PremWatch 31st December 2008

Festive football fun and games from the Premier League:

Arsenal benefitted from a David James error, beating Portsmouth 1-0 at the Emirates with a late goal from recently relieved skipper William Gallas. Billy's goal ensured the Gunners took three points from what sounded a dreary match.

An incredible second half at Ewood Park saw Blackburn Rovers deservedly lead Manchester City 2-0. A great turn in the area by Jason Roberts set up Benni McCarthy in first half stoppage time, and Roberts looked to have sealed the deal with a precision header six minutes from time. But a nice volley from Daniel Sturridge gave City a sniff of a chance, and a calm finish from Robinho deep into injury time grabbed a point for Mark Hughes' men.

Amr Zaki scored another penalty for Wigan Athletic as they picked up a 1-0 win at the Reebok against Bolton Wanderers.

Everton continued their strikerless escapades with a 3-0 win at home to Sunderland in Ricky Sbragia's first game since his appointment as full time manager. Mikel Arteta grabbed a brace and the win was capped by a goal for teenager Dan Gosling.

Fulham went ahead in the West London derby, Clint Dempsey netting the first goal in their match with Chelsea. Two goals from Frank Lampard put Scolari's men ahead at Craven Cottage, but a second goal from Dempsey in the final minute meant the Blues had to settle for a disappointing point.

Liverpool took full advantage of Chelsea's slip, demolishing Newcastle United in the north east. Steven Gerrard scored two before being arrested and charged for assault and affray during his celebrations. Sami Hyypia, Ryan Babel and Xabi Alonso scored the others, with David Edgar scoring the Magpies' only reply.

West Bromwich Albion v Tottenham Hotspur looked to be edging closer to a goalless conclusion before Roman Bednar and Craig Beattie secured a 2-0 Baggies win. Benoit Assou-Ekotto had been dismissed in the first half for a stamp.

The funniest moment of Sunday came at Upton Park, where Abdoulaye Faye's opening goal wasn't enough to prevent Stoke City's 2-1 defeat to West Ham United. Carlton Cole levelled, and Ricardo Fuller was so disgusted with the contribution of Stoke skipper Andy Griffin that he confronted his captain and slapped him. Red card. West Ham's winner came courtesy of a late goal from Diego Tristan.

On Monday, a spirited Middlesbrough wasn't quite enough at Old Trafford. Dimitar Berbatov scored the winner for Manchester United in their 1-0 win, which kept them in touch with the top two.

Finally, Aston Villa travelled to Hull City last night and picked up a vital but fortunate win. Kamil Zayatte's own goal was the only strike, but Steve Bennett courted controversy by overturning his own decision to give a last minute penalty against Villa winger Ashley Young.

So there we are, 2008 is complete. Liverpool head the final league table of 2008, now three points clear of Chelsea in second. Manchester United are third with two games in hand and, like fourth placed Aston Villa, a seven point gap between them and top spot. Arsenal occupy the UEFA Cup spot in fifth.

The unenviable position of being bottom three at new year is held by West Bromwich Albion, Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City.

Happy New Year from twofootedtackle.

(Photos: BBC Sport)

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twofootedtackle Quick Hits 29th December 2008

Posts I've starred in Google Reader to remind me to share with you here.

• Video of Ricardo Fuller's red card for Stoke (Off The Post)
• Umbro ad videos (Dirty Tackle)
• Aston Villa can hold on to Ashley Young (Clubcall)
• Redknapp magic is wearing off (The Perfect Fifth)
• Southampton in serious trouble (Guardian.co.uk)

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PremWatch 27th December 2008

Ah, Boxing Day in the Premier League. 20 teams, 10 matches, one Gary Lineker and a whole lot of controversy. Here's the LD:

A goal from the returning Didier Drogba and a delightful gem from Frank Lampard secured a much-needed 2-0 home win for Chelsea against West Bromwich Albion. It was all tied up by half time.

Liverpool regained the briefly lost top spot by defeating Bolton Wanderers 3-0 at Anfield. Albert Riera poked in a Steven Gerrard corner and Robbie Keane added a quick-fire second half brace to bag the points. Rafael Benitez watched on from the stands following surgery to remove kidney stones.

Hull City manager Phil Brown sparked a whole bunch of intrigue by lecturing his players on the pitch halfway through their 5-1 defeat to Manchester City. Stephen Ireland played brilliantly as Felipe Caicedo and Robinho grabbed two first half goals each. Ireland added the fifth following Craig Fagan's consolation for Hull.

The pressure mounted on Gareth Southgate after Middlesbrough lost at home to Everton. Without a fit recognised striker, Tim Cahill took responsibility again, notching Everton's winner after the break.

Portsmouth manager Tony Adams could be in real danger of the sack. Nadir Belhadj put his side ahead at home to West Ham United, but the Hammers fought back to win 4-1. Ex-Hammer Jermain Defoe scuffed a penalty wide, while Jack Collison, Can't Control and Craig Bellamy (2) netted for Gianfranco Zola's men.

At the Britannia Stadium, Manchester United struggled to break down Stoke City. Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney were lucky to escape dismissals (Rooney especially) before Andy Wilkinson earned a second yellow for pole-axing Ronaldo. Carlos Tevez tapped in a late winner.

As far as I could tell, bugger all happened at the Stadium of Light between Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers or White Hart Lane between Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham.

No such peace at the JJB. Wigan Athletic beat Newcastle United 2-1, the goals coming from a Ryan Taylor free kick and a penalty from Amr Zaki. 10-man Newcastle, stripped off Sebastien Bassong for the foul which led to Wigan's penalty, scored one of their own through Danny Guthrie at the end.

The final game of the day was a cracker at Villa Park. I won't go into my views on Arsene Wenger's conduct during this one, that's been covered somewhere I can be partial. Aston Villa came back from 2-0 down to earn a fully deserved point against Arsenal. Denilson and Abou Diaby put Arsenal ahead against the run of play. Gareth Barry scored from the spot, and Zat Knight thrashed in an equaliser in stoppage time.

Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and Aston Villa occupy the top four Premier League places. Arsenal languish in fifth. At the bottom, West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers look in serious trouble. But a couple of wins for any of those would change things. What a season.

(Photos: BBC Sport)

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Phil Brown keeps Hull team out at half time

It's happened a few times before, but not for a while. Hull City manager Phil Brown was so disgusted with his side's performance in the first half at Eastlands that he marched the players across the pitch to deliver his half time team talk in front of the Hull fans.

