged the ball past Friedel. Villa equalised when Stewart Downing creeped down the right and was unforgiveably allowed to cut back on his left foot, before sliding the ball across to the lurking Bent, who crashed it into the roof of the net. Kyle Walker continued his bad afternoon when he skied a glorious chance from close-range, and Osman did likewise at the opposite end from a deep Bilyaletdinov cross. The most contentious moment came on 66 minutes, when Jermaine Beckford beat a tight offside trap to thunder the ball against the underside of the crossbar and in. The linesman didn’t have a hope of judging it accurately of course, which is why for the millionth time we point out that goal-line technology is the only way forward. Brad Friedel was of course more than happy to play on, and, while Everton were still feeling sorry for themselves, Ashley Young played a delightful ball through to Bent, who tucked it away as Howard careered out to meet him. If that was a harsh injustice on the Toffees, they salvaged a draw through a harsh injustice themselves, as Phil Jagielka shamelessly threw himself over as Jean Makoun pulled out of an attempted tackle inside the penalty area. Leighton Baines penalty could not have been directed closer to the goalkeeper, but went in for a probably fair draw.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Newcastle</city></place> finally laid to rest the 3pm home kick-off winless hoodoo with a 4-1 demolition job of a toothless Wolves. Kevin Nolan made a brilliantly anticipatory run off of Shola Ameobi, and got his reward when he received the target man’s knockdown and finished for 1-0. Ameobi proved his physical worth again when Lovenkrands stood a cross up to the back post, and the striker outjumped the hulking Elokobi to head home. The second half continued in much the same vein, with Lovenkrands rounding Hennessey but only able to hit the outside of the post from an acute angle. Fabricio Coloccinni showed a touch of class coming forward and setting up Barton to cross for a close-range Lovenkrands finish, while new England boy Matt Jarvis provided his usual assist, this time for Sylvain Ebanks-Blake to score for a potential grandstand finish. Unfortunately for Mick McCarthy it proved a false dawn. Stephen Fletcher ruined their big chance of a comeback, when he met O’Hara’s peach of a free-kick, only to head it against the foot of the post with the whole goal to aim at. Still Wolves pressed, but James Perch cleared another Ebanks-Blake effort off the line, and Jonas Gutierrez took the pressure off once and for all when he strode forward almost unopposed, and bent a cracking shot inside the post to seal a resounding victory for the Toon.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Every neutral in the country is surely feeling a little tense as every man’s second favourite team <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> continue their slide to oblivion. The Premier League has rarely welcomed such an entertaining and goal-laden team as the Tangerines, but despite their rip-roaring first half of the season, they have now won just once in eleven matches, and that is Hull City 2009 all over again. But <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Hull</place></city> did just stay up, which could be the best omen they have. ‘Ollie deployed James Beattie up front but probably wished he hadn’t when his braindead backpass let in Bobby Zamora, who strode past defenders as if they weren’t there and launched a rising drive with his weaker foot that nearly took the net out of the ground. Damien Duff had already had an effort pushed against the post, and the Irishman created a simple second, when his deadly free-kick was delivered onto the head of <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Zamora</place></city>, who duly dispatched it into the corner. A brief Blackpool retort was thwarted, when Mark Schwarzer was beaten to the punch by Brett Ormerod, only to see line defender extraordinaire Chris Baird once again mop up at the last. A rare Hangeland error was seized upon by James Beattie, but he could only find the outside of the woodwork. Fulham made the game safe in the 72<sup>nd</sup> minute, when a Danny Murphy free-kick was headed onto the post by Clint Dempsey, turned back by Hangeland and bundled home by Dickson Etuhu. <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> missed even the chance of a consolation, when Gary Taylor-Fletcher seized on a Schwarzer spill, only to slide it wide of the post.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><city w:st="on">Birmingham</city> eased their relegation fears slightly with a timely win over <place w:st="on">Bolton</place>, courtesy of the timeless predatory nous of Kevin Phillips. It’s been a mystery to most outside St Andrews as to why McLeish seems reticent to play Phillips, as he clearly still has it, and the one thing Birmingham are shortest of is goals. Cameron Jerome might run a lot, but you don’t stay up by covering the most blind alleys. Phillips chested down an awkward bounce from a corner, and spun to fire home after four minutes. This was added to by an excellent finish from Craig Gardner, arriving on cue as ever. In between these, Daniel Sturridge was denied thrice by Ben Foster’s excellence, though he did concede when Johan Elmander superbly adjusted to volley in a Kevin Davies knockdown. Birmingham then got the jitters, but had Foster to save once more at the death, when he displayed supreme athleticism in throwing his hands up to send Steinsson’s bullet header over the bar.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Tottenham scored nine in one game against <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> last season, and yet this season they have scored none in either match. The Latics took advantage of Spurs’ minds clearly being on other things, as Victor Moses threatened throughout. One of his crosses found Rodallega, but a combination of Dawson and Bassong blocked the Colombian’s effort. The other bright spot for <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> was another promising cameo from Connor Sammon, who forced a good save from Gomes, and then sent in a delicious cross fractionally shy of being converted by Franco Di Santo. Wigan will kick themselves once again though for not finishing any chances; a habit which may put paid to their Premiership stay.</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-66174456585033677992011-03-22T15:07:00.001-07:002011-03-22T15:08:40.983-07:00Compression<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Last gasp wins at the very top and bottom of the table meant once again that nobody can predict results from one week to the next. <place w:st="on">Wigan</place>’s winner was absolutely imperative for their survival chances, and compresses the league once again, leaving the entire bottom half separated by just six points. The bottom club’s tally of 30 points at this stage also seems to be a high for a 38 game season.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Manchester United breathed a collective sigh of relief after finishing off plucky Bolton only with an 88<sup>th</sup> minute winner, after Jussi Jaaskelainen had attempted to gather a Nani shot into his body; allowing it to bounce out to the lurking Berbatov, who scooped it into the net via Jaaskelainen’s desperate hand. United were chronically undermanned in defence once again, this time picking the always shaky Johnny Evans at centre-back with Chris Smalling. The Red Devils started with the flourishing Rooney-Hernandez tandem up front, and Hernandez was furiously protesting for a penalty early on, when his swivel and shot bounced up and away off the hand off Gary Cahill. A superb swivelling volley from Rooney was well dealt with by Jaaskelainen, while a Kevin Davies effort was brilliantly blocked by the lunging Carrick; launching a counter culminating in Rooney almost finding his strike partner but for the intervention of David Wheater. Dimitar Berbatov came on for Hernandez, and was thwarted from a one-on-one by a magnificent last-ditch sliding tackle from Gary Cahill. Wayne Rooney cut inside two challenges and stung Jasskelainen’s hands, while <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> missed their best chance of the game when a lovely cross found Matt Taylor on his own in the middle of the box. He could only direct his free header tamely at Van der Sar, and the rest, as they say, is history. Johnny Evans later compounded Fergie’s defensive woes by getting himself sent off after opening a gash in Stuart Holden’s knee. To be fair, it was a 50-50 ball, but Evans’ studs faced Holden and went through the ball to catch him badly, so there were few complaints from United.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Arsenal lost ground in the title race but also breathed a collective sigh of relief that Manuel Almunia once again did his Manuel from <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Fawlty</placename> <placetype w:st="on">Towers</placetype></place> impression and they got away with a point from a game they were two down in. The game started brilliantly for the home side, as Stephen Reid headed in a corner practically unchallenged on three minutes. The Gunners fired a broadside when Robin Van Persie rattled the Baggies’ crossbar, but Aaron Ramsay was smothered out on the rebound. A lovely <place w:st="on">West Brom</place> move saw Marek Cech send in a low cross that was agonisingly stabbed wide on the stretch by Chris Brunt, but the home fans were in raptures just before the hour mark, when a hopeful punt bounced just beyond the retreating Squillaci, with Odemwingie on his shoulder. There appeared to be little danger, until from out of nowhere Almunia raced into the picture; careering out of his box only to find his path to the ball understandably blocked by his own defender. He made a token shove to get Squillaci out of the way, only to find Odemwingie was the one he should have been shoving. The Nigerian gleefully cashed in on the farce to leave the Arsenal teams collectively cupping their heads in their hands, while Almunia had no place to hide. Fortunately for the gaffe-prone Spaniard, his team got him partially out of jail Twelve minutes later, Andrei Arshavin exchanged passes in a tight area with Chamakh and thrashed his return ball into the net. Eight minutes after this, the Russian again was heavily involved; brilliantly outwitting two men on the touchline before whipping in a cross which Nicklas Bendtner flicked back at the back post. Abdoulaye Meite got his feet in a tangle and Robin Van Persie tackled through him to score the equaliser. Sebastien Squillaci later affected a great block on Marc-Antoine Fortune, while <city w:st="on">Carson</city> saved well from <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Clichy</place></city>. Meite partially made amends for his mistake at the death by blocking a Chamakh swivel to preserve their well-earned draw. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><city w:st="on">Chelsea</city> got a measure of revenge over Mancitti with a comfortable victory at <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Stamford</placename> <placetype w:st="on">Bridge</placetype></place>, while Edin Dzeko is no nearer proving he is worth anything like £30 million. Someone who has proven to be worth that fee; Carlos Tevez, was missing, and, as usual, City suffered in front of goal. Someone else with a hefty fee also suffered in front of goal, and we all know who that is. Nigel De Jong affected a superb crunching tackle on Torres as he shaped to shoot, and Vincent Kompany was once again imperious. <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> curiously started with both Anelka and Drogba on the bench, and Salomon Kalou proved he is as profligate as they come; spurning chance after chance. Branislav Ivanovic thought he had opened the scoring with a thumping close-range header, only for that man Kompany to prove he is positionally flawless, being in the right place to stop a certain goal. Finally, Ancelotti tired of Kalou and Torres and released his beast. Drogba soon created the opener with a whipped free-kick headed in by David Luiz: half the price of Torres and currently proving twice as effective; as classy in defence as he is potent in attack. The second goal was bizarre, with the City backline parting like the <place w:st="on">Red Sea</place> as the wiry Ramires wandered through to shoot past Joe Hart. Chelski still seem too far adrift, but this certainly rules out a City team who have spent the Earth but yield a sparse goals harvest.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Maynor Figueroa was the unlikely hero at the DW Stadium, as Wigan Athletic salvaged a crucial win to keep themselves in touch at the bottom, while dragging League Cup winners <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Birmingham</city></place> deeper into trouble. <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Birmingham</city></place>, who have been nothing short of dire since that cup win, had the linesman to thank for their opener, as a series of poor clearances and lucky ricochets put an offside Liam Ridgewell in to score. <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> are known for some delicious interplay with no end product, but their equaliser was a lesson in measured football. Ben Watson played a sumptuous reverse pass between three defenders and left Emerson Boyce to canter to the byline and just keep the ball in; crossing low for Ben Foster to palm straight out to the feet of Tom Cleverley, who scored. Birmingham responded with a Seb Larsson free-kick striking the crossbar, before Charles N’Zogbia had the crowd on its feet; his dazzling footwork in the box beating two men, before cutting back for Cleverley, who horribly miscued but in the process set up for the onrushing Figueroa to drill against Foster’s legs. Liam Ridgewell was the Brum hero as he blocked efforts from Sammon and McCarthy in the same scramble, while Hugo Rodallega had a goal disallowed for a blatant push. There then followed an even more blatant foul by Antonin Alcaraz which ninety-nine times out of one hundred would have been viewed as a cast-iron penalty. The ball was looping just beyond Curtis Davies, who lunged at the ball. Alcaraz couldn’t have been more obvious in taking his eyes from the ball to the player; declining to jump but rather sticking his shoulder into Davies and sending him flying. Lee Probert must have been blind, but <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> took full advantage of his ridiculous decision to win at the death, when Maynor Figueroa advanced and cut onto his ‘weaker’ right foot, before unleashing the fury. The ball seemed to take a nick as Foster dived all wrong as it crashed past him for a last-minute winner.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Liverpool eased silently up to the cusp of fifth place with a surprisingly comfortable away win at <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place>. No beach balls saved Steve Bruce’s men, as an awful penalty decision made by a linesman who was seventy yards further away than the referee condemned them to a goal’s deficit. John Mensah’s last-ditch lunge brought down Jay Spearing a yard outside the box, but he crashed down inside and the referee somehow allowed his decision to be overruled by a linesman also unsighted by Titus Bramble. The new <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> front two were proving a thorn in the Mackems’ sides; with Luis Suarez drilling in a cross shot which was well saved, and Andy Carroll finding Lee Cattermole guarding his post diligently. Mignolet produced another fine save from a long-range Spearing drive, but it was lights-out at the Stadium of Light when Suarez produced another mesmeric moment, slipping past Lee Cattermole and smashing in from an acute angle as Bramble closed in. Mignolet clearly was not expecting the shot and was beaten at his near post diving the wrong wa, and <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place>’s day of misery was complete when John Mensah received what looked like a harsh straight red card, though he would have been booked anyway, after hauling down Suarez.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Newcastle</city></place> were humiliated at the Britannia, as Stoke celebrated their biggest ever Premier League win. Strangely, <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Newcastle</city></place> always seem to be a shambles when Sol Campbell forms part of their defence, and he was up to his new tricks here. Ryan Shawcross took down an awkward ball and fed Jermaine Pennant on the wing, who dinked a perfect cross for Jonathan Walters to easily beat <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Campbell</city></place> in the air and score the opener. The second goal was farcical, with Steve Harper signalling to clear the ball as his bootlaces were untied yet still receiving the ball from the dozy Williamson. The goalkeeper then stupidly responded to being closed down by poking the ball a couple of yards, leaving the ball to eventually find Matthew Etherington, whose low cross was headed by Campbell straight to the lurking Jermaine Pennant, who stabbed in form close-range. Stoke’s dubious tactics of yanking players away from the defensive wall didn’t even have to be deployed, as Newcastle left a yawning gap through which FA Cup hero Danny Higginbotham drilled a shot that found the net. The only bright spot of the afternoon for Toon fans came from young prospect Shane Ferguson, who looked incisive and brave. One mazy dribble opened up a chance, but his finish was far too weak. Asmir Begovic pulled off a fantastic save from a Joey Barton free-kick before Stoke added the finishing touch with a route one hoof being half-volleyed in by substitute Ricardo Fuller.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Tottenham fans may be beginning to chew their fingernails at the prospect of qualifying for next season’s Champions League. With Mancitti and Chelski ahead of them in the table and <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> making a stealth move from oblivion, Spurs really needed a victory over West Ham but were left frustrated. Jermain Defoe particularly will feel he should have made the difference, particularly when Aaron Lennon got onto his right foot and slammed a shot against the foot of the post, only for the rebound to hit Defoe on the heel and spin wide from a few yards. Michael Dawson rattled the crossbar from 30 yards early on, while Luka Modric fired fractionally wide. West Ham saw Demba Ba thwarted by a cracking Gomes save, while Carlton Cole shot feebly at the goalkeeper when put through one-on-one by Ba. Roman Pavlyuchenkko came on late and tested Green to the full with a snapshot down low, but the Hammers goalkeeper saved the best save for last, as he launched himself up to the ‘postage stamp’ region to somehow tip Bale’s magnificent free-kick onto the crossbar and away. A brilliant result for the happier Hammers, but ‘Arry may be feeling glum when Spurs finally fall in the Champions League.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The battle of the Blacks saw ‘Pool pegged back by a stirring ‘Burn comeback. The first half was pretty much the Charlie Adam show, as the midfield schemer’s free-kick set up Sheffield Wednesday reject Luke Varney to score, but it was disallowed by a linesman’s flag so late the crowd had gone home. If this was a dubious decision, the <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> opener was farcical. Gary Taylor-Fletcher was put in for a shot and fired over the bar. As he followed through, Ryan Nelsen slid in. The ball had already cleared the crossbar by the time Nelsen made minimal contact with the <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> player, and bizarrely the penalty was awarded and converted impeccably by Adam. Adam was at it again five minutes later and produced a ‘postage stamp’ free-kick to make it 2-0 at the break. <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> were once again denied a Varney strike for<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>offside before the half ended, and it looked like there was only one winner. The second half saw ‘Burn take over the initiative, and Christopeher Samba rammed the ball home from a scramble to halve the deficit. Stephen N’Zonzi struck the outside of the post, before a Christopher Samba header was cleared off the line, and his second effort hit Jason Roberts in the back of the head and went wide. <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> continued to press, and a deep cross hit Hoilett’s heel as he fell over and hit the post. <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> defended resolutely right up until the last minute, when they were left devastated. <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> resorted to the old ‘up and under’, as a Robinson hoof saw Richard Kingson come for it and fail. Ian Evatt was there to nod the first effort off the line, but Junior Hoilett was on the spot to nod back into the net for a precious equaliser that leaves both teams tied on 33 points.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">David Moyes began his Everton career against Fulham nine years ago, and, just as then, he came away with a victory. Carlos Salcido worked overtime for Fulham in brilliantly clearing first Saha then Jagielka efforts off the line, but it was to no avail, as a dinked cross from Leon Osman was nodded home by Seamus Coleman, and then a free-kick laid off was drilled through the wall and in by Luis Saha. Fulham clawed their way back into the game with a clinical Dempsey finish, but the Toffees held on for a win that takes them to the magical forty point total, though most would not have doubted Everton’s survival under their marvel of a manager. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Gerard Houllier’s detractors were in fine voice as Villa slipped to a crushing defeat at home to fellow relegation candidates Wolves. This was despite Wolves having two goals disallowed. The goal came when a deep Wolves cross was only half-cleared for new England boy Matt Jarvis to crack a crisp volley low in off the post. Jean Makoun then made a fool of himself by somehow heading a perfect cross wide unmarked from eight yards. Villa were aggrieved when Darren Bent was clearly fouled a yard inside the box with no penalty forthcoming, but they were their own worst enemies with some particularly profligate finishing. Ashley Young whipped an effort off the underside of the bar and away, while Carlos Cuellar missed a sitter at the death, to leave the Claret fans urging Randy Lerner to ditch the failing Frenchman.</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-55352683670464907392011-03-08T13:43:00.000-08:002011-03-08T13:43:15.627-08:00A Tale of Two Cities<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Manchester United have fallen apart as cynics suggested they would in their two toughest remaining games, but it remains to be seen whether Arsenal can ever make up the gap with their habit of blowing it just when they have a hand on a trophy.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The biggest game of the weekend was undoubtedly the resumption of hostilities between Kenny Dalglish and Alex Ferguson. After Chelsea’s ruse to have their Stamford Bridge clash rearranged to a time they may have been in better form worked to a tee with a little help from the a lenient Martin Atkinson; the man who won them the same match through a joke free-kick award last season; United were under real pressure for the first time. They lined up for the game at Anfield without Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, and, strangely, Darren Fletcher. <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> had Luis Suarez starting and record signing Andy Carroll finally available from the bench. The game’s first highlight came from Old Trafford hat-trick hero Dimitar Berbatov, who swerved a return nod from Wayne Rooney onto the outside of the post with the outside of his boot. This was as good as it got for United in the first half, as Luis Suarez cut the United defence to ribbons; skipping past the weak challenges of Rafael and Carrick, before nutmegging the inept lunge of Wes Brown and nutmegging Van Der Sar to set up Dirk Kuyt for a finish from less than a yard. From this, <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> took charge, and Van Der Sar was forced to rush out and block from a crafty Maxi Rodriguez run. Just six minutes after the first goal it was 2-0, after Suarez again worked a good opening and dinked in a cross which went too far. To the disbelief of most inside the stadium, Nani, under no pressure, ran the wrong way at the ball before nodding it perfectly over Carrick for Kuyt to nod in from five yards. Nani’s day was complete when Jamie Carragher made a knee-high studs-first challenge on his standing leg, though escaped with just a caution. Carragher might have failed to break the Portuguese winger’s leg but clearly convinced Dowd Nani deserved it; a point not completely disproven when Nani bizarrely limped over to the referee to gesticulate at his agony, before collapsing and being stretchered off. As if this appalling challenge wasn’t enough, a few minutes later Maxi Rodriguez and Rafael got in on the act. Rodriguez again made a play for a red card by challenging with Rafael studs-first at knee-height. Fortunately for both players, Rafael shrugged it off, but miscontrolled and launched into a wild last-ditch attempt to redeem himself; upending Dirk Kuyt, who had taken evasive action. The Evil Egg Martin Skrtel then decided to get involved, resulting in a bit of a ruckus. Phil Dowd stood off with his arms folded like the Godfather, before deciding Maxi deserved no punishment, while giving Rafael a yellow that may have been a red if Carragher’s challenge wasn’t dealt with so leniently. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Ryan Giggs was making his 607<sup>th</sup> club appearance, breaking Sir Bobby Charlton’s record, and the classy veteran guided a difficult Rooney ball narrowly over in the second half, before Berbatov dive-headed the ball onto Raul Meireles; stationed on the post and saving the day for Liverpool. The game was finished when Edwin Van Der Sar uncharacteristically palmed a Luis Suarez free-kick straight in front of himself for Dirk Kuyt to bag from two yards; making his accumulative hat-trick distance some seven yards. Filippo Inzaghi would have been proud. The roof lifted when Carroll finally made his bow, and his first touch was a header on target; a sign of things to come the Kop hopes. United redeemed a fraction of pride when Ryan Giggs cut back onto his right foot and dinked in a floating cross which Javier Hernandez brilliantly guided into the corner of the net with his head, seconds before the final whistle. A fully-deserved <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> victory which hands title initiative to Arsenal once more.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">After a fitting pre-match tribute to tragic ex-defender Dean Richards by both clubs, the two sides conjured up a match worthy of the player’s memory, despite the quagmire of a pitch at Molineux. Wolves took the lead after an initial corner had been stupidly headed away by George Elokobi. Fortunately for the brawny full-back, it went out to Nenad Milijas, who delivered a cracking cross that Doyle got to ahead of Heurelho Gomes to score. Jermain Defoe ended his long goal drought after taking the ball off Pavlyuchenko and belting it into the corner of Hennessey’s net for the equaliser. A penetrative run from Defoe then set up his second. After laying it across to Modric on the edge of the box, the Croatian then flicked against a Wolves defender, only for the ball to fall perfectly for Defoe to whip it into the net to give Spurs the lead. Mark Halsey then became the centre of attention, after his penalty decision for Wolves. Kevin Doyle’s shot from the edge of the box was deflected and bounced into the centre of the area between Gomes and defence. Nenad Milijas ran at it to poke in, but was yanked to the ground by a cynical Alan Hutton. Bizarrely, Halsey explained he felt it wasn’t a clear goalscoring chance so only gave a yellow card to Hutton. That said, Halsey earned a lot of respect for at least explaining himself. Kevin Doyle slotted home the penalty for his brace, and the break came with the score tied at 2-2. Spurs retook the lead in the second period, after Assou-Ekotto dinked a lovely ball through to an untended Jenas, who slid the ball to Pavlyuchenko, moving in the opposite direction as he worked it on to his left foot to wallop into the roof of the net. Wolves came so close to equalising again when Gomes was at his best to tip a Milijas daisy-cutter onto the outside of the post. Milijas was again involved when he was free in the centre of the box to meet a cross, but sliced it horribly high, wide and not so handsome. Gareth Bale charged at the Wolves backline, and was actually given the ball back by Karl Henry, only to see Hennessey bail his team-mate out with a vital save. Wolves were seething late on, when Richard Stearman launched his head at the ball and scored, with Gomes far too weak in half-heartedly attempting to catch the ball, though Mark Halsey took the easy road of disallowing for a perceived foul on the Brazilian. Tottenham could have rubbed salt into their wounds, but Defoe’s effort from a Sandro layback cracked the post, and Mick McCarthy was pumping his fists minutes later, when a beautifully stood-up Jarvis cross was missed by Michael Dawson and nodded expertly into the far corner by Stephen Fletcher to finish the game 3-3.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">A barnstorming game at the Cottage saw Fulham drop Mark Hughes’ old club <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> right into the relegation mix. Rovers nearly took an early lead from Danny Murphy giving a free-kick straight to them. The counter-attack lay waste to Fulham’s backline, but eventually Schwarzer stood up to be counted, denying Mame Biryam Diouf. A spin and shot at the other end from Dickson Etuhu nearly wrong-footed Paul Robinson, but minutes later the same player set up Damien Duff, who worked onto his left foot before drilling through Robinson, for yet another goal against one of his old clubs. <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> suffered from a paucity of creation, until they equalised through a real mess. On the stroke of half-time, a goalmouth scramble saw Fulham fail to clear adequately, culminating in youngster Grant Hanley blasting in a wild effort which cannoned in off the body of Brede Hangeland. Chris Baird made a vital headed interception to prevent a second Rovers goal after the break, setting the foundations for Fulham to take the lead, with another low drive from Damien Duff, through Samba’s legs this time. Chris Baird came to the rescue once more with a goal-line clearance after a scrambled free-kick saw Schwarzer stranded, but Rovers did grab a second scruffy equaliser, when the ball was again forced back in, with Roberts muscling to the touchline and flicking back for Junior Hoilet to chest down and half-volley into the net from close-range. Paul Robinson was then forced to turn aside a deflected free-kick from the returning <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Zamora</place></city>, while Fulham felt aggrieved not to earn a penalty in the last minute, after Andy Johnson was felled by a poor challenge from Hanley. In the same passage of play, Damien Duff produced a lovely backheel to set up Johnson, who had got to his feet to thump in a shot that was well parried away by Robinson. Fulham remonstrated with the ref, but this died down immediately, as they profited from the resultant corner. Mark Clattenburg, perhaps mindful of being wrong before, spotted one of two infringements at the corner; with Jason Roberts blocking and Grant Hanley all over Aaron Hughes. Bobby Zamora stroked the penalty down the middle to earn Fulham a brilliant win, which substitute Gael Givet reacted to at the final whistle by racing onto the field to postulate aggressively at Clattenburg, earning him an embarrassing red card. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">It was after the Lord Mayor’s show in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Birmingham</place></city>, with Brum turning in one of the most lethargic and spiritless displays from a home side in the whole season. Since Scott Dann was ruled out for the season, <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Birmingham</city></place> have been throwing everything at the problem, and this time it was Curtis Davies’ turn to partner Roger Johnson. To call his performance gutless would be an understatement; shameful would be more like it. To make errors is one thing, but Davies seemed to go into challenges half-heartedly, as if unsure of his role. After a tedious first period, Ben Foster proved he has taken David James’ mantle of being the worst goalkeeper with the ball at his feet, when he once again scuffed an awful clearance which surrendered possession, and led to Peter Odemwingie, strangely a substitute; running at the Birmingham backline. After a couple of inept stabs at the ball, Curtis Davies et al watched in horror as Odemwingie managed to poke the ball through for the midfield runner Youssuf Mulumbu, who finished bravely as his standing leg was scythed away by a desperate Johnson lunge. This last-ditch lunge actually proved integral to getting <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Birmingham</place></city> back in the game. Although it could not prevent the goal, Mulumbu was receiving treatment as the game kicked off again, and in the disruption of being a man short, <place w:st="on">West Brom</place> allowed an unchecked run from Lee Bowyer to be found, and his cross was guided in by Jean Beausejour for a quickfire equaliser. But <place w:st="on">West Brom</place> hit back, and when Reid fed James Morrison on the edge of the box, he sidestepped the most feeble of challenges from Curtis Davies, before crashing into the net with his left peg. There was a modicum of response from the home side when David Bentley stung Scott Carson’s hands, but a ferocious 20-yard drive from Chris Brunt thumped the post, and Peter Odemwingie missed a sitter of a rebound, though he had been flagged offside. On 72 minutes the game was sewn up, as West Bromwich Albion took a leisurely short corner, before dinking a cross in, which Liam Ridgewell made a half-hearted attempt to head before allowing it to drop over his head to Paul Scharner, who headed back from an acute angle and saw it helped into the net by Ben Foster’s butter-fingers. The final few minutes defied belief, as the away side kept possession with scarcely a challenge.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Aston Villa remain entrenched in the more dangerous half of the table, after losing to Bolton, despite going a goal up through a player who loves to score against the Trotters: Darren Bent. He had already missed a howling sitter before he nudged in a low cross from Kyle Walker, after the young defender had squeezed between Paul Robinson and Stuart Holden on the right flank. He almost was on the right end of a huge slice of luck minutes later, when a peach of an Albrighton cross took a double ricochet off his head and David Wheater, before crashing against the angle of post and bar. Johan Elmander nearly profited from a knock-down but was smothered out at the last, and a Martin Petrov corner was attacked and scored by former Villa defender Gary Cahill before the half was out. In the second half Albrighton sent in another deadly cross which Downing screwed narrowly wide back where it came from, while another delivery reached the back post and was nodded back to Darren Bent six yards out, who had time to control but somehow hit David Wheater on the goal-line, before the ball reached Baker, who found Ashley Young forcing Jaaskelainen into an excellent save. Albrighton and Downing seemed to switch sides as Villa found a second, with Downing crossing from the right for Albrighton to scuff his volley into the ground, up and in for 2-1 Villa. The Villans were so close to sealing the game, after David Wheater slipped as he was challenging in the box to wipe out Ashley Young. <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> were incensed because, as replays proved, the ball had actually gone out of play in the build-up but was not spotted. Juss Jaaskelainen earned his corn by psyching out Ashley Young, ushering him to his right and then saving to that side. The Trotters took advantage of this reprieve when Cahill met another corner which was parried out by Friedel straight back to him, and he returned it into the net. Villa seemed to be feeling sorry for themselves after this, because only Bolton really went for the win, and it duly came with five minutes to go, when David Wheater nodded a cross back for Ivan Klasnic to backtrack after, spin and fire into the corner. A crucial victory which takes <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> to the magical 40-point mark, while Gerard Houllier may now be ruing his myriad changes for their FA Cup defeat.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">West Ham United look a different animal all of a sudden, with a combination of new blood and injured players returning. They comfortably saw off Stoke at the Boleyn, beating them almost at their own game. First a goal that Stoke thrive on: an opposition error. A Mark Noble flick was left by the backtracking <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Wilson</place></city> for Asmir Begovic, who flew out and missed the ball. Demba Ba raced after it, positioned his body in front of <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Wilson</place></city> and poked it over the line. Second goal Stoke normally thrive on: Manuel Da Costa headed in a free-kick practically unmarked. No Hammers game would be complete without the obligatory Frederic Piquionne howler, and he duly missed a sitter. Carlton Cole then displayed all the assets of a great target man; holding the ball up for Thomas Hitzlsperger to rifle in a rocket which was well saved. Rory Delap had a 25-yard effort saved, before Carlton Cole showed some deft footwork before cutting onto his left foot and curling a lovely effort which was tipped wide by Begovic. Ryan Shawcross boobed when he headed on for Cole to fire in another effort, producing another fantastic save. The final goal was far more about good football than beating Stoke at their own game. Scott Parker danced into the box; getting to the byline before laying back to Piquionne, whose shot was blocked by numerous bodies, before falling to that famed left foot of Hitzlsperger, leaving him to nearly tear the net out of the ground for 3-0.