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ARSENAL 1 – 3 Man Utd
I have seen the Champions at the Emirates Stadium this season. The only question is whether they play in the North-West of England or the South-West of London as they certainly aren’t the team I pay to watch week-in, week-out.
I have no complaint at all regarding the result yesterday. United were worth winners and played a near-perfect game, despite being bereft of Ferdinand, Vidic, and playing a lone frontman. They were clinical, stretched Arsenal in a thousand different ways and I personally can’t pick between them and Chelsea right now.
So – the game itself. The first half an hour saw chances at both ends, in fairness. Cesc Fabregas was at the centre of everything good that we did, and Andrey Arshavin seemed to actually want to play football, so there was an air of threat about the place. The enigmatic Russian poking just wide of van der Sar’s left hand post and Fabregas nearly got on the end of two loose balls in the penalty area only to be denied by last-second interventions.
However, in equal measure, United could also have gone ahead with equally fantastic last second interventions from Song and Vermaelen saving our bacon, and two cross goal balls from the by-line evading everyone.
But the game effectively finished in the ten-minute period before half-time, in almost identical fashion to the Chelsea game earlier this season. The oft-derided and ultimately not-very-good Nani managed to evade Clichy and Nasri with a flick of his boot and get in behind our defence for the third time in the half. Denilson gave him a very, VERY angry stare but negated to actually make a tackle and then a thing of wonder happened which I still cannot believe. Without wanting to take anything away from Nani (who, along with Rooney was a constant threat for United), what happened next was, quite frankly, unbelievable. Nani is on the goal line, maybe a yard in. He chips the ball across goal, high and looping. Now – at this juncture you would expect a tall gentleman with special gloves (in fact, one of only two players on the pitch permitted to use his hands) to jump up and catch it using said special gloves.
But Arsenal do not have such a man. Arsenal have a man who has special gloves and special needs to go with them. With the ball floating at about 3mph, Manuel Almunia uses his intensive military training to evade the toxic leather ball and succeed only in flapping it into his own net for his second own goal of the season. One more and I think he gets a trophy.
The second goal was a thing of beauty – the kind of goal Arsenal used to score when we had pace, quality, desire and grown-ups in the team. A proper, speedy counter-attack that tears the opposition in half and which allowed Wayne Rooney to score his 100th Premier League goal and which exposed our team’s lack of defensive acumen, pace and desire. It actually started with an Arsenal corner which failed to clear the first man and which fell to United on the edge of their own box. They broke and although only had three men bursting forward and our having five men back, they ripped us to shreds. Swift inter-play, Denilson giving up running and everyone standing in the wrong position led to an incisive through ball to Rooney who swept the ball past Almunia who got his courtesy dive in just after the ball hit the back of the net. Game over in all but name.
The second half started as the first finished with United scoring another brilliant goal, although helped out again by Arsenal’s sheer ineptitude at the back. Again it started with Arsenal attacking and again it was down to players standing in the wrong position. Park picks up the ball 10 yards inside our half and ran unchallenged for 40 yards before slotting the ball past Almunia who again waited until the ball was past him before moving.
And that was that. We pulled back a consolation goal ten minutes from time through a deflected Vermaelen swipe at goal but we never seriously looked like coming back, even when Gallas missed a close-to-open goal.
I can’t really complain. The bottom line is that we are what we are – the third team in England. And whilst I am deeply appreciative of the fact that there are 88 other clubs in the Country who would happily swap positions with me, they don’t pay £1,300 a year to watch their team. They don’t follow a Club that turns a clean profit of £3m every home game. They don’t have a Board who tell them that the Manager will never be refused funds, yet when it is apparent and plain for all and sundry to see that the team is lacking in 4 key positions, the cupboard appears to be bare.
They say that the worst thing you can give a man is hope, and Arsenal are certainly guilty of that. But I would go one further and suggest that the very worst thing you can give a man is half the truth and that’s the very most I have been getting from my Club.