At the time, Hull were 4-0 down to Manchester City, and had demonstrated some admirably terrible defensive skills in the process.

But was Brown right or wrong to react in this way?

I bet every obsessive football supporter in the country has had this debate already today, and I bet many were surprised that their friends/family/peers had differing views. I was definitely taken aback to discover that my father disagreed with me on this one.

That said, I am coming round to his point of view on reflection.

Initially, I was delighted with Brown's strategy. In my book, anything that brings Premier League footballer's down a notch is a breath of fresh air. It says "you know what, you ain't untouchable". That's a good thing.

I'd also argue that losing 4-0 at half time screams out for something different. And it doesn't get much more different than that.

But having given it some thought today, I think Brown might have made a mistake. The very fact that footballers need bringing down a notch suggests that many won't take too kindly to being humiliated in public. They're a precious, sensitive bunch.

What's more, Hull are in the middle of a remarkable season. Sure, 4-0 is bad, but has the amazing start by City not earned their players a little good grace? I'm not saying teacups shouldn't be lobbed around the dressing room, but has Tony Mowbray had West Bromwich Albion's players on the pitch at half time?

I think you get my point.

To my mind, Phil Brown's starting to believe his own hype, and he's not wearing it well. It's a shame, because he seems a top bloke and would appear to be a great manager in the making.

Worryingly for Hull supporters, it's possible that his players will see it the same way. If they do, their reaction will go one of two ways: either it'll fire them up and they'll turn Aston Villa over on Tuesday, or they'll sulk over their damaged pride and Villa will slaughter them.

I have absolutely no idea if any Hull fans read this blog, but if you do I'd love to know what you think of this little affair.

(Photo: BBC Sport)

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Quick-mas Hits 25th December 2008

Festive reading from twofootedtackle. Paul Fletcher's post on QPR is a particularly fascinating read.

• Who's that fine young lass? (Off the Post)
• 08/09 Premiership team goal statistics (The Best Eleven)
• Experiencing boutique football at QPR (BBC Sport)
• We got gifts! (Dirty Tackle)
• Wenger reacts to Poll 'revelation' (EPL Talk)

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Top 5: English football clubs with 'and' in the name

Any knowledge I didn't previously have probably came from Wikipedia (so don't blame me!).

1. Founded in the twin towns (now one city) of Brighton and Hove in 1901
   = Brighton & Hove Albion
   
   
2. Ilford plus Leytonstone equals Leytonstone/Ilford, plus Walthamstow Avenue equals Redbridge Forest, plus Dagenham (1991)
   = Dagenham & Redbridge
   
   
3. Rushden Town merged with Irthlingborough Diamonds in 1992
   = Rushden & Diamonds
   
   
4. Hampton Football Club changed its name to attract larger local support in 1999
   = Hampton & Richmond Borough
   
   
5. Hayes FC and Yeading FC merged in 2007 in order that both may survive rather than neither
   = Hayes & Yeading United

As a Christmas bonus, here's an interesting twofootedtackle fact: once you get past the relatively successful Seagulls, Daggers and Diamonds, the next three 'and' clubs are in the Conference South, the southern section of Level 6 in the football pyramid (and they all begin with 'H').

Havant & Waterlooville missed out on this list by virtue of league position.

Total number of 'and' clubs in Conference North, the northern section of Level 6 in the football pyramid: zero.

Knowledge is power (and the geek shall inherit the earth).

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John Terry assaults Leon Osman

Is this the man to lead the England national football team?

Really?

Nah, didn't think so.

(Photo: Daily Mail)

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A to Z of Football: A is for...

...Africa Cup of Nations

1957, the year my beloved Aston Villa last tasted FA Cup success, African football took a major developmental step with the first Africa Cup of Nations. Only Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia competed, but since 1968 the Confederation of African Football has held the African Nations every two years.

These days, the ACN consists of 16 teams playing an orthodox 4x4 group system, with two teams from each group entering the knock-out phases. The current holders are Egypt (also the Cup's first winners), who won on home soil in 2006 and retained the trophy, the tournament's third, earlier in 2008, pipping Cameroon thanks to a goal from the great Mohamed Aboutreika.

Aboutreika's goal gave Egypt their sixth ACN title, the most of any side.

With the Africa Cup of Nations finding its way on to digital television in Europe during the 2000s, the tournament has shifted in the supporter psyche from being a mid-season (ACN is played at an inconvenient time for many Premier League managers) to an exciting feature of every other football year.

The Africa Cup of Nations is a fantastic colourful festival of football. Despite murmurings that Egypt 2008 was the first tournament to be characterised by commercialism and profiteering, the competition retains an earthy authenticity which, from a UK perspective, attracts viewers from football's traditionalist brotherhood.

The African Nations is a fascinating exhibition of mind-blowing technique and swagger, and has a penchant for exciting games. My personal favourite ACN memory is sitting in my house in Walthamstow in February 2006 watching Cameroon and the Ivory Coast playing out a staggering 12-11 penalty shoot-out in Cairo.

Both teams went through their entire line-ups - successfully, and with amazing confidence and style - to make it 11-11, but Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o missed his second, allowing Didier Drogba to net the winner. Simply stunning.

The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations will be played in Angola.

...Away Days

Nothing in the life of a hardcore football supporter matches attendance at away matches.

The modern supporter may be a middle class fan watching his randomly-chosen team on SKY from an armchair, treating Andy Gray's total nonsense as gospel, but there remains a breed of supporter who gets off on atmosphere, camaraderie and being raucous.

You'll find those guys at away games, and I thoroughly recommend it.

In days gone by, away games were about football specials, getting lagered up and dodging hooligans.

But aways could be the one part of football where the negatives have been removed leaving the positives intact. It's mostly safe, always passionate and pretty funny, and rarely dull.

Away fans tend to stand for 90 minutes too, wherever over-zealous stewards keep their beaks out. West Ham United's stewards are great in this regard, Reading's not so much.

So if you like passionate support, a bit of a sing-along in a pub and standing up, get yourself to an away match. It's what football is all about.

...Argentina

In terms of footballing success, passion, style and tradition, few nations can match Argentina.

Argentina have two World Cups under their belt, winning football's highest honour in 1978 and 1986, and lost the final in 1990 to West Germany.

Locally, Argentina have dominated the Copa America with 14 titles, a record matched only by Uruguay, and 12 losing finals. That's some going.

Argentina has come to be seen as a hotbed of football talent, largely thanks to a steady stream of world class exports to Europe. I'm too young to remember Alfredo di Stefano, but because I'm the kind of sad act to learn about football from history, I'm a huge worshipper of Diego Maradona.