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><city w:st="on">Chelsea</city> followed their slightly fortunate victory over Manchester United with a relatively comfortable one over <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> at <street w:st="on"><address w:st="on">Bloomfield Road</address></street>. Still no goal for the fifty-million-pound man, but it mattered not as John Terry headed in a 20<sup>th</sup> minute corner; added to by a Frank Lampard penalty and a lovely Lampard finish after being put through by Kalou. <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> retrieved a goal at the end which continued their homes scoring record. Jason Puncheon, who had earlier had an effort tipped onto the post by Cech, this time drilled wide of the goalkeeper’s grasp. ‘Ollie was far from happy at the penalty award, but he will be more concerned about the Tangerines being just two points clear of relegation, with Birmingham having two games in hand.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city>’s curse of the Saturday 3pm kick-off home game returned to haunt them once more, as Everton rode off with all three points. Mikel Arteta is looking back to somewhere near his imperious best, as he scored the equaliser and generally dictated the Toffees’ attacks. <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city> actually took the lead, after Tim Howard could only parry Nolan’s cross out to the lurking Leon Best. After Arteta’s equaliser, Leighton Baines swung in a delightful free-kick which was guided in via the underside of the crossbar by the unlikely figure of Phil Jagielka. Jermaine Beckford was well saved by Harper, and some great work by Arteta saw Saha a fraction away from applying the finishing touch. <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Newcastle</city></place> felt hard done by when Leon Best had a second goal disallowed, though he had clearly pushed his man. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Mancitti gained a fortuitous win over plucky <place w:st="on">Wigan</place>, whose Premier League time looks increasingly to be up. Selling their best players season in, season out seems to have finally done for them, as has failing to find a clinical striker to finish off their sterling approach play. Charles N’Zogbia was bizarrely on the bench, but replacement Victor Moses could not make the difference. City were fortunate on many cases. Micah Richards could well have been red-carded for an appalling challenge on Tom Cleverley, before <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> shot angry glances at James McCarthy for blazing a great chance over after great work from Moses. City’s goal was a calamity for Ali Al-Habsi, who fumbled Silva’s weak effort through his hands. <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> huffed and puffed, but Connor Salmon fired a glorious chance to equalise at the death a fraction wide. They have given us entertainment aplenty in their time, but it looks as if Wigan Athletic will once more be a Championship club next season.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Arsenal missed the chance to really put the heat on United with a drab home draw to <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place>. Quite how Titus Bramble got away with his myriad lapses in concentration is a conundrum many Arsenal fans were testing themselves with after this match. Nicklas Bendtner knows why he came off the pitch having not scored: a fabulous display of goalkeeping from Simon Mignolet. Marouane Chamakh battered a header against the crossbar, while <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place>’s best chance was a superb takedown and spin by Danny Welbeck, who forced a great save from Szczesny. A missed opportunity which doesn’t bode well for the Nou Camp.</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-24162090805059550452011-03-01T15:41:00.001-08:002011-03-01T15:42:00.001-08:00Dead men rising<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">In a weekend which saw Laurent Koscielny make a real dummy out of himself by dummying a last minute clearance to hand Birmingham their first trophy since the same trophy in 1963, Manchester United increased their lead at the top of the Premier League, while it was all change at the bottom between the four ‘W’s. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><place w:st="on">Wigan</place> tend to lose heavily home or away against Manchester United because they play predominantly ‘laissez-faire’ football. As at <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Swansea</place></city>, Roberto Martinez likes to play attractive football along the ground even in tight areas. The problem is he lacks defenders with nous, or strikers with a clinical edge. The main talk unfortunately after the game was an incident where James McCarthy stepped into Wayne Rooney’s path to deliberately block him off, which Wayne Rooney responded to with a well-placed elbow to McCarthy’s temple; a pretty serious assault which clearly should have led to a red card. It didn’t, and United responded by taking the Latics apart. Victor Moses was presented with a glorious chance by Paul Scholes of all people, but was foiled by the timeless class of Edwin Van Der Sar. Javier Hernandez was then smothered out by a combination of <city w:st="on">Caldwell</city> and Figueroa before a lovely move saw Rooney combining with Nani to send the Portuguese winger wide, with his low cross flying through the lunging <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Caldwell</place></city>’s legs and being tucked in at the near post by the predatory Hernandez. <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> almost equalised through a chance set up by a cute backheel from N’Zogbia, but McCarthy was foiled by Van Der Sar. Nani then crashed the inside of the post with a magnificent effort, while Al-Habsi saved from Nani, then Nani and Fletcher. Hernandez brilliantly controlled a Wayne Rooney return pass and ran clear to finish expertly for 2-0, while Dimitar Berbatov ran onto a long ball past a ridiculous attempt by Wigan to play offside in United’s half, and eventually squared to bad boy Rooney, who tapped in. The game was made complete by substitute Fabio, who received a long cross and coolly converted.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">After the tragic news of Dean Richards’ death, one of his former sides; Wolves, brought <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> crashing back to earth after their midweek win over Spurs. The Tangerines were as bad as they have been all season in the absence of talisman Charlie Adam, while Wolves were finally as clinical as their approach play deserved. A very nice move led to Adam Hammill taking three players out of play on the edge of the box with a deft pass to Ryan Jarvis, who finished with aplomb. A deadly David Vaughan cross narrowly avoided going in for <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place>, and was missed by an eyelash at the back post by oncoming attackers. Richard Kingson brilliantly turned aside a neat Edwards half-volley, but the game was essentially finished as a contest when DJ Campbell responded to being pushed with both hands thrice by Richard Stearman by pushing him back. The fact that his hands were six inches higher made all the difference, and <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Campbell</city></place> was red-carded. Kingson made another cracking stop before Wolves finally increased their lead. <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> tried to be too clever on the edge of their own area and gave the ball away to Jamie O’Hara, who advanced before finding the corner of the net expertly. Sylvain Ebanks-Blake gratefully gobbled up a lovely cross from Kevin Doyle, and later grabbed a brace from the bench, after controlling a Ward long pass superbly and guiding a cute shot into the net.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Gerard Houllier appears to finally by gaining the trust of his long-suffering fans, after guiding his Villa side to a resounding win over <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place>. Robert Pires was finally given a start, and put in a great show as he tested Paul Robinson twice early on, on one occasion bringing out the best in the erstwhile <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">England</place></country-region> goalkeeper as he recovered in a flash to tip the loose ball away from a lurking Darren Bent. Keith Andrews made an absolute prat of himself when he dithered on the ball and gave away a penalty to Ashley Young, who converted with relish, and Rovers youngster Grant Hanley had been horribly unlucky to see a low Albrighton cross miss three players in front of him and cannon into the net off his shins. When Stewart Downing raced away on a counter-attack to curl his shot into the net, the game was well and truly over for hapless Rovers. Nikola Kalinic scored a heavily deflected consolation with ten minutes to play, but within two minutes the deficit was three once again, as some lovely approach play from Ashley Young saw him feed Stewart Downing, before racing unchallenged into the box to rattle the return ball into the net. Villa finally looked potent in attack once more, while Ryan Nelsen had his traumatic week made slightly worse by earning a second yellow card late on.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Jermaine Beckford started to demonstrate his potential worth to the Toffees by scoring a brace as they comfortably saw off <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place>, who have now lost four consecutive games. The opening goal came after just eight minutes, as Leon Osman produced a deft short ball through to Beckford, who stepped off a typically sleeping Titus Bramble, rounded Mignolet and scored. New Mackems’ signing Stefan Sessegnon almost got his <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> career off to the ideal start, but his rocket was tipped onto the underside of the crossbar and away by Tim Howard. Sunderland offered little in resistance before Mikel Arteta won a long ball in the air, and beat John Mensah with some trickery; sending in a low cross which Beckford backtracked to guide into the corner of the net for 2-0. Beckford fired a half-volley chance over for his hat-trick, while Simon Mignolet made an excellent double save from Luis Saha and then Seamus Coleman. A Coleman cross-shot was then parried away at the near post, and Everton thought they had made it three when the industrious Osman rounded Mignolet, but his powerful shot was somehow headed off the line by Ahmed Elmohamedy. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">West Ham confounded the experts by pulling off a remarkable win over a resurgent <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place>, thus lifting themselves briefly out of the relegation zone. The Hammers, who had produced one of the Premier League’s most abysmal displays of all time in this away fixture, opened the scoring on 21 minutes, when talisman Scott Parker played a one-two with the now-fit Thomas Hitzlsperger, before poking into the net from the edge of the box superbly with the outside of his boot. Hitzlsperger had reminded everyone present of his specialities early on, when he sent a 40-yard volley into Reina’s arms. Dirk Kuyt hit the side netting when he should have done better, while Demba Ba was so close to converting a Piquionne low ball across the box. Luis Suarez was struggling to make an impact against James Tomkins of all people. When Demba Ba powered home an unmarked header from a Gary O’Neil cross on the stroke of half-time, West Ham were in dreamland. Although <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> were better in the second half, Demba Ba drilled fractions wide and Piquionne failed to get a corner on target. Robert Green was forced to tip a dipping Gerrard volley over, while Scott Parker blocked a goalbound Gerrard effort. Jose Reina almost ended up with egg on his face, but he recovered just in time after almost spilling a Piquionne effort into the net. Liverpool cut the deficit late on when Glen Johnson steamed forward to tap in a Suarez cross, but West Ham finished the game after Carlton Cole came on, fending off Skrtel before rattling inside Reina’s near post. Kenny was more dour than ever, while Avram almost smiled.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Daniel Sturridge proved his worth once more by netting his fourth goal in as many games, whilst <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city> accrued another point which leaves them looking almost safe from the spectre of relegation. Jussi Jaaskelainen made a cracking near post save from Leon Best, but Chekh Tiote celebrated his lengthy new contract by teeing up Kevin Nolan to head in against his old club. Clumsy thug Paul Robinson was then grateful for a late offside call, as the last man brought Leon Best crashing down in the box. A magnificent Jose Enrique cross was then missed at the near post by Lovenkrands, but bundled out to Leon Best, whose follow-up cannoned back of David Wheater’s backside…or was it his face? <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city> surrendered their lead when they failed to clear adequately, and Johan Elmander fed Daniel Sturridge, who got the ball out of his feet rapidly and poked a perfect left-foot shot wide of Harper’s grasp. Ryan Taylor marked his comeback to regular action by impersonating Joey Barton; launching at familiar <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Newcastle</city></place> scapegoat Johan Elmander with both feet and earning himself an early bath. Both teams made late jousts for a victory, with Petrov’s effort cleared off the line by Nolan, and Nile Ranger’s late effort being ruled out for infringement of the offside laws.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Mancitti finally seem to have relinquished their fragile chance of a dream title by once again failing to hold onto a lead; or perhaps just for not being ambitious enough. He who dares wins, and Mancini dares not. Fulham set the tone, with a Danny Murphy long-ranger whistling over, and some easy-on-the-eye approach play culminating in a Dembele effort into Hart’s body. The opener against the run of play came from the unorthodox genius of Mario Balotelli, who sidestepped Danny Murphy and unleashed a cruise missile into the bottom corner from 20 yards. Fulham’s equaliser was just as glorious, with Brede Hangeland languidly spraying the ball out to the scampering Andy Johnson, who turned on the afterburners and smashed in a low cross which was crashed into the net on the run by the arriving Damien Duff at the back post. Mario Balotelli was the main City threat in the second half, first miskicking a fantastic opportunity following a rare Hangeland howler, then being smothered out of a one-on-one chance by Aaron Hughes. City piles on late pressure when Tevez forced the best out of Schwarzer, and Kolarov threatened the crossbar, but it was to end all square.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The usual blend of well-paid pub league football was witnessed at the Britannia; near-millionaires playing the good old up-and-under let-em-ave-it tin-hat second-ball percentage play tedium. In between West Brom having to defend like Trojans at every set-piece, and John Carew ‘accidentally’ clocking Paul Scharner on the side of the head in two separate incidents, Jermaine Pennant clipped the crossbar with a free-kick, and West Brom finally relented in their dogged resistance; allowing Rory Delap to nip in at the front post form a corner to nod in unchallenged. Tony Pulis was suitably smug, but his hubris was to prove short-lived, as substitute Carlos Vela once again grabbed a crucial equaliser at the death, though he was standing a yard offside when he first received the ball; a point Pulis was very keen to labour post-match, conveniently forgetting Stoke grabbed a hugely lucky win over Sunderland a few weeks back at this stadium through two goals that were offside and laden with other offences. Vela then had two more gilt-edged opportunities in injury time, but the game ended all square, with Roy Hodgson humble and Pulis humbled.</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-38872279701679732852011-02-15T03:21:00.000-08:002011-02-15T03:24:08.961-08:00I want to ride my bicycle kick<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Not quite as goal-drenched this weekend, but the Premier League still provided us with some classic moments, as well as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that </i>goal to settle the <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Manchester</city></place> derby.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Not since the 1970s have Manchester City been so close to their illustrious neighbours, and this particular derby was too close to call; only settled by a moment of genius the likes of which people go to football matches to see, and talk about generations later. <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Manchester</placename> <placetype w:st="on">City</placetype></place> dominated the opening encounters, with David Silva particularly cunning. The diminutive Spaniard should have opened the scoring after exchanging passes with different players in carving himself a route through the red backline, only to poke the ball a fraction wide of the post as Van Der Sar narrowed his angles. Nani then typically feinted to go right before cutting inside and unleashing with his left, only to clear the crossbar. Darren Fletcher headed a good chance straight at Hart before Nani again came close, but the Portuguese winger opened the scoring when Ryan Giggs flicked a magnificent first-time ball into his path, which he killed and held away from Pablo Zabaleta before rolling the ball expertly wide of Joe Hart’s dive. Mancitti did not let this affect them, despite their tactics generally being inadequate when chasing games, and they equalised when substitute Shaun Wright-Phillips sent in a low cross which Edin Dzeko was first to meet and send on its way wide, before it took a mammoth deflection off of David Silva’s back for a hugely fortuitous leveller. City thought they may have even grabbed the win when a Silva free-kick found Carlos Tevez, who was offside before he forced Van Der Sar into a superb reaction save with his foot. As the cliché goes, they thought it was all over until a Manchester United attack in the last fifteen minutes, which Wayne Rooney almost contrived to lose possession of, but the ball eventually found Nani on his right flank. When his floated cross took a nick off Zabaleta, Rooney readjusted supremely to crash an overhead bicycle kick into the top corner for the most glorious of winners. Despite City deserving a draw, the crowd were left to mutually acclaim the kind of moment we all go to football matches in the hope of seeing. United fans may even forgive his holding the club to ransom at this rate.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">West Ham United staged an incomprehensible comeback, as West Bromwich Albion shot themselves in the foot; perhaps a message to the shameful actions of their board in firing Roberto Di Matteo out of the blue. With former Manchester United youngster Michael Appleton in charge, the Baggies raced into a 3-0 half-time lead founded on farcical defending from the hapless Hammers. Peter Odemwingie fed the returning Graham Dorrans on the edge of the box, who swivelled and cracked an instant effort past a stunned Robert Green for the opener. More incisive trickery from Odemwingie saw his low shot palmed out pathetically by Green, and only team-mate Marc-Antoine Fortune prevented Chris Brunt from scoring a second. It wasn’t long before it did become two, when Fortune saved face with a penetrating run and layback to Jerome Thomas, who was given time to take a touch before curling the ball home. Thomas felt aggrieved not to earn a penalty later in the half, when he rounded Green with ease, but crashed down with a touch from Winston Reid facing an open net. An offside Carlton Cole put the ball in the net as a brief riposte, but the Hammers were left with red faces once again, when a Dorrans free-kick evaded everyone, and would have bounced wide if it wasn’t for a sliding Reid at his own back post putting it in for a hopeless own goal. The half did end with West Ham showing some pride, with Demba Ba provoking a superb reaction save from Boaz Myhill; tipping his effort onto the post; and Gary O’Neil thumping the face of the crossbar, with the ensuing goalmouth scramble being deflected over.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Unless <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Appleton</place></city> told his players to fold like a deck of cards, the players clearly didn’t take the half-time talk onboard. West Ham reduced the deficit within five minutes, through a Demba Ba strike, with Paul Scharner falling over. More ludicrous defending from the Baggies led to West Ham’s second, when a Mark Noble free-kick was watched and whistled at as Frederic Piquionne sauntered in completely free to nod across for Carlton Cole, who buried his close-range header. Frederic Piquionne then crashed a header from a <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Wayne</placename> <placename w:st="on">Bridge</placename></place> cross onto the crossbar, before Peter Odemwingie led a slight revival in beating three men but seeing his shot saved. West Ham’s relentless attacks finally yielded an equaliser, when a short corner was almost ignored by <place w:st="on">Albion</place>, a fatal error resulting in Mark Noble sending in a cross not cleared, from which Demba Ba managed to scissor-kick the ball into the net. More Keystone Cops moments later presented Odemwingie and Piquionne with chances, but there was to be no winner in the battle of defensive ineptitude.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The Thames Derby saw an unconvincing <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> labour to carve open a disciplined Fulham team. Despite Danny Murphy et al consistently surrendering possession in key areas, Chelski could not open them up, and despite having a mammoth 22 attempts on goal, the Blues only registered 4 on target, while Fulham produced 5 on target from just 9 attempts. Fernando Torres was once again feeling the pressure, and miscontrolled a glorious chance when through on goal, but the real star for <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> was new centre-back David Luiz, who looks a fine acquisition. His involvement in attacking play added to his sterling defensive work, though he nearly blemished this in injury time, with an ill-judged poke at Clint Dempsey, who went down for a last-ditch penalty; to the roar of the Craven Cottage faithful. Agonisingly for Fulham fans, Dempsey could only drill the penalty against Cech and miss the rebound, preventing them seeing a priceless last-second win against their illustrious neighbours. That said, Chelsea were fortunate that substitute Didier Drogba escaped censure for encroaching almost to the line of the penalty spot by the time the ball was struck. Despite almost reaching his natural eyeline, Drogba escaped the attention of Mike Dean, who seemed more relieved that the penalty was missed. A goalless draw that all but ends <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city>’s hopes of title retention for this season. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Arsenal kept the pressure on United at the top with a resounding victory against the Kings of the Lord Mayor’s Show; Wolves. Robin Van Persie continued his superb form; scissor-kicking in a Fabregas centre after sixteen minutes. Some lovely work from Andrei Arshavin set up Theo Walcott, whose shot produced a magnificent Hennessey save, while the rebound from Fabregas was drilled against Stearman on the line and away. Jack Wilshere produced some magic to set up Theo Walcott for a glorious chance, but somehow the <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">England</place></country-region> winger sidefooted the ball wide of the target. Richard Stearman then had Wayne Hennessey to thank once again for brilliantly preventing his own goal. The killer second came just before the hour mark, when Theo Walcott was set away, and squared the ball for Van Persie to expertly notch his brace. Walcott later produced another good save from Hennessey, while Sylvain Ebanks-Blake fired a rare Wolves chance over.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Tottenham Hotspur moved, and stayed, above <city w:st="on">Chelsea</city> in the table with a comeback victory over <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> at the Stadium of Light. The Mackems were ahead after ten minutes, from a superb piece of skill from Asamoah Gyan; who received a low <city w:st="on">Richardson</city> cross, before swivelling and firing in a shot in the same movement before <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Dawson</place></city> could make a challenge. Heurelho Gomes was just as surprised as the shot flew past him. Phil Bardsley joined the attack and fired over before Michael Dawson grabbed an equaliser just before half-time. A Stephen Pienaar corner saw Titus Bramble go nap-nap, as his man <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Dawson</place></city> stole in to nod down and through the luckless Gordon’s legs on the line. The second half saw Phil Bardsley make an unfeasible goal-line clearance as William Gallas looked set to force man and ball in, while a decent effort from ex-Spurs man Steed Malbranque was well parried by Gomes. The winner came when Vedran Corluka played a hopeful but superbly placed ball past the last man. No <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> man seemed to react, and Sandro galloped onto it, before delivering a cross that John Mensah nodded out only as far as Nico Krancjar, who volleyed gloriously into the corner of Gordon’s net. A Pienaar dribble and high shot was then followed by Kieran Richardson clipping the crossbar with a deflected effort. Spurs’ strength in depth saw to their win again; with Krancjar proving his worth despite being kept out of the side most of the season by Gareth Bale.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><place w:st="on">Liverpool</place>’s run of wins ground to a halt, as Wigan Athletic dug in to claim a point at Anfield. Raul Meireles had continued his superb goalscoring run with a timely volley to open their account, but Wigan fought to rescue the game, and did so when a free-kick wasn’t cleared properly, and Charles N’Zogbia sent in a teasing cross flicked on by Alcaraz, missed by Rodallega but poked in by Steve Gohouri to end the Reds’ recent run of clean sheets. Replays showed Gohouri to be fractionally offside, so <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> will be disgruntled. That said, the Kop had a great display from new striker Luis Suarez, who bears more than a passing resemblance to former toothy idol Milan Baros. After going down early claiming a penalty, the Uruguayan clipped the post and later battered the crossbar with a superb free-kick, to leave the Anfield faithful hopeful of a new hero to worship.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Only two goals at Broomfield Road, where <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> stopped the rot by coming back to prevent a sixth straight defeat against Aston Villa. Darren Bent had proved that there is more to his game than poaching, when he sent a brilliant first-time flick through to Gabriel Agbonlahor, who rounded Richard Kingson and found the net despite two covering defenders; the ball nutmegging Ian Evatt on its way in. Less than five minutes later Eliot Grandin flicked a corner in at the near post, and the Tangerines were level. <place w:st="on">Sheffield</place> Wednesday reject Lukee Varney headed a fantastic chance wide after being found by Marlon Harewood, while Richard Kingson produced a one-on-one save after Stewart Downing had worked himself through on goal. DJ Campbell sent in a cross-shot that somehow Varney missed again, before Downing then struck the outside of the <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> post. Varney then almost made amends by being the provider, but his cross was bundled wide by DJ Campbell. Jason Puncheon volleyed just wide as <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> attempted to seize the game, and their task seemed to be made easier when Jean Makoun was deservedly red-carded for launching DJ Campbell up in the air with a two-footed challenge. However, Villa thought they may have had the last laugh, only to be denied a penalty when Ashley Young went down late on under a Baptiste challenge. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Everton are facing up to a relegation battle, after <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> comfortably beat them at the Reebok Stadium. The opener was as unlucky as they come. First, Lee Probert somehow deemed Paul Robinson sending Victor Anichebe flying as a <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> free-kick. Then, Holden’s delivery found Gary Cahill flicking the ball towards goal, but as Howard plunged to meet it, the ball then cannoned off Johnny Heitinga and into the opposite corner. Leighton Baines’ fabulous cross was then guided wide by Tim Cahill, who would normally have headed but decided to volley; a costly decision. Bolton’s second came in a goalmouth scramble in which Gary Cahill bundled Heitinga over; the ball eventually headed on for Daniel Sturridge to crack a close-range half-volley into the net for his third goal in three Bolton appearances. The Trotters were aggrieved later to be denied a great third, when Sturridge backheeled on the touchline for Holden to convert, though replays showed the ball had narrowly crossed the line before Sturridge had touched it. All in all, the Toffees were counting the cost of once again missing Luis Saha through injury.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">After the groundbreaking 4-4 draw against Arsenal last week, it was inevitable that <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city> would follow this with a goalless draw. Roque <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Santa Cruz</place></city> headed an early chance against the post for Rovers, while Peter Lovenkrands hit the crossbar with a deft lob, after a fantastic long pass from Jose Enrique. Fabricio Coloccini juggled a corner before driving in a thunderous volley brilliantly parried by Paul Robinson. Late on, <city w:st="on">Newcastle</city>’s man-of-the-match Enrique jinked and slalomed through four <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> defenders, but still found no route to goal, as both teams move up to 32 points.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">When anti-goals met anti-football at <place w:st="on">St Andrews</place>, the resulting contest was turgid, to say the least. Birmingham’s policy holding onto what they’ve got before throwing Nikola Zigic up front for the last 15 has proved yawn-inducing for most neutrals, though to McLeish’s credit, he has recently begun deploying two strikers (one being Zigic) at home now, and with Obafemi Martins as a new loan centre-forward, perhaps their encounters will prove slightly more interesting in the future. Stoke, on the other hand, have jettisoned their two flair players, and are more Sunday League than ever. This is usually aligned to sly incidents of ungentlemanly conduct, usually from Robert Huth. The big German didn’t let us down this time either; reacting to the ball striking his hand in the box by going down clutching his face. Stephen Taylor would have been proud. There had really been nothing to crow about in this fixture until the very last minute, when <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Birmingham</place></city> worked the ball into the box. Asmir Begovic spilled David Bentley’s shot, and then made a mess of preventing Cameron Jerome’s follow-up dink from reaching the giant Zigic, who gleefully nodded in from a yard. Burn the tape of this game, and let us never speak of it again.</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-38165102889961152672011-02-07T14:10:00.000-08:002011-02-07T14:10:39.685-08:00Great comebacks, bad comebacks and a deluge of goals<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">In quite possibly the most exciting and madcap weekend in Premier League history, a new record was set for goals scored on a single Saturday, a team recovered from 4 goals down to gain a point for the first time in Premier League history, and the top team lost their unbeaten run to the bottom team. The lowest scorers in all four divisions scored four, Luis Saha scored that many by himself, while Carlos Tevez celebrated his 27<sup>th</sup> birthday with a hat-trick.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Where else to start but St James’ Park, where the comeback of all comebacks ensued in a contender for the Premier League’s finest game. You would struggle to find a game anywhere that sees all four goals scored by one team in the first 25 minutes, and all four goals in reply scored in the last 25. An incredible game started with both teams deploying something of a diamond formation. Many observers worried where <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Newcastle</city></place>’s goals would now come from. When Andrei Arshavin flicked a great pass through to Theo Walcott, racing goal-side of the sluggish Coloccini, the <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">England</place></country-region> winger finished expertly: all within forty-five seconds. Before the home fans had settled into their seats Arsenal had gone two goals up, when a cutely delivered Arshavin free-kick was headed in off the crossbar by Johann Djorou. <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city> did not learn any lessons, and their defence was statuesque and completely lacking responsibility when Walcott practically walked between admiring black-and-white shirts into the box, before pulling the ball back for a slackly-marked Robin Van Persie to slot home from close-range after just ten minutes. It took slightly longer for the fourth to arrive, but when Baccary Sagna’s delicious cross was headed in expertly by Van Persie, a sizeable proportion of the St James’ Park faithful decided they had seen enough. How must they now feel?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">It almost got worse for Toon when a gorgeous Fabregas long pass sent Van Persie away, but his lob just cleared the crossbar. The second half began with most expecting a continuation of the Gunners’ execution squad, but things changed irrevocably when Abou Diaby completely lost his head when Joey Barton won a loose ball with a hard tackle. Diaby clearly wasn’t expecting it and got clattered; responding by throwing Barton to the ground, and then pushing Kevin Nolan away when he tried to offer his machismo. The red card that accompanied his lunacy altered the course of a game that Arsenal had dead and buried. After the red card, the onus was on Arsenal’s defence to stand strong, but as usual they failed the test miserably. Laurent Koscielny was first to crack, when he attempted to poke at the ball through <place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">Leon</country-region></place> Best, who went down for an inevitable penalty award. Joey Barton notched the penalty brilliantly, before goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny decided to play silly buggers. Joey Barton played along for a bit before big bad Kevin Nolan decided he didn’t much like this game and hauled the goalkeeper to the ground by the neck. An offence which, ironically, Nolan only got a yellow card for when it seemed on the same level as Diaby’s offence. Tomas Rosicky came on a minute after the goal, and soon the Arsenal fans were wishing he hadn’t. His first influence of note was to lazily give the ball away on the very edge of his own penalty area; reacting with slumped shoulders and not moving in any way to rectify his error as Barton played in Leon Best, who scored expertly as Rosicky’s utter lack of responsibility had left him playing the big striker onside. Luckily for Rosicky, the linesman had a nightmare too, and called it incorrectly offside. A decent cross then found Best at the back post, and after his header had fell at his own feet via Clichy, the striker made no mistake in stabbing in a goal that did count, and reduced the arrears to just the two. Youngster Nile Ranger forced an excellent save from Szczesny as <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city> laid siege to the Arsenal goal. Their third came on 83 minutes, when Mike Williamson leapt for a header and crashed over as Rosicky once again left the Gunners fans ruing his introduction; clearly making an attempt to push Williamson as he jumped, though eventual contact was minimal. Joey Barton saw this penalty go in fortunately, but the Toon faithful did not care one iota. They roared their heroes on, and were treated to the pick of the bunch with three minutes to play. Tomas Rosicky completed his abysmal display by giving away a dangerous free-kick that was only cleared to Chekh Tiote on the edge of the box, and the powerful Ivorian brought the house down when he struck a pearler of a left-footed volley into the corner of Szczesny’s net to complete the most unlikely of comebacks. There could have still been a sting in the tail even after this, as first Nolan fired a fraction wide at one end, before Van Persie scored a superb goal which was judged offside by the narrowest of margins.