Arsene Wenger claimed at the start of the season that this is the Year for his team of prodigal sons to come good, step up, and win the big trophies. Yesterday wasn’t a fair fight – you were never guessing who was going to score the decisive goals. The gap between the two teams was canyon-sized and if the notoriously myopic Wenger cannot see that this is NOT the third great team he was trying build and that it never will be then the end of his contract in the summer of 2011 might come at the perfect time for everybody.
Star man: The only players who should have any pride in their performance are the centre backs, the Captain and Alex Song. The centre halves were left criminally exposed by their full-backs and Denilson’s sheer unwillingness to get involved in the game and performed miracles to hold out for 35 minutes if the truth be told. Fabregas was at the centre of everything ‘good’ we did, and at one point was taking them on on his own, and Alex Song must be a shoe-in for young player of the year as not only is he the water-carrier but he appears to be carrying at least one teammate whenever he is on the pitch as well.
Worst performer: Where to start? The more I see our full backs the more I worry. Evra and Rafael are brilliant defenders first and foremost, and the fact that they can get forward and assist the attack is a bonus. Nothing more. Clichy and Sagna appear to be scared of a tackle, and even when going forward their contribution is negligible. I will not repeat my previous misgivings over our goalkeeper and his sheer lack of talent as it is clear for all to see that he is not good enough for the Premier League, let alone Arsenal. But the real villain of the piece was Denilson. Wenger has his favourites whom he will never drop nor question (Eboue, Almunia, Arshavin), so when he subs one of them you know they have had a poor game. Denilson passed the ball to the opposition or put his own players in danger at every opportunity, shit out of every tackle possible, and has the positional awareness of a blind man without a guide dog. His performance was cowardly, devoid of commitment and he does not deserve to wear my shirt.
Best moment: My other half is in Australia at the moment and it’s her phone calls and text messages that keep me going. Lord knows there was nothing in this poxy football match to make me smile.
Tactics: Does he ever use any? Our forward line was made-up of three identikit 5’5” inside forwards-cum-midfielders yet we slung high balls in all day, and when he eventually relents and lets Nicklas Bendtner have a go, the 6’4” Dane is farmed out on the right wing. Ridiculous. Also, after the substitutions it wasn’t clear to anyone what formation we were playing. I’m all for fluidity but that was silly. The difference between the two sides was their ability to use the entire pitch. United get the ball wide so quickly they pull the opposition all over the pitch and create huge chunks of space down the centre for Rooney, Scholes, Carrick et al to run into and they did it on so many occasions. Arsenal have one style of playing which is to compact the play into small, 10yd x 10yd boxes and rely on quick passing to flummox the opposition – which doesn’t work when they are better than you.
Chant of the game: It’d be nice if for once, we could make our actual feelings felt. With 30 minutes to go, everyone was bellowing for the Manager to get his chequebook, but the amount of people who refuse to criticise the Manager in any way, shape or form means we as a group will continue to sit in silence and tow the party line.
Oppo fans: I am envious of the quality they get to see week-in and week-out. Although it’s odd that there were so many of them on my bus home considering I was headed to Hackney and not Salford.
David Oudôt, http://www.onlinegooner.com and http://taxloser.blogspot.com
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Fulham 0 – 2 ASTON VILLA
A very professional win at a ground we have had very little success at in recent years - in fact I was told this week we'd not won at Craven Cottage since February 2004, so today was a banana skin waiting to happen after we had gone four games in the Premiership without a win - and talk was whether we were going to have yet another second half of the season slump.
Answer? Well, on this performance, no we aren't!
The defence was solid as we have come to expect with Richard Dunne and Carlos Cuellar (at fullback) both total rocks.
We started off brightly and Luke Young so nearly scored a peach of a header (from a really difficult angle) only to be foiled by Schwarzer. Downing was ripping into their defence and they never looked comfortable, but as the first half wore on you couldn't help to start wonder if this was going to be yet another great performance ruined by the lack of a good finish. Gabby had other ideas and from a totally lovely cross from Downing (or was it Petrov, my eye sight isn't what it once was and I've not seen the replays) put the ball in the back of the net. Fantastic, just what the lad needed and a real tonic for Villa. Quite often Villa will sit back on a 1-0 but this time and only four minutes later, Carlos Cuellar passed the ball to Gabby who placed the ball in the back of the net sublimely. Lovely finish, if you haven't watched the highlights yet, go to the BBC iPlayer and seek it out.