I'm also honoured to have watched matches involving stunning players like Claudio Caniggia, Hernan Crespo, Juan Roman Riquelme and, of course, Gabriel Batistuta.

Since Maradona's wonderful career, the world has been looking for the 'next Maradona'. The nearest thing currently is Lionel Messi of Barcelona, with Ezequiel Lavezzi's performances at Napoli, where Maradoo is still idolised, drawing the inevitable comparisons.

Batistuta is Argentina's top goalscorer with 56 goals from 78 caps, and Javier Zanetti of Inter Milan is the nation's top man in terms of caps, with 125.

There's so much to be said about Argentinian football, but suffice to say the country is unique in its outlook on the game - fizzing with passion, stylish and a little bit nuts.

...Assistant Referees

Also known as totally incompetent little bastards, the importance of the assistant referee (linesman) is often overlooked in the clamour to criticise referees.

The responsibilities of the linesman range from being a line judge to flagging for offside decisions and other infringements, but their inability to get decisions correct is a major contributor to the poor quality of refereeing, particularly in English football.

Phil Sharp, the linesman famously struck by a coin from Aston Villa's Trinity Road Stand, is surely the worst of a bad kind, suspiciously missing a disturbingly obvious penalty decision during his next visit to Villa Park.

Don't forget - the twofootedtackle A to Z of Football is a weekly feature, and your contributions would be welcome and appreciated. If you'd like a football term discussed, feel free to leave a comment and I'll look into it.

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Quick Hits 22nd December 2008

Stuff.

• All is not well at Arsenal (Le Grove)
  
• Why Fuc Kinnear brought on Damien Duff (NUFC Blog)
• West Brom v Man City match report (Baggies Blog)
• Wenger on boardroom mess at Emirates (Run of Play)
• Feyenoord kid on his way to Villa (Aston Villa Blog)

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Football Twilights #4

Comment on the weekend's football action, courtesy of the good people on the twofootedtackle Twitter stream.

What was your highlight?

@royalbluestuey The truly appalling shirt/shorts combo liverpool were wearing yesterday.

@cmrlee Arsene Wenger looking increasingly like a man past his best as he deludedly defends his players against blatant yellows.

@choochdubai Van Persie's little moment of utter magic.

@redduffman Nick Carle's last minute equaliser to cancel out the dodgiest of penalties against Sheffield United.

@kerrymg I'd say Bristol scraping a drawer against Worcester, complete underdog of the Premiership that badly need points.

Hang on a second... ?

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Bloggers: help needed

Sorry for the brief off topic, but twofootedtackle has a bigger readership than I can reach elsewhere, including a few bloggers (that I know of).

We're working on a project at work and we're running a short survey of bloggers.

If you have a blog and five minutes, it would be great if you could drop by and complete the survey.

Appreciate it!

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PremWatch 22nd December 2008

The final Premier League weekend before Christmas saw the top and bottom of the table tighten up a notch. Boxing Day should be pretty exciting. Here's what went down.

Sam Allardyce made his return to the Premier League at Ewood Park on Saturday. His Blackburn Rovers side easily took care of Stoke City, picking up a 3-0 win. Benni McCarthy benefited from Ibrahima Sonko's millionth penalty conceding tackle, scoring from the spot. He set up Jason Roberts and then grabbed the third for himself to seal the points in the first 27 minutes.

Bolton Wanderers were even faster, disposing of Portsmouth in just 2 minutes and 46 seconds. Former Pompey man Matty Taylor struck first, followed by Ricardo Gardner. Peter Crouch pulled one back for Portsmouth.

Ineptitude reigned for Middlesbrough at Craven Cottage. Julio Arca should have seen red for a horror tackle on Andrew Johnson before Fulham scored through Jimmy Bullard. Danny Murphy squeezed in a penalty following a blatant hand by Tony McMahon, and Clint Dempsey signed off the scoring.

Steed Malbranque put in a cracking performance to help Sunderland to Ricky Sbragia's second win on the spin against Hull City. Malbranque thumped in the opener, which Nicky Barmby equalised for Hull. Kamil Zayatte scored an own goal, either side of which Sam Ricketts put in two nasty tackles (both of which should have earned red individually, thuggish in the extreme) to get himself sent off. Kenwyne Jones and Djibril Cisse finished the job.

In the late kick off, Aston Villa mugged West Ham United. Carlton Cole's awful finishing cost the Hammers when James Milner's cross deflected off Lucas Neill over goalkeeper Robert Green.

On Sunday, Luke Moore kicked off a late flurry of goals at the Hawthorns. He put West Bromwich Albion ahead before Manchester City equalised through a combination of Felipe Caicedo and Scott Carson, who fumbled Caicedo's backheel over the line. Clown. Roman Bednar put the stoppage time winner in off the back of his head.

There was similar drama at Newcastle United, where Charles N'Zogbia converted a long hoof from Shay Given to put the Magpies ahead of Tottenham Hotspur. Luka Modric watched the line brilliantly to spring the offside trap and level matters, but Damien Duff scored a neat late winner after a one-two with Mark Viduka.

In Sunday's late kick off, Arsenal had Emmanuel Adebayor sent off against Liverpool. Robin Van Persie and Robbie Keane scored incredible goals to finalise the 1-1 scoreline, before Adebayor embarked upon what will no doubt be a season-long moaning campaign. Perhaps he should stop committing fouls.

All of which means that, pending tonight's game, Everton v Chelsea, Liverpool top the Premier League by two points from Chelsea, with Aston Villa third and Manchester United (with two games in hand) fourth. Arsenal occupy the UEFA Cup spot.

At the bottom, Blackburn and West Brom's wins makes things very interesting. The two sides remain in the bottom two, with Manchester City joining them in the drop zone, but it's all getting rather close down there. Sunderland in 13th are only three points above City.

(Photos: BBC Sport)

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Perry Groves' logic: EPIC FAIL!

See that tiny dot over there on the horizon? That's the point. And that shining beacon way off left, that you can only see if you squint? That's the sun bouncing joyfully off the head of Arsenal legend Perry Groves as he misses the point.

Disclaimer: I have not seen Emmanuel Adebayor's red card for Arsenal against Liverpool. But it is irrelevant to Groves' epic struggle for sense.

On Sky Sports News following Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool this afternoon, pundits Groves and Dean Saunders were having a bit of a chinwag with whichever plastic-faced chisel-jawed public schoolboy was working this afternoon about Adebayor's sending off, the result of a second yellow card for the Togolese striker from Groves' head-twin Howard Webb.