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Manchester United were finally beaten, just as they were about to claim 30 games unbeaten. It was no surprise that they lost to the bottom team in the division, as their only other domestic defeat came to a team who were bottom of the league at the time: West Ham in the Carling Cup. United have rarely been formidable this season, and some would say are fortunate to have made it this far, but it was still something of a surprise that they lost after taking an early lead. Wolves had beaten Mancitti and Chelski at Molineux this season, while United had lost defensive lynchpin Rio Ferdinand in the warm-up, so the omens were not good. These were forgotten however, when Nani was sent down the line and marauded into the box, shadowed by two defenders. With very little to aim for, the Portuguese star shimmied and cut outside George Elokobi, before squeezing a left foot drive neatly inside Wayne Hennessey’s near post. Wolves overturned this lead, typically, from a set-piece. United went to sleep from a short corner, and Matt Jarvis delivered a great cross for George Elokobi to make amends for Nani’s goal and head in. The Red Devils’ defence was again statuesque when Dimitar Berbatov was forced to close down O’Hara, as he forced Van Der Sar to block his near post effort with his legs. The second Wolves goal came just before half-time, when Rooney and Vidic made a pig’s ear out of clearing their lines, and gave away a dangerous free-kick. Nenad Milijas swung it in, and Kevin Doyle stooped to get a flick at the same time as Elokobi, sending it past a helpless Van Der Sar. The second half siege saw Hernandez beat Hennessey in a challenge, but Rooney’s follow-up was blocked, while Nani headed a very good chance over, and Paul Scholes was booked for palming an effort goalward. In the end it was one of United’s strengths: defending set-pieces; that proved to be their undoing here.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Everton came out triumphant in a stonking game at Goodison against the team we all love to love: <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place>. Ian Holloway; thankfully not having resigned after the Premier League’s farcical decision to fine his side for fielding what they deemed an ‘under-strength’ team, despite it being made up from the pool of 25 players he nominated to the Premier League; is a national treasure, though even he now admits his side is conceding a ridiculous amount of goals that will see them relegated if they continue. Luis Saha is a striker capable of brilliance on his day; though, as observers tend to point out, his ‘day’ comes around all too rarely, usually due to his inordinate frequency of injury. This was definitely one of his days, and he plundered four superb goals to give Everton a clinical edge that could have seen them in the higher echelons of the division had it come sooner in the season. Diniyar Bilayetdinov’s brilliant work provided his poacher’s opener, before the Tangerines equalised, as a corner was flicked against the near post and along the goal-line by Ian Evatt. It was cleared perhaps too late, but Alex Baptiste followed it in to make sure. Everton were aggrieved when denied a second goal. Seamus Coleman was clearly tugged down as he delivered a brilliant cross that Saha guided in. Kevin Friend had already blown his whistle apparently, so the goal was disallowed for a free-kick best described as abysmal from Leighton Baines. Incredibly, this was the end of the first half scoring. The second half was just two minutes old when Jack Rodwell sent Leighton Baines down the left flank, and the full-back’s cross was guided in expertly by Saha. Just after the hour mark, <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> fought back again, when Eliot Grandin won a crucial 50-50 on the edge of the box with Johnny Heitinga, and sent new signing James Beattie into the box. Beattie’s low cross was finished at the back post by an ecstatic Jason Puncheon. Everton almost retook the lead again when Fellaini took down a corner and struck a shot that Neal Eardley had to clear off the line, but within three minutes ‘Ollie was cavorting in delight, as Sylvain Distin lost the ball in a terrible area. The resulting counter-attack found DJ Campbell on the edge of the box striking a pummelling shot against the crossbar which Charlie Adam stooped to head into the empty net. <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> then contrived to surrender the initiative. Goalkeeper Paul Rachubka lost his head and careered out of his box; losing a challenge with Jack Rodwell, who chipped the ball beautifully towards a gaping net, only to see Ian Evatt race back and make a maginificent clearance just before the ball crossed the line. The manner of Everton’s third goal left Blackpool seething, as Jermaine Beckford had left Charlie Adam receiving treatment after a boot to the face. A man short at a corner, <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> allowed Saha to nip in unchecked and nod in for his hat-trick, after somehow a cluster of bodies all missed the ball at the near post. The fourth goal was nothing short of majestic, as the erratic Beckford ran onto a long pass from Leighton Baines and volleyed into the net without breaking his stride. The breathless scoring finally concluded in the 84<sup>th</sup> minute, when <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> were throwing the kitchen sink at Everton. An unlucky bounce saw the ball cleared, and Fellaini played a cracking through-ball to Luis Saha, who put on the afterburners to leave Adam in the dust before drawing the goalkeeper and stabbing into the corner of the net. Thus a truly incredible game ended; a joy for all who had the privilege to attend.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Wigan Athletic lined up for a Lancashire derby against Blackburn Rovers as the lowest scoring team in all four divisions, yet proved anyone expecting a dull contest thoroughly wrong, despite the pudding of a pitch. Ben Watson had an early free-kick saved, but it was Rovers who took the lead, when Hoilett’s cross was turned in from close range by Jason Roberts. Charles N’Zogbia turned on his finesse when his weaving run saw the ball laid off to Emerson Boyce, and when Robinson parried his effort, James McCarthy arrived to dink into the net from a tight angle. Like the Everton match, half-time saw a 1-1 scoreline, and like that game the second half hit the heights. Victor Moses’ clever flick evaded Christopher Samba and sent Hugo Rodallega scampering behind and around Robinson, before slotting into the empty net. The third <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> goal was a joy to behold; with James McCarthy and Charles N’Zogbia conspiring to keep ball in the tightest of niches inside the Rovers box. When N’Zogbia dinked a short pass back to McCarthy, the midfielder flicked the ball up before juggling it to his opposite foot and volleying sublimely into the bottom corner. <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> pulled a goal back through a familiar source, when a Pedersen corner was powered into the net by Samba, despite Al-Habsi’s protestations. The Omanian goalkeeper for once did not have a good day. But rather than typically concede a lead, <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> just powered two goals ahead once more, with Watson drilling in the penalty that came after Salgado had clearly tripped Diame a fraction inside the box. Mame Biryam Diouf produced an awful finish late on with a comeback beckoning, but Blackburn did pull one more back, when David Dunn was tripped on the run just inside the box by Diame, though Dunn had flicked the ball almost out for a throw in the process. The victim got up to convert the spot-kick, but Rovers were beaten; a result that briefly lifted the Latics’ heads above water, before Birmingham’s result dropped them once more below the waterline.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">How Liverpool fans must have gloated, after the Fernando Torres bandwagon was crudely derailed; at <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Stamford</placename> <placetype w:st="on">Bridge</placetype></place> too. Despite an attempt at a gentleman’s agreement, <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> insisted on getting full value for their gargantuan outlay, by playing a ‘dream team’ attacking trident of Drogba, Anelka and Torres. Unfortunately for Ancelotti, he was outmanoeuvred in tactical terms when Kenny Dalglish played three centre-backs to cope, while allowing Kelly and Johnson to bomb forward and provide width, whilst also limiting Bosingwa and Cashley’s danger. Torres endured a pretty impotent afternoon, blazing his first good opportunity well over, catching an ‘accidental’ forearm smash from former team-mate Daniel Agger, and having Jamie Carragher slide to block his only decent effort at goal before being substituted. Maxi Rodriguez had a pretty embarrassing afternoon too. After giving the ball to Torres for his first chance, Maxi then managed to hit the crossbar with an open goal from all of five yards. <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> grabbed a winner in the 68<sup>th</sup> minute, when Gerrard burst down the flank to offer a cross which Cech bizarrely allowed to bounce past him at the near post, perhaps mindful of Ivanovic clattering him as he had done minutes earlier in another misunderstanding. The ball was begging to be tucked away, and Raul Meireles arrived to readjust superbly and guide it in. <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> just did not possess any width, though were incensed that a late penalty wasn’t awarded, when the strapping Ivanovic crashed to the ground when Glen Johnson seemed to charge into him. So <city w:st="on">Chelsea</city> ended the day £50million and 3 points poorer, as <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> could afford to leave out both their big signings and still win.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Carlos Tevez once again proved his enduring worth to Mancitti by plundering a hat-trick. With £27million Edin Dzeko a substitute, Tevez was under pressure to deliver, and he didn’t disappoint. Alexsander Kolarov crossed for Tevez to volley against the post, before Joe Hart was called into action to push a Chris Brunt free-kick away. Kolarov then continued to exert influence on the game, when he was brought to earth by Stephen Reid inside the <place w:st="on">West Brom</place> penalty box. Tevez converted the penalty and then scored a sublime second, when he exchanged passes in no space at all with David Silva, before sidestepping and skipping over the challenge of Jonas Olsson and slotting past Myhill. Kolarov once again impressed when he strode forward to thunder a 35 yarder against the crossbar with Myhill’s fingertips stung. Jerome Thomas conceded a horribly unlucky second spot-kick when the ball skipped up onto his prone arm, and Tevez gleefully completed his birthday hat-trick. Incredible news of Roberto Di Matteo’s sacking broke after this game, despite him taking <place w:st="on">West Brom</place> up and into the higher echelons of the Premier League for a time, and still being well in touch with the teams around them. The Baggies board have clearly followed in the footsteps of <city w:st="on">Newcastle</city> and <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> to truly begin an era where managers are no longer sacked after the tabloids mount a campaign, but are sacked out of the blue, for reasons that seem no more logical than thinking the grass is always greener. Even if West Brom do go down, Di Matteo has proved astute enough to bring them back up, and surely it will cost them double to be relegated now, with Di Matteo’s pay-off added to it. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">A thrilling game at the Britannia, but only in terms of the scoreline and the atmosphere, because Stoke’s football has gone back to the pre-Neanderthal Wimbledon heyday kick and rush. To describe just how appalling (and illegal) the first two goals particularly were could not be accomplished with mere words. <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> had taken the lead very early, when Kieran Richardson found the roof of the net after Asamoah Gyan had miskicked in the box. Stoke’s first equaliser came courtesy of the old ‘up ‘n’ under’. Delap launched a throw deep into the box, and the ball was flicked high into the air. With Gordon weak, Huth challenged and the ball squirmed loose for Carew to stab in practically on the goal-line. Replays showed Carew to be standing a yard offside when the ball was played, but to be fair to the linesman it was near impossible to spot with the naked eye. Sunderland regained the lead in the second half when new loan signing Sulley Muntari played a fantastic ball to Asamoah Gyan; goal-side of Robert Huth. As he reached the box Huth caught up, but the Ghanaian outmuscled the German defender before cutting outside him and drilling a low shot into the net past goalkeeper and defender. A brilliant goal which was to be sadly overshadowed. Craig Gordon had later spilled a corner and been bailed out, but there was no bailing out when he was beaten to the punch; fairly literally, by John Carew. The galling fact that the second equalising goal should have been ruled out for three different offences will stick in Steve Bruce’s craw long after this game. As another excellent Pennant delivery swung in towards Gordon, a marginally offside John Carew leapt in front of him; bundling the ball goalward with his arm, which was then touched by the also-offside Robert Huth before it eventually crossed the <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> goal-line. If there was such a thing as the ‘worst goal you’ll ever see’, this would be right up there. Kids, please don’t try this at home. With their magnificent fans roaring them on, it was inevitable that Stoke would get the winner in injury time, when Kieran Richardson stupidly conceded a free-kick 35 yards out. Pennant again earned his wages with a stupendous inswinger that Titus Bramble watched like he was pointing at a plane, before watching Robert Huth meet it with a timely lunge to send the Britannia into raptures.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Aston Villa and Fulham played out an entertaining draw down at <place w:st="on">Villa Park</place> which saw Andrew Johnson looking like he has regained his old form. Darren Bent had an early effort ruled out for offside, but Villa took the lead as familiar Fulham own goal scorer John Pantsil added to his impressive collection with a corkscrew header that Richard Dunne couldn’t have managed even in his younger days. Johnson notched his goal in the second half, as he lunged in bravely with his head to guide in the rebound, after new boy Steve Sidwell’s thunderous drive was parried. Youngster Kyle Walker then had a moment to remember, when he beat Sidwell to the ball on halfway and advanced, before striking the crispest of low drives into the bottom corner from some 35 yards. Fulham regained parity through a towering header from Clint Dempsey at a corner; beating his compatriot Friedel to the ball brilliantly, though Friedel denied Johnson a winner late on. A decent point for both sides.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">‘Arry was smiling eventually, as classy Croat Nico Krancjar staked his claim for more regular football with a magnificent last minute winner at <street w:st="on"><address w:st="on">White Hart Lane</address></street>. Spurs’ opener came early, as a free-kick produced a melee culminating in Corluka’s attempt to find a partially unguarded net thwarted by the arm of Kevin Davies. Rafael Van Der Vaart converted the spot-kick brilliantly. The game became more interesting when Aaron Lennon jinked and weaved inside the box before being scythed down for a second penalty. <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> were livid, and thought they were two behind when Van Der Vaart tucked the second kick into the same corner. Mark Clattenburg, however, deemed it illegal, citing encroachment from Defoe particularly. Unfortunately for Van Der Vaart, he couldn’t find the same corner thrice, and his retaken spot-kick went wide; much to Redknapp’s consternation. The Trotters began to display some ambition of their own when a superb Elmander header thudded against the Spurs’ crossbar, while Defoe scored a goal ruled offside. On 55 minutes Daniel Sturridge proved he is well worth a loan spell, when he fired a Mark Davies pass beyond a pretty poor Gomes. <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> felt cheated when Gary Cahill was sandwiched and went down in the box, only to be booked for ‘simulation’. Jermaine Jenas later struck the post with a free-kick, and in the same passage of play Stephen Pienaar wriggled through and was denied by a sterling Jaaskelainen save. But just when <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> thought they had held on, substitute Krancjar jinked and cut outside a challenge on the edge of the box before leathering the ball into the roof of the net with his left foot to lift the roof of <street w:st="on"><address w:st="on">White Hart Lane</address></street>.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">An absolutely dire spectacle at Upton Park, where West Ham succumbed to a typical Nikola Zigic header from a set-piece. The only other noteworthy mention goes to Demba Ba, who cracked the outside of the post late on with a ferocious effort. In between these moments, fans were treated to a theatre of tedium, with mundane passages of play leading to mediocre finishes. <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Birmingham</place></city> are far and away the dullest side in the Premier League, and they look as if they will be boring us all the way to survival.</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-20787714300949975452011-02-04T14:05:00.001-08:002011-02-04T14:05:49.760-08:00The urge to splurge<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">After a transfer window deadline day that left most of us agog at the sums of money and calibre of players changing hands, the Premier League resumed, and as if to prove that last-minute shopping can yield the best bargains, three debutants notched important goals that earned points for their new teams. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Manchester United started the game against Aston Villa with the news of Gary Neville’s immediate retirement from playing. Neville has been a United stalwart, loyal to the end and Mr Reliable until he passed 30 and injuries eventually ruined his body. In an illustrious career, <city w:st="on">Red</city> <state w:st="on">Nev</state> became <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">England</place></country-region>’s most capped right-back, won everything in the domestic game and appeared over 600 times for the Red Devils. This season he has been found badly wanting, and, but for generous refereeing could have been sent off twice. He retires with his dignity intact, and a glittering trophy cabinet to look back on, no doubt during his impending stint on Sky Sports. United started the game with Dimitar Berbatov in scintillating form, but still waiting on Wayne Rooney to hit the goal trail from open play. That wait was ended on 49 seconds, when another impending retiree; Edwin Van Der Sar, launched a kick over the statuesque Richard Dunne for Rooney to kill exquisitely, before crashing into the roof of Brad Friedel’s net. United felt aggrieved later, when Dunne once again was caught out, and clattered into Nani, though Chris Foy saw nothing wrong with the clumsy challenge. United increased their lead when Nani won a tussle with Ciaran Clark on the right wing, before delivering an exceptional cross that Rooney didn’t have to break his stride to stroke into the net. Villa pulled a goal back when Stewart Downing took advantage of a mix-up between three United players to cross with his weaker right foot. Darren Bent arrived in the nick of time to slot it in with his weaker left foot, but Villa’s hopes of a comeback were shattered five minutes later, when the superb Rooney held up the ball in a packed area, before laying back to Nemanja Vidic, who belted the ball in like a seasoned striker. There was still time for Brad Friedel to make great saves from Nani and Rooney, but this was always United’s game.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">A rip-roaring game at the Stadium of Light saw a <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> team buoyed by the exorbitant signings of David Luiz and Fernando Torres come back strongly to finish off the spirited Mackems. Roman Abramovich clearly decided at the last minute to abandon his policy of preparing for FIFA’s financial fair play legislation for another year, while <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city>’s dream of one day breaking even under their own steam seems as distant as ever. Still, their fans will be ecstatic that they have left even <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Manchester</placename> <placetype w:st="on">City</placetype></place> in the shade with the scale of their January outlay. Fernando heard the drums, and declared he had joined the ‘big team’ he had dreamed of playing for; a quote that will be like a hot knife twisting in the craws of <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> fans. But Torres was not deployed in this game, which was set alight early on by right-footed left-back Phil Bardsley running at the Chelsea backline, inside the ever-clueless Jon Obi Mikel; who allowed him onto his stronger foot, from which he unleashed a low strike, clean as a whistle into the bottom corner of Cech’s net. On the fifteen minute mark Chelsea were level, as Egyptian Ahmed Elmohamedy, who may have had his mind on other subjects, climbed all over Cashley Cole, who crashed over in his own persecuted manner. Frank Lampard crashed the penalty home, soon followed by a second from Kalou which owed everything to a reckless dash out of his area by Craig Gordon, who made the Ivorian’s finish simple. Just three minutes later <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> drew level though, when Kieran Richardson cunningly whipped his free-kick under the jumping wall to fool Petr Cech. <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> were unlucky not to go into the break ahead, when a persistent Michael Essien produced a low cross which Branislav Ivanovic nearly split the crossbar with. The hour mark saw <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> finally go ahead, after John Terry had come forward to win a corner, then followed in a Lampard parried effort to volley into the ground and past Gordon. Still the game was open, and <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> still flooded forward. Nicolas Anelka advanced menacingly to the edge of the box and laid the ball off to the waiting Ramires, only for Kalou to usher him out of the way as he crashed the ball against both posts and away. The game was finally sealed in the last minute, when Florent Malouda kept the ball in on the touchline, before sending a short pass across goal, which Anelka stabbed in with the outside of his boot.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Arsenal kept up their title drive with a resilient comeback win against a plucky Everton, though every week Francesc Fabregas seems intent on carving a reputation as an arrogant enfant terrίble; this time apparently accusing the officials of being bought in the tunnel; normally a red card offence for ‘lesser’ players. The reason for rage was Everton’s opening goal in the 24<sup>th</sup> minute, when the ball from Seamus Coleman was clearly delayed too long, leaving Luis Saha a good two yards offside. The flag should have gone up immediately, but stayed down until Laurent Koscielny made a last-ditch attempt at a clearance and inadvertently flicked the ball on for Saha to control and finish, thus rendering it not offside. Arsenal’s argument of course was that the original pass was obviously intended, and heading for, Saha, and the touch from Koscielny should have been academic. After all the complaints fell on deaf ears, Arsenal began to mount a siege, but it wasn’t until Andrei Arshavin’s second half introduction that they got back into the game. Jack Rodwell failed to cut out Cesc Fabregas’ delightful lobbed pass, and Arshavin volleyed in coolly for the equaliser. Five minutes later, Leon Osman was forced to cynically trip Theo Walcott in full flight. The resulting free-kick produced one of the saves of the season from Howard; somehow using both hands to just about parry the ball over the bar. Unfortunately for Howard, the corner that resulted found an unmarked Koscielny who powered his header down and in to send the Gunners’ faithful into raptures.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Mancitti blew their big chance to keep pace with the leaders, when they threw away a victory against struggling <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Birmingham</placename> <placetype w:st="on">City</placetype></place>. In a huge tactical shock, both notoriously cautious managers played two up front, though when you spend £27 million on a striker, you can’t really justify not playing him, so Mancini’s ploy was nothing if not logical. Mancitti took the lead in just the third minute, when an interchange between Carlos Tevez and David Silva led to a deflected shot from Tevez finding the net. David Bentley was delivering a string of inviting crosses, but it was his low free-kick which yielded an equaliser, when Nikola Zigic ran across Hart’s path and got the faintest of flicks to it to send it in for 1-1. A nasty collision of heads led to Micah Richards being stretchered off; for once Nigel De Jong crocked one of his own; before City retook the lead, after Craig Gardner had fallen over and taken Edin Dzeko with him on the edge of the box. Aleksander Kolarov stepped up to bend the set-piece in superbly. Mancitti then did what they tend to do, which is try to stifle the game and see it out, but Patrick Vieira’s clumsy swipe took out Kevin Phillips, and Craig Gardner rescued a point for Brum with a well-dispatched penalty. In the dying embers of injury time, City had another dangerous free-kick, but this time Kolarov could only shoot just wide of Foster’s post.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">An end-to-end game between two strugglers ended in an inevitable draw between West Brom and <place w:st="on">Wigan</place>. The Baggies might have expected more when a lovely through-ball from Jerome Thomas sent Peter Odemwingie through to stab past the advancing Al-Habsi with less than five minutes on the clock, but a couple of exchanges between Youssouf Mulumbu and Charles N’Zogbia led to the arrears eradicated. First, Mulumbu scythed the French winger down on the edge of the box, and just to top it off then got a significant touch to N’Zogbia’s free-kick to send it past his own goalkeeper. Before half-time, Wigan; the lowest scorers in the Football League; took the lead, when Ben Watson whipped his own free-kick from the opposite side in, and claimed a goal as nobody managed to get a touch. The Baggies mounted a siege to retrieve the game, and Somen Tchoyi found Marc-Antoine Fortune, who cracked a shot against the foot of the post. Some good work from Odemwingie led to Chris Brunt wrapping his left foot around the ball and hitting the other post. Finally, as <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> tend to do all too often, they surrendered their lead. Jerome Thomas weaved a route into the box and stood the ball up beautifully for Fortune to beat <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Caldwell</place></city> to and nod down and in. You could see the life sap from <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> on conceding the equaliser, but it could have been much worse had Ali Al-Habsi not added to his sizeable collection of ‘save of the season’ contenders. A corner was powered at goal by the head of Jonas Olsson from no more than eight yards, but the Omanian goalkeeper displayed outrageous reflexes once again to throw out a palm and parry it away.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The new-look <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> began life post-Torres in impressive form. Kenny Dalglish’s new animal saw off Stoke convincingly, moving up to seventh in the process. These two clubs had both seen a sea-change in the transfer window; <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> had lost a world class striker but gained two very good strikers, while losing out on an excellent playmaker. Stoke decided who needs flair when you’ve got big men, and dispatched both players with genuine craft in their game; Tuncay Sanli and Eidur Gudjohnsen; proving that Tony Pulis was never really interested in progressing their one-dimensional ‘death from above’ style. Dalglish lined up with an interesting 3-4-2-1 formation to combat Stoke’s approach, and it paid dividends. The game began with <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> predictably on the front foot with their fans behind them, and it took an unbelievable save from Asmir Begovic to keep the scores level. Martin Kelly dinked in a great cross which Glenn Johnson met with a powerful point-blank header, yet the Stoke stopper somehow shot a strong arm up in an instant to parry it away as he fell into the net. Dirk Kuyt had come close twice before Steven Gerrard drilled a laid-off free-kick into a packed penalty area minutes into the second half. It found Sotirios Kyrgiakos, who rather fortuitously miscontrolled to allow Raul Meireles to come onto it and slot past Begovic. Stoke’s token response was John Carew to fire a shot narrowly wide, but the game was over when Dirk Kuyt sent a ball through to Luis Suarez on the shoulder of the last man. After outpacing his marker, Suarez took a touch around the prone Begovic and tapped towards goal. Andy Wilkinson caught up with the goalbound effort, but inexplicably slid his attempted clearance onto the post and in. Stoke lost even the chance of a consolation effort, when Reina instinctively kept out a close-range effort from Jonathan Walters at the death.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">West Ham put the crushing disappointment of Carling Cup semi-final elimination behind them as they dispatched a <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> side who suddenly find themselves on a run of defeats. As usual with <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place>, it was a goal-laden affair. An early Frederic Piquionne low cross was horribly miskicked by a <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> defender and fell to Victor Obinna at the back post. Fortunately for the Tangerines, the striker scuffed his effort, giving Richard Kingson enough time to plunge low and keep it out. Craig Catchart then had Kingson to thank for preventing him scoring an own goal, but he was rather less forgiving when Obinna turned him inside out and the Ghanaian goalkeeper pulled a ‘Robert Green’; crouching to collect the low shot, only to see it spoon off his hands and into the net. The lead was doubled when Kingson did rather better, making a superb double save from Obinna this time, only to see debutant Robbie Keane slice a volley into the net from close range to start his West Ham career in the perfect manner. Yet three minutes before half-time, Charlie Adam proved his enduring worth when he swung in a low corner that Frederic Piquionne idiotically air-kicked at his front-post, and Robert Green somehow let slip under his body for 2-1. The Tangerines should have gone in at half-time eager to complete their comeback, but within a minute they were once again staring into the abyss. Victor Obinna was given time and space to advance, before unleashing a left-foot missile into Kingson’s top corner to finish the game. The second half saw Neil Eardley crack the angle with a free-kick, while Green had to be at his best to deny Marlon Harewood in the closing stages. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Mick McCarthy looked ready to kill himself after Ronald Zubar threw Wolves’ hard-earned point away in injury time. Wayne Hennessey was particularly ready to deck his colleague, after he had done brilliantly to deny Elmander, Lee and an own goal from Christophe Berra. Kevin Doyle had seen one of his efforts deflect agonisingly onto the post and out, and the game seemed to be heading for a deserved draw. Suddenly Zubar’s moment of braindead stupidity came, when first he sold a team-mate short with a throw inside that he should have sent up the line. He then compounded this by winning the loose ball back and deciding to roll a ridiculous backpass across his own goal, which <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> new boy Daniel Sturridge raced onto and tucked away. It was such an incredible act of sporting suicide that you almost expected an official investigation to be launched into suspicious betting patterns. If Zubar wasn’t so big you could have guaranteed McCarthy throttling him in the changing rooms.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Tottenham may have missed out on Charlie Adam, but most observers would suggest they need a striker rather more than yet another playmaker. This game was settled by an under-performing striker; with Peter Crouch nodding in a deep cross from Rafael Van Der Vaart, before clearing off his own line at the other end. <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> have made great strides in expanding their game under Steve Kean, though they still utilise Paul Robinson’s mule kicks. Mame Biryam Diouf and Morten Gamst Pedersen came close for Rovers, and with the last attack of the game Jermaine Jenas somehow deflected Jason Roberts’ powerful downward header just over his own crossbar. Still, Rovers can’t be too disappointed with their current run, much better than many expected under a completely untested manager. Harry meanwhile will be quietly confident of reclaiming that Champions League slot for next season.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">With some last minute bargain-hunting, Mark Hughes seems to have compiled an impressive Fulham squad. Gael Kakuta made a decent impression on his debut, while <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city> fans will be a lot more anxious at their chances of survival post-Carroll. When your most recognised striker is Shola Ameobi, you know you’re in trouble. The Toon fans laid into old favourite Damien ‘Duffer’, who lived up to his dumb nickname last season when he scored the own goal that sent Newcastle down, and this time they had more reason to hate him, as he relished scoring the goal that separated the sides. New signing Steve Sidwell’s day nearly became a nightmare when he came within a whisker of an own goal, but when Jose Enrique allowed Danny Murphy’s long ball to bounce, Duff seized on the chance to win the match.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Until next time…</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-39056048891452278972011-01-25T02:54:00.000-08:002011-01-25T02:54:14.641-08:00Gray and Keys are on their knees<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">A cracking weekend of Premiership action saw the top two look formidably convincing in their pursuit of the top prize, while the bottom three remains the three ‘W’s. Avram Grant was still in charge at the Boleyn, after Gold, Brady and O’Sullivan’s shameless coveting of Martin O’Neill ended with their crush revealing he was out of their league.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Manchester United found top gear for only the third time this season in destroying a woeful Birmingham 5-0 at Old Trafford, with Ryan Giggs as imperious as he has been for the last two decades; gliding about the pitch with all the effortlessness and vision he has accrued from knowing the Premier League inside out and keeping himself in formidable shape. <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Birmingham</place></city>’s fragile defensive unity has been shattered with the long-term injury sustained by Scott Dann, and United essentially killed this game within the first two minutes, with John O’Shea flicking Giggs’ deadly corner goalwards, where Dimitar Berbatov was lurking to apply the finishing touch on the line. Ben Foster proved once again he is appalling with his feet minutes later, when he was pressured into a terrible kick which was returned for Rooney to flick on for Berbatov once more, but Foster redeemed himself; blocking the Bulgarian’s effort with his legs. On the half-hour, Rooney advanced and fed Berbatov on his outside, prompting the striker to cut outside his man and fire between the challenges of Johnson and Ridgewell and inside Foster’s near post for 2-0. Berbatov and Giggs then went mightily close as there seemed to be no end to the one-way traffic, and on the stroke of half-time came a goal of true magnificence. Dimitar Berbatov proved he could do no wrong, as he turned a loss of footing into a lovely tackle, before receiving a nice backheel from Rooney and sending the striker away with his return ball. Rooney bore down on goal and sent in a low teaser, which Ryan Giggs launched into the roof of the net at the back post. Wayne Rooney was looking like his old classy self, but still in front of goal he was a lame duck: in the second half Nani decided to get in on the act, and his great work culminated in a delicious cross that somehow Rooney headed wide from three yards when it looked easier to score. Rooney had a hand in the fourth goal too, when he brought down an uncompromising belt upfield from Edwin Van Der Sar; killing it with the greatest of ease before nutmegging Roger Johnson to find Ryan Giggs, whose low cross was stabbed in off the crossbar by the predatory Berbatov, who scored his third hat-trick of the season in the process. At the other end Birmingham at last saw a sight of goal, when awful control from Nemanja Vidic let in Matt Derbyshire, whose close-range cross-shot saw Van Der Sar get an arm to it, while at the back post Keith Fahey had over-ran the ball and couldn’t turn it into the open net from two yards out. The rout was completed in the 75<sup>th</sup> minute, when Nani, clearly frustrated, finally seized the chance to cut inside onto his left foot and whip a typical drive into the corner of Foster’s net from the edge of the box. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Arsenal were also in the mood for a mauling at home to <place w:st="on">Wigan</place>. The notoriously unpredictable Latics can turn it on against the big boys, but at the Emirates they folded like an origami crane. The tempo was set early on, when star man Samir Nasri forced a decent save from Ali Al-Habsi. The Omanian goalkeeper is the major reason why <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> don’t get beaten by sixes and sevens anymore, and he made an unbelievable intervention not long after the Nasri stop. Gael Clichy sent a sweet crossfield ball over to Theo Walcott, whose devious low cross was pummelled towards goal by Robin Van Persie from point blank range, but Al-Habsi threw a strong glove up in an instant to pull off one of the saves of the season. Stephen Caldwell had been drafted in as defensive cover for <place w:st="on">Wigan</place>, meaning him and his brother Gary were playing together for the first time. Another low cross from Walcott found Cesc Fabregas in the middle this time, but <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Caldwell</city></place> S. lunged to make a magnificent block. <place w:st="on">Wigan</place>’s rearguard was horrendously overworked, and it was no surprise when the Arsenal siege yielded the opening goal on 21 minutes. Alexandre Song played a gorgeous slide-rule pass between three defenders to find Robin Van Persie springing a poor offside trap and smashing the ball past Al-Habsi. Another intricate Arsenal move saw a deep Baccary Sagna cross find Samir Nasri, who laid off to Fabregas for a piledriver which Al-Habsi brilliantly turned aside, before Sagna retrieved the loose ball and again found Fabregas, whose quick feet saw him nutmeg Stephen Caldwell, before Maynor Figueroa finally got in a decent challenge to conceded a corner. Van Persie sent Walcott away, and the <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">England</place></country-region> winger laid across to Cesc Fabregas, whose path was blocked by a defender, but Walcott scampered onto the rebound, only for Stephen Caldwell to again make a stupendous block to prevent the goal. Samir Nasri and then Cesc Fabregas were again denied by the athleticism of Ali Al-Habsi to leave <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> going into the second half with just a goal’s deficit. With very little in return, <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> inevitably conceded a second just shy of the hour mark. A long cross from Fabregas found Robin Van Persie goal-side of Gary Caldwell, and the razor-sharp Dutchman volleyed in superbly for his, and Arsenal’s second goal. Caldwell G.’s day got worse when Nasri slid in Fabregas, and the Scottish defender seemd to fall on top of the Spaniard; conceding both a penalty and a red card. Roberto Martinez was apparently not happy at Fabregas’ perceived gamesmanship. With the Gunners fans ready to acclaim their hat-trick hero, Van Persie conspired to leather his penalty into the stratosphere, before falling to the ground clutching his head in disbelief. The Dutchman spent much of the rest of the game on a one-man mission to complete his hat-trick; first cutting outside the remaining <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Caldwell</place></city> and striking the post. He finally saw his dream come true when Fabregas took out four defenders with a through-ball to Walcott, who merely shielded the remaining defender as Van Persie galloped onto it and buried it inside Al-Habsi’s near post. With the Dutchman on this form, Arsenal are genuine contenders. Van Persie offers the kind of direct and clinical attacking that Arsenal’s midfield just don’t offer enough, and with Walcott providing such service this Gunners team could finally break their trophy duck very soon.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The match that could have ended the careers of Andy Gray and ‘Mr Sky Sports’ Richard Keys. After earning an unlikely victory at Anfield which contributed heavily to the demise of Roy Hodgson, Mick McCarthy lined his hungry Wolves up against Kenny Dalglish’s side at Molineux, but saw only the romance of a returning hero, as the Wanderers were laid to rest in brutal fashion. The away fans must have been thrilled to see the <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> midfield as fluid as its looked in a decade, with Rodriguez, Poulsen, Lucas, Kuyt and Meireles interchanging and flooding the box at will. Fernando Torres seemed to relish the guarantee of support, and Raul Meireles produced a man-of-the-match display. Torres came close after a Meireles through-ball, and the favour was returned later, only for the Portuguese to fire just wide. The female referee’s assistant was under heavy fire from Wolves fans (and messrs Keys and Gray) in the 36<sup>th</sup> minute, when Christian Poulsen put Meireles into yards of space, but replays showed the decision to be an excellent one. Meireles bore down on goal, but elected at the last minute to square to Torres, who slid into the empty net gratefully. <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place>’s academy seems to be very top-heavy with full-backs, having produced Jon Otsemobor, Stephen Wright, Stephen Warnock and Jamie Carragher in recent years, though Carragher has of course evolved into a centre-back. The latest off the conveyor belt is Martin Kelly, and he looks very competent. Although it initially looked a strange decision, Dalglish’s choice of Kelly at right-back and Glen Johnson at left-back seems to be paying dividends, as Paul Konchesky was never good enough. Raul Meireles sealed the game with a superb sliced volley into the top corner, after a long ball had been nodded out to him by Christophe Berra. The Molineux pitch was far from lush, but <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> were moving about it with ease. The facially-challenged Jon Jo Shelvey came on and missed a glorious opportunity from another great Meireles ball, but in stoppage time some gloss was added to an already comfortable scoreline, when Glenn Johnson fed Dirk Kuyt, and a tackle executed on the Dutchman only let the ball squirm across to the predatory Torres, who belted it in from close range for 3-0.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Frederic Piquionne pulled a bit of a boner, as his late red card cost West Ham a man in their pursuit of defending a victory. Lining up in their horrible dirty white away kit, and under a manager many thought would be long gone by now, the Hammers took the lead after Mark Noble released Luis Boa Morte down the left flank, and the Portuguese winger appeared to cut back too far, but Jonathan Spector arrived in the nick of time to cash in. Boa Morte was later aggrieved to be denied his own goal by a narrow offside call, which was compounded when Diniyar Bilayetdinov crisply volleyed in a Fellaini knock-down; just reward for the Toffees’ pressure. Everton fans were cursing minutes later when it looked as if they had turned the game around, but after Leon Osman had deftly found Luis Saha; who spun on a sixpence and flashed in a shot that Green could only parry; Seamus Coleman contrived to volley over an open net. The Irons used this let-off to stage a claim for victory, when a hanging Wanye Bridge cross was gloriously headed into the top corner by Frederic Piquionne, for what looked like a remarkable winner. Sadly, the most misguided rule of the game ruined his moment, as he charged into the passionate throng of away supporters to earn a second yellow card. West Ham were too short of bodies to hold on for even five minutes, and after a Saha long-ranger had been tipped wide by Rob Green, an Osman dink saw Jack Rodwell flick on for Marouane Fellaini to chest down and spin to drive low into the net, with Julien Faubert falling over comically in his desperate attempts to prevent him from doing so. Avram was a sad man once again.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Apparently £24million can buy more than £27 million. Darren Bent ignored the torrent of criticism at his baffling move to Aston Villa to prove that goalscorers are certainly worth their weight in gold; earning a priceless victory to ease Villa’s relegation concerns while plunging City’s title credentials into fresh doubt. The nagging doubt that Mancitti do not know how to play when they go a goal down will not go away, and even bumper new signing Edin Dzeko could not make an impact; that is, aside from his howler of a miss late on. Shay Given continues to wait his career out on the City bench, while John Carew has moved on loan to Stoke to avoid Gerard Houllier. Carlos Tevez produced an embarrassing air-kick from a Kolarov corner, and the cock-ups continued for Mancitti, as they gave away possession yards from their penalty box, which let in Ashley Young for a great effort that Joe Hart could only parry to Darren Bent, plundering his debut goal. City spent much of the rest of the game camped in Villa’s half, their closest sight coming when Ciaran Clark’s last-ditch tackle deflected a goalbound De Jong shot onto the post, before Dzeko somehow nodded a sumptuous cross wide at the back post from six yards. When Kolarov’s sidefooted effort took two deflections to leave Friedel grounded but went wide, City’s day was encapsulated. Villa rode their luck but came away with a priceless victory, or rather a very pricey victory, consigning City to a costly defeat.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Tottenham snatched a last-minute draw from a game they looked to have surrendered, with Aaron Lennon being criminally allowed to cut inside on his favoured right foot before thumping low inside Harper’s near post. Newcastle came close early on, when a deep Jose Enrique cross seemed to miss everyone, only for Leon Best to slide in and hit the crossbar from an unfeasible angle. Spurs new boy Stephen Pienaar passed to Rafael Van Der Vaart; pulling off a devious flick to set away Defoe, who was foiled by the onrushing Harper. Just before the hour mark, <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city> took the lead deservedly, when Danny Guthrie fired across the box to Fabio Coloccini, who chested the ball past Alan Hutton and drilled past almost namesake Cudicini. Spurs went close from Lennon in reply, while <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city> saw Lovenkrands denied. Aaron Lennon was Tottenham’s constant threat in unfamiliar territory on the left flank, and his probing found Luka Modric, who battered the crossbar under intense pressure. Nile Ranger had come on and nearly sewed the game up when he beat Dawson and the goalkeeper, but Cudicini got enough on it to deflect it along the goal-line and away. Just as <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city> started to believe the win was theirs, some dreadful defending allowed Lennon in on his favoured foot, and the rest, as they say, is history.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Chelski brushed aside a feeble Bolton Wanderers side without ever getting out of first gear. Despite missing Frank Lampard and having Jon Obi Mikel in midfield, <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> strolled it from beginning to end. The deadlock was broken after Gretar Steinsson had faffed about before losing possession on his right flank. The ball broke for Didier Drogba, who cantered forward and whinnied before unleashing a howitzer that sizzled past Jussi Jaaskelainen before he could even smell it. Petr Cech did make a superb fingertip save from a Matt Taylor header, but this was a rare foray. Any thoughts that the Trotters would make a fight of it in front of their own fans on a day when most were paying respects to fallen Bolton icon Nat Lofthouse were dispelled before half-time, when a slung-in cross saw the Bolton defence go nappy-byes. The ball found Malouda in yards of space at the back post, and he had taken control, shifted the ball to his favoured foot and shaped to shoot before Gary Cahill reluctantly decided he should probably challenge. As it was, the England wannabe’s lazy back-turning block saw the ball rebound back to Malouda, who drilled the return inside the near post, past a shame-faced Jaaskelainen. The second half saw more of the same, and Nicolas Anelka profited after numerous <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> defenders fell over or miscued from a cross, by guiding the ball low at the centre of goal. Jaaskelainen got a full hand to his effort but only managed to spoon it into his own net. The Bolton goalkeeper continued his liquid gloves show for the fourth, which, again following some comic cuts defending, fell to Ramires, who steered it goalward, watching the Bolton goalkeeper again get a firm hand to the shot but allow it to crash in off the post. To be fair to the Finnish stopper, he then began to pull off a few decent saves to keep the score respectable, though it was certainly a case of bolting the stable door after the Drogba had (thunder)bolted.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Sunderland stuck two fingers up to Darren Bent, with a convincing victory over buccaneering Blackpool; gaining revenge for their earlier shock home defeat to the Tangerines. The early signs were not good though, as Craig Gordon’s dithering saw Gary Taylor-Fletcher close him down as he cleared, with the clearance ricocheting off the striker and towards goal, but Gordon instinctively threw up a hand to deflect it wide. <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> were themselves missing their own top scorer in DJ Campbell. Just 15 minutes had passed when Asamoah Gyan seized possession from a <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> headed clearance, and advanced before sliding in Kieran Richardson beautifully. The <country-region w:st="on">England</country-region> man finished well, though <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> fans were a tad aggrieved that they had been temporarily forced down to ten men by the same man kicking Neal Eardley in the face. The <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> man was out of the action receiving treatment to stem the bleeding when his assailant scored. Charlie Adam displayed why Liverpool will have to raise their derisory offer for him when he began to pull the strings; first sending <place w:st="on">Sheffield</place> Wednesday reject Luke Varney through, who was foiled by Gordon spreading himself at his feet. Adam then weaved a path through before unleashing the fury; bringing a great save out of compatriot Gordon. Of all the things Blackpool didn’t need, it was a second <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> goal before the break, but that’s exactly what happened on 35 minutes. Steed Malbranque showed desire to be first to a loose ball and keep it on, right on the left touchline. He advanced and slid a cute pass around the last man, which Kieran Richardson again seized on and buried rapidly, low inside Kingson’s near post. Charlie Adam tested Gordon to the limit with a ferocious free-kick, while Richard Kingson injured himself saving bravely at the feet of Bolo Zenden, being replaced by former Manchester United youngster Paul Rachubka. Young Matt Phillips was impressing once again with his confidence and step-overs, and his jinking run found substitute Marlon Harewood, who spun and fired just wide. Jordan Henderson almost made the game safe with a delicate lob, but Blackpool pulled a goal back with five minutes to go, when David Vaughan and Gary Taylor-Fletcher exchanged passes, with <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Vaughan</place></city> going down dubiously as Nedim Onuoha appeared to pull out of a challenge. Charlie Adam slotted in the penalty to ensure <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place>’s incredible home scoring record continued. Last season they only failed to score in one home game, and this season they are nine for nine. Truly the neutral’s team of choice.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Fulham continued their resurgence as they begin to get players back from injury, and before the game Mark Hughes and Tony Pulis made a big display of actually shaking hands. With the childish antics forgotten, the woodwork was well struck; Damien Duff thumping the crossbar from long range. A typical Stoke long ball was poorly cleared and fell to Kenwyne Jones, who battered the post. On 33 minutes Andy Johnson skated around the sluggish Ryan Shawcross, who could only watch in horror as the <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">England</place></country-region> man’s low cross was converted under heavy pressure by Clint Dempsey. There was to be no Shawcross Redemption in the second half, as the youngster molested Dempsey to the ground to give away a penalty and a red card. He mercifully left the pitch without tears. Dempsey converted the penalty expertly, and that was that. Andy Johnson looked as if his sharpness is returning, as he forced a late great save from Asmir Begovic, while Damien Duff forced a vital clearance which could so easily have been an own goal by Rory Delap. An interesting footnote was John Carew’s introduction as a sub, because as we know, Pulis buys flair (Gudjohnsen, Tuncay) and doesn’t play them, but big men will always have a place in the Potters’ line-up. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> continued their impressive run under rookie boss Steve Kean, with a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>convincing victory over a lacklustre West Bromwich Albion; to move up to seventh. It could have been all so different had Paul Robinson not been in such excellent form. He saved well from Peter Odemwingie after Morten Gamst Pedersen had given the ball away in a ridiculous area, while opposite number Boaz Myhill saved brilliantly after seeing an Olsson strike very late. Roque <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Santa Cruz</place></city> received a pass to knock the ball down to Christopher Samba, who fired a goalpost width wide. Jerome Thomas was leaving Michel Salgado for dead time and again, and his shot was deflected into the side netting by Samba. Cue comic genius just before half-time, as Gabriel Tamas nodded a Dunn cross magnificently into his own top corner under pressure from Kalinic. Youngster Junior Hoilett sealed the game a minute after half-time; receiving a chest down from Kalinic before crashing it into the roof of Myhill’s net. Mark Clattenburg then ruined the Baggies’ hopes, after seeing Odemwingie’s leg being swept away clearly a yard inside the box, but the referee insisted it was a yard outside, and the free-kick was wasted. Paul Robinson had an inspired day, while <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> could have grabbed a third late on, but after Olsson had twisted and turned and forced a parry from Myhill, the awkward bounce meant Jason Roberts could not convert the rebound. A curious footnote is that the game saw a new record of 22 different nationalities represented in the same match at one time. Cosmopolitan indeed.</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-20292120022099842602011-01-18T02:36:00.000-08:002011-01-18T02:47:43.211-08:00Is he sacked yet?Avram Grant looked like a dead Dangermouse villain walking at the Boleyn, while Kenny Dalglish looked choked up and eventually very relieved on his return to Anfield. The <city w:st="on">Manchester</city> clubs jostled for top spot, while <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> once again nudged out of the relegation zone, soon to be back there from their perpetual habit of turning wins into draws. <br />
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Manchester United clung on to their unbeaten run by their fingertips at White Hart Lane, with Rafael Van Der Vaart and Peter Crouch inches away from breaking a terminal deadlock. Rafael Da Silva earned a very harsh red card, but earned himself no new fans with a show of histrionics at the referee which will interest the FA no doubt. Wayne Rooney also went close twice, but the red half of Machester, grateful for a magnificent defensive display from Nemanja Vidic, which strayed into the illegal with an unspotted shirt tug on Van Der Vaart, were just glad to get out with their unbeaten run, and top spot, intact.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">A barnstorming match at Eastlands saw Mancitti briefly usurp neighbours United, though a thrashing soon turned into a very narrow victory through Wolves’ gallant fightback. Wolves took the game to City early on; a risky tactic, but City suddenly looked like a very large dog with a little Terrier snapping at them: bemused. The opening goal came on a dozen minutes and was well deserved. The ball was delivered into the City box, and Kolo Toure earned his massive wages with the most casual of attempted clearances that struck the unsuspecting Vincent Kompany and rebounded to Nenad Milijas. Joe Hart made a magnificent instinctive save, but Milijas was persistent in forcing the ball over the line. Wolves continued to press, and City had Alexsander Kolarov to thank for throwing himself brilliantly in front of Matt Jarvis, to block his goal-bound effort after some incredible trickery and industry from the Stephen with an ‘H’ and Steven with a ‘V’ on the left flank had carved the opening; Hunt and Fletcher working from being tackled right on the touchline, but strength, skill and a backheeled one-two later, and they had created what would have been one of the goals of the season, but for the heroics of Kolarov. Wolves fans must have been concerned that this dominant period hadn’t been capitalised on fully, and they were right. Mancitti started to regain the initiative, with Tevez sending a range-finder whistling narrowly over, before expensive new boy Edin Dzeko had a shot well blocked. It took until five minutes shy of the break for City to level affairs. Kolo made those wages slightly easier to bear when he met a deep corner at the back post, and forced the ball over the line, despite a covering defender.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">In the second half City commenced something of an onslaught. After a long-range Kolarov effort was spooned just wide by an anxious Hennessey, Carlos Tevez produced a moment of true class to swing the game in the Sky Blues’ favour. The Argentinian star picked the ball up midway into the Wolves half and began to advance menacingly. Before they knew it, Wolves had seen three of their men beaten by his weaving run and the ball find the corner of their net. City were on the front foot now, and the Bosnian that everyone had been talking about suddenly took centre stage; picking up the ball from a rapid counter midway inside his own half, before exchanging passes with Tevez, nutmegging a defender and slipping the ball outside the last man for the galloping Yaya Toure to burst onto and sweep past the advancing goalkeeper without breaking his stride. Ronald Zubar showed Wolves were still hungry for the fight with a powerful header that thudded off the top of the crossbar from a corner, but the game appeared to be a formality on 65 minutes, when Pablo Zabaleta’s sumptuous delivery was excellently nodded in off the underside of the crossbar by his prolific compatriot Tevez for 4-1. Mancitti had reckoned without another overly expensive dud costing them a penalty. Joleon Lescott was all over the back of Kevin Doyle; molesting him to the ground and watching the same man bury his spot-kick to reduce the arrears. Christophe Berra made an unforgiveable cock-up later that should have put Wolves to bed; the dozy defender with time to clear back into enemy territory trying in vain to bring the ball down, leading to Yaya Toure picking his pocket, and using those long long legs to power forward free, but this time Hennessey saved one-on-one to keep the fightback a possibility. Ronald Zubar went one better with his next header, guiding a corner exquisitely into the most unguarded area of the goal, with De Jong a fraction too late in attempting to hack it off his goal-line. With five minutes of injury time, the conclusion of the game was manic, with Wayne Hennessey having to make a crucial tackle on the halfway line after advancing way out of his goal, and James Milner rounding Hennessey at the death, only to see his effort slid away from the net by Karl Henry. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Baron Von Grantback looked ever more the demoralised undertaker as his position, under intense scrutiny, became more untenable with an appalling performance against Arsenal, who took it easy on the Hammers, as they could have won by far more than a three goal margin. Theo Walcott and Robin Van Persie looked sharp as a box of knives, and ripped the Hammers defence to ribbons time and again. <placename w:st="on">Wayne</placename> <placename w:st="on">Bridge</placename>, who was kept out of the <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Chelsea</city></place> team by one love cheat, and out of his marriage bed by another, came from Mancitti on typically extravagant wages of reputedly £90k a week. On this form he is worth about 90 pounds a week. West Ham fielded a backline of supposedly some of <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">England</place></country-region>’s finest examples of the defensive art. Robert Green, Matthew Upson, Wayne Bridge, and a prospect in any other side: James Tomkins, formed four fifths of the backline, and yet Bridge was culpable in all of the goals, Upson was far from a barrier, Green did very little and Tomkins failed in many vital tackles which led to the goals. Theo Walcott fooled Bridge in the 13<sup>th</sup> minute, drilling in a lovely low cross which was sublimely dummied by Nasri, allowing it to run to Van Persie, who sent it into the net like a cruise missile despite the futile attention of Tomkins. Walcott burst onto a long pass off the shoulder of Tomkins later, who had a chance to tackle, but only succeeded in delaying Walcott’s progress. Luckily for the youngster, Green rushed out to narrow the angle and Walcott fluffed his shot. Johann Djorou then proved he would look at home in the Hammers’ defence, by playing a dopey underhit backpass to let in the marauding Carlton Cole, whose shot was well saved by Szczesny, though the ball was returned into the mix, where Zavon Hines somehow fired a glorious chance over the crossbar from six yards. Robin Van Persie went in for the kill again from Nasri’s beautiful pass, but his shot struck the opposite post and came out. Van Persie did make the difference just before half-time, wriggling to the byline, past a non-existent challenge from Upson, and putting in a low cross which Bridge was favourite for, only to allow Walcott to nip round his man and fire in from point-blank range. Carlton Cole ruined another breathtakingly simple chance before the break, when a perfect cross from Freddie Sears was begging to be nodded in, only for the forward to let it hit his shoulder, then Djorou and across goal. West Ham offered next to nothing of note in the second half, and Bridge’s day was complete, when he was suckered into an awful challenge which brought down Walcott. Robin Van Persie rattled in the penalty, and the Hammers misery was exacerbated. Avram tossed his lucky scarf into the crowd, and not many would punt on him still being manager in a week’s time, what with the toxic trio making such an embarrassing spectacle of coveting Martin O'Neill.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Yet another fantastic spectacle involving Blackpool, and <place w:st="on">West Brom</place> recovered from their six straight defeats in all competitions to snatch a priceless victory at the Hawthorns, helped in no small part by some typically profligate finishing from everyone’s favourite disc jockey: Dudley Junior Campbell; or Dud as his friends call him. After just ninety seconds, <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Campbell</place></city> brilliantly dodged a sliding tackle inside the box, only to fire his shot just wide of the post with the goal at his mercy. The big talking point from the Baggies’ line-up was former captain Scott Carson being dropped for one clanger too many, replaced by former <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Hull</place></city> goalkeeper Boaz Myhill. He could not do much about David Vaughan’s crisp strike from the edge of the box after a corner fell to him though, and <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> took the lead. Peter Odemwingie, who had been having something of a torrid time of late, apparently saw a psychologist in the week, and it worked if this performance was anything to go by. Initially the Nigerian crossed for Chris Brunt to meet on the volley at the back post, only for Stephen Crainey to make a goal-saving block. Crainey later dangerously deflected a cross that the alert Kingson dealt with, but he was beaten coolly by Odemwingie on 37 minutes, after a defence splitting pass from Graham Dorrans found the Tangerine offside trap faulty. The second half had hardly begun when Charlie Adam played a defence-splitter of his own, but DJ Campbell fired just wide of the opposite post, again with the whole goal at his mercy. Jerome Thomas produced some classic wingplay in beating two men and sending in a teasing low cross, which Kingson lazily flung a hand at, only to parry it straight to James Morrison, who netted to put <place w:st="on">West Brom</place> in the driving seat. Kingson then partially redeemed himself; saving well from Morrison and brilliantly in a one-on-one with Odemwingie, after Charlie Adam had been hustled off the ball by Yousouff Mulumbu. Odemwingie worked more magic to set up Morrison again for an easy chance, but the Scot lost his head and dug his shot over the bar with just Kingson to beat. 80 minutes had elapsed when <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place>’s boundless vigour paid dividends. Young prospect Matt Phillips was well found lurking on the right-hand side of the Baggies’ area, and he sent in a lovely low cross for Gary Taylor-Fletcher to finish at the back post. ‘Ollie could have been forgiven for celebrating a well won point, but there was a sting in the tail, as West Brom negated their usual passing game for an old-fashioned hoof forward, which Craig Cathcart took his eye off with Odemwingie at his back; a fatal error, as the Nigerian seized on the chance as it bounced and lashed into the net for the winner. There was still time for one last Tangerine surge, but DJ Campbell’s swivelled effort was smothered, as <place w:st="on">West Brom</place> held out to end their rotten run.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The Merseyside derby that signalled the end of the last Kenny Dalglish era at <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> returned, as the Scousers’ returning idol took charge once more at Anfield. Despite two defeats in two, there was mass optimism and emotion from the stands as ‘King Kenny’ sent out his troops once more, almost twenty years to the day since he last did. The early signs were promising, as Fernando Torres turned Sylvain Distin, cut inside Johnny Heitinga and thumped the post, only for Dirk Kuyt to make a hash of the rebound. Just before the half-hour the promise turned to gold, as makeshift left-back Glenn Johnson broke down the left, before cutting back to his favoured foot and crossing for Kuyt to have Howard save twice, before Raul Meireles finally turned the ball in. Fernando Torres sent in a ferocious shot that Tim Howard did well to parry, and Phil Neville did enough to keep the high loose ball away from Meireles. Liverpool came off at half-time with the fans singing of their returning messiah, but the last man to win a league title for Liverpool was not looking so pleased with himself just after half-time, when a corner that shouldn’t have been was headed down and in by Distin at the back post, despite Johnson’s efforts. Liverpool had reason to feel aggrieved at the corner even being awarded as it clearly touched an Everton boot last, and their marking may have been wayward after Daniel Agger was forced off feeling ill at half-time. Their sense of injustice swelled to breaking point five minutes later, after right-back Martin Kelly as clattered in an aerial duel with Victor Anichebe, leading to Leon Osman showing deft touch in weaving round two defenders before rolling the ball into Jermaine Beckford, who let the ball run across his body despite Meireles’ pressure, and fired in. The red half of Merseyside were incensed that Phil Dowd hadn’t stopped play for what looked like a head injury, but Liverpool retrieved the result when a Meireles deep cross was miskicked comically by Martin Skrtel, tempting Tim Howard to come and claim, which he did despite Maxi Rodriguez rushing in front of him, and the Argentine took full advantage of the goalkeeper’s folly; throwing himself down and watching gleefully as Kuyt dispatched the penalty superbly. Three games; one point, but the fans don’t care. Their hero is back.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The Tyne-Wear derby was nothing like as one-sided as earlier in the season, and <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> fans were ecstatic that they reclaimed some semblance of pride, after two bad performances in this fixture. Titus Bramble had one of those afternoons when his mind took a vacation, and he let Shola Ameobi through early on, though the striker fired wide. Darren Bent cut inside Fabio Coloccini but struck his shot at Harper, before Coloccini produced a volley at the opposite end which needed diligent post-sentry Kieran Richardson to clear off the line. Harper turned a Malbranque effort wide, and Ameobi headed a corner wastefully over, before <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city> finally got the breakthrough on 51 minutes. A deep corner was nodded back by Ameobi and off a <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> defender, for Kevin Nolan to backheel cheekily into the net. Leon Best then turned the dozy Bramble and fired just wide, but Newcastle still felt it was their day again, until deep into injury time, when a scramble culminated in Phil Bardsley drilling in a great effort which Steve Harper made a complete pig’s ear of, parrying the ball straight out onto Asamoah Gyan, who just comically shrugged at fans as he watched the ball ricochet off his knee and loop into the net for a last-gasp equaliser. The game was followed by the sad news of Darren Bent handing in a transfer request, which seems to demonstrate extreme ingratitude.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The third big Sunday derby saw a third draw, with Villa grateful in the end for James Collins’ equaliser which looked suspiciously like a Liam Ridgewell own goal, though the Birmingham woodwork will need reinforcing after the battering it took from the Villans. The atmosphere was electric at <place w:st="on">St Andrews</place>, and the game swung one way then the other. Ben Foster proved he is awful with his feet, when he made a fool of himself attempting to turn his way out of a challenge from an encroaching forward, before clearing lamely to Gabriel Agbonlahor, who advanced menacingly and seemed set to score, only to fire his shot way over. If there’s a better crosser in the Premiership than Marc Albrighton right now, then he must be special. The young winger delivered a typically superb stand-up for Agbonlahor to head towards goal, which Carew then flicked onto the top of the crossbar from close range. Former Villa boy Craig Gardner created a fantastic chance which Matt Derbyshire missed with an embarrassing air-kick, while a Ciaran Clark cross-shot thudded agonisingly against the crossbar. James Collins was forced into turning an Alexander Hleb effort off the line, after Stephen Carr had delivered a dangerous cross. David Murphy tried to claim a Brum penalty when he went down suspiciously easily, but <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Birmingham</place></city> had their goal just after the break, from what turned out to be a comical free-kick routine. Craig Gardner drove in an appalling free-kick which hardly cleared the ground, but it took one nick off the wall, and David Murphy inadvertently guided it into the path of Roger Johnson, who instinctively stuck out a boot to guide it in. Villa’s response was Ciaran Clark sending in a tantalising cross, which Roger Johnson attempted to chest but actually narrowly avoided handballing and narrowly avoided putting into his own net. At the other end Matt Derbyshire’s thunderous shot was well saved by Friedel, and Kyle Walker launched clear before <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Gardner</place></city> arrived. Villa finally got their rewards when another peach of an Albrighton cross saw James Collins swivel to volley goalward. It looked a fraction wide until it nicked off the inside of Liam Ridgewell’s legs and found the net. Substitute Nathan Delfouneso made a big impact, first setting up Stewart Downing for a chance which Foster spread himself to block, then cracking a rocket against the bar via the fingernails of Foster. In the meantime, Richard Dunne stole in at the back post after a corner was not cleared, beat Foster but not a defender patrolling the goal-line. Villa were cursing their luck, but they were almost floored by the ultimate sucker-punch, when in the dying seconds a hoisted free-kick seemed to be landing into a complacent Friedel’s hands, only for beanpole Serb Nikola Zigic to steal in front of him and flick it agonisingly wide of the post. A cracking derby in the <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Second</placename> <placetype w:st="on">City</placetype></place>.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> finally strung two Premier League victories together with a victory garnered through two scrappy goals from set-pieces Sam Allardyce would have been proud of. After Ramires had struck the crossbar from a David Hoilett error, Branislav Ivanovic’s lack of concentration let Hoilett in at the other end, with Cech producing a very good save. Didier Drogba, still looking lacklustre, sent in a low bouncing cross into a great area, which strike partner Nicolas Anelka helped onto the crossbar. Drogba then came off second best in a one-on-one, but in the second half <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> got the breakthrough. A corner was flicked on by John Terry to find Ivanovic lurking at the back post. The Serb got the ball out of his feet in a flash, bamboozling three covering defenders to poke the ball past Robinson. This seemed to knock the stuffing out of Rovers, and it was no surprise that Chelski sewed the game up on 76 minutes. This time Ivanovic was provider; heading a corner down for Anelka to plunder from close range. Roque <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Santa Cruz</place></city> made a cheery return for Rovers, which should bode well as they fight to stay well out of the relegation dogfight under their former coach Steve Keane. Still no news of Big Sam at Inter Milan strangely. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Stoke beat a lightweight <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> team comfortably at the Britannia. Whether he watched his youtube video or not, Tony Pulis finally decided his team needed the flair of Tunçay from the start, and the Turk responded by delivering the corner which was inadvertently flicked on by Johan Elmander for Danny Higginbotham to bundle in, though replays suggest it was not strong enough to cross the line until Jussi Jaaskelainen knocked it over with his arm. Bolton once again missed the guile of Chung-Yong Lee, who is with South Korea in the Asian Cup, but Stuart Holden did his best to rouse his team-mates; sending a dangerous free-kick in that Begovic parried well. Tunçay then created the second in the second half; sliding in the only man to rival Albrighton in the crossing stakes right now; the in-form Etherington, who was brought down under a rash challenge from Zat Knight. Etherington picked himself up to bury the penalty with some fortune; Jaaskelainen getting a strong hand to it but only pushing onto the post and in; meaning he provided the decisive touch to both Stoke goals. There was a brief late revival from the Trotters, with Begovic called into action from <city w:st="on">Taylor</city>, and then a superb tip over from <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Moreno</place></city>.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Wigan-Fulham was a dead-cert to end a draw, as it always does. And it did. The Latics began with a flourish, with a pacey counter involving Watson and Ronnie Stam culminating in a lovely cross from Stam that Rodallega attacked viciously, only to watch his superb header cannon back off the post. Damien Duff was then put clean through, but dithered and did not look confident; Al-Habsi winning the one-on-one battle. The first half ended tamely, but just before the hour mark <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> took the lead. After their neat passing game had yielded nothing, a launched kick from Ali Al-Habsi was criminally allowed to bounce by Aaron Hughes, who could only then watch helplessly as Hugo Rodallega kept his head to guide a deft lob over David Stockdale’s head for the opener. An amazing <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> break, when only N’Zogbia and Rodallega took on four Fulham defenders and almost won but for a skewed volley from the Colombian ensued, and the same two combined for Rodallega to spin and strike the post for the second time in the game. A slack <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> tendency to allow wins to dissipate into draws returned late on though, when Andy Johnson found his shooting boots again, albeit incredibly fortunately. Clint Dempsey, who had earlier had a potential equaliser disallowed from a superb handball spot by the linesman, sent a cute reverse pass into Johnson’s pass, and the England forward got it out of his feet, but fell over as he shot, deflected it against Gary Caldwell, and almost had it saved by Al-Habsi, but fate conspired to allow the shot to bounce limply over the line for a game saving goal that the injury-plagued forward deserved for his non-stop endeavour. <place w:st="on">Wigan</place>, however, will be cursing their luck and lack of clinical finishing which once again leaves them on the cusp of relegation. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Until next time….</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-22872956674508268412011-01-06T16:24:00.000-08:002011-01-06T16:29:48.650-08:00Heskey and Carson keep on howlin'<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Manchester United enjoyed the perfect week, as they beat Stoke, before hearing of all of their closest rivals dropping points, including <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Manchester</placename> <placetype w:st="on">City</placetype></place> and Arsenal drawing with each other. The tabloids have stoked the flames of animosity against four Premier League managers; Avram Grant, Roy Hodgson, Gerard Houllier and Carlo Ancelotti; all apparently clinging to their jobs by thin margins. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Manchester United dispatched Stoke in a surprisingly narrow victory at Old Trafford. Javier Hernandez started in place of the injured Wayne Rooney, while Chris Smalling stood in for Rio Ferdinand. The former opened the scoring with a typical finish of unorthodox brilliance; backheeling Nani’s driven cross inside the near post under extreme pressure from Ryan Shawcross. The latter, meanwhile, may have felt slightly disappointed at standing so far off Tuncay, who used the occasion to demonstrate the flair and vision Stoke need so badly at times; sending in a perfect cross for the astonishingly unmarked Dean Whitehead to nod into the corner of Kuszczak’s net. United regained the lead when Hernandez twisted and turned on the edge of a packed Stoke box, before sliding it into Nani, who took a touch outside his man and rattled into Begovic’s net with a left-foot rocket. Despite another mediocre performance, United now sit two points ahead of the chasing pack with games in hand.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">How Arsenal managed to draw a blank at home to Mancitti only the goal-frames will know. Robin Van Persie just failed to connect with a low cross from Jack Wilshere after a move that cut swathes through the City defence. Van Persie then followed that with a splendid effort that crashed off the foot of the post, before Jack Wilshere was set away by Cesc Fabregas but could only hit his effort at Hart. City’s rare counterstrikes all seemed to fall to Carlos Tevez, and he miscued the first chance which fell to him on the volley at the back post. Another sublime Arsenal move saw Samir Nasri craftily nudge the ball back to Fabregas, only to once again watch an effort come back off the City goal-frame. Walcott then arrived to complete the hilarity by battering the other post, but he had been flagged offside. Tevez had another chance wasted before Arsenal claimed what would have been a hugely harsh handball against Vincent Kompany. Robin Van Persie later fired a shot wide from an impossible angle, and had a speculative long-ranger brilliantly saved by Joe Hart, and the game ended with two extremely harsh red cards. Baccary Sagna seemed to be the aggressor towards Pablo Zabaleta after the Argentine objected to a challenge, with Sagna even thrusting his head towards him, yet Mike Jones deemed a red card for both to be appropriate punishment. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Roy Hodgson suffered yet another day to add to his collection of humiliations as <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> manager. Losing narrowly to Wolves is one thing, but being comprehensively beaten by <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place>, who have a completely unqualified manager in charge, is quite another. The consolation goal, and brief recovery at the death led by Steven Gerrard could not disguise the fact that they were 3-0 down within the hour. After Joe Cole briefly threatened to influence the game in the opening minutes, Mame Biryam Diouf combined with Benjani Mwaruwari, with the former sending his strike over the bar. After a fairly tepid opening half-hour, a marvellous reverse ball between defenders by Mame Diouf sent Martin Olsson bounding through to finish through Reina’s challenge. Sotiris Kygriakos then shamed himself, allowing Benjani to receive a ball with his back to goal, before turning the Greek defender effortlessly and smashing the ball into the roof of the net while the dozy centre-back was still turning. Despite Blackburn’s midfield comprising of David Dunn, Martin Olsson, Morten Gamst Pedersen and Junior Hoilett, <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> could not outbattle them, and Martin Skrtel and Glenn Johnson were culpable as Hoilett wriggled to the byline and squared to Benjani for a tap-in and 3-0 just before the hour mark. Liverpool’s away following has shrunken considerably recently, and even the fans left must have mostly left by the time Liverpool showed any signs of life. Dirk Kuyt dinked in a cross which Torres attempted to volley home. As his effort came back off a defender, Steven Gerrard adjusted consummately to crash it in. Minutes later and the one-man comeback was truly on, when Michel Salgado lunged in to take down a surging Gerrard, but when he picked himself up his penalty found the upper stand, to leave Liverpool fans disconsolate and Hodgson on borrowed time. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Wolves delighted their fans and humbled European Cup winner Carlo Ancelotti, as they stole a priceless victory against the team with the worst form in the country right now. With all of their big guns back, many expected <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> to kick back into top gear in this match, but once again their confidence seemed to be bereft. They fell foul of a corner bundled into his own net by the luckless Jose Bosingwa; under heavy pressure from <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> bogeyman Stephen Hunt, in just the fourth minute. Wayne Hennessey preserved their lead with a remarkable reaction save as he was going the wrong way; sticking a toe out to deflect Kalou’s certain goal wide of the post. Didier Drogba turned his man and hit the post, while Stephen Hunt also clipped the <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> goal-frame with a free-kick. It was by no means all one-way traffic, and <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> fans must be asking themselves where they go from here.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Avram Grant seemed to have earned himself a reprieve with two wins and two draws from his last four matches, but they came at a time when all of the teams around West Ham were also picking up points. Defeat was probably expected at St James’ Park, but a 5-0 thrashing would appear to be another nail in his Premier League coffin. The game was a game to remember for young Leon Best. With just fourteen minutes and much injury so far in his <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city> career, the big striker seized his opportunity in the absence of Andy Carroll to plunder an impressive hat-trick, though the West Ham defence may as well have dropped their shorts and mooned him for all the resistance they offered. A hoof upfield was won in the air against a weak Tomkins challenge by Best, who raced into the box to receive the dinked return from Peter Lovenkrands; guiding the ball away from the static Green and into the corner. The second goal saw Danny Gabbidon use his opportunity to clear to lay the ball off for Leon Best to belt in his; and <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city>’s, second. The third saw West Ham waste myriad opportunities to close the delivery down at source; allowing Jonas Gutierrez to send in a poor cross, which led to James Tomkins copying Gabbidon in laying the ball off for an opponent to rattle it in; this time Kevin Nolan the recipient. In the second half, Nolan slid in Leon Best to beat a non-existent Hammers offside trap and lash in his hat-trick with aplomb. Peter Lovenkrands stole in front of his man and guided Joey Barton’s low cross inside the near post for 5-0, and there was even time for a little comic relief; a lovely Newcastle move carving West Ham apart, culminating in a square ball for Nile Ranger to tap into an empty net, only to see the youngster unbelievably turn the ball back to its source, which looked remarkably like playing a one-two with someone who had ran out of play rather than scoring.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Just when Tottenham had the chance to put daylight between them and rivals <city w:st="on">Chelsea</city>, they slipped up to a more clinical Everton at <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Goodison</placename> <placetype w:st="on">Park</placetype></place>. Just 3 minutes had elapsed when Saha blew away the cobwebs with a direct run and fine finish inside Gomes’ near post. Rafael Van Der Vaart then almost lobbed Tim Howard from 30 yards, contrasted to Peter Crouch missing a headed sitter put on a plate for him by the Dutchman. Spurs’ relentless attacking finally paid off when Crouch nodded a Hutton cross across goal for Van Der Vaart to finish, though replays suggested Crouch may have given his man a good shove in the process. Luis Saha was breathing a sigh of relief at the linesman flagging when Crouch finished a Bale move, as he gave the ball away needlessly in a dangerous area. Seamus Coleman fired a glorious chance into Gomes’ hands, while Howard saved well from Van Der Vaart. Saha then vollied a Coleman cross a fraction wide to the agony of the Goodison faithful, and they thought it was all over when Van Der Vaart ghosted between centre-backs, but their goalkeeper did brilliantly again to deny the classy Dutchman. The Toffees’ fans were treated to what they most wanted in the 75<sup>th</sup> minute though, when Jermaine Beckford held off his man and fed Luis Saha, who sent in a thundering drive too hot for Gomes to handle, and Seamus Coleman arrived to finish and sent the Goodison faithful into raptures. Back to the drawing board for Harry.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Gerard Houllier was once again not flavour of the month, after his Villa side lost to <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> at home. It could have all been so different, had Emile Heskey not conjured up one of the misses of the season early on. Bolo Zenden made a rare cock-up in failing to shepherd the ball out of play from Stewart Downing, who robbed the Dutchman and sent in a low cross which Heskey managed to turn onto the crossbar from just four yards out. <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> survived that scare to offer some thrusts of their own. After beating James Collins to the ball, Darren Bent rounded the goalkeeper and shot, only to see Collins recover to slide it off the line. Emile Heskey then compounded his bad afternoon by being sent off, after reacting to Jordan Henderson’s anger at Villa not putting the ball out of play for an injured Gyan by pushing the <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> man in the face. Wise old head indeed. <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> stuck the blade deep into Villa hearts with ten minutes to go, when a blocked Zenden free-kick was controlled by Phil Bardsley, before being unleashed into the bottom corner with flames on it from the edge of the box. Bolo Zenden was then also red-carded for a very soft second yellow card, but <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place>’s day could not be spoiled.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Chris Kirkland had the kind of luck he has come to expect from his football career to date at the Reebok Stadium. Having lost his place for his calamitous form this season to Ali Al-Habsi, he finally regained his place for the game against Al-Habsi’s ‘parent’ club <place w:st="on">Bolton</place>, only to be carried off on a stretcher. The game was nothing short of dire in the first half bar a thumping Rodallega free-kick parried well by Jaaskelainen, but the second period saw Bolton come closer and closer to breaking the deadlock, with Gary Cahill nodding a corner over from close range after Kirkland had came and missed. A cute move saw the Trotter ease ahead. Kevin Davies gave the ball to his namesake Mark in the middle of the park, and the midfielder advanced before sliding a glorious ball between defenders which Rodrigo Moreno raced onto before lobbing the ball deftly over the advancing <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kirkland</place></city>. <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kirkland</place></city>’s afternoon then got a lot worse, when his bravery saw him collide heavily in a 50-50 with Johan Elmander and be carried off with concussion. 38 year-old Mike Pollitt stepped between the sticks and produced two blockbusting saves from Johan Elmander, one either side of the well-worked equaliser. After feeding Hugo Rodallega, Ronnie Stam sensed an opportunity and raced into the box. His gamble paid off when Rodallega spotted Steven Gohouri overlapping in yards of space. The Ivorian then made up for his awful mistake against <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city> by providing a beautifully-judged low cross that Stam could not miss at the back post. After Pollitt denied Elmander for a second time, Fabrice Muamba had one last chance to grab the glory, but skied it wastefully to leave it a point apiece.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Another gloriously open game involving <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> saw a team that usually hate open affairs take the points home. Ben Foster had to be at his best to deny Matty Phillips, but <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> were undone when Stephen Crainey had a meltdown; giving the ball unforgivably to Alexander Hleb, who, despite Kingson’s best attempts, finished excellently. Foster then had to pull out another great stop from a Charlie Adam dipper, while Birmingham were gutted to see first Cameron Jerome hit the post after chipping the onrushing Kingson, then Sebastian Larsson with a belting free-kick. <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> ignored these threats to continue to pile forward, and got their just desserts when a cross was nodded down by Gary Taylor-Fletcher for DJ Campbell to volley in brilliantly. The woodwork then felt Charlie Adam’s fury, as the pendulum swung one way then the next. Tangerine hearts were broken with two minutes remaining though, when Birmingham caught the ambition bug and threw both centre-backs up, with Roger Johnson nodding a deep cross down for central defensive partner Scott Dann to control and sidefoot in from close range. Another defeat in the grandest manner that left all neutrals with a big smile on their faces.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Fulham ignored the negativity from the press to destroy a <place w:st="on">West Brom</place> side struggling to field a defence. John Pantsil made the situation worse when he got away with an ugly and reckless stamp on Marek Cech’s knee which saw the defender crocked. Fulham took the lead thanks to the kind of howler you know Scott Carson always has up his sleeve, on the half-time whistle. After Dickson Etuhu had won the ball, Simon Davies picked it up and struck a speculative effort from distance. <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Carson</place></city> then got both hands to it with the strength of someone swatting a fly, and it flew through him and into the net. If that took the wind out of the Baggies’ sails, worse was to follow, as Fulham increased their lead to three with two identikit corner routines; the first converted by Clint Dempsey; the second by Brede Hangeland. With their lack of defenders, it was a clear <place w:st="on">West Brom</place> weakness that the Cottagers exploited brilliantly, and surely now the press needs to stop the ludicrous hyperbole involving Mark Hughes’ future. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Until after the FA Cup break….</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-44017474893121577952011-01-04T15:42:00.001-08:002011-01-04T15:46:38.570-08:00All change<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">All change at the bottom as 2011 made its bow. After the public ultimatum to Avram Grant, he has won 2 and drawn 2 of his last 4 West Ham matches, moving the Hammers clear of the bottom three for the first time in yonks. Wolves flattered to deceive with their Anfield victory, and plunged straight back to the bottom, while Fulham once again join them, along with Alex McLeish’s deadly dull <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Birmingham</place></city> side.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Mick McCarthy was fuming as all the old familiar failings cost Wolves dearly against the team formerly below them in the table, while Avram must be privately quite smug at managing a team outside the bottom three for the first time in over a year. It started the way it normally does at Upton Park: with Carlton Cole missing a sitter, after George Elokobi had made a dog’s dinner of a clearance and presented the ball to him. Richard Stearman was then called to Wolves’ rescue, brilliantly clearing a Freddie Sears effort off the line. In response, Robert Green saved from first his own defender and then a decent header from Christophe Berra. The first half ended goalless, though it was hard to see how. Wolves don’t score enough goals, and you sensed they were always prone to a howler at the back. So it proved in the 51<sup>st</sup> minute, when Frederic Piquionne beat the Wolves offside trap to send in a low cross which Carlton Cole couldn’t miss. Though of course, he managed to, with the most humiliating of air-kicks, which sent the ball behind him to hit the luckless Ronald Zubar, who had come back to track him but only succeeded in inexplicably kneeing the ball past his own goalkeeper. It was hard to see who was more embarrassed about the whole affair, but West Ham were grinning from ear to ear. West Ham nearly sewed the game up but for Wayne Hennessey, who tipped a Matthew Upson header onto the crossbar. Wolves suffered the same fate to deny them an equaliser, when Ebanks-Blake met Foley’s cross powerfully, only for the woodwork to intervene. They were made to pay in the last ten minutes, when Scott Parker fed Tal Ben-Haim on the overlap, and the manager’s son sent in a low cross that was buried by the onrushing Freddie Sears.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> wallowed in more gloom, after their hubris from a late potential winner backfired on them in stoppage time. With all their big guns back but not firing, and Villa suffering their worst run in a long time, this was a match between two managers feeling the pressure of expectation. Lee Mason decided to be heavy-handed early on, and dished out bookings like late Christmas cards, particularly to Villa, who ended up with a fine-worthy seven players cautioned, to <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city>’s two. Villa conceded a penalty in the 22<sup>nd</sup> minute when James Collins stupidly leapt over the top of Florent Malouda, who gratefully threw himself to the ground. Frank Lampard gobbled up the penalty, and it seemed like this was a routine <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> win in the offing. The recalled Richard Dunne was instrumental in thwarting the <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> surge, particularly with a brilliantly-timed last ditch tackle on Florent Malouda inside the penalty area. This proved even more valuable when Villa won a penalty of their own five minutes before half-time, when Michael Essien crashed through the back of Nigel Reo-Coker with a sliding challenge. Ashley Young converted, and the game was once more on. Just after half-time, Villa took the lead, to the bewilderment of the home crowd. A superb Stewart Downing stood-up cross with his weaker foot was powered home above Jeffrey Bruma by Emile Heskey for 2-1. But after Didier Drogba had forced home a late equaliser, <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> went nuts after Drogba’s effort was pushed away by Friedel, only out to John Terry, who arrived to guide the rebound home with his weaker foot in the last minute. Cue wild celebrations, where Drogba encouraged the throng of delirious players to the <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> bench to indulge in an orgy of backslapping and revelry. This was soon exposed though, as a delicious cross from substitute Marc Albrighton was nodded in by the completely unmarked Ciaran Clark for the most unlikely equaliser in stoppage time. Houllier breathes again, Ancelotti scowls.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Sunderland banished the memory of their astonishing home defeat to Blackpool by returning to winning ways at the Stadium of Light; an inevitable victory over a rudderless <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place>. Danny Wellbeck kicked off the scoring, after Ryan Nelsen had headed Elmohamedy’s cross not far enough away, and then deflected Wellbeck’s effort in via the post. Another superb Elmohamedy delivery was converted by a classic header from Darren Bent, and the game was effectively all over. El-Hadji Diouf embarrassed himself by skying a chance from six yards, while the super-confident Wellbeck clipped the top of the crossbar with a lovely chip. A fabulous <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> move ensued when Steed Malbranque sent a devious reverse ball to Kieran Richardson, who sent in a deadly cross that Darren Bent let hit him and go wide when it was easier to score. Another super move saw Jordan Henderson strike the angle of post and bar with a stunning effort, before <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> saw to their own demise; being caught cold by a lightning counter attack that found Asamoah Gyan on the edge of the box. The Ghanaian advanced, using the defender as a shield for whipping the ball inside the far post, though reserve goalkeeper Mark Bunn hardly covered himself in glory.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Stoke got back to winning ways at the Britannia with a victory over goal-shy Everton, though they were fortunate not to concede an early penalty when Ryan Shawcross missed the ball and booted Luis Saha in the crown jewels. Matty Etherington has been imperious this season; the fulcrum of Stoke’s attacks even ahead of Rory Delap’s shoulders. Once again his industrious wing play saw him dink a superb cross on Kenwyne Jones’ head, and the Trinidadian did what he always does and planted it into the net. Another excellent headerer; Tim Cahill, unbelievably skewed his header across goal from close range, to the general bemusement of those present. Danny Higginbotham did well to deflect a dangerous Pienaar strike over, and it ended 1-0 to the home side at the break.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The second period saw Stoke kill the game in typical fashion; a long ball was flicked on by Jones, Ricardo Fuller challenged and missed, while Phil Jagielka made a buffoon of himself by scoring an own goal via his own crossbar. There was still time for Jagielka and Distin to challenge each other, leaving Fuller to round the keeper but lose his footing at the crucial moment.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Manchester United came away with a nice New Year’s gift from West Bromwich Albion; winning a game they were fortunate to draw, after Fergie had once again shown a hitherto unseen sense of blind sentimentality by picking Gary Neville. We know the Da Silva twins are a tad error-prone, but Neville should have retired with dignity three years ago. The longer he continues to pretend he is still of Premier League standard, the more times he will be found out and cost United valuable points. That he didn’t in this match was more down to Chris Foy’s inability to spot his ridiculous challenge from behind that wiped out everything but the ball on Graham Dorrans, and Neville was also fortunate to escape after waiting for a bouncing cross to reach him at the far side of the area rather than intercept. The ball was stolen off his toes but to no cost. At the peak of his powers, Neville was a 7/10 performer every week. He might have had the odd 9 and the odd nightmare, but consistency was his watchword as long consistency in his selection was shown. Since his injury-ravaged years, he is down to a 3/10, as he has no pace, few reflexes and does not even appear to use his nous to get him out of trouble like he once could. Against Stoke a few weeks back he should have been red-carded for a challenge so late the crowd had gone home. It seems both Fergie and referees hold some degree of affection towards <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Red</city> <state w:st="on">Nev</state></place>, here appearing in his 400<sup>th</sup> Premier League match, but surely this is the season after which he is put out to pasture. United did take the lead after just two minutes, when a decent cross from Patrice Evra was missed at the front post but instinctively nodded home by Wayne Rooney, who still looks a shadow of his former self, but started earning those megabucks when he reappeared to play the final few minutes out with a sore looking injury, as all substitutes had been used. The Baggies were on top for most of the first half, and levelled the game on 14 minutes, when a long ball upfield was headed out under pressure by Nemanja Vidic to the edge of the box, where James Morrison caught it flush and sent it launching into the corner of Kuszczak’s net. The second half saw the injustice of Neville’s penalty escape partially reprieved, when Rio Ferdinand tripped a tricky Jerome Thomas, but Peter Odemwingie, who is suffering a poor patch of form at the moment, scuffed the penalty a yard wide. He was made to pay the ultimate price when Paul Scharner switched off at a corner and allowed substitute Javier Hernandez yards of space to leap in front of the goalkeeper and glance a header into the net. There was still a counter-thrust from <place w:st="on">Albion</place> when Jerome Thomas again weaved a path through to goal, and left Kuszczak helpless as he passed into the corner. Unfortunately for Thomas, Nemanja Vidic had been astute enough to drop onto the line and cleared his shot comfortably. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Amid a Bolton injury crisis, <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> grabbed a vital win to ease the pressure on Roy Hodgson. Maxi Rodriguez made quite an impact early on, having one shot cleared off the line, and a header hitting the top of the crossbar, before Bolton surprisingly took the lead. Fabio Aurelio conceded a free-kick in dangerous territory when he went through the back of Rodrigo Moreno, and the resultant delivery from Matt Taylor was headed in unchallenged by Kevin Davies for a half-time lead. The natives were most certainly restless, but it didn’t take many second half minutes for <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> to level the scores. Four minutes to be precise. Lucas had just missed an absolute sitter, but before the fans’ ire was truly vented, Glenn Johnson dinked to David N’Gog, who chested the ball down for Steven Gerrard to coax a magnificent first-time cross over to the lurking Fernando Torres, who buried the equaliser. The fans were getting edgy as time ticked away and chances were missed, but finally the Kop erupted, when Gerrard bent in another awesome delivery, and Rodriguez pressured Elmander into getting a touch past his own goalkeeper, which an offside Joe Cole stabbed in on the line. The fact that Elmander had the final touch made his infringement irrelevant, but some could suggest being offside continually from the original cross was an unfair advantage. When the dust had settled, Liverpool had snatched a win at the death, and <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Roy</place></city> was in the mood to build bridges with his somewhat hostile spectatorship.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Mancitti saw off the usual guts and glory attacking performance of Ollie’s Tangerine Army, but not without Joe Hart pulling off a string of fine saves, though Carlos Tevez had what Blackpool fans usually call a ‘DJ Campbell day’; missing a string of chances, a penalty and falling over after rounding the goalkeeper. David Silva also missed a sitter which owed more to the fact that Tevez had played the return pass slightly behind him. City’s winner came from a deflected Adam Johnson strike, but there were many positive aspects once again for <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place>, particularly another excellent showing from young Matty Phillips, who skinned Kolarov more than once. The future’s bright: the future’s Tangerine.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Birmingham</place></city> were beaten comprehensively by Arsenal, despite their best efforts to ‘rough them up’. These efforts unfortunately overstepped the mark a little too frequently, particularly Lee Bowyer, and an appalling stamp tackle by Roger Johnson which was almost identical to Martin Taylor’s ankle-shatterer on Eduardo which should have seen red. Lee Bowyer deflected Robin Van Persie’s free-kick past Ben Foster for the opener, but <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Birmingham</place></city> were galled when Robin Van Persie got away with heading onto his arm inside the penalty box. Roger Johnson managed to sky an absolute sitter from barely six yards out; just desserts for his earlier assault, while Samir Nasri brilliantly exchanged passes with Cesc Fabregas and used Roger Johnson as a shield to score inside Foster’s near post. Birmingham’s, and Johnson’s, humiliation was complete in the 65<sup>th</sup> minute, when Nasri put on his ballet shoes again to tiptoe around the crowded box, sending one defender over before teeing up Fabregas, whose shot was pushed out against first Scott Dann, then Roger Johnson and in for a farcical own goal.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Tottenham-Fulham proved a match in which a moment of ingenuity decided the outcome, with Gareth Bale brilliantly deciding to flick his head to divert a Rafael Van Der Vaart free-kick past Mark Schwarzer and in, minutes before half-time. In the second half Andrew Johnson almost levelled for Fulham, but Michael Dawson kept his head to clear after almost putting the loose ball in his own net, while Aaron Lennon left Jermaine Jenas fuming, as he declined a pass to his unmarked team-mate; instead taking on three players and blazing hopelessly over.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><place w:st="on">Wigan</place> are far too shot-shy right now, and without Charles N’Zogbia they lack a direct threat. Tom Cleverley was excellent as always, and Rodallega threatened briefly, but the truth is painfully clear: Roberto Martinez needs firepower, and fast. Mauro Boselli can be added to the names of Jason Scotland and Franco Di Santo, as a striker who just cannot deliver. <city w:st="on">Newcastle</city> left the DW clutching a win, chiefly through <place w:st="on">Wigan</place>’s own carelessness at the back. Some lovely composed passing out from the back left Ben Watson teeing up Steven Gohouri to volley clear. Unfortunately, the dozy Ivorian decided to attempt to control with no view as to who was around him, and was dispossessed by Joey Barton, who fired across Al-Habsi. The Omanian goalkeeper did well to save but could not hold onto the ball, leading to Peter Lovenkrands striking the post, before Shola Ameobi had the simple chance of putting in an unguarded net. Fabriccio Coloccini and Stephen Taylor both later hit the bar for <city w:st="on">Newcastle</city>, while Gary Caldwell also struck the bar for Wigan, but the most eye-catching moments came from unsavoury moments of <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city> cheating. Stephen Taylor’s play-acting when he handles the ball is getting tiresome now, but it didn’t stop him glancing at the ref before clutching his ribs and pretending to be winded, when the whole ground saw the ball strike his arm. This was small potatoes though compared to Chekh Tiote’s painfully embarrassing and shameful simulation. The bullish Ivorian had had a fine game, but sullied it when he crashed over on the touchline from nothing in particular, and attempted to hide the ball. When Gary Caldwell attempted to extract it from his grasp, Tiote responded by ridiculously screaming and clutching his face; rolling around for effect. If Howard Webb had seen the whole incident he should have shown a red card to complete Tiote’s shame, but as it was nobody really paid any attention to the very silly boy. Wigan are back in the relegation zone, and <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Martinez</place></city> needs to provoke some goals out of his side.</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-15522122856383162572010-12-31T12:19:00.000-08:002010-12-31T12:19:11.440-08:00Cream of Manchester<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">With 2010 being the year that Chelsea re-established themselves among the elite and won the double, they ended the year in fifth place, grateful for a scrambled win over Bolton to keep them in touch, while Manchester United went into a New Year unbeaten in a season for the first time in Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign; now of course the longest in the Red Devils’ illustrious history. Liverpool fans are calling for <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Roy</place></city>’s head after no time in charge, while Mark Hughes has ‘saved his job’ if you believe the tabloid speculation. Both <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Manchester</place></city> clubs still sit proudly as first and second in the table.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><city w:st="on">Chelsea</city> finally earned a brief reprieve from their malaise with a narrow victory earned over Bolton at <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Stamford</placename> <placetype w:st="on">Bridge</placetype></place>, thanks to a moment of penetration, when the Trotters’ appalling offside trap was sprung by Didier Drogba, who crossed low for Florent Malouda to tap into an empty net. In truth this was a massive opportunity for Bolton to capitalise on <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city>’s uncertainty missed. Frank Lampard threaded through for Drogba to strike a post, and Michael Essien nearly scrambled the ball in via Ivan Klasnic from a corner. <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> missed the elegant trickery of Chung-Yong Lee on the wing, and instead had to make do with Matt Taylor’s generally hopeless long-range shooting. Bolton were also missing the midfield guile of Tamir Cohen, whose father; former <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> player Avi, tragically died following a motorcycle accident. Still, if <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> had all been as crafty and purposeful as Stuart Holden they may have got something from this game, but instead it is Chelsea who can look ahead with a little more optimism, as they attempt claw their way back into the title picture in 2011.