Game over? Well, never quite that easy especially against a team like Fulham and they had a few chances to put themselves in with a shout to try to claw back in it, but Villa contained them in the second half and came out worthy winners in a very professional display.
Happy as Larry with that, now do the same next week in another visit to the Capital and beat Spurs and we'll really be pushing for a top four place!
Star man: Gabby, great finishes, closely followed by Richard Dunne and Stewart Downing.
Worst performance: No such thing when we win!
Best moment: Just watch Gabby's second goal, look at Downing's pass for our first and if the highlights show it, have a nod of respect to Luke Young's well saved header.
Tactics: We went, we saw, we conquered, we went home for a cup of tea. What other tactics do you need?
Chant of the game: Wembley, Wembley, Wembley.... did I mention we were off to Wembley?! Oh and Villa fans singing 'sing when you're offside, you only sing when you're offside' after they had a goal disallowed - rightly - for offside.
Oppo fans: Craven Cottage is a lovely traditional ground - not going to knock the club or fans. Villa were the loudest though!
Jonathan 'did he mention Villa are going to Wembley?' Fear, www.astonvilla.vitalfootball.co.uk
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BIRMINGHAM 1- 1 Tottenham
Another very cold day in Birmingham and another point against top four opposition. When you equalise in the 91st minute though it seems like a victory.
This was a strange game in that it was exciting without there being too much quality play. Spurs had a lot of possession but their passing was often wayward and Blues also lacked quality in the final third. We had two of the best chances in the first half but both ended with powder puff shots that Gomes could have thrown his hat on. If he was wearing a hat of course, which he wasn't as the sun was very unlikely to make an appearance. Joe Hart didn't have too much to do either.
Their goal came as a result of a run from Gareth Bale (their best player on the day) and a pass off the back of Peter Crouch. How a man that tall can get his head under a ball no more than two feet off the ground beggars belief, but it worked for them. Fortunately, it turned out that his back is better than his feet as he fluffed an easy chance to make the game safe a few minutes later. It didn't look like we were going to get anything until Jerome's header back across goal was tapped in by Liam Ridgewell who nobody saw coming. Spurs fans weren't happy. Blues fans who were still there were. Blues fans who had left early felt silly, and so they should.
Unbeaten at home since September. Here's to another long run.
Star man: Barry Ferguson. Stays calm and seems to play the game at a more controlled pace to everyone else.
Worst performer: Chucho Benitez. Had opportunities but his finishing was woeful. We really need to get another striker before the window closes.
Best moment: The goal, of course.
Tactics: Safe as ever. Maybe it's time to try something new.
Top Chant: “Champions League, you're having a laugh!”
Oppo fans: Lots of them, made a decent amount of noise but went away unhappy.
Mike, www.joysandsorrows.co.uk
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West Ham 0 – 0 BLACKBURN
When these two met at Ewood in August, it was the worst game I had seen for
years, with the same result. At half-time yesterday, I felt exactly the
same!
West Ham, with their new owners, porn kings David and David looking on, were
very nervy and Rovers couldn't string two passes together, although a free
kick from Pedersen hit West Ham's bar, but that was it.
Second half the Rovers played a lot better, largely down to the fact we were
hoofing the ball less and we put more pressure on the opposition by closing
down more and actually attacking them!
Had Jason Roberts had his shooting boots on, we would have won, but he never
wears them. Roberts did brilliantly to get past Tomkins but with the whole
goal at his mercy he "passed" it to a thankful Robert Green.
If Jason Roberts had the ability to finish, head the ball and had a good
first touch he would be a top class striker - then again, he wouldn't be
playing for us, would he?
There was also Givet's shot that was handled on the line by Noble but the
ref didn't see it, and Martin Olsen's left footed effort was superbly turned
around the post by Green.
All in all, given our record at Upton Park (ten defeats in a row!) it was a
good point and moved us into the top half of the table with seven points
from the last nine.
Star man: Gael Givet - played at left back but seemed to be all over the
pitch.