Both men disagreed with the red - I'm sure when I see it, I'll disagree with them both. We all know how much SKY loves the 'big four'. But that's not the point. Groves said something along these lines:

"It's 50, 60, 70 pounds to go to a football match these days, and you want to see big players influence games. So I don't think Howard Webb should have sent Adebayor off."

I'm paraphrasing slightly, probably, but you get the point. Naturally, as Gary Andrews pointed out to me on Twitter, by that logic Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo would never be booked. Should've thought about what you were saying, Perry. FAIL.

(Photo: BBC Sport)

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SPL managers lead the way in not improving refereeing

Refereeing is bad. That's a fact, to my mind. Given the ridiculous decisions we see week in, week out, I strongly recommend you see fit to agree.

Of course I'm talking about Premier League referees here - they face a lot of criticism. Sir Alex Ferguson is a fine critic of the officials ruining our sport, and I'm fairly prolific too.

It's hardly an exclusive club.

I believe that in most cases, it's not actually their fault. They're badly trained and badly advised, and they're protected when they shouldn't be - and hung out to dry when protection would be more appropriate. Of course Mike Riley, Mark Halsey and Chris Foy could be classed as cheats, and should be removed from football.

Sympathy goes out of the window when they - or the game on their behalf - ask for something for nothing. The Respect campaign is farcical for that very reason. We should be arming our referees with the tools to earn respect, not demand it for them out of nothing. All that does is foster resentment.

I was disappointed to learn that Scottish managers are willing to give their officials something for nothing.

Their voluntary vow of silence means that they will no longer criticise referees in post match interviews. Or, as this blogger would put it, Scottish managers have vowed to let shocking refereeing continue.

I appreciate that the managers' gesture is well intended, but football has a real problem here and we continue to tackle it in inappropriate ways. Silence is not the answer. The answer is proper training, protection and accountability for referees, and for the clowns that soil their name - Halsey, in particular - to be sacked.

Perhaps a little humility would go a long way too. Well, a fan can dream.

(Photos: TMC Entertainment, 4TheGame)

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A tale of two sponsorships, with Carling and Barclays

It's been an interesting few days for the world of football super-sponsorship, with Carling renewing their support for the Football League Cup and Barclays telling Marketing Week that their sponsorship of the Premier League is under review.

I got an email from Carling (under embargo, which I honoured - sorry Mike Arrington) letting me know that the company has agreed a three-year sponsorship extension with the Football League for the League Cup. I think that's pretty good news.

Here's what Football League chairman Lord Mawhinney had to say:

"This is excellent news and a further boost to a competition that is currently in its best shape for many seasons. The Carling Cup remains a highly-coveted piece of silverware and an important source of finance for clubs at every level of the professional game. This significant increase will enhance further the Cup’s reputation. Considering the prevailing economic climate, it is extremely heartening to have the continued support of a widely respected brand like Carling. Together, we will look to continue the progress made by this competition in recent seasons."

Personally, I really like the Carling Cup. As an Aston Villa supporter, I have a natural affinity with it. It was the prize for my two successful Wembley finals and those are memories I'll die with.

Carling's sponsorship will keep the Cup in good shape for a few more years, but the big clubs will likely do it tremendous damage. I'm sure if you ask a Burnley fan (or a Spurs fan for that matter), they'll tell you they love this tournament.

But for me, the Carling Cup should not be a second citizen. So well done to Carling for its continued support.

No such luck for the Premier League, Richard Scudamore's money-driven monster.

With Barclays cacking it over the credit crunch like every other bank, it's been forced to conduct a review of all its sponsorship deals in 2009. The bank is in the second season of a £66m three-year deal with the League.

Says The Guardian's Owen Gibson:

"The Premier League is not expected to begin discussions about renewing the sponsorship deal until the second half of next year, following the conclusion of its domestic and overseas TV rights deals"

Far be it from this humble blogger to predict the future, but I think that could be an interesting conversation.

Anywho...what do you think of the Carling Cup? Should changes be made to preserve its importance?

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Quick Hits 18th December 2008

Here's what's been read-worthy over the past few days.

• Tactical genius Jonathan Wilson looks at formations (Guardian.co.uk)
• Reno Gattuso is hard. Fact. (Dirty Tackle)
• Welcome to Naming Rights Lane (Off The Post)
• Shedding light on the Apertura triangular (Argentina Offside)
• "English women don't wash their genitals" (Napoli Offside)

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Top 5: pundits who are/were better than you'd expect

1. Alan McInally

2. Carlton Palmer

3. Martin Keown

4. Leonardo

5. Stan Collymore

(Photos: Sky Sports, BBC Sport, Times Online)

Disclaimer: I make no apologies for the large number Aston Villa connections. The list is genuinely based on punditry, insight, and not being Mark f*cking Bright.

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A to Z of Football: Introduction

I'm delighted to introduce the twofootedtackle A to Z of Football.

Over the next 26 weeks (Jesus) I'll be working my way through every letter of the alphabet, providing a wee snippet of information and unnecessary bloggy rhetoric on a few salient footballisms beginning with that self same letter.

I've developed a skeleton list of terms to cover, but in the interests of "being social" and because I'm well aware that I'm just some boring fart behind a computer, I want you to let me know in advance if you'd be interested in reading about a particular football...thing.

My research is at your whim. Enjoy.

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Quick Hits 15th December 2008

Bits and pieces that have kept me entertained recently.

• Ibrahimovic scores another ludicrously good goal (Inter Fan Club)
• Manchester United touch down in Japan (Man Utd Brunei)
• Owen still in Capello's thoughts (Unsung Heroes)
• Real Madrid want Ashley Young. Hope they have £50m (Football News Blog)
• Inter don't want Drogba (Football Italia)

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PremWatch 15th December 2008

This weekend's Premier League football saw the big boys struggle, and two little boys at Aston Villa come of age.

The early kick off on Saturday was at the Riverside, where Emmanuel Adebayor's simple header wasn't enough for Arsenal against Middlesbrough. Jeremie Aliadiere soon had Boro level and the game finished at 1-1.

Gabriel Agbonlahor netted twice at Villa Park and put in a breath-taking performance alongside Ashley Young as Aston Villa beat Bolton Wanderers 4-2. Johan Elmander's neat flick put Bolton ahead, but Agbonlahor's brace, an own goal from Kevin Davies and a killer goal from Young made it four. Davies grabbed a late consolation for Bolton.