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Mancitti briefly tasted life as top dogs, after crushing a pitiful Aston Villa side 4-0, leaving a beleaguered Gerard Houllier looking very concerned about his prospects. Villa fans were looking for a much better display after the capitulation at the feet of Spurs, but instead were treated to much worse. Any thoughts of a tight first half were<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>quashed by the 12<sup>th</sup> minute, when Villa were already two goals down, after Mario Balotelli had been hacked down and converted a penalty, and Joleon Lescott had seen his header from a corner cross the line despite the efforts of the diminutive Barry Bannan. Villa were particularly seething at the second goal, because they had been forcibly reduced to ten men after Carlos Cuellar had injured himself executing a brilliant last-ditch challenge on Yaya Toure to concede the corner. Insult to injury if there ever were such an incidence. With Carlos Tevez benched with a tight hamstring, it was up to Adam Johnson and the immaculate David Silva to provide penetration, and they didn’t fail to respond. A lovely move culminated in the Spaniard coaxing a ball into Yaya Toure, taking the return, and avoiding three players to whip a shot in that was spilled to the feet of Mario Balotelli for an easy goal. Villa responded with very little, and it was 4-0 before the hour mark, when Adam Johnson showed his class; cutting outside Stephen Warnock and inside Marc Albrighton, before being sent crashing to the deck. Super Mario stepped up, put Brad Friedel on his backside and celebrated his hat-trick from the spot.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Manchester United were seething after a dubious late goal from <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Birmingham</city></place> denied them a clear lead at the top of the table. Ryan Giggs was once again a measure of class, and he sounded an early warning with a floated shot on his weaker foot that Ben Foster tipped against the inside of the post and out. <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Birmingham</place></city> showed some restrained ambition in the first half, but this was all over by the second period. Razor-sharp Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov continued his hot vein of form just before the hour mark; trading passes with Darron Gibson before burying the return inside Ben Foster’s near post. Later, Berbatov weaved more of his magic; shimmying and swaying towards the edge of the <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Birmingham</place></city> box before striking the post with his effort. Lee Bowyer had been fortunate to stay on the pitch after an ugly studs-up challenge on Darron Gibson left the Ulsterman thankful his foot had slid away on the turf rather than staying planted, and of all people it was Ryan Giggs who got some measure of retribution with a superb if very heavy challenge which up-ended Bowyer and sent the ball way into the stand. Alex McLeish abandoned the original gameplan of caution laced with more caution, and instead sent for the big man to lump the ball up to. This appeared to work in the last minute, when a high cross was flicked on by Zigic for a suspiciously-offside-looking Lee Bowyer to slide in at the back post; though most people could see on the initial viewing that the Serb had been all over Rio Ferdinand, and that the ball had flicked off his forearm.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Tottenham continued to keep pace with Chelski after a victory over <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city>, despite being down to ten men for much of the second half. Tim Krul, who had given <placename w:st="on">Manchester</placename> <placetype w:st="on">City</placetype> their opening goal with his stupidity last time out, produced a save which rivals Craig Gordon’s against <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> to liven up proceedings. A devious Aaron Lennon cross was met with a textbook header from Roman Pavlyuchenko, but somehow Krul flew full length to throw both hands up and deflect the bullet header onto the inside of one post and along the goal-line to hit the other, before being cleared. A magnificent save which lamentably for Krul did not inspire his side enough. Andy Carroll was as usual the main goal threat for <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city>, but even he could not find a breakthrough, and in the second period Tottenham’s relentless attacks bore fruit. Younes Kaboul sent Aaron Lennon away with a fantastic ball, and the winger flew towards <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city>’s goal, unleashing a cross-shot that nicked in off James Perch. Kaboul, who had been immense, went from hero to zero after a bone-shuddering challenge from Chekh Tiote sent him reeling. Kaboul moved to remonstrate with his assailant, while Tiote seemed to think Kaboul tried to stamp on him. The aggressive expressions of both was destined to lead to a reaction, and Kaboul lost his head by planting it into Tiote’s, for a red card. Tottenham’s second will be much-maligned by <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city>, because it stemmed from Andy Carroll being fouled as he worked an opening on the edge of the Spurs box. The big man won the ball back with a sliding tackle, but was hacked as he moved across the box and stumbled heavily, but attempted to continue before falling. The referee stupidly allowed play to continue as Spurs dug the ball out and countered in lightning quick time. Luka Modric orchestrated the move and fed Gareth Bale, who, despite the close attentions of more than one defender, raced into the box and launched a shot through two men and across goal for the clincher. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">An incredible game, which is typical for <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> this season, ensued at the Stadium of Light; a ground no other team had won at this season. Never again will a home team have such a litany of glorious opportunities and not score, let alone lose. The fun began early, when a <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> defensive cock-up saw the ball slid past his own goalkeeper by a Tangerine defender. Asamoah Gyan galloped onto it but ran out of pitch and could only fire into the side netting. Richard Kingson then somehow shovelled Jordan Henderson’s rasping drive wide; more through luck than judgment. Gyan then scuffed an absolute sitter wide when a ball missed a mass of players and found him at the back stick. The home fans were left agape when <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> took the lead against all known logic, when a lovely Neil Eardley cross was flicked on by Evatt, to find DJ Campbell, normally the most profligate of strikers, who this time volleyed in coolly. <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> then resumed their onslaught, but Gyan slid a teasing low cross high, wide and not very handsome. There then followed a moment of utter incredulity, as not one but two Blackpool defenders ludicrously miskicked to leave Darren Bent free with just Kingson to beat, but the goalkeeper stayed big to block the Mackems’ striker’s effort, before Elmohamedy turned in a thunderous follow-up which was dive-headed away from being a certain goal. Darren Bent then must have known it was not his day, as his late free-kick bounced off the crossbar and out. Blackpool provided a keg of salt to rub into the Back Cats’ wounds, when youngster Matty Phillips beat two men and sent in a superb low cross which even DJ Campbell couldn’t miss; though he tried his best, hitting the underside of the crossbar from little more than a yard, but it went in and ‘Ollie went home beaming, as most neutrals did once again.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Arsenal did what they do best at <place w:st="on">Wigan</place>: defy the odds to drop points. The Latics were in the mood at the DW, and Hugo Rodallega should have finished a magnificent cross from Tom Cleverley, but could only reach it with his hand. Wigan took the lead in the 17<sup>th</sup> minute when their most incisive player; Charles N’Zogbia, produced a stunning weaving dribble into Arsenal territory, when a lazy leg from Laurent Koscielny sent him crashing to earth, right on the penalty area borderline. The referee gave <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> the benefit of the doubt, and Ben Watson stepped up to take advantage. Suddenly Arsene Wenger was regretting the decision to change most his winning <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> team. At the other end, a Tomas Rosicky drive was parried by Al-Habsi, into the path of Laurent Koscielny, but the dozy Frenchman was denied a goal by a fantastic challenge from Gary Caldwell. Arsenal did get their rewards though, when slack <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> play let Nicklas Bendtner in to power in a drive that Al-Habsi could only parry to Andrei Arshavin, whose scissor-kick beat Gary Caldwell on the goal-line. <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> didn’t learn their lesson though, and Nicklas Bendtner had the favour returned by Arshavin on the stroke of half-time; bundling through numerous challenges with a lovely touch and slid into the corner for 2-1. Arsenal forced the issue at times in the second period, but <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> had a cracking break led by Charles N’Zogbia and James McArthur, which culminated in the Frenchman having his shot on his weaker side clocked by Fabianski. Ali Al-Habsi got Hendry Thomas out of jail when he saved expertly from Arshavin, but things got a lot more difficult for the Latics, when Charles N’Zogbia lost his head and pushed it into Jack Wilshere’s for a straight red card. Game over, thought the neutral, but they reckoned without some slapstick defending from Arsenal’s gormless Gallic centre-halves. After Laurent Koscielny had given away a penalty and missed a chance to score, it was his centre-half’s turn to embarrass himself, when a deep Wigan corner beat everyone and was nodded back into the middle by Hugo Rodallega, where Gary Caldwell was waiting to nod into an empty net, only to be beaten to it by Sebastien Squillaci’s ‘Superman’ impression; climbing over the back of the Wigan defender to head ludicrously into his own net. There was just enough time for an Arsenal riposte, but they were denied a clear penalty at the death when a free-kick was clearly handled by the fortunate James McArthur.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> heaped more shame on their long-suffering fans with a defeat to the Premier League’s bottom club at Anfield; a club which rarely scores and even more rarely keeps a clean sheet, particularly away from home. But do that they did. All it took for Wolves to celebrate one of the finest results in their recent history was for Sotirios Kyrgiakos to nod weakly away to Sylvain Ebanks-Blake, and then attempt to intercept his flick at the same time as Martin Skrtel, leading to the ball squeezing between them and letting in Stephen Ward, who scampered to the loose ball and stabbed it under Reina in the nick of time to find the corner of the Liverpool net. The only <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> attack of note was a disallowed goal from ‘Evil Egg’ Skrtel; played offside by an excellent offside ploy from the Wanderers, who came away justifiably proud of their efforts. Roy Hodgson meanwhile has to contend with a section of his club’s fans calling for Kenny Dalglish to step in, whilst another section of apparent amnesiacs call for the return of Rafael Benitez.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Mark Hughes lifted the ridiculous ultimatum heaped on him by the tabloid press by winning at the notoriously difficult Britannia Stadium; not so notoriously difficult now as <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> also won there not so long ago, but then they have a nice habit of winning at intimidating away grounds. The game was sewn up within the first ten minutes. Northern Irish defender Chris Baird caught the ball sweet as a nut for a superb half-volley in off the post with just three minutes gone, and then cracked an even more impressive free-kick across the goal and in on ten. Danny Murphy later nodded a scrambled Ryan Shawcross header off the line, and Fulham were resilient to the end. The game ended with Tony Pulis proving he may look like a grumpy old man, but he can play a little girl when the mood arises; the Stoke boss refusing to shake Mark Hughes’ hand at full-time. Not for him a sullen scowl down the tunnel, no, he was actually childish enough to approach Hughes and offer his hand before taking it away. The camera didn’t pick him up putting his thumb to his nose and sticking his tongue out, but you sensed he would have relished it. This of course dates back to a League Cup tie early in the season, where Mark Hughes refused to shake Pulis’ hand. In Hughes’ defence, he had just witnessed Danny Collins execute a ‘ridiculous’ tackle in the last minute that had injured one of his players, so I think we can chalk it up to ‘heat of the moment’. Pulis’, however, was very much stage-managed and premeditated. It seems he dreams up revenge in the playground as well as tactics.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Steve Kean actually disproved the notion that <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> may well not win again without Big Sam’s ‘up and at ‘em’ motivation and rigorous tactical deployments at set-pieces. A long ball from El-Hadji Diouf managed to completely bamboozle the snoozing West Brom backline, giving Nikola Kalinic an age to take it down, take a couple of paces, set himself and slot in past Scott Carson. Somen Tchoyi brought the Baggies back into it with an exquisite low cross fed around four <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> defenders, to leave Jerome Thomas sliding it into the unguarded net for 1-1. But after that the Baggies strangely lost their ‘boing’, and Kalinic bundled in his second after Ryan Nelsen nodded a set-piece back across goal. Mame Biryam Diouf made the game safe; diving to head in a cross from his namesake El-Hadji where the boots were flying. Kalinic then disgusted most inside the Hawthorns with a horrendous challenge on Paul Scharner, who was fortunate his feet did not plant in the turf. The hot-headed Croatian was sent off, and was later followed, as is often the case, by a <place w:st="on">West Brom</place> player. Not Gonzalo Jara for once, but Gabriel Tamas; given a red for a professional foul as last man, despite being far from the penalty box.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">West Ham picked up another useful point but not three at the Boleyn, while Everton still fail to put together a meaningful run of results. Tony Hibbert is a lot like Jamie Carragher. Neither has particularly prominent football ability, but they both run their hearts out and throw themselves in the way. Unfortunately for Hibbert, his football ability was needed rather more than his dedication, when he spooned a clearance into his own net following a frantic goalmouth scramble. He had also netted an own goal the last time he was at Upton Park. David Moyes bizarrely benched all his strikers to leave Tim Cahill leading the line, and it looked to pay off somewhat when the Samoan-Aussie crossed for Seamus Coleman to gamble and volley in coolly at the back post. Ayegbeni Yakubu could not make an impact after being introduced on the hour, while Robert Green had to be alert to save a late Fellaini header.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Until 2011…</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-4635483835028478712010-12-29T08:06:00.000-08:002010-12-29T08:06:21.878-08:00Jingle Balls<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The festive feast of football has begun in earnest, and Chelsea are as low as fifth, while for the first time in Premier League history, both Manchester teams are top of the tree.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Arsenal finally found a winning mentality against one of their big rivals, by convincingly beating <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> 3-1 at the Emirates. After the draw against Spurs, and the return of Michael Essien and Frank Lampard, many felt this was the game in which <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> would miraculously rediscover their formidable early season form, known by the press as the ‘Wilkins Era’. This notion was soon ruined when Arsenal seized initiative early on and kept the ball like it was a training session; forcing Chelsea players all over the pitch in hopeless attempts at dispossession. The Gunners looked hungry for a result, and dominated possession almost embarrassingly. The key difference this time was that they converted their superiority into a lead on the stroke of half-time, when a lovely sequence of passes in tight areas led to Jack Wilshere fooling three Chelsea defenders and finding Fabregas, who was up-ended, but watched delighted as team-mate Alexandre Song spun to find the corner of the net amid the melee. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The second half would normally have seen a powerful Chelsea response, but instead it was Arsenal who continued to throw the punches, finishing the game off in a relentless two minutes just after the break, when Michael Essien made a boo-boo; the Ghanaian stopper’s tackle on Robin Van Persie proving an inch-perfect through-ball which Theo Walcott galloped onto before touching away from Cech for Cesc Fabregas to gleefully roll into the empty net. Sensing blood, Arsenal went in for the kill, and two minutes later Walcott again instigated a goal. This time it was Florent Malouda dithering in the middle of the park, when Walcott dashed in to nip it off his toes, feeding Fabregas and taking the cunning return before dispatching brilliantly into the corner of Cech’s net. Chelski were dead and buried, though serial Arsenal slayer Didier Drogba had an impact five minutes later, as his floated free-kick was nodded past Fabianski by Branislav Ivanovic. Still, this proved little more than a consolation, and Arsenal did not sit back and man the trenches. They should have increased the lead in fact when Samir Nasri was put through but bizarrely opted to flick lethargically rather than getting a meaty lob over the advancing Cech. Still, an impressive victory for Arsenal, whose fans can finally lift their heads high after seeing off <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Chelsea</city></place>.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Manchester United found their imperious best once more against a decimated <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> at Old Trafford to ruin neighbours City’s brief spell atop the apex. Ryan Giggs once again ran the show, and after he’d weaved a spell through the heart of the Mackems’ defence, he found Wayne Rooney, who picked out Dimitar Berbatov at the back post; nodding home consummately for the opening goal after just five minutes. More Giggs magic left Rooney in space on the edge of the box minutes later, and the prodigal son almost brought the house down by executing a superb chip, bringing to mind another infamous chip against the same opponents some 13 years ago by one Eric Cantona; only this dropped inches wide of its target. United were so in control that <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Anderson</place></city> looked a player. A lavishly disguised pass from Anderson found Berbatov, looking razor sharp and advancing, before unleashing an effort that thudded back of the foot of the upright; whilst Giggs and Anderson combined later to let in the Brazilian, whose first shot was blocked, and second crashed down off the crossbar. The onslaught continued into the second half, with Craig Gordon saving from Ryan Giggs, and in the 57<sup>th</sup> minute, Anderson once again found the right pass, which Berbatov fired in off the luckless brother of Rio; Anton Ferdinand. More chances followed, and it beggared belief that the game was going to end just 2-0, but end that way it did, but not before <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> finally had a shot on target in the last ten minutes.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Manchester</placename> <placetype w:st="on">City</placetype></place> clinically dispatched Alan Pardew’s black and white army at St James’ Park, with a little help from their foes. <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city> didn’t so much shoot themselves in the foot as the head with their Keystone Cops defending. Goalkeeper Tim Krul decided he hadn’t had enough to do in the second minute, so played a nicely weighted ball to Carlos Tevez, who gleefully found the lurking Gareth Barry to score the opener. By the five minute mark it was two. This time Tevez ran unchecked to the edge of the box, before laying the ball wide to James Milner. Fabricio Coloccini then decided it might be an opportune time for a nap, and with one Argentine asleep at his post, another stole in to convert Milner’s typically excellent delivery. City being City, they then proceeded to stifle the crap out of the game, which was only slightly<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>reinvigorated on 72 minutes, when Newcastle talisman Andy Carroll rose to plant a Barton corner into the net past the defender on the goal-line. For a period, City looked shaky, but this was all academic when Tevez once again was given the freedom of the penalty box to cut outside his man and unleash an effort that hit first Danny Simpson, and then his dozy compatriot Coloccini before apologetically finding the net. A clever Joey Barton free-kick was sussed by Joe Hart, and that was that.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Gerard Houllier again flattered to deceive as Aston Villa boss, after watching his side crash to yet another reversal. Villa were feeling hard done by when Emile Heskey appeared to be clattered by Heurelho Gomes early in the game, but Martin Atkinson said nothing doing. Younes Kaboul felt aggrieved himself when his goal was disallowed, after Alan Hutton had appeared to keep the ball just in play from a deep Van Der Vaart free-kick, but Atkinson favoured Villa’s cause this time. Gomes was called into action again to save from Agbonlahor, after him and Heskey had combined, but Spurs opened the scoring in the 23<sup>rd</sup> minute, after a magnificent raking pass from Luka Modric had found Alan Hutton charging down the flank. The right-back then fed the ball across, leaving two Villa defenders on their backsides and the ball in the net via Rafael Van Der Vaart’s left foot. Just four minutes later, Spurs were ruing Atkinson’s intervention once more, after the official dismissed Jermain Defoe for leading with his arm, though any intent at all seemed to be focussed on the ball. The second half saw Spurs adopt a siege mentality and take the game to the home side, and a typically swashbuckling counter-attack led by Bale’s pace found Aaron Lennon at the back post, who then had the presence of mind to lay it back into the path of Van Der Vaart, who brilliantly swept it into the net despite the ball being under his feet. Villa were finished, but their shining star was once again young winger Marc Albrighton, who stung Gomes’ fingertips before sending in a peach of an inswinging cross, which James Collins missed (much like most of his attempted clearances); fooling Gomes and allowing the ball to bounce into the corner of his net for a consolation goal. The natives are getting restless in the <place w:st="on">Midlands</place>.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Another incredible case of irresponsible media coverage led to the ludicrous suggestion that Mark Hughes’ job was on the line after a defeat to the hapless Hammers which sent the Cottagers spiralling into the relegation zone. Fulham are missing talismanic target man Bobby Zamora and new star Moussa Dembele, while Andy Johnson is still looking for his sharpness, so it was no surprise that when their normally resolute defence gave away ridiculous goals the writing would be on the wall. Like <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city>, Fulham were the architects of their own downfall, after centre-back Aaron Hughes had given them a lead with an unmarked header on 10 minutes. The lead was surrendered in comic cuts fashion, with a poor cross from headless chicken Freddie Sears being diverted perfectly into Carlton Cole’s stride by Dickson Etuhu; which the England striker converted coolly. Mark Schwarzer was on hand to deny Cole a second, but on half-time Fulham were deflated, as their lead was turned into a deficit. Scott Parker picked out a deep cross, and the Fulham backline stood motionless as Frederic Piquionne stole in free at the back post to head into a gaping net. A Carlton Cole backheel set up Freddie Sears in the second half, but the youngster once again lost his head, while Andy Johnson was foiled by Rob Green. Fulham’s misery was complete on 72 minutes, when Aaron Hughes took a leaf out of Dickson Etuhu’s book, and nodded down perfectly for Carlton Cole to poach his second goal of the game; the first time he has claimed a brace in his Premier League career. Perhaps he should move to Fulham for better service.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Wigan Athletic repeated their age-old trick of pulling off a result when you least expect it; beating relegation rivals Wolves at Molineux. Colombian firecracker Hugo Rodallega spun his man on nine minutes to fire in the game’s opening goal, after Tom Cleverley had cleverly flicked it on. Wolves almost responded quickly, but for the great hands of Ali Al-Habsi on his goal-line denying Christophe Berra. English football’s lowest scorers then doubled their lead, with Rodallega providing a classy reverse pass to set Cleverley through between defenders to fire between Wayne Hennessey’s legs and in. Wolves then howled at the referee for a penalty, after Stephen Ward hit the deck, but were to be frustrated, as they were when Latics captain Antonin Alcaraz headed the ball blindly against his own arm inside the box. Ali Al-Habsi pulled off a stunning improvisational save, when a Milijas free-kick was heavily deflected. The Omanian goalkeeper had gone down but readjusted to boot the ball away with his trailing leg to preserve <place w:st="on">Wigan</place>’s lead. Wolves huffed and puffed but could not find a way through until the 86<sup>th</sup> minute, when a free-kick was nicked away from a clutch of players to the feet of Stephen Fletcher who poked it in. Unfortunately for Mick McCarthy, this proved to be merely a consolation, which will be no consolation to the fiery Yorkshireman. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Blackburn continued their nosedive under their no-name caretaker, by losing at Big Sam’s own game to Tony Pulis’ <placename w:st="on">Stoke</placename> <placetype w:st="on">City</placetype> at <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Ewood</placename> <placetype w:st="on">Park</placetype></place>. The chicken farmers look like they’ve lost their heads by appointing Steve Kean as permanent boss. If he was that good a manager, why had he never been employed as one before? Blackburn do not have a good enough squad to play expansive football, and quite frankly Big Sam’s rigorous drilling of anti-football tactics was the only surefire way to guarantee their survival. Rovers seem to be favourites for relegation now, unless there is more of an injection of cash in January than the reported £5million. Perhaps the Indian owners saw that <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> once signed a goalscorer who helped them to the Premiership title for £5million, but that was 15 years ago and it was Chris Sutton. Stoke nearly took the lead early on through the familiar source of a Rory Delap long throw, but Matty Etherington could only volley back along the goal-line and away. After a forgettable first half, Stoke finally took the lead when the familiar figure of Robert Huth bulleted a header in from an Etherington corner. Etherington once again caused havoc when he set up Kenwyne Jones for a header, but this time Paul Robinson proved equal to it. Kenwyne Jones bundled through three weak <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> challenges and put Paul Robinson down, but still couldn’t quite beat the ex-England goalkeeper from a closing angle. Stoke finally killed the game off in the last minute, when Jonathan Walters flicked the ball into the box, where Ricardo Fuller found a low cross to Mark Wilson, who passed it into the net.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Bolton Wanderers held their impressive position in the upper echelons of the Premier League with an excellent victory over <place w:st="on">West Brom</place>. Peter Odemwingie had a rare off day for the Baggies, which cost them the game. <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> took the lead when a through-ball found Chung-Yong Lee galloping through and rounding the goalkeeper; apparently going too far, before cutting instantly back to Matt Taylor for an easy finish. <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Taylor</place></city> then proceeded to milk his applause for all it was worth and forgot who had put it on a plate for him. Odemwingie missed some sitters before the game slipped away with four minutes to go. Johan Elmander broke through into the box and looked for Klasnic in the centre. When the ball was intercepted and fell back at Elmander’s feet, the big Swede proceeded to find the net from an imposing angle to finish the game for Wanderers. Sixth place is a welcome Christmas present for the Trotters.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Until a couple of days…</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-45234783253816307832010-12-21T03:41:00.001-08:002010-12-21T03:41:45.077-08:00Let it snow<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">It was snow joke as the weekend’s Premier League fixtures were decimated by the unheralded snowfall. Only three fixtures braved the conditions, leading to questions about how credible Chelsea’s excuses were for postponing their game with Manchester United, with cynics suggesting they could not afford to lose the game so did not hesitate to call the game off very early, despite later photographs of the surrounding areas suggesting there would not have been a problem with fans getting to Stamford Bridge.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Sunderland maintained their impressive home record with a slightly fortunate victory against <place w:st="on">Bolton</place>, and in the process condemned the Trotters to their fourth defeat, leaving the Mackems with the fewest Premier League defeats bar Manchester United. This was a match of meaty challenges, with Gary Cahill and perennial sinner Lee Cattermole perhaps fortunate to stay on the pitch, and Steve Bruce once again was rewarded for ambition; playing his trident of talent up front. Asamoah Gyan went close early on, but Jaaskelainen gathered despite a late deflection. <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> took the lead in the 32<sup>nd</sup> minute, when Darren Bent expertly took down a deep cross, and fired in a shot before Sam Ricketts could get across. Jaaskelainen palmed out, but only to Danny Wellbeck; flinging himself at the loose ball to dive-head in past men on the line. Aside from this moment of incisiveness, the key moment came just before half-time, when <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> should have equalised. A Matt Taylor corner was nodded brilliantly back into the centre of goal by Gary Cahill, and the unmarked Zat Knight lunged to stab in from all of four yards, only to meet with the save of the season from Craig Gordon, somehow finding the reflexes to get an arm across strong enough to flick it over the crossbar practically a yard from the goal-line. It called to mind Jim Montgomery’s wonder save for, ironically, Sunderland, in the 1973 FA Cup final versus <place w:st="on">Leeds</place>, amongst others. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">This seemed to be the catalyst for the victory, though Wellback came close to adding to his tally in the second half; coaxing the ball against the outside of the post after Darren Bent had miskicked a Jordan Henderson cross. Bolo Zenden nodded a glorious chance wide late on, and Ivan Klasnic blew two massive chances late in the day, with red and white bodies brilliantly throwing themselves on the line to preserve this excellent victory.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> lined up without Big Sam, but it was the same old rubbish really. A truly appalling spectacle, this game will be instantly forgotten. Matthew Upson once again made us question how he ever played for his country, while newbie Belgian goalkeeper Ruud Boffin, who looked like a cooler version of Ian Walker, showed signs of perhaps being more reliable than Rob Green, who was missing for the Hammers. The Rovers goal summed the game up after an atrocious first half had finished: a cross slung in by Emerton, Tal-Ben Haim upset his dad by stabbing the ball back into the danger zone, where Benjani missed his kick, and Ryan Nelsen had a scruffy punt at it, which Boffin superbly saved, only for Nelsen to get his knee to the rebound and watch it crawl across the line. Big Sam would have been proud. Morten Gamst Pedersen had a number of free-kicks in dangerous areas, but failed to make the most of them. A scramble at the <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> end saw a poor Salgado clearance put back into the box, where it hit Pedersen much like it had hit Ben Haim at the other end, but this time the centre-back coming onto it was Matthew Upson, and he could only hit the post with a cleaner strike. Another familiar aspect was Frederic Piquionne missing glorious chances, but finally class shone through in the form of Scott Parker, whose weaving run beat three defenders and led to Gael Givet moronically giving the ball to the oncoming Junior Stanislas, who buried the equaliser. There was still time for a disallowed David Dunn goal, but this was truly awful.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Mancitti missed the chance to be top at Christmas, despite Carlos Tevez ‘doing a Rooney’ and deciding he will actually stay at Eastlands. Seamus Coleman dinked a ball in for Cahill to bury with his head, before some nice exchanges inside the box led to Leighton Baines curling in with his weaker foot for 2-0 with less than twenty minutes on the clock. Yaya Toure left Phil Neville bleeding, but it was brother Kolo who was to have the worst afternoon. After being culpable in at least one of the goals, Kolo then got himself sent off with two bookings in a minute late on, but not before Yaya had dragged City back into it with his shot that was deflected in for an own goal by Phil Jagielka. Victor Anichebe was also sent off for more innocuous reasons, but the moment of the match came when Tim Howard displayed some magnificent goalkeeping in tackling Mario Balotelli, waiting to tap into an empty net after hitting the post, before throwing himself across to brilliantly save the follow-up effort from Tevez. City were angered that three handball appeals were turned down, but in the end it was their lack of ambition and ineptitude at the back that cost them bragging rights at Yuletide.</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-34110819833594390932010-12-14T02:53:00.001-08:002010-12-14T02:53:54.168-08:00We Three Kings<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">A week which saw the most unjust sacking in Premier League history, and <city w:st="on">Newcastle</city> owner Mike Arsehole, ummm, Ashley further drag the club’s name through the mud, while <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> soon followed suit, also saw a new leader at the Premier League summit.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Manchester United are the new unbeaten leaders of the Premier League, after a hard-fought but deserving win against challengers Arsenal. Arsene Wenger complained about the pitch, but in truth Arsenal offered very little offensively, and went down to a superb piece of improvisation from perennial big-game deliverer Park Ji-Sung, when Nani sent over a deflected cross that the South Korean adjusted to perfectly to glance into the corner of Premier League debutant Wojciech Szczesny’s net via the post. United had two penalty claims for handball; the first from Chamakh denied, the second from Clichy awarded, only for Wayne Rooney to belt it way over the crossbar. Szczesny generally impressed for the Gunners with a confident display, the pick of which was a ‘starfish’ save from <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Anderson</place></city>, patented of course by former United great Peter Schmeichel. Arsenal came closest when man-of-the-moment Samir Nasri brought the best out of Edwin Van Der Sar, who had Nemanja Vidic to thank for sliding across to prevent Chamakh from turning the rebound in. Yet another defeat to a fellow title-challenger for the Gunners.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> still can’t buy a win, though a draw away at Spurs these days is not considered a bad result. Frank Lampard finally made a comeback from the longest spell of injury in his career, pretty much coinciding with the time I put him in my fantasy football team. After just fifteen minutes, Chelsea were once again feeling sorry for themselves, when Jermain Defoe, suspiciously offside, received a long pass and backtracked across the box before feeding a cute ball into the feet of Roman Pavlyuchenko, who took one touch away from John Terry and Jon Obi Mikel and smashed inside Petr Cech’s near post. Salomon Kalou then conspired to miss a host of chances, before Nicolas Anelka netted, only to be denied by a linesman’s flag. Anelka then conspired to give the ball away in a dangerous area, leading to Pavlyuchenko sending Defoe cantering through, only for Cech to read it well and slide it off his toes. Heurelho Gomes’ notorious eccentricity hadn’t shown itself yet, and his plunging save denied Didier Drogba, before he brilliantly tipped over a certain own goal from Wilson Palacios. Unfortunately for Tottenham it couldn’t last, and when Drogba outmuscled Michael Dawson, with more than a hint of handball, the Brazilian goalkeeper made a real hash of dealing with the Ivorian’s bullet drive, leading to an apologetic equaliser. Gomes must have thought all his nightmares were coming true when he was penalised for barging into Ramires in the very last minute to give away a spot-kick from which there would be no recovery, but the Brazilian partially redeemed himself with a point-saving penalty save from Drogba to leave Chelsea with just two wins from the last six games.