Worst performer: El Hadji Diouf - seems to have lost a lot of pace and
enthusiasm - mind you, it was very cold. Poor lad.
Best moment: Hearing that Benni McCarthy was to sign for the "Appy Hammers"
after the match. He immediately made a vow to cancel his contract at Burger
King and do a full three months at Slimming World in the summer.
Tactics: 4-5-1 which smoothly changes to 4-3-3 when attacking.
Chant of the game: None in particular, but the Rovers fans certainly made
themselves heard - a credit to them.
Oppo fans: Very subdued. Gave the porn barons a "warm" reception rather than
a rapturous one and stayed at that level throughout the game
Pete Anslow, www.4000holes.co.uk
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Liverpool 2 – 0 BOLTON
After a horrendous recent record at Anfield, Bolton were just as unlikely to get anything as they ever have been. But with Liverpool having a poor season by their standards, optimism was to be had.
Tamir Cohen had an early chance to silence an already quiet stadium early on, but chose to fall under a challenge from Jamie Carragher and not appeal for a penalty.
Lee Chung-Yong almost put Wanderers in front with a superb piece of individual skill but after beating three defenders and rounding the goalkeeper, but his shot was cleared off the line. Just the luck you don't need when you visit the top clubs!
We never really threatened after that and Dirk Kuyt scored for the hosts before the break after getting some of the luck Lee didn't get at the other end. Kuyt scuffed his shot and after Gary Cahill took an airshot on the line, the ball went in the net.
Luck was once again in Liverpool's court after the break when Emilano Insua's harmless shot deflected off Kevin Davies, went through Gretar Steinsson's legs and ended up in Jussi Jaaskelainen's bottom corner.
There is no question Liverpool were the better side on the day, but if the rest of the season gives them as much luck as they got on Saturday, forget 4th place, they'll win the bloody league!
Star Man: Lee Chung-Yong. He just seems to get better and better every week. So unlucky with his solo run in the first half and if he continues to improve he won't be a Bolton player for long.
Worst Performer: Tamir Cohen. Aside from his early chance, where he should probably have appealed for a penalty, he was ineffective in midfield.
Best Moment: Seeing Lee go on his run but, as already said, he didn't get the luck he deserved with the finish.
Tactics: After impressive performances against Arsenal, it was somewhat of a disappointment to see us playing with just 1 upfront. We know Ivan Klasnic was injured, but surely our attacking options shouldn't end after Klasnic and Kevin Davies.
Chant of the Game: "You'll never get a job!" - Typical response to "You'll Never Walk Alone".
Oppo Fans: As usual, they get praised to the high heavens. Once again, they all join in their pre-match ritual then sit in silence for 90 minutes.
Chris Mann, www.burndenaces.co.uk
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BURNLEY 1 – 2 Chelsea
What can you say? Ickle Burnley, a club proud to be debt-free but third from bottom against megabucks League leaders Chelsea, millions of pounds in debt and every player an international at the highest level.
We should have been slaughtered on paper with Chelsea flying high at the top of the league and looking likely Champions this season. They have been scoring for fun recently so to come within 8 minutes of earning a well-earned point says a lot for our effort. Fortress Turf Moor was buzzing again, but it was not enough this time to secure any points and so we came away proud but empty-handed and worryingly still in the relegation zone. These games though are not the ones we need to win, if you get anything against Top 3 or even these days Top 10 sides, you are getting a bonus! Our next match is against fellow strugglers West Ham at home next Saturday, now that truly is a must win, six pointer!
Anyway back to the Chelsea match. I guess one of the main differences between the two sides was all about the relative defensive qualities. We just can’t afford at this level to have any lapses in the back four and to be honest we did and paid the price for both their goals. It looked far too easy peasy for Chelsea after 27 minutes play when Peter Cech threw the ball out to Joe Cole and his cross was then pulled back by Florent Malouda for Anelka to slot home. Our defence was caught napping and we can’t afford to do that against the big boys, you will always be punished and we were.