Paul McShane put Hull City ahead at Anfield before Jamie Carragher's hilarious own goal doubled City's lead. Steven Gerrard scored twice for Liverpool to equalise. Hull defender Michael Turner was fouled before both goals.

Everton grabbed a winner at the death against Manchester City. Tim Cahill headed in to give the Toffees the win, and Everton managed not to concede an even later goal this time.

Stoke City played out a dire 0-0 draw with Fulham at the Britannia. The only thing that happened was Fulham defender John Pantsil's (or whatever his real name is) disgraceful play-acting after Ricardo Fuller didn't headbutt him. A lengthy ban coming his way, hopefully.

Tony Mowbray would be wise to give up on avoiding relegation this season. His West Bromwich Albion side helped lift the post-Keane gloom at Sunderland by getting dicked 4-0. Kenwyne Jones scored the first pair, before porky Andy Reid and Djibril Cisse finalised the win.

Emile Heskey, Antonio Valencia and Lee Cattermole probably earned Blackburn Rovers boss Paul Ince the sack with the goals that downed his side at Wigan Athletic.

In the late game, Tottenham Hotspur held Manchester United to a 0-0 draw at White Hart Lane. Returning sulker Dimitar Berbatov was roundly jeered throughout.

On Sunday, Newcastle United battered Portsmouth, picking up a 3-0 win at Fratton Park. Michael Owen opened the scoring shortly after the break, and late goals from Obafemi Martins and Danny Guthrie sealed it for the Magpies.

Craig Bellamy put West Ham United in the lead as Chelsea dropped yet more points at Stamford Bridge, completing a miserable weekend for the so-called big four. Nicolas Anelka's equaliser made sure it wasn't even worse for the Blues.

The failure of Arsenal to win means that while Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United are non-movers, Aston Villa jump to fourth - with the Gunners visiting Villa Park on Boxing Day. Arsenal are fifth ahead of Hull. At the bottom, West Bromwich Albion look dead and buried, with Blackburn not far behind. Sunderland occupy the increasingly fluid 18th spot.

(Photos: BBC Sport)

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Argentina's Apertura race to be settled by mini-league

Following my post about the Argentina Primera Division title race heading into a fascinating final day, it's only right to keep you up to date.

Boca Juniors, Tigre and San Lorenzo all won, rendering Lanus' late victory over San Martin irrelevant and putting the trio into a three-way mini-league for the title.

San Lorenzo and Tigre kick proceedings off on Wednesday, with Boca facing San Lorenzo on Saturday and Tigre next Tuesday.

It's a simple equation: win twice, take the prize. It's all very exciting.

Come on Boca!

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Rochdale's burning bins

Good old-fashioned football, eh?

Apparently it's a bit cold up in Rochdale at the moment, and the Spotland pitch is a touch frozen.

With Dale set to face AFC Bournemouth in League Two action this weekend, the club is facing a race against time to avoid a postponement.

The solution? Rochdale have strategically placed a bunch of old oil drums around the pitch and set fire to them.

The Bournemouth Echo takes up the story:

"Premier League referee Lee Mason has carried out a precautionary inspection of the Spotland playing surface ahead of Saturday's scheduled Coca Cola League 2 game. Mason was encouraged by the condition of most of the pitch and could see the improvements brought about by the burning bins. The temperatures are set to rise over night."

Warms yer cockles, doesn't it?

(Photo: Bournemouth Echo)

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Argentinian title heading for dramatic conclusion

If, as London's free Sport magazine is to be believed, the biggest game in the Premier League this weekend is Chelsea v West Ham United. In Spain, Real Madrid face Barcelona, and Juventus play AC Milan in Serie A.

But undoubtedly the most exciting footballing location of the weekend is Argentina, where no fewer than four teams go into Sunday's Apertura finale with title ambitions intact.

Following Boca Juniors' slip against Gimnasia la Plata last weekend, Carlos Ischia's men sit in third spot. They're level on points with leaders San Lorenzo and Tigre.

Lanus, in fourth, are a mere two points behind.

Given that the teams don't play one another, a four-way tie for the title is possible.

But here's the most exciting part, courtesy of FourFourTwo's Brian Homewood:

"Goal difference is not used to decide the champions, meaning that a three-way, or even four-way, tie is possible. Should two teams finish level, a straightforward playoff will be held, but if three or four teams finish level, a mini-league will be played."

Pretty gripping, no? A four-way tie is unlikely, as it would require a Lanus win and Boca, Tigre and San Lorenzo to all draw. But a two- or three-way tie is a distinct possibility.

Fortunately Intriguingly, Boca Juniors hold a definite advantage, playing Colon in front of a surely mental Bombonera crowd.

Boca's Juan Roman Riquelme's certainly up for it:

""I'm playing on Sunday, no matter what aches I have. There's no f*cking way I'm missing this match. Today I practiced along with the rest of the squad and I expect to be ready for Sunday. I'm really happy."

Either way, it's sure to be a right old humdinger of an afternoon.

(Photo: Culture of Soccer)

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Quick Hits 11th December 2008

Plenty going on today. Here's some stuff I've read (and, in one case, will have to read properly later - wow, Mike!)

• Mike Baptiste discusses promotion/relegation for kids (On The Pitch)
• Wayne Rooney being a thug (Unprofessional Foul)
• Argentina title race going to the wire (Argie Bargy)
• Nice summary of Peruvian FA 'situation' (Arxman Sports)
• Marlon King in a touch of trouble (BBC Sport)

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10-yard spray gets Argentina go-ahead

Those pesky defensive walls. There you are, standing over a vital free kick, and there's a line of opponents holding their lovebags a mere seven yards away. "Ten yards, ref!"

Fear not, though, free kick demons, for Argentine amateur footballer Pablo Silva has invented free kick spray, a solution (ho ho) to the evils of the creeping wall.

Silva's fix is a simple one: a spray which the referee uses to mark a line on the pitch (at 10 yards, natch) to ensure that the wall does not encroach.

After 30 seconds, it disappears - thus preventing the pitch ending up looking like the aftermath of a Blue Man Group show after Cristiano Ronaldo and Steven Gerrard have spent an afternoon diving all over it.

After several trials, Silva Spray has been given the green light for use in Argentina's top flight from 2009.

Be interesting to see if this one makes it into Europe, and whether Premier League "referee" Chris Foy uses it as a CS-spray substitute against defenders complaining over his latest Ronaldo-friendly decision.

(Photo: Global B2B)

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Hampshire Constabulary and the great Spurs witch hunt

On September 28th, Portsmouth's Sol Campbell was subjected to abuse from Tottenham Hotspur supporters during Pompey's home game with the London club.