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">In the Lancashire Derby, the Premier League’s new artisans took on the team managed by their most prominent manager of recent times. Big Sam, who hoped to be flush with a transfer kitty to splurge on more cloggers and target men, saw the new-look Bolton be cheeky enough to snatch the points with a couple of goals right out of his own playbook, and later found out his huge ego was not enough to save him from the sack as the new owners decided they would rather watch good football than put up with percentage play week after week. After Zat Knight was rescued from a red card by his fellow defender, and Gael Givet made the most hilarious hash of converting a simple rebound, the first half was over. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The second half contained no little acrimony. After Paul Robinson had made a good save from a deflected Stuart Holden free-kick, Mark Davies stupidly led with his arm in an aerial tussle with Phil Jones, leaving the youngster needing treatment and Davies needing an early bath for a second yellow that could have been a straight red. Jussi Jaaskelainen was shakey on another free-kick, and Kevin Davies of all people brilliantly cleared a towering Christopher Samba header off his own goal-line; leaving most Trotters fans fearing the worst. After all their tidy approach play, <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> then proceeded to shock Rovers by taking the lead from a set-piece. After Holden dinked a free-kick into a congested box, Ryan Nelsen’s header did not have enough purchase, and substitute Fabrice Muamba, who had started every game before this without scoring, took it down quickly, dragged back to avoid Nelsen’s recovery lunge, and fired inside Robinson’s near post. Bolton managed to hold the lead until late in the game, but just when they were imagining a ten-man victory against the odds, a tackle won in central midfield led to a break, where Jason Roberts flicked the ball through to Mame Biryam Diouf, who, despite heavy pressure from Gary Cahill, dinked superbly over the advancing Jaaskelainen for a cracking equaliser. Pride came before a fall though, and straight from kick-off, the ball was played back to Gary Cahill, who launched an old Bolton style long-ball forward for Kevin Davies to flick on, finding Stuart Holden scampering between defenders to nick the ball forward and crash home; less than a full minute after <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> had hit the net. Blackburn had little time to respond, and ten-man <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> walked away triumphant, having beaten their old boss at his own game. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Mancitti followed the Carlos Tevez bombshell with a convincing win against the hopeless Hammers. From one prima donna to the next: Mario Balotelli took centre stage, flicking an early Jo cross wide when it looked easier to score. Yaya Toure showed us why he may be worth most of his obscene wages when he drove through the Hammers midfield and across the defence like a knife through butter, but could only poke a weak effort at Green. He made up for it on the half hour, giving the ball to Barry before belting the return into the roof of the West Ham net. Balotelli then had a header cleared off the line and looked a real threat, before getting a yellow card for a tantrum at a decision that didn’t go his way and being taken off for his own sake. Yaya Toure continued to be heavily involved, getting away with an accidental handball before racing onto a lost cause and charging into the box, beating Tomkins and scuffing a shot onto the post, which hit the hapless Green and went in. Eight minutes later David Silva worked his magic, sending a cunning disguised ball through to Adam Johnson, who expertly rounded Green to score. After this, City let their foot off the gas, allowing James Tomkins to head in via a deflection from a corner, but the game was already well over.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">It was nice to see Stoke applying the usual dubious tactics and failing miserably, despite DJ Campbell doing his best to cock everything up. The <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> striker contrived to miss an open goal from a yard out, though Danny Collins did affect a great tackle. Ricardo Fuller worked a bit of his unorthodox cocktail of muscle and magic, clipping a wonderful strike against the crossbar. Pulis’ favoured tactic of deploying Robert Huth to jump into the goalkeeper while someone else bundles the ball over the line has mercifully been seen through by referees, and another ‘goal’ was disallowed. Ricardo Fuller’s quick feet nearly created another chance, but he was smothered out by defenders. Just after the second half got underway, <place w:st="on">Sheffield</place> Wednesday reject Luke Varney fed Charlie Adam, who fed a ball first time towards goal which DJ Campbell got to before Collins to guide in. Gary Taylor-Fletcher nodded a deep cross onto the top of the crossbar, and Stoke responded with Matty Etherington striking the bar with a free-kick. Blackpool then proved they possess more than a gung-ho flair, when they held out from the kinds of titanic goalmouth scrambles Stoke are renowned for, with Kingson’s reflexes keeping out Robert Huth’s header before the loose ball was booted off the line, then later Huth heading down to Delap, whose effort from two yards was brilliantly cleared on the line by Neil Eardley. Another superb away day victory for ‘Ollie’s Tangerine army.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">After Mike Ashley decided once again to dispense with loyalty and sack Chris Hughton, who had got a shambolic <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city> promoted and holding their own in the division on the cheap, the appointment of Alan Pardew was greeted with chiefly derision by the Toon faithful. This is a man whose career has mainly been defined by failure. He had overseen a decline in West Ham fortunes, failed to save Charlton from their plummet down two divisions, and failed to get <place w:st="on">Southampton</place> out of League One despite the largest budget in the division, though they did have a points deduction to contend with. His two relative successes were the Football League Trophy for Southampton and an FA Cup final defeat to <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> with West Ham. To suggest Pardew was a stronger or ‘more experienced’ candidate than Hughton was spurious in the extreme. Pardew has only managed in the Premier League for two seasons, and Hughton has been around the Premier League for decades as a coach at Spurs. What is a more likely explanation is the one about Pardew meeting Derek Llambias in a casino. It’s the ‘old boys act’, and Toon fans have every right to be outraged. The future of their club is mortgaged on the whims of a man who employs his buddies; who wants to make a quick buck when it’s clearly not going to happen; who has no understanding of top-level football. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">That said, new pariah Pardew got off to the perfect start, when on 15 minutes, Andy Carroll nodded down a free-kick for Kevin Nolan to opportunistically stab in ahead of the dozy Konchesky. <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> were unlucky not equalise when a Raul Meireles effort cannoned off Stephen Taylor and hit Jose Enrique on the goal-line. Shola Ameobi had an effort deflected wide and Kygriakos nodded just wide before the half was over. Not long after half-time the Reds found their way back into the game, when Sol Campbell and Stephen Taylor pressed the panic button and conspired to allow Dirk Kuyt an inch to get a shot away that was deflected in by Taylor. The Toon had Tim Krul to thank for foiling a free Fernando Torres minutes later, while Carroll nodded a Barton cross over when he should have tested Reina. A direct club forward that Carroll flicked on found gangly youngster Nile Ranger beating a clumsy Skrtel but firing agonisingly wide, and Torres went close at the other end. The angry egg Skrtel then did a Sol Campbell and got his legs and head tangled from a long ball; letting a brave Joey Barton nip in and score a second before being flattened by Glen Johnson. This second goal came with just ten minutes left, and knocked the stuffing out of <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place>. Andy Carroll then put gloss on the result and proved he is not all close-range poaching and headers; picking the ball up from Barton 25 yards out and drilling a crisp left-foot effort into the corner of the net for 3-1.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Wolves finally ground out another stoical win against a typically resolute and unambitious <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Birmingham</place></city>. Alex McLeish really needs to let the leash off and instil some creativity into his side before they sleepwalk back to the Championship. <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Birmingham</place></city> had Ben Foster to thank again for keeping out Ebanks-Blake, Hunt and Milijas countless times, but he could not keep out Stephen Hunt; gambling at the front post to meet Sylvain Ebanks-Blake’s low cross on the stroke of half-time. David Edwards missed a glorious headed chance in the second period, while Christophe Berra also missed a sitter by taking his eye off the ball and onto the oncoming post, yet still managed to smash himself into it. Birmingham only truly mounted meaningful attacks in the later stages, when Cameron Jerome missed making contact with a dangerous Beausejour cross, while it all looked set up for substitute Kevin Phillips to grab another goal against a side he loves scoring against, with Craig Gardner dinking in for a close-range meat-and-drink header, but somehow the diminutive marksman headed badly wide to leave Mick McCarthy smiling for once.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Gerard Houllier won back some of the Villa faithful when his side did just about enough to see off West Brom at <place w:st="on">Villa Park</place>. It was all Baggies early on, and a lovely run from Somen Tchoyi saw him hit the crossbar, but on 24 minutes Marc Albrighton won a fifty-fifty and nutmegged a defender, before delivering a tantalising cross that was converted at the back post by the onrushing Stewart Downing. James Morrison missed a glorious chance for the Baggies, and they were made to pay with ten minutes to go; Albrighton once again bending a peach of a cross in which three players missed or got minimal contact on, leaving the ball to hit Heskey in the head and divert in for an incredibly lucky goal. The game seemed to be over, but Paul Scharner set up a grandstand finish by powering a header in from a corner which a Villa defender could not keep out on the line. As Villa fans’ fingernails were eroding, Jerome Thomas had a chance to grab an equaliser at the death, but blew his opportunity, to leave Houllier a slightly more popular figure than last week.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Two teams with excellent owners and good structures met at Goodison, and, true to recent <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> form, it was a tight affair, with some nice football but no end product. Omanian goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi once again sparkled for the Latics, keeping out Saha and Coleman brilliantly, while breathing a sigh of relief at seeing a tremendous Tim Cahill header crack the foot of the post and bounce out. Wigan only threatened to a great degree late on, with Hendry Thomas<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>bounding through but getting his legs tangled under pressure and bungling the chance, while Tim Howard earned his wages, after an incisive Wigan move saw Ronnie Stam free at the back post to drive across goal, but the American spread himself enough to get a firm hand to it and divert it narrowly wide.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Fulham-Sunderland was a pretty drab affair as you might expect. Darren Bent spurned a couple of chances you might expect him to bury, while Sunderland twice had to clear off their goal-line as Fulham looked to break their frustrating draw habit. Clint Dempsey threatened without scoring, while even the introduction of explosive substitute Asamoah Gyan could not lift this game out of the doldrums. Better best forgotten.</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-25803188267725257632010-12-07T03:25:00.001-08:002010-12-07T03:25:55.848-08:00Winter of discontent<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">A less frenetic weekend in the Premiership, but no less interesting. Blackpool’s lack of undersoil heating cost them, and the Gunners fired a broadside at <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Chelsea</city></place> as they replaced them at the summit. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><city w:st="on">Chelsea</city>’s attack proved impotent once again, as Everton took advantage late on to seize a draw at <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Stamford</placename> <placetype w:st="on">Bridge</placetype></place>. Chelsea’s defence looked more secure with walking wounded John Terry back, and ironically it was him who came closest in attack first, having two stabs at goal, the second a deft chip which clipped the crossbar. Chelsea’s breakthrough actually came from an Everton player, as captain Phil Neville played a stupendously stupid backpass to set Anelka clear, who knocked the ball past Tim Howard and made sure he was clattered for a penalty that Didier Drogba converted just before half-time. The second half saw a Toffees resurgence, led by Leighton Baines, first delivering a great cross to Jack Rodwell, whose diving header struck the inside of Cech’s post and bounced out. Petr Cech’s headwear finally came in handy when Stephen Pienaar played a tantalising through-ball for Tim Cahill to attack; leaving his studs to catch Cech’s forehead, and leading to a lengthy remonstration from John Terry. One can only imagine why it took the former <place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">England</country-region></place> Captain quite so long to say: ‘watch your studs, he’s had a cracked skull.’</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Chelsea had a chance to sew the game up when everyone missed a low Paulo Ferreira cross, and they were made to pay with just five minutes to go, when Leighton Baines stayed on his feet for long enough to weave inside and outside three defenders and clip in a superb cross, which Tim Cahill nodded back close enough to goal for even Jermaine Beckford to score. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Arsenal claimed the apex with a victory over Fulham which ended far more tensely than it should have. Andrei Arshavin, fresh from his successful championing of the Russian World Cup bid, set Samir Nasri through early on, who stabbed past the onrushing Schwarzer but wide of the post. The Russian again set up Nasri on 13 minutes, and the whole stadium witnessed a moment of class, as the Frenchman dragged back once to drop one defender, then again to leave another defender on their backsides, before nearly lifting the roof off the goal net with his finish. The on-fire Frenchman then set off on a cracking run, and his cross led to Dickson Etuhu almost scoring an own goal, before Mark Schwarzer grabbed the ball on the goal-line. Alexandre Song missed a sitter when he volleyed a close-range chance wide from Rosicky’s cross. It seemed like the same old story when Fulham equalised, though it owed everything to Chris Foy’s astonishing disregard for the wellbeing of players. Laurent Koscielny cracked his cheek against the top of Sebastien Squillaci’s head; a blow that would put most grown men down, yet Foy incredibly allowed play to continue, even with the clearly dazed Frenchman hitting the ground again, and Clint Dempsey took full advantage with a cunning through-ball to Diomansy Kamara, who made no mistake with his finish. Kamara then spent the rest of the game mainly being caught offside, while Arshavin continued tormenting the Cottagers; weaving past four defenders and bringing the best out of Schwarzer. Zoltan Gera fired a brilliant overhead kick narrowly wide before Arsenal deservedly scored their second, due again to the twinkle-toed magnificence of Nasri once more; taking a Van Persie pass in a tight penalty box, then dipping and diving like an ice-skater to leave two defenders and Schwarzer down, before swivelling to spoon the loose ball over a desperate defender on the line for a sublime second. Fulham made some late thrusts through Etuhu and <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Gera</city></place>, but Arsenal held on to sit pretty atop the Premier League mountain once more.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The Wigan-Stoke game proved far more interesting than many neutrals thought, and an amusing sidenote is Tony Pulis’ rapid development of Wenger Myopic Syndrome; wittering on about Wigan’s two goals being deflections and conveniently forgetting Stoke’s opener was a Robert Huth free-kick that Al-Habsi had comfortably covered until it took a wicked deflection in off Mohamed Diame. Within 15 minutes <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> were on level terms, when Ben Watson fired in a free-kick to the near post, which Danny Collins moronically put in his own net. Roberto Martinez has turned <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> into a much more soundly defensive unit with one particular change: the loan signing of Ali Al-Habsi, who must be among the best three goalkeepers in the Premier League since his arrival. The Omanian could do nothing about Stoke’s second goal just two minutes later, after Kenwyne Jones did well to stay on his feet and keep the ball in on the touchline, before advancing to feed Ricardo Fuller just inside the box. The big Trinidadian outmuscled his marker and turned in a low cross which was missed at the near post, but found Matty Etherington striding into yards of space to bury the chance. Manchester United starlet Tom Cleverley was looking inventive in the Latics’ midfield, and it was he who grabbed the Wigan equaliser five minutes before half-time, but not before Hendry Thomas missed a glaring sitter, with Charles N’Zogbia doing brilliantly to fire in a low cross, which Begovic dived at but missed, leaving Thomas behind him with an open net. However, the midfielder clearly was not expecting it and inadvertently played it back where it came from, leaving him wishing the ground would open up. Cleverley got Thomas out of the mire though, when he turned Robert Huth and fired in a strike that deflected in off Rory Delap for 2-2. More clever work from Cleverley set up Mauro Boselli, who drew an inspired double save from Asmir Begovic. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The second half saw a few great chances, but the scoring was over. Jonathan Walters joined Hendry Thomas on the roll of shame, when a Rory Delap hurl was flicked on by Kenwyne Jones, but the former <place w:st="on">Ipswich</place> striker somehow put his header wide from four yards. Kenwyne Jones then made a chance from nowhere, but Al-Habsi was equal to it, while the always dangerous Charles N’Zogbia cut a swathe through the Stoke backline, only to see Begovic tip his strike onto the post. Pulis was as gutless as ever, leaving flair players Eidur Gudjohnsen and Tuncay on the bench, giving the Turk just 8 minutes of action and none to Gudjohnsen.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">A frustrating draw for Spurs at <place w:st="on">St Andrews</place>, where Heurelho Gomes gave us some amateur dramatics to remind us he is a buffoon. Spurs opened the scoring just shy of twenty minutes, when a Gareth Bale free-kick was punched badly by Foster, hitting Crouch and falling nicely for Sebastien Bassong to sweep in. Some sublime Bale trickery saw him unleash the fury at Foster’s near post, but the <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Birmingham</place></city> number one was not to be beaten. Spurs knocked and knocked without being convincing, and the inevitable happened, when in the last ten minutes Roger Johnson dinked a cross to the towering head of Nikola Zigic, who nodded it across for the onrushing Craig Gardner to beat two defenders to and equalise. The result means Spurs still await their first clean sheet since the start of the season.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Mancitti were surprisingly attack-minded at Eastlands, though the 1-0 scoreline has become a familiar sight for the Blue Moon faithful. <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> were dismal, which these days is something of a shock. Before the Trotters had even woken up they were one down, with Yaya Toure playing an incisive pass past Gary Cahill for Carlos Tevez to smash in past the advancing Jaaskelainen. Waves of City attacks were crashing on the Bolton shores, with Cahill relieved to get away without conceding a spot-kick, after a thunderous David Silva drive had struck his head and arm, while a goal wis disallowed for offside which incensed the City faithful. Carlos Tevez brilliantly set fellow Argentine Pablo Zabaleta through, but the full-back made a dog’s breakfast of the chance. The second half saw the same player denied from close-range by Jaaskelainen’s reflexes, while Tevez robbed a defender, leading to Mario Balotelli casually sidefooting against the foot of the post. Jaaskelainen denied the young Italian again, and David Silva again provided a moment of class, spinning to belt the ball against the crossbar. City’s sole moment of doubt came when Joe Hart; most likely lulled into a false sense of security; fumbled a free-kick, needing Vincent Kompany to bail him out on the line. Left-back Alexsander Kolarov got himself sent off for two rash challenges, but City saw the game out, though the sight of captain Tevez throwing the toys from the pram after being substituted a minute from the end left a bad taste in the mouth.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Yet again, Wolves failed to rouse themselves for a game against one of the Premier League’s also-rans, with Big Sam’s cloggers engineering a comfortable victory. It could all have been so different if Lady Luck had been with Wolves early on. Some nice play from Matt Jarvis released Stephen Ward, whose shot hit the post. After a short scramble the ball then found Pascal Zubar, whose audacious effort from the opposite side then unbelievably hit the crossbar and post and still stayed out. <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> took the lead with an archetypal Sam Allardyce goal; a corner being nodded from past the far post to back into the mix by Ryan Nelsen, where David Dunn got his head to it and guided it over the line before the ball could be hacked away. By the time a route one hoof saw Jason Roberts using his strength to hold off the challenge and lay back for Brett Emerton to crash home, Wolves had surrendered. Another from the Big Sam playbook led to a third, with a Morten Gamst Pedersen free-kick badly defended, leaving Ryan Nelsen to steal in and poach for 3-0. Stephen Hunt masterminded some token Wolves resistance in the second half, but <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place> nearly added a fourth, before both Pedersen and Mame Biryam Diouf conspired to screw the chance up.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">After the hubris of their 4-0 Carling Cup win against Manchester United, the onus was on West Ham to finally put a run together to lift them from the lows of second bottom. True to form, the Hammers then proceeded to return to rock bottom, with yet another agonising defeat. Luis Boa Morte incredibly stayed on the pitch after a two-footed tackle, which Martin Atkinson, a referee who tends to punish players for this offence with a straight red card, decided yellow would be sufficient. An early John Mensah error saw Carlton Cole have a free run towards goal, but the big man dithered until Anton Ferdinand rushed to his central defensive partner’s rescue. Explosive Ghanaian Asamoah Gyan was typically involved in <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place>’s goal, working some space near the touchline and sending in a peach of a low cross which Jordan Henderson guided into the net without breaking his stride. The Ghanaian then nearly brought the house down with an audacious casual chip which thudded against the top of the crossbar. Carling Cup scorers Spector and Cole came close before the break, while a thunderous Gyan strike was well saved by Green. The second half saw some good work from Carlton Cole result in Spector missing his cross, but Obinna hitting the outside of the post. <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> almost wrapped up the game late on after Steed Malbranque cleverly found Gyan, who advanced and dinked through to Kieran Richardson, whose challenge saw the ball squirm from Rob Green’s grasp, though James Tomkins was on hand to brilliantly deny Wellbeck, who had an otherwise empty net beckoning.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><city w:st="on">Newcastle</city> didn’t show up for a thoroughly comprehensive <place w:st="on">West Brom</place> victory. Despite naming an unchanged side from the one that held the champions, the Toon were found out and taken apart by the dynamic Baggies, led by signing of the season Peter Odemwingie. Somen Tchoyi scored the opener after 32 minutes. Some great approach play from Jerome Thomas and Chris Brunt fed the Cameroonian, who stepped inside, fooling three <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city> defenders, before bending the ball in. Sol Campbell had a bit of a ‘mare on his 500<sup>th</sup> Premiership appearance, looking every one of his 36 years. It’s strange to think that <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Campbell</place></city> essentially admitted he wasn’t good enough anymore when he left Arsenal, a time when he seemed very humble. Since then he has done a number of baffling things, including quitting <placename w:st="on">Notts</placename> <placetype w:st="on">County</placetype> after one game, bemoaning his exclusion from the <country-region w:st="on">England</country-region> squad and suing <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Portsmouth</place></city> when they were on the brink of extinction. Yet if David James doesn’t move back to the top division in January, Campbell and Ryan Giggs will be the only players to have appeared in every Premier League season. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The second half saw <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city> put up some fight, with Scott Carson called upon to keep out a Stephen Taylor header, while Paul Scharner blazed a very presentable chance high, wide and handsome. James Morrison came close on a couple of occasions, and Marek Cech was forced to hack a Gutierrez bundled effort off the line, but the game was essentially over on 71 minutes, when Peter Odemwingie scored a magnificent solo goal; picking up the ball after a fatal Guthrie slip in central midfield, and running at the Newcastle central defence. Despite looking like he should have passed, Odemwingie kept his balance, held off two challenges and fired through Stephen Taylor for a brilliant second goal. The Nigerian later picked up a long ball and rounded the goalkeeper before making the game safe for the Baggies. <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city> got a token consolation in stoppage time, with a Routledge cross finding Carroll, whose snapshot was saved, only for Peter Lovenkrands to bundle the rebound in. News on Monday confirmed Chris Hughton had been sacked, a decision which says everything about the ridiculous man in charge of this club. Mike Ashley, who had redeemed himself partially with the St James’ Park faithful; after appointing Dennis Wise, driving Kevin Keegan out, appointing Joe Kinnear, getting the club relegated and renaming the stadium, has finally, surely, shown his true colours. Hughton, who I had been a vocal doubter of when he was appointed, has done more than any manager could have expected to do in his time at St James’, and had ran into difficult results without key players that still left the club as high as 11<sup>th</sup>, yet Ashley deemed his time over. A cynic would suggest this is a ploy either to reinstate his toxic buddies Wise or Kinnear, or appoint who he deems a ‘high-profile’ manager in order to make the club more sellable. Money is the only thing the man is motivated by, and I urge anyone who supports Chris Hughton to avoid ever shopping at Sports Direct.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Another Anfield game against a team in Claret and Blue, another embarrassingly easy victory. Gerard Houllier was clearly more interested in his reception than his own team, as a fairly strong Villa line-up was destroyed by <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place>’s back-ups. Missing key men Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, David N’Gog bundled in from a corner to open the scoring on 13 minutes. 3 minutes later perennial let-down Ryan Babel cracked Lucas’ lofted ball across Friedel for 2-0. With Villa toothless, <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> finished them with a swift counter-attack on 55 minutes, started and finished by Maxi Rodriguez. Villa fans were rightfully not impressed at being humiliated by <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place>’s reserves.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Until next time, my frozen friends.</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-47603633335562887292010-11-29T14:17:00.000-08:002010-11-29T14:17:53.506-08:00Chills and thrills<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">A record-breaking weekend in the wild and wacky world of the Premier League, where for the first time every team scored, and more goals were scored than ever before on a single weekend, with an average of over 4 goals a game. Strangely enough, the bottom team finally won, but so did the team directly above them, thus preventing any movement. <city w:st="on">Chelsea</city> continued their patchy form, and Manchester United finally played well; exquisitely well, in hitting Blackburn for seven, eliminating <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Chelsea</city></place>’s goal difference advantage in one fell swoop and usurping top spot. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Nowhere else to start but Old Trafford, where Wayne Rooney finally started; paired with off-the-boil Dimitar Berbatov, who hadn’t scored a league goal since the <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> hat-trick. Fergie had said before the game that it was his own fault for switching Berbatov’s strike partners around too much. The Bulgarian seems to share a natural affinity with Rooney, and nowhere has he displayed it better than against <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place>. Big Sam was quick out with the excuses, but Rovers were missing seven players through injury, an ironic number as it would turn out. From <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place>’s kick-off, United won the ball. Twenty passes, a few tackles and just over a minute later, Nani had swung the ball in for Rooney to flick on and Berbatov to stab in from close range. Anderson and Carrick looked reborn in the midfield engine room, and all of United’s players were passing quickly, assuredly, and purposefully. A beautiful move just before the half-hour culminated in Rooney exchanging passes with the advancing Park Ji-Sung, who burst onto the return to dink over Paul Robinson. A magnificently braindead backpass from Chimbonda set Berbatov clear in yards of space, and the Bulgarian made the most of his endless time to drill past Robinson for 3-0 before half-time. Berbatov was feeling robbed just before the break, when he weaved in between three defenders, only to be felled under the dubious challenge of Michel Salgado, but just after half-time the Bulgarian scored a goal of breathtaking determination and quality. A big criticism of his game is his perceived lack of tracking back, but the Bulgarian picked the ball up on the edge of his own box, before a lovely exchange on the flank with Patrice Evra. When Berbatov received the ball back in the middle of midfield, he spread the ball wide to Nani, who bore down on the Rovers defence before squaring for the emerging Berbatov, who finished the move he started consummately. A minute later Nani ended up in a similar position, but this time cut inside the flimsy Chimbonda before whipping the ball into the corner of Robinson’s net. Nani again broke through, and made for the byline, only deciding to square to the unmarked Rooney when it was too late; Robinson blocking his effort. Wave after wave of red shirts were crashing against the shores of Rovers’ defence, and it was 6-0 when Berbatov cashed in from a Samba attempted tackle that went wrong. The final United goal came in the 69<sup>th</sup> minute, when Anderson penetrated into the heart of Blackburn’s defence, before finding Berbatov, who attempted a cross that was blocked but came straight back to him, before sliding the ball in from a tight angle. The final twenty minutes saw United slacken off somewhat, and Blackburn got a consolation when Christopher Samba sent a looping header against the top of the crossbar, before dispatching a header from a carbon-copy position in the same passage of play. Berbatov could have had six to himself, but Robinson pulled off a great reflex save in the dying stages from the Bulgarian’s close-range header.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">After this statement of intent, <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> were under pressure. Still without Lampard, Terry, Essien and Wilkins, they kicked off with Malouda, Kalou, Drogba and Anelka all playing in an ambitious line-up. Newcastle, much better away than at home, were missing midfield enforcers Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan, and handed a slim-line Sol Campbell his Newcastle full debut at centre-back. The Toon began brightly, with a Danny Guthrie free-kick flicked towards goal by a <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> head, parried by an alert Petr Cech, and volleyed wide by Shola Ameobi. Chelsea had not shaken off their malaise on six minutes when the perennially unreliable Jon Obi-Mikel gave the ball away not once but twice, leading to Alex blundering massively by poking the ball away from the advancing Cech, leaving the alert Andy Carroll to scamper around the goalkeeper and help the ball over the line. Most of the rest of the half saw <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Chelsea</place></city> struggle to overturn the arrears, with Drogba hitting the side netting, Cashley Cole hitting the deck, and Jose Enrique clearing off the line from an Alex header. <city w:st="on">Chelsea</city> finally blew down the door on half-time, when a lovely Malouda flick found Kalou, who cantered through, cut outside <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Campbell</place></city> and fired in a shot that was heavily deflected on its way in. The second half saw Cashley make a spectacular goal-line clearance from a Routledge blockbuster, after Cech had not covered himself in glory, while Drogba felt aggrieved to have his fine turn and finish in off the post denied for a handball. Chelsea’s major problem at the moment was best encapsulated in a typical Salomon Kalou moment, when the Ivorian managed to bundle through numerous challenges and somehow past the goalkeeper, only to stab wide of an open net from three yards by shooting with his wrong foot.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Arsenal made up ground on <city w:st="on">Chelsea</city> with a hard-fought and goal-laden victory at <place w:st="on">Villa Park</place>; a happy hunting ground for the Gunners since the late 90s. Arsenal made the early running, and Collins had to help out Friedel to clear a Chamakh shot off the goal line. Tomas Rosicky and Ashley Young were both guilty of wasteful finishing before the Gunners took the lead on 38 minutes, when two Villa players both missed a long ball, and Arshavin galloped into acres of space, before cutting outside Dunne and firing in at the far post through Collins’ legs. The goal-scorer then set up Samir Nasri, who rounded Friedel before bizarrely missing the gaping net. Friedel then pulled off a stunning reflex stop from a Chamakh header, but Frenchman Nasri made amends for his howler by making it 2-0 on the stroke of half-time; volleying a deep corner into the net with the aid of a nick off Luke Young. Ex-Gunners stalwart Robert Pires didn’t make the second half, but Villa made a game of it soon after the break, when youngster Ciaran Clark took a poor clearance on the edge of Arsenal’s ‘18’ down on his chest and thumped a shot into the roof of the net, though replays show an offside John Carew standing directly in Lukasz Fabianski’s eyeline the whole time. Within four minutes, hopes of a Villa comeback were extinguished, when a crafty through-ball from Tomas Rosicky saw Marouane Chamakh beat carthorse Richard Dunne for pace and stab past the advancing Friedel. To Villa’s credit, they were not beaten, and Ciaran Clark was gutted to hit the side netting when the net should have been bulging, though he scored again on 70 minutes, rising perfectly to guide a lofted ball over Clichy and in via the underside of the crossbar. The last twenty minutes saw Villa press for an unlikely equaliser, but their naivety cost them when Arsenal pounced, launching a quick counter-attack where Chamakh laid back to Denilson, whose shot was only deflected back to Chamakh, who lobbed the ball deftly to the back post, where Jack Wilshere was waiting with a diving header to kill the game once and for all.