All credit to our lads though we contained them and stopped them going further ahead and then in the second half got back into it after a stunning individual solo goal from Steven Fletcher in the 50th minute. Robbie Blake got in a long ball over the top which was pulled down by Fletcher. His determination to keep going allowed him to get the better of Alex and he let leash a fantastic low drive that whizzed past a stunned Cech. Now we would be in for it and for the next 30 minutes or so it seemed to be all Chelsea with our defence being pounded left, right and centre. It is all credit to our back four that we held on for so long but with eight minutes to go it was a case of ‘Terry’s All Gold’. The maligned England captain had the last laugh. Lampard swung in a corner and there was Terry to rise the highest and head home. If only we had marked him a lot better, we might have held out for a vital and remarkable point but it was not to be.
We can be proud of our performance though and take many positives from this match. If we continue to play like this against the other sides struggling to survive we should pick up the points necessary for survival.
Star man: This was a good team effort with a number of individuals putting in a good performance. Eagles, Fletcher and Carlisle were all on top of their game but for me the best player on the pitch was Andre Bikey. He has just returned from the African Nations Cup, but he immediately slotted in well in his first game under new manager, Brian Laws looking strong, eager and determined in midfield. You could perhaps blame him slightly for Chelsea’s first goal but overall he fully deserved the Man of the Match award he picked up on the night.
Worst performer: Poor old Christian Kalvenes at left back struggled and Chelsea certainly knew where our main weakness was pounding that wing like the clappers! It was perhaps a blessing in disguise when he picked up an injury and had to be replaced by David Edgar with just ten minutes of the first half remaining. Edgar is more renowned for playing in the centre of defence and I have no idea if he has ever played at left back before and if so how many times. I do know though that the threat down that wing was stifled to a great degree in the second half which just exposed Kalvenes problems even more.
Tactics: Brian Laws got a loud cheer from Clarets fans as he walked onto the pitch before the match started. He used to play for the Clarets many moons ago and this was his first home game in charge as our new manager. Considering whom we were up against and the fact we had a number of injuries, I thought the tactics were about right for this one and we ran Chelsea close in the end. It does remain a sad fact though that Laws has still to win a game with four matches and four defeats so far. Admittedly two of those were against Top 3 sides (Man U at Old Trafford, Chelsea at home) where we looked strong but the other two were woeful performances against lesser sides (Reading away in FA Cup, Bolton at Reebok). Coyle’s gung-ho attitude may have cost us dear on the road, so we are looking to Laws to keep the attractive passing-to-feet game, but tighten up our naive defence. We need to see more games to decide if there are any tactical changes for the better.
Chant of the game: I guess we lost this game because we could not come up with anything more original to sing about the Terry situation than ‘Same old Terry. Always cheating’. I bet that really put the fear of god into him as he headed home the Chelsea winner!
Oppo fans: To their credit they came in numbers and were a noisy bunch contributing to a pretty good atmosphere.
Best Moment: It had to be our goal when just for a moment Clarets fans dared to dream again after such a horrible start to 2010.
‘Turfman’ Phil Lea, www.burnley.vitalfootball.co.uk
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Burnley 1 – 2 CHELSEA
Amongst the smattering of infidelities, debates over captaincies and allegedlies this weekend, came a meeting between Burnley and Chelsea at Turf Moor. Deep in the murky undertones of THE story of the year - along with the newfound sexual connotations of the word ‘smattering’ – football still needed to be played.
All eyes were, of course, on the man who ALLEGEDLY (just playing it safe, Maxim) gave Wayne Bridge’s EWAGSBT (Ex-Wife And/or Girlfriend Stolen By a Team-mate, of course) a right royal smattering recently; our captain & yours, John Terry. I don’t know what Mrs Bridge thought about him but as far as we are concerned, we were left feeling more than satisfied with his performance.
With the opportunity to extend our lead at the top of the Premier League to four points - at least until Sunday anyway – JT led his team-mates out to boos from the Burnley fans. If our boys looked worried, it was only because they were wondering if their other half has ever tried on Terry’s captain’s armband…or something like that.
After some free-flowing performances (hands up if you think this is leading to another John Terry reference) in recent weeks, a slow start to the game was out of character to a side which netted early on against Birmingham and Sunderland.