Campbell was Spurs captain until July 2001, when he defected to Tottenham's bitter rivals, Arsenal. For nothing.

Let's begin by saying that the abuse is said to have been:

• Racist
• Homophobic
• Mocking Campbell's seemingly fragile mental state

Having read the 'song' in question, it is beyond dispute that Campbell's health is the central theme - but racist and homophobic? Maybe. But it could just as easily be noted that 'hanging from a tree' was the chosen method of death for one Judas Iscariot. I'm sure you can work out the link.

For my money, the kind of lobotomised gibbon that sings songs at football about HIV is unlikely to be aware that Judas wound up hanged or the racial implications of hanging. They're just idiots.

At this point, I'd like to make this clear: the abused meted out to Sol Campbell was entirely unacceptable.

But Spurs fans have reportedly been singing this song for years (not that that makes it right). So why is it now suddenly punishable?

Surely nothing to do with Harry Redknapp gobbing off about it, bitching, moaning and slagging off supporters as usual?

Suddenly, everyone's favourite evil Wockney Canker found it not to his liking (and given his crusade to become the Moral Guardian of Football - despite his own behaviour being generally pretty shabby - who could be surprised?) and the media picked it up and ran with it. Hampshire Constabulary followed suit.

Should we really be only acting on bad behaviour when it upsets that scumbag?

You'll have picked up by now that I'm slightly uneasy about how this is being handled. Again, please remember that the idiots who abused Sol Campbell have no place in football in my opinion.

Why pick on 16? If there's a reason, disclose it. Far be it from me to suggest a few fans have been conveniently selected for arrest, but from two arrests so far, Hampshire OB have already had one bloke hand himself in.

He's from Ringwood. For those who didn't grow up in the Bournemouth area, Ringwood is in...Hampshire. That's one down then, without too much fuzz fuss.

Prevention is better than cure. Abuse of this nature is not acceptable, but the idea that you can pinpoint 16 in a crowd of hundreds is still laughable to me, I'm afraid. One day, maybe.

Don't get me wrong, I don't know the solution to this problem - but I don't think this is it.

Still, I await Redknapp's condemnation of the Spurs arrested with interest...

(Photo: BBC Sport)

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Is Tony Adams one of football's good guys?

Watching one of Tony Adams' post-match interviews over the weekend, something weird struck me: I actually quite like him.

I'm not sure why this surprised me. It's probably because I was no fan of Arsenal when I was a kid, because I hated playing against no-nonsense centre backs or just because the poor bloke gets a ridiculous amount of stick.

We all know Adams was a superb player for Arsenal and England, evidenced by the 'Boring, Boring Arsenal' of the late 80s and early 90s (come to think of it, that probably didn't help his popularity). A drink-driving conviction in May 1990 undoubtedly counted against him, as did his alcohol addiction and Arsenal's alleged booze culture during Adams reign as the club's top dog.

But problems come and go, and forgiveness - as Joey Barton will never learn - is forthcoming for people who make the effort to turn their lives around and, preferably, help others too.

In a football world full of cheating, diving, tapping up by Rafael Benitez, greed and spite, Tony Adams' appointment at Portsmouth has been a breath of fresh air in the bullshit-smog of the Premier League.

As I've hinted already, the trigger for this post was how gracious Adams seems to be as a manager, both in defeat and victory.

Since he replaced magical disappearing quitter Harry Redknapp on the Pompey bench, I cannot remember Adams moaning about any rough treatment of his flair players, about refereeing or about his opponents or supporters.

He always seems - even after last-gasp heartbreak against AC Milan and a last-ditch victory against Blackburn Rovers - to be cool and calm, providing a measured response to questions which would see other bosses launch the kind of offensive, whining diatribe mastered by Alex Ferguson and Benitez.

Adams also seems to have a certain level of humility, another trait sadly lacking in football today.

Following a failed attempt at management at Wycombe Wanderers (though I've heard tell that Adams was given too little time and had to spend more time dealing with financial issues than on the training pitch), he was more than happy to take a trainee coaching role at Feyenoord in the Netherlands and, subsequently, accept an offer to become Redknapp's assistant at Fratton Park.

Can you imagine Roy Keane or Paul Ince taking an assistant manager's job?

Adams has also undertaken a League Managers Association course which basically equates to football business studies, and had previously begun a sports science course before joining Wycombe. This suggests to me that Tony Adams is aware that he doesn't know it all, and is willing to learn. That, for such a brilliant player, is pretty damn humble.

He has also shown great loyalty during his career, most notably, of course, to Arsenal. I admit to having no idea what offers may or may not have come in for Adams during his playing career, but he repaid the faith shown in him throughout his problems.

On the subject of those problems, Tony Adams set up the Sporting Chance clinic in 2000. The charity helps sportspeople tackle addiction, from alcohol and drugs, through painkillers, to gambling. Its most recent notorious patient was Joey Barton, and you'd have to have a heart of gold to help that little shit.

It's great to see that Adams has turned his problems around and is willing to help others - shame I think he's more a coach than a manager, but hey ho.

Who are football's other good 'uns?

(Photos: BBC Sport (1&3), Sky Sports)

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Quick Hits 10th December 2008

Stuff I've been (RSS) fed this morning.

• Five alternative candidates for Sunderland job (Off The Post)
  
• Player fund falls foul of Premier League rules (Guardian.co.uk)
• Financial worries for Stafford Rangers (twohundredpercent)
• Ronaldo (fat one) to join Corinthians (The Independent)
• Vasco fan talked down after relegation (Dirty Tackle)

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FA Cup 3rd Round live on ITV

Despite the sentiments of a few idiotic Leeds fans, ITV has supported The FA Cup brilliantly this season - right from the very beginning.

Now, it's time for ITV to get the benefits of the Premier League and Championship clubs entering the competition, and they've announced their selected third round games.

The first weekend of January sees Preston North End take on Liverpool on Saturday 3rd, and Aston Villa face Gillingham or Stockport County on Sunday 4th.

The Sunday game will be broadcast on ITV.com too, and will be followed by live coverage of the fourth round draw.

(Photo Credit: QPR)

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What I'd want for Christmas if I played on grass

Dear Santa Claus...

That's a sexy boot, no? My football career died a bit of a death when I was 16 and discovered that hangovers were more fun when you had them in bed and not on a football pitch.

Being a bit of a flair player (go on, laugh it up), I opted for wearing a pair of skaggy old boots which had been worn by Paolo Maldini (seriously) more often than not.