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Wolverhampton Wanderers finally gave their fans something substantial to cheer about, by mounting a late comeback to see off a <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> team shorn of their first choice centre-backs, even if one of those was Titus Bramble. Kevin Doyle did what he does best when he missed an absolute sitter, but Wolves thought they had taken the lead through Richard Stearman, only to have his close-range effort denied by the linesman. Kieran Richardson struck the inside of the post with a ferocious free-kick, and the half closed goalless. The second half more than made up for the lack of goals, with Wolves taking the lead within five minutes, through Kevin Foley, who followed in Jarvis’ effort; drilling home with his left foot. Muscular full-back George Elokobi blocked a Darren Bent volley on the line to preserve Wolves’ advantage, but in the 66<sup>th</sup> minute, Asamoah Gyan won a header to set Darren Bent clear of the sluggish Stearman, and as he bore down on goal, Bent finish supremely across Hennessey. Wolves had not really recovered by the time Sunderland mounted a slick passing move, culminating in Phil Bardsley thumping in a tantalising cross, met with a magnificent header from man-of-the-moment Danny Wellbeck; guiding it superbly into the bottom corner. Mackems fans went crazy, but five minutes later Wolves hit back following a goalmouth scramble. After earlier having a goal disallowed for offside, Richard Stearman<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>received a ball in an even more offside position, yet play was allowed to continue, and when Craig Gordon kept out a Sylvain Ebanks-Blake header, Stephen Hunt bundled the loose ball home from two yards for the equaliser. With <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> now the team on the back foot, Wolves seized the initiative, though had Lee Cattermole’s power drive not been tipped over it would all have been academic. As it was, Kevin Doyle made a nuisance of himself, and found Ebanks-Blake in space, with the Wolves striker drilling the chance home for a glorious late winner to finally put a smile on Mick McCarthy’s dour countenance.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">With Wolves winning, it was imperative for West Ham to also win, or risk being cut adrift. A fixture against <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> was perhaps the most obvious opportunity for points, and the Hammers finally gleaned a victory, despite their profligate strikers. In the 34<sup>th</sup> minute some appallingly static defending allowed Frederic ‘Coolio’ Piquionne to flick a header into the box, and where blue shirts dithered, Valon Behrami dared…to steal in and score. Junior Stanislas then sent in a pounding drive that Omanian stopper Ali Al-Habsi kept out with a great save. Al-Habsi then surpassed this with an incredible display of goalkeeping to rival Ben Foster’s save from Drogba last week. A dangerous cross found Frederic Piquionne launching himself over defenders in his effort to score. He connected powerfully from only 8 or so yards, yet Al-Habsi’s reflexes were stunning, managing to fling a strong hand out and push the ball clear of goal with just a split second to react. Once again, the man from the <place w:st="on">Middle East</place> proved why he keeps Chris Kirkland on the bench every week. Coolio then proved why most West Ham fans think he’s a liability, adding to his personal collection of howlers by dragging an absolute sitter wide when completely free in the middle of the box. On 56 minutes he made slight amends by advancing into the box, before knocking the ball back to strike-partner Obinna, who advanced and smashed across Al-Habsi and in. <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> had an opportunity to get back into the game with a vengeance when Danny Gabbidon scythed down Tom Cleverley, but Mario Boselli’s penalty was so pitiful Robert Green almost dived past it as it hit his knees and bounced out. Some more <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> defending that was the opposite of forceful led to Obinna getting to the touchline and crossing low for Scott Parker to beat another lame challenge to net and sew up the game. Charles N’Zogbia raged against the dying of the light when his weaving dribble and layback set up Tom Cleverley to cleverly find the net, and it may have proved more than a consolation when Steve Gohouri scored a wrongly disallowed goal, as it was a team-mate and not him standing offside when the ball was played.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Everton got a nasty surprise, as the boing-boing Baggies boinged back from their dismal slide in style, thrashing the Toffees 4-1 on their home turf, but only after some jaw-dropping refereeing had served to their advantage. The quiet of the opening minutes was shattered when Paul Scharner ghosted in to head a corner into the net, with Everton seemingly in shock at the sheer impertinence of it. Ten minutes later, and it got worse for the home side, when Chris Brunt scored a free-kick superior even to Leighton Baines’ a few weeks back; stepping up to launch a left-foot effort bending snugly into the ‘postage stamp’, with Tim Howard getting across but unable to reach it even at full stretch. West Brom were the only team who had not conceded a header, and the one man you would expect to shatter that record was heading specialist Tim Cahill, and the Samoan-Aussie duly obliged on 41 minutes, rising to nod a Baines corner back where it came for 2-1. Jermaine Beckford came on ten minutes into the second period, and had one of those games. He opened his action by having a shot partially saved, then cleared off the line by Tamas. Minutes later, and all Hell broke loose; orchestrated by Chilean Gonzalo Jara, who has previous. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">You may remember Jara from his outrageous two-footed lunge at <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place>. Well, he was up to his old tricks again when he looked to have viciously smashed what looked like an elbow in Leighton Baines’ face on the edge of his own box, pole-axing the left-back, who normally goes down under much softer contact. The Chilean hot-head then scampered away with the ball; a wound-up Steven Pienaar in hot pursuit. Pienaar then almost got a red card after clearly attempting to kick Jara up in the air, but the bulky Chilean saw him coming and barged the angry little South African away, only to run into an equally feisty Mikel Arteta, who shielded the ball, but took exception to the Chilean once again launching in with two feet; responding by stamping on his assailant, who avoided serious contact but nevertheless milked it for all it was worth. Lee Mason then staggered Everton by ignoring all incidents other than Arteta’s tame retribution. Apparently aggressors are fine by Mason, it’s the retaliators who deserve a punishment. Jara got something of a comeuppance later, when Tim Cahill surreptitiously raked his studs down the Chilean’s achilles when Mason was presumably looking for some time-wasters. Aside from this incident, the rest of the game was memorable for Jermaine Beckford producing a stunning catalogue of sitter misses, first a close-range volley that hit Row Z. Somen Tchoyi then made him pay by receiving a crossfield pass adeptly, cutting outside and finding the top corner to put the game out of Everton’s reach. Beckford then looked a bit of a prat when he was free about 8 yards out, but decided to attempt a ludicrous twisting scissor-kick, which flew wide. Youssouf Mulumbu played a neat one-two and finished off Distin’s chest for the fourth West Brom goal in the 86<sup>th</sup> minute, but he will have regretted charging into the crowd, because that booking left him sent off for a second yellow moments later, when he up-ended Steven Pienaar.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Another thriller involving Blackpool, who will be devastated to only come away with a point after taking a two-goal lead, though that, like West Ham with Piquionne and Everton with Beckford, was more down to the appalling finishing of DJ Campbell than any collapse. He missed at least 3 glaring opportunities to seal the game, and Marlon Harewood can’t return soon enough. Ian Evatt had glanced an Eliot Grandin corner into the net for the opener, and it was added to in the second half from the same source, with Sheffield Wednesday reject Luke Varney doing the damage the second time. There then followed a series of mostly DJ Campbell misses, before Martin Petrov came on just on the hour. Fifteen minutes later, a ball rolled into him by Kevin Davies was flicked up and volleyed almost in the same movement, crashing into the top corner with Kingson motionless. Blackpool were then put under siege for the last 15 minutes, with <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> creating some intricate moves. Martin Petrov saw a thunderous effort cleared off the line before Mark and Kevin Davies combined and worked the ball to Elmander in the box, who nonchalantly found Ivan Klasnic under pressure, who spun and laid a cute ball off to Mark Davies again, who finished for the icing on the cake of a delicious move. These two teams continue to be amongst the Premier League’s most entertaining.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Two of the Premier League’s most boring teams met at the Britannia, where Roberto Mancini lined up against Tony Pulis, not really comprehending how Pulis was actually integral to Mancini being in this role. For, you see, Mancini would not have been in the role had City not been the world’s richest club. And they would not have been the world’s richest club if Sheikh Mansour had not seen them in the Premier League. And of course, they would perhaps not have been in the Premier League now had they not been promoted back to the old first division in that play-off comeback win in the same season neighbours United were winning the Treble. That second division play-off final was against <place w:st="on">Gillingham</place>, a side then managed by, you guessed it: Tony Pulis. Gillingham had gone two goals up and were in control, when Pulis decided to take off their biggest threat; a man who had tormented City, scored one goal, and could have provided a counter-attacking focal point in the final minutes or extra time; Carl Asaba. By withdrawing him and putting on a defender, Pulis gambled and cocked up badly. City staged a late comeback and <place w:st="on">Gillingham</place> had no figurehead in attack; eventually losing on penalties when Asaba could have made the difference, if only Pulis had the courage to keep him on.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Aside from that little historical footnote, Pulis played his usual tactic of lumping it up to the big men and hurling it into the box. Rory Delap’s shoulders will have to be replaced with titanium ones by the time he retires. Movember seemed to have been acknowledged by a number of Stoke’s team too, which was nice. James Milner was forced to clear a Kenwyne Jones touch off the line, and for the most part City looked like they didn’t fancy a bit of rough ‘n’ tumble on a freezing cold day in the Potteries. That was, until the 81<sup>st</sup> minute, when Milner slid a short pass to Micah Richards, with his back to goal and a defender breathing down his neck. Suddenly, the whole stadium erupted, as Richards let the ball roll through his legs, dropped his shoulder, turned and lashed the ball in for what everyone thought was a fabulous winner. When Robert Huth missed a glorious chance in the dying minutes they thought it was all over, but they reckoned without Stoke’s secret weapon: flair, in the form of Tuncay, whose sublime backheel bamboozled three Mancitti defenders and let in Matty Etherington to score a last-gasp equaliser.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Tottenham completed their perfect week with a late comeback victory against <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place>, who lost Jamie Carragher for a few weeks with a dislocated shoulder. The game proved a curious game of pairs: Fernando Torres galloped through, only to be superbly tackled by Sebastien Bassong in the first and second half, Jose Reina spilled one chance that was blocked on the line by Carragher, then repeated the trick in the second half, with Meireles coming to his rescue. And of course the most obvious pair was the Evil Egg himself; Martin Skrtel, who scored an incredibly lucky goal, before sliding a low cross into his own net in the second half. It was as if a mirror had been held up to each half with the way patterns repeated. Maxi screwed up two glorious chances, and was joined on the roll of shame by David N’Gog, who should be deducted wages for the most appalling miss, followed by giving away a penalty for handling a Bale free-kick, which Jermain Defoe proceeded to drag wide. Defoe was then denied a goal by the linesman’s flag, while Heurelho Gomes vitally punched a cross floating straight into the head of Torres. In the last minute, Spurs were in delirium, as Crouch flicked a high ball on, and Lennon beat a dozy Konchesky to the punch, robbing and outpacing him before finishing coolly. The same player burst through just afterwards, but his glorious run was let down by a finish that went just wide. Titanic comeback at the Emirates; Champion’s League progress; comeback win against <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place>: a dream week to be a Spurs fan.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Fulham dug deep despite their injury problems, to grab a much-needed point against <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Birmingham</place></city>. An early corner was bundled off the line by Brum, but when Alexander Hleb sparked into life and beat two men, he cut inside to find Sebastian Larsson free inside the box, and the Dane drove the ball in across Schwarzer. Fulham got back on level terms early in the second half, with a cross nodded back across to Dempsey, whose bravery flinging himself in paid off when he got his head to the ball and guided it across the line. Scott Dann struck the crossbar with a great header, and at the other end Eddie Johnson broke clear but was smothered by Ben Foster. The result keeps Fulham precariously above the relegation zone, with 15 points from 15 games.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Until next time my ravenous goal perverts…</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936392864901762871.post-3214967195876794422010-11-23T04:44:00.000-08:002010-11-23T04:45:09.608-08:00Tough at the top<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">A weekend of shocks as the already-compressed Premier League table became even more so. To say <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Birmingham</city></place> rode their luck is putting it mildly, while it will take a miracle, or three world class players in January, to save West Ham from relegation now.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Possibly the most ludicrous North London derby in Premier League history saw an unfathomable second half comeback from Spurs, clinching a 3-2 victory against all the odds away to their neighbours for the first time since 1993. Unlike the 4-4 draw a couple of seasons back, this wasn’t built on furious attacking football, but just an incredible collapse from Arsenal. A curious footnote was the fact that 6 of the 8 defenders in the starting line-ups were French, including all of Arsenal’s. One Frenchman who was treated to a hostile return by fans and Samir Nasri was William Gallas, who then proceeded to have a man-of-the-match day. The Gunners started as dominant as you would expect, and by the eighth minute they were ahead, after a majestic 40 yard through-ball from Cesc Fabregas was seized upon by Samir Nasri, only for Heurelho Gomes to fly out and present the opposite of an immovable object, allowing Nasri to plough through his pitiful challenge, then squeeze the ball in from an excruciating angle, despite the dithering Benoit Assou-Ekotto giving chase and being able to clear if he had swung at the ball first time instead of allowing it to bounce apologetically over the line. Spurs were architects of their own downfall for Arsenal’s second, when Alan Hutton injured himself helping to launch an attack, and before he could pick himself up, Roman Pavlyuchenko went to great lengths to hook the ball back in play as it was drifting out for a goal kick, only to allow Arsenal to launch a lightning counter-attack, where the ball was eventually fed wide to Andrei Arshavin, with Hutton limping pathetically in an attempt to block the Russian’s cross, which found Marouane Chamakh’s lunge in the centre, stabbing the ball in from close range.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The first half had been comprehensive, and there was nothing to suggest more wouldn’t follow in the second, but Arsenal were curiously docile, and Spurs halved the deficit quickly. Harry Redknapp had brought on livewire Jermain Defoe, which changed the focal point of Spurs’ attacks. Somehow, the little Englishman beat defender Sebastien Squillaci in the air, and when Rafael Van Der Vaart got the ball under control and slid in Gareth Bale under pressure in the box, the Welshman finished superbly across Fabianski with the outside of his boot. Luka Modric sent a rising drive just over, and it was clear the impetus of the game had swung in the Lilywhites’ favour. Tottenham won a free-kick just outside the box on 67 minutes, and Fabregas decided to lift his, and team-mate Marouane Chamakh’s arms to provide an obstacle, which Rafael Van Der Vaart found. Seconds later, the Dutchman found the corner of the net with his penalty for an unlikely equaliser. This seemed to rouse the dozing Gunners, and they carved out numerous chances in an attempt to claim back their victory. Fabregas nodded a flicked free-kick across for Squillaci to nod into an empty net, but both men were clearly offside. Fabregas then fired a volley over, and ended a weaving run with a curling effort, which Gomes tipped the wrong side of the post. Laurent Koscielny then added to his growing collection of close-range sitter misses, when a Van Persie cross found him completely free, six yards out, but the defender somehow contrived to head over. The French wastrel then compounded his error by wiping out Gareth Bale for a free-kick which Van Der Vaart bent in dangerously, with Younes Kaboul rising above Koscielny and Squillaci to flick into the bottom corner for an incredible winner. Despite sending on Van Persie , Walcott and Rosicky, Wenger was left to throw the water bottle out of the pram, as his side threw away a chance to go top of the table, though with Arsenal dominating possession, and Spurs scoring with their only three shots on target, he was entitled to question just how that turnaround came about.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><city w:st="on">Birmingham</city> supplied the second big shock of the day, and again it was built from far less possession and chances than their imperious visitors, who once again could not find a route to goal without Lampard and Essien, while <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Birmingham</place></city>’s goal seemed like the kind that John Terry may have been more alert to. Amazingly, another Birmingham victory was built on the fact that master of caution McLeish once again played two up front. It’s a strange coincidence that most of their wins come from this ambition, and most draws and defeats come from flooding the midfield. Clearly the midfield was not flooded enough to keep much possession, but in any league you are rewarded for goals, not touching the ball. Ben Foster produced the kind of outrageous display that makes you wonder why he couldn’t provide it for Manchester United or England, but there wasn’t much sign of what was to come early on, when Didier Drogba brilliantly chested the ball to put Kalou in, prompting Foster to race out and get nutmegged by the Ivorian, whose shot bounced the wrong side of the post for Chelsea. Salomon Kalou then returned the favour, putting Drogba clean through, but Foster raced out decisively and forced Drogba to strike early, saving his effort. <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Birmingham</place></city> then shocked even their own fans by scoring with their first notable attack. A long cross from Sebastian Larsson drew both centre-backs to the ball, only for Cameron Jerome to win it and knock the ball down into the centre, where the scandalously untracked Lee Bowyer galloped through to finish past a bewildered Cech. It’s no exaggeration to say that Ben Foster then had a ‘Gordon Banks moment’, when a cross was met from no more than eight yards by Drogba, powering his header down, only to see Foster’s incredible reflexes get him down to the bottom corner in a flash and turn it away one-handed. Even the woodwork seemed to be on <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Birmingham</place></city>’s side when another excellent Drogba header crashed off the crossbar. More Foster excellence followed, keeping out a sneaky Drogba free-kick, a superb Ivanovic header late on, and getting Liam Ridgewell out of the mess he created with a moronic backpass, by tackling Kalou with his feet, then palming the ball out from the loose ball as Kalou looked set to regain control. <city w:st="on">Birmingham</city> clung on for a famous win, despite <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Chelsea</city></place> having nearly 25 shots to their 2.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">With both potential table-toppers losing, Manchester United had a chance to seize the title initiative at home to a newly-defensively-sound <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> team. The Latics could have profited early on when Nemanja Vidic made a right mess of clearing, but Jordi Gomes blazed over. At the other end, Nani stung Ali Al-Habsi’s fingertips, and Gabriel Obertan was scythed down by <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> captain Antonin Alcaraz, to earn the defender an obvious booking he would later regret. <place w:st="on">Wigan</place>’s man-of-the-moment Charles N’Zogbia nearly made another headline for himself when he slalomed through 4 United shirts, only to be foiled by Edwin Van Der Sar. The first half proved pretty even, but on the stroke of half-time the home fans were in raptures, when Park Ji-Sung delivered banquet of a cross to the back post, and Patrice Evra was the first to gorge, cashing in on Al-Habsi’s hesitancy, perhaps believing mistakenly his defenders would actually do their jobs, rather than leave the Frenchman free as a bird to swoop in and nod across the Omanian goalkeeper and into the net. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Wigan, who had held their own, then pressed the self-destruct button in the second half, with captain Alcaraz lunging in needlessly to take down Darren Fletcher for a second yellow card, before his replacement as captain; Hugo Rodallega, leapt into a two-footed assault on Rafael Da Silva to leave Wigan with nine men. Roberto Martinez criticised the referee, and Nemanja Vidic did get away with a clear tug on Charles N’Zogbia right on the edge of the box, but aside from this Wigan only had themselves to blame for losing their heads. Javier Hernandez made the game safe with another unorthodox manipulation to dive and head Rafael’s cross in from six yards, though this time the lack of <place w:st="on">Wigan</place> marking could be explained by their dearth of numbers. The prodigal son; Wayne Rooney entered the fold to a mixed reception on 56 minutes, and he had a good header saved, while missing a close-range chance that fell to him quickly. Though his first touch was not assured, he looked a lot more applied than before his little injury, infidelity and greed issues. United fans will hope the best is yet to come. Still United pressed, and Evra missed a glorious chance in the dying minutes, but 2-0 against nine men is against not convincing at all, despite United’s still-unbeaten opening to the season, though the result moves them level on points with <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Chelsea</city></place>.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Bolton Wanderers continue to impress, especially at the Reebok, where they destroyed away day warriors Newcastle United with an inspired display from the formerly-maligned Johan Elmander. Former Trotter Kevin Nolan returned to his old home for the first time, and began like a man on a mission, harrying and robbing Paul Robinson trying to usher the ball out on the touchline, only to blunder with his finish. His eagerness counted against him minutes later, when the ball skipped up off his thigh and he instinctively nudged the ball away with his elbow, for a blatant penalty that Kevin Davies calmly stroked home. Newcastle’s response came in the form of a low Jose Enrique cross missed by everyone, while a more debatable response came in the form of persistent rough treatment dished out to Johan Elmander, particularly a headbutt from Mike Willamson, though this was all in vain when they couldn’t get clearances right. One particularly bad one fell to Chung-Yong Lee, who made them pay with a second <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> goal. The second half saw <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Newcastle</place></city> continue their braindead tactic of simply targeting Elmander, while leaving Kevin Davies free to dominate them, and when the big man received a ball inside from Lee, he slipped a perfect ball between defenders to their nemesis Elmander, who collected and rounded Krul before netting. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><city w:st="on">Newcastle</city> finally made an impression in the right way through a <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> error, with midfield dynamo Stuart Holden’s tackle on Ameobi inadvertently rebounding to Andy Carroll, galloping through to beat Jaaskelainen expertly. Gary Cahill of all people then came close for <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> before a teasing Gutierrez cross was missed by both Nolan and Carroll in the centre. A long ball upfield was dithered upon by Fabricio Colocinni, perhaps caught in two minds about whether to kick the ball or Elmander. In the end he did neither, as the Swede rounded and then outmuscled him, before finishing superbly past the onrushing Krul. When the same situation presented itself on the opposite flank, the Argentine remembered his instructions and smashed his arm into Elmander’s face, pole-axing the Swede and receiving a few extra minutes to wash his lustrous mane. At the other end, the main resistance came from a man who mainly throws his fists off the pitch; Andy Carroll, whose snapshot crashed off the bar, with no Toon attacker following in effectively. In stoppage time, Bolton rubbed salt into Newcastle’s festering wounds, when another neat move saw Moreno feed Davies inside the box, where Jose Enrique barged in from behind, giving away a second penalty, which in the absence of the substituted Elmander, who surely would loved to have bagged a hat-trick in light of his constant harassment, Davies tucked away superbly well.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Mancitti took the opportunity to oust <place w:st="on">Bolton</place> from, and barge back into, the VIP lounge of the Premiership by demolishing a pitiful Fulham at Craven Cottage. <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Former</placename> <placetype w:st="on">City</placetype></place> boss Mark Hughes must have found it galling that his normally composed and efficient team chose the return of his old side to turn in their worst performance of the season. Surely the watchword from the start would have been a pressing game to unsettle City’s big-hitters, but instead Fulham stood yards off of every player, allowing the likes of Tevez and Silva to run riot at their leisure. Within 6 minutes, Gareth Barry found Tevez, loitering on the edge of the ‘18’, with an unexceptional pass, but Carlos Salcido saw fit to make a ridiculous attempt to intercept through the bullish Argentinian, collapsing to leave Tevez spinning and finding the corner of Schwarzer’s net. The Australian goalkeeper earned his wages with a great low save from Kolorov, but just after the half-hour he was once again picking the ball from his net. Jo fed the ball wide to David Silva, whose cross saw a godawful clearance from Damien Duff turn into a lovely lay-off for Argentinian full-back Pablo Zabaleta to drive the ball in, via Duff’s heels. City then won the ball back from Fulham’s kick-off, and kept it for an unfeasibly long time unbothered, culminating in Carlos Tevez running at a static backline and laying a telegraphed ball wide to Yaya Toure, which nevertheless found Salcido on his heels and Toure finding the opposite corner of the net. Tevez almost added to his tally, but failed in a one-on-one with Schwarzer, before he extended the lead on 56 minutes; with a corner scramble leading to another lousy clearance, this time by ex-City man Dickson Etuhu, and once again finding that man Zabaleta, whose drilled shot was backheeled up and into the net by the poaching Tevez: a goal made in Argentina to no doubt delight Argentine legend/cheat/cokehead/angry man Diego Maradona in the stands. Fulham actually created a meaningful attack when Salcido found substitute Diomansy Kamara, whose low cross to Andy Johnson was met with a superb tackle from Vincent Kompany. City were clearly bored of toying with Fulham, and the Cottagers gave the score a shred of respectability with a consolation in the 69<sup>th</sup> minute, with yet another corner scramble finding Zoltan Gera, whose drive was deflected in most likely by Yaya’s brother Kolo.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">What can we say about <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place>’s pasting of West Ham? The Hammers have a stinking record at Anfield, but even accounting for that this performance had relegation written all over it. Roy Hodgson delighted the Anfield faithful by starting with 2 up front, even if one of those was the usually useless David N’Gog. The two strikers combined early on, with the Spaniard Torres firing narrowly wide, while a long-range Meireles effort was tipped over by Rob Green. On 17 minutes the paper-thin resistance was broken, when ex-Hammer Glen Johnson was quick to rattle the loose ball home from a corner. Ten minutes later the score was doubled, when Torres pressurised Danny Gabbidon into a handball, for a penalty which Dirk Kuyt converted straight down the middle, with Rob Green obligingly diving out of the way. Another ten minutes passed, and <place w:st="on">Liverpool</place> were three up. Jonathan Obinna calamitously lost possession just outside his own box, Maxi Rodriguez fed Torres, whose effort was saved, only for another ex-Hammer; Paul Konchesky, to deliver a quick cross for Rodriguez to glance home from point-blank range. The main highlight of a predictable second half was a spin and thunderous shot from Torres magnificently tipped onto the crossbar by Green, and when the loose ball was crossed to Poulsen, the Hammers stopper found his way to the opposite side of his net to tip the effort wide. Green then tipped a long-range Fabio Aurelio effort over, while the Hammers’ dismal resistance ended with an appalling headed sitter miss from Frederic Piquionne, after Barrera’s cross found him six yards out in the middle of goal.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">The two oranges lined up at Bloomfield Road, with the Tangerines of Blackpool; worst home record in the division, taking on the all-golds of Wolverhampton Wanderers; worst away record in the division. An interesting prelude to the match had come with Ian Holloway’s threat to resign in the wake of potential sanctions from the FA over his ten changes to the <place w:st="on">Blackpool</place> team against Aston Villa, while Mick McCarthy had already been stupidly fined for the same thing. Perhaps the big difference in the two cases was that Mick’s rhetoric was apologetically defeatist, whilst Ian Holloway believed his side could get a result, which they very nearly did. As ‘Ollie said: if the Premier League requires a 25-man squad to be named, then surely all of those players are then registered to be played any time the manager wishes. Unless the Premier League is in the pockets of the tabloid media, which wouldn’t be surprising. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Wolves, who had turned in a string of fine performances for very little reward, were stung yet again by an early goal, with <place w:st="on">Sheffield</place> Wednesday reject Luke Varney clobbering an audacious effort from the outside corner of the 18-yard box into Hahnemann’s top corner in just the third minute. Minutes later, Ian Evatt bounded forward unchecked and had his looping effort saved. Wolves showed very little attacking prowess, and were undone again just before half-time, when Varney once again made an impact, taking advantage of Hahnemann missing a David Vaughan corner by nodding the ball down, where Marlon Harewood was waiting four yards out to bundle the ball over the line. The second half saw a much better response from Wolves, with Matt Jarvis cutting across the box and unleashing a shot which Richard Kingson tipped onto the post. The Ghanian then pulled off a great reflex save from Ebanks-Blake, while a low cross later left Ebanks-Blake to tap into an open net, before Ian Evatt magnificently slid across his man to intercept off his toes. Prince William finally saw Wolves make inroads in the 86<sup>th</sup> minute, when muscular full-back Elokobi looped a cross into a packed penalty box, and Kevin Doyle ended his long drought by guiding a header into the net. DJ Campbell responded by attempting to lob Hahnemann from the halfway line, but as usual his shooting only troubled the ball-boys. With injury time ticking away, Kingson relieved the remaining pressure by taking no chances with a dangerous cross, tipping it over the bar.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">West Bromwich Albion’s poor run of form continued, as they were comfortably beaten by a confident Stoke team at the Hawthorns. <place w:st="on">Albion</place> greatly missed the influence of Chris Brunt, while Tony Pulis might have to stop with the officiating excuses for defeats, after his side received more penalties in this game than the whole of last season. As the only side who hadn’t conceded a header, you felt West Brom were up against it, against the team who love headers more than any other goal form, other than perhaps bundling the ball scrappily in on the goal-line while Robert Huth fouls the goalkeeper. Jermaine Pennant was injured early on, which didn’t bother Stoke in the end, especially as Tuncay; a far better player, came on. Youssouf Mulumbu sent a long-ranger narrowly over for the Baggies, while everyone missed a dangerous Giles Barnes cross. <place w:st="on">West Brom</place> seemed to have the better of the first half without being clinical, but in the 55<sup>th</sup> minute, Kenwyne Jones bought a penalty, after theatrically throwing himself over Scott Carson. Matthew Etherington found the absolute corner with his spot-kick. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><place w:st="on">West Brom</place> responded with some pressure of their own, but Tchoyi and Cech saw their efforts fail, and their spirit was killed with five minutes left, when Simon Cox barged Dean Whitehead over as he ran onto a Tuncay pass. This time it was the moustachioed Jonathan Walters who converted the penalty, and the same man got Stoke’s third in the last minute, after Kenwyne Jones had managed to backheel between three defenders giving him close attention on the touchline. Walters’ first effort was saved, but he rattled the rebound in for an impressive away victory.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">A pretty poor game at <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Ewood</placename> <placetype w:st="on">Park</placetype></place>, in a fixture which yields an average of four goals a time, but only two this. The new Indian owners of Blackburn were in town, and they saw Morten Gamst Pedersen continue his personal renaissance, as he scored a whipped free-kick that ex-Rover Brad Friedel failed miserably to palm out on the half-time whistle, and touched in a Ryan Nelsen drive after 65 minutes to make the game safe. In between, Stewart Downing and Ashley Young terrorised the Rovers’ backline, but Paul Robinson and the crossbar spared <place w:st="on">Blackburn</place>. 37 year old Premiership legend Robert Pires made a welcome return for Aston Villa, showing he still has the guile but no longer the legs. El-Hadji Diouf had a couple of excellent opportunities, but saw Richard Dunne make a superb tackle, and somehow nod a simple header over the crossbar, to leave the score at 2-0, as Gerard Houllier ponders how he can make his side more clinical, and not rely solely on pacy counter-attacks, but actually seizing the initiative sometimes.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Sunderland came close to building on their fabulous <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Stamford</placename> <placetype w:st="on">Bridge</placetype></place> win, but were denied late on by a deflected Arteta equaliser. Everton had taken the lead in the 5<sup>th</sup> minute, when Pienaar and Baines combined down the left, with Baines delivering for Cahill to do what he does best: plant a header into the net. <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place> lined up without the explosive Asamoah Gyan available, so it was the returning Darren Bent alongside Danny Wellbeck, and it was the youngster who this time seized the headlines, first equalising and then putting the Mackems ahead with a looping header. Lee Cattermole and later Michael Turner were forced into last-ditch clearances for <place w:st="on">Sunderland</place>, and both Wellbeck and Jermaine Beckford missed glaring opportunities at the end of the game, but in the end both managers admitted a draw was a decent result. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Until we meet again, keep it Premier.</div>TonguelessGhostofSinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143149419263795491noreply@blogger.com0