These days, my only football is a weekly astroturf outing with a lad from work, a few media types and assorted celebrities.

But if I were out there on grass banging in 29 goals in 26 games these days, I'd be begging for these bad boys when jolly old Saint Nick flies his sleigh over Tooting this Christmas.

The good people at Adidas sent this over and I rather like the idea (and the look). It's the Adidas F50.9 TUNiT boot, a customisable yellow and black number - no pink nonsense here - which allows players to adapt their gear to conditions and playing style.

According to the press release:

"The F50 is the boot of choice for flair players up and down the country and is lighter, stronger and more durable than earlier versions. These customised boots help players feel confident when expressing themselves on the pitch, but more importantly, to ‘skin’ the defender in front of them."

If we assume the defender in question is Joleon Lescott, that brings us nicely on to the real reason I love this boot: Ashley Young wears it. If it's good enough for Ash, it's good enough for me.

Adidas has also launched its new Predators, PowerSwerve. They look pretty cool too.

If the Adidas people are reading, don't forget to let me know if/when these come out in astroturf version. I'd love to have a go, but I'll be buggered if I'm getting muddy at my age.

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PremWatch 8th December 2008

This weekend, the goals returned to the Premier League. Welcome home, goals.

Saturday saw Arsenal follow their win over Chelsea with victory at home to Wigan Athletic. Emmanuel Adebayor grabbed an early winner for the Gunners and Wigan couldn't find an answer.

Liverpool continued their assault on the title with a comfortable looking win over Blackburn Rovers. Xabi Alonso and Yossi Benayoun put Liverpool ahead at Ewood Park, but Roque Santa Cruz pulled one back for Rovers. Steven Gerrard sealed the win deep into injury time.

Nicolas Anelka and Deco (with an impressive athletic effort) kept Chelsea in touch with the top, securing a 2-0 away win at Bolton Wanderers.

A rare Manchester City goal for Benjani put Mark Hughes' men ahead at Craven Cottage, but the wonderful Jimmy Bullard levelled to earn Fulham a point.

Tuncay put Middlesbrough ahead late on at the KC Stadium, but Hull City staged a miraculous comeback. An own goal from goalkeeper Ross Turnbull provided Hull's equaliser before Marlon King won it from the spot with five on the clock. David Wheater was sent off in conceding the penalty.

Managerless Sunderland held out for 91 minutes at Old Trafford, but Nemanja Vidic finally broke their resistance with a tap-in from Michael Carrick's shot, giving Manchester United a 1-0 win.

Newcastle United provided the weekend's hilarity as always. Michael Owen put the Magpies 2-0 up at the Delusiondrome, but Stoke City fought back to grab a draw, their goals coming courtesy of Mamady Sidibe and Abdoulaye Faye.

On Sunday, Jonathan Greening tapped in after a Chris Brunt free kick cannoned off the crossbar to put West Bromwich Albion ahead against Portsmouth. A deflected effort from gangly person Peter Crouch nicked a point for Tony Adams' men.

Everton went from ecstasy to despair in an amazing period of injury time at Goodison Park. Steve Sidwell thundered Aston Villa ahead before Joleon Lescott levelled. Ashley Young converted a soft backpass gift from Phil Jagielka to put Villa back ahead. Everton finally equalised in stoppage time with a nice volley from Lescott, but Young fired in his second shortly afterwards to seal all three points for Villa.

With West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur facing off tonight, here's how the table looks. Liverpool are top from Chelsea, with Manchester United and Arsenal occupying the other two Champions League slots. Aston Villa are fifth. West Bromwich Albion, Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers are starting to look like real contenders for the drop, but Spurs need to beat the Hammers to pull away from the drop zone.

(Photo Credits: BBC Sport)

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Life & Times: Marco Materazzi

Life & Times is a regular feature detailing the careers and stories of ex-Premier League stars. In the fourth post of the series, I look at a man who could be considered more infamous than famous. But he's been incredibly successful in his career, and I'd almost guarantee that he'd argue that notoriety was a small price to pay.

Rewind to July 2006. From my seat in a balmy villa in Coin, Spain, I watch Zinedine Zidane, one of the greatest players of his generation, play out the kind of World Cup final appearance you simply couldn't have made up.

The France captain opened the scoring against Italy with an audacious penalty. The retiring Zidane then engaged in the final act of his career: headbutting the chest of an Italian taunter in extra time and sloping off past the World Cup itself into the tunnel, never to be seen playing professional football again.

Alongside that story, of course, was unfolding the latest chapter in the controversial career of Marco Materazzi. It was the man known as Matrix who equalised Zidane's opener with a towering header, and he was the player who taunted Zizou into ending his career in disgrace.

Materazzi began his career with the amateur side Tor di Quinto before progressing to Serie C2 with Marsala and C1 with Trapani - a year-on-year progression during the mid-1990s for a prodigious defensive talent.

Perugia picked up Matrix while they were in Serie B, and he played for a while before being loaned out to Serie C outfit Carpi.

There, Materazzi put in a staggering run of goalscoring performances for a central defender, netting seven times in just 18 appearances.

With a few more Perugia appearances under his belt, Materazzi was eventually sold in 1998 - he wanted to try his luck in England.

Discipline has always been front-of-mind for football folk when considering Marco Materazzi's career and habits. It came into sharp focus for English supporters when, during just 27 league appearances for Everton, Materazzi was sent off four times.

Sold back to Perugia after that one season, was Materazzi a flop at Everton? At least one fan doesn't think so. Kevin Kendall makes an interesting case - Materazzi might have been better learning his trade from Dave Watson and Richard Gough? I doubt it.

After a second period of around 50 Perugia appearances, 2001 brought Matrix his big break: Internazionale signed him and helped turn him into a world-beater. Seven years later, he's still there and he's as controversial as ever.

He's picked up plenty of red cards including, amazingly, a dismissal having already been substituted in the Milan derby this season.

But he also has a World Cup to his name, along with three Scudetti (one thanks to Calciopoli), two Coppa Italia and three Supercoppa Italiana. He's also been paid damages over claims made with regards to the Zidane incident. Not bad going for a bad lad from Lecce.

Marco Materazzi has a reputation for being thuggish and, occasionally, clumsy. But he's a top-quality centre-half. He wouldn't be at such a huge club otherwise.

What do you think of Matrix the man and Matrix the player?

(Photo Credits: Sporting Life, Everton FC, BBC Sport)

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Ronaldo: champion, cheat and Ballon d'Or

Right from the off, I'll give you my stance on Manchester United and Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo. He's a very special talent, but he's a nasty piece of work.

As you've probably heard by now, Ronaldo is officially the best player in European football, having been handed - as expected - the Ballon d'Or, France Football's award for the European Player of the Year.

He is the first Portuguese winner since Luis Figo in 2000, the first Premier League player since Michael Owen and, amazingly, the first Manchester United player since George Best (so I hear). Methinks one David Beckham was unfairly overlooked.

Last season, we saw the very best from the unique talent. His amazing goal record, breathtaking strikes and skill almost beyond comprehension briefly took precedence over the cheating, diving and moaning we'd seen from Ronaldo in previous seasons.

But after his pathetic flirting with Real Madrid this summer, Cristiano Ronaldo has returned to the Ronaldo of old: a cheating prima-donna with no respect for fellow professionals, fans and officials, and absolutely no charm or class whatsoever.

At Villa Park on 22nd November, Ronaldo faced what the Manchester Evening News impartially called "tough tackling treatment", but was in reality a masterclass in petulance from the scumbag winger.

He threw himself around Villa Park and was given numerous ridiculous free kicks by United twelfth man Chris Foy, was tackled cleanly but firmly a few times and then got injured by pulling out of a blatant attempted two-footed tackle on Villa midfielder Stiliyan Petrov. Tough treatment? Only for a massive greasy jumped-up pansy like Ronaldo.

He then gets slagged off by the fans, reacts, and the fans are the ones that get criticised. Football is all kinds of wrong.

After more moaning from Sir Alex Ferguson about Ronaldo's 'treatment' in Spain - despite Villarreal defender Joan Capdevila being wrongly sent off for getting too close to him - the winger's controversial week came to a head in Sunday's Manchester derby.

Ronaldo picked up a second yellow card for inexplicably handling the ball in the Manchester City penalty area, and all hell broke loose.

Of course, Ronaldo shouldn't have been on the pitch by that stage, having sarcastically applauded "referee" Howard Webb's decision to give him his first booking. But to handle the ball in such a manner is probably the most retarded thing Ronaldo will do all season.

As expected, United have been on the charm offensive ever since. Ronaldo has pretended he heard a whistle, and came racing to Micah Richards' aid when the City man "yelled". From The Guardian:

"[Wayne] Rooney knocked in a corner, I jumped and that was when I heard a shout from [Micah] Richards [City's defender] and simultaneously the sound of a whistle. At that moment I was convinced that the referee had whistled for a foul. I stopped trying to head the ball and score a goal, and I grabbed the ball so Richards could get help . . . after Richards yelled I thought that he was hurt and needed assistance. I tried to explain what had happened but he didn't want to listen. I hadn't done anything wrong. I heard the whistle so I took the initiative to stop the match."

Far be it from me to question Ronaldo's character, but does he really seem like the type of man to engage in such sportsmanship? No, I don't think so either. And given that he's the only person to have heard Richards and/or a whistle, I think we can safely assume he's talking shite.

Still, there was little chance of letting this one go without having a good old piss and moan. Apart from slamming "referee" Webb, Ronaldo has admirably blamed the Manchester City supporters for his sending off.

If any Manchester United supporter has ever wondered why you're universally despised in the football world, this should give you some idea.

(Photo Credits: BBC Sport, The Sun)

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Football Twilights #3

Comment on the weekend's football action, courtesy of the good people on the twofootedtackle Twitter stream.

What was your highlight?

@digitalmaverick my footie highlight was DEFO following @darenbbc's minimalistic Tweetommentary on the Arsenal v Chelsea game.

@redduffman Claudio Pizzaro's superb hatrick for Werder Bremen against Frankfurt. Final score 5-0.

@mychemtoilet Hull's keeper preferring to give away a corner rather than a throw-in, due to Delap being in the opposition team.

@chrisoakley If everyone else has gone for Histon (with some justification), I'll take Barrow's superb 2-1 win over The Bees.

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Soccerlens nominates twofootedtackle for Best New Blog Award

I'm proud and honoured to have been nominated in the 'Best New Blog' category at the Soccerlens Awards.

The campaigning and begging thing really isn't for me, so I'll just leave it at this: if you've visited twofootedtackle over the last 11 months and enjoyed reading my stuff, met me, or valued any of the time we've spent together in the ol' blogosphere, please take ten seconds to vote for me.

Cheers

Chris

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PremWatch 1st December 2008

Where have all the goals gone?! Here's what happened over the Premier League weekend.

Aston Villa and Fulham battled out a turgid 0-0 draw at Villa Park. Middlesbrough and Newcastle United did the same at the Riverside.

Dean Windass provided touchline entertainment by distracting Rory Delap as Hull City played away at Stoke City. The teams scored a goal apiece, Marlon King netting for Hull and Ricardo Fuller levelling from the spot.

Saturday's game of the day took place at the Stadium of Light, where Roy Keane's Sunderland crashed to a thrashing by Bolton Wanderers. Djibril Cisse put Sunderland ahead but Matty Taylor and Gary Cahill turned the game on its head ten minutes later. Johan Elmander added two for Wanderers.

According to Wigan Athletic boss Steve Bruce, his side "mugged" West Bromwich Albion to win 2-1 at the JJB. Ishmael Miller put the Baggies ahead, but goals from Henri Camara and Emerson Boyce sealed the three points for Wigan.

A busy Sunday began with the Manchester derby, where Manchester United picked up a tidy away win at Manchester City. Wayne Rooney scored the decisive goal, but Cristiano Ronaldo's sending off by referee Howard Webb.

Stephen Pienaar's goal was decisive for Everton as they won at White Hart Lane. Blessed relief from every Tottenham Hotspur headline being about "Redknapp Magic" then.

It was another exciting match at Fratton Park. Portsmouth led 2-0 through strike partners Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe, but Blackburn Rovers clawed their way level with goals from Matt Derbyshire and Tugay. Pompey got the win in the end, Sean Davis grabbing the key goal.

At Stamford Bridge, a Johan Djourou own goal had Arsenal on the ropes and, judging by the radio commentary, looking down and out. But Chelsea managed to throw it away, with Gunners star Robin Van Persie grabbing a controversial equaliser and the eventual winner. Big Phil Scolari is not happy. At all.

So, with Liverpool and West Ham United still to play, the top four is made up of Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal, with Aston Villa dropping to fifth. Sunderland, Blackburn Rovers and West Bromwich Albion are in big trouble at the bottom.

(Photo Credits: BBC Sport)

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