Although it wasn’t immediate, Chelsea did make the breakthrough half-way into the first 45, with Joe Cole finding Florent Malouda with a cross, and the Frenchman in turn finding his international colleague Nicolas Anelka in the 6-yard box, who couldn’t miss.
Then, erm, not much happened for a bit. Burnley seemed afraid to try and play, which stifled the game, but the second-half saw Brian Laws’ side come out with a bit more purpose, which actually was not what we wanted at all really.
Their early probing (again, who’s thinking of you know who?) led to an equaliser, as one-time Real Madrid target (no, really) Steven Fletcher controlled a long ball – with the help of a sluggish Alex who failed to clear his lines – and slotted past Petr Cech.
Rather than panic and capitulate however, Chelsea galvanised and it was good to see that we can play when the going gets tough too. It wasn’t vintage by any stretch of the imagination, but we continued to make chances throughout.
Having bemoaned our lack of goals from corners during the game to a mate, I was made to eat my words late on. I wondered out loud why we couldn’t get more headers in from set-plays considering the likes of Alex, Branislav Ivanovic and Michael Ballack were often found milling around the box. Of course, there’s always John Terry too, and in this case, there was John Terry to make it two.
His powerful header gave Brian Jensen no chance, and although far from redeeming him in the eyes of many, at least it provided something positive to be written about JT this weekend. I mean, it won’t, but at least it offered the chance.
Star Man: John Terry, the footballer.
Worst Performer: John Terry, the man…ALLEGEDLY. In terms of on the pitch action, Alex should have cleared that ball, Ballack looked poor at times, and as far as the number of times Malouda pulled out of tackles is concerned [INSERT OBVIOUS BUT FUNNY JOHN TERRY JOKE HERE…IF THERE ARE ANY LEFT].
Best Moment: Trying to think of which English footballer could realistically be given the captain’s armband if the main qualification is for them to be scandal-free. Jimmy Bullard is the only one by the way.
Tactics: We looked a little compact and Yuri Zhirkov took a while to get going which impacted upon our width. It was the archetypal ‘Chelsea go to Lancashire’ match really; stuffy and stifling at times but with a little graft, we got the win in the end.
Chant of the game: The chant towards John Terry at the end of the game. We showed we still support him on the pitch.
Oppo fans: “BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO,” said they. A lot.
Rowan Farnham-Long, www.cfcnet.co.uk
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Wigan 0 – 1 EVERTON
(Awaiting match report)
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FULHAM 0 – 2 Aston Villa
Could this be the spring of discontent? Our fifth Premier League outing without a win is starting to cast huge doubts over whether our squad is as strong as we first thought.
Injuries to key players have stretched us to almost breaking point and with such key individuals as John Pantsil, Paul Konchesky, Clint Dempsey and Andrew Johnson missing yesterday we didn’t capitulate to Aston Villa, more like we rolled over, close to half time, and showed our soft under-belly.
Two quick-fire goals, in the space of four minutes, from Gabriel Agbonlahor were enough to see us finish on the losing side. The first, after the recent Manchester United acquisition, Chris Smalling, got on the wrong side of Agbonlahor and the second when the experienced Brede Hangeland committed the same cardinal sin.
With transfer deadline day being this Monday, the big question remains – does Roy have the cash to enter the market and bolster our stretched squad?
Star man: Zoltan Gera – Came on as a substitute for the unfortunate Simon Davies and gave a display, in my opinion, that just begs Roy to pick him from the off!
Worst performer: Chris Smalling – Sorry Chris, Sir Alex may have paid a fortune for you, but your basic error gave Aston Villa the opening they needed and once they’d got it they just didn’t look back.
Best moment: Drowning our sorrows in the pub afterwards! Five games without a win, in the Premier League, is a long time!
Tactics: Not sure we can blame the gaffer for this, he’s having to put round pegs in square holes just to get a decent looking starting eleven together.
Oppo fans: The Villa fans are on the crest of a wave and after reaching the Carling Cup Final they must be looking forward to their next trip to London!
Andrew Joyce, www.vitalfulham.co.uk
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HULL 2 – 2 Wolves
(Awaiting match report)
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LIVERPOOL 2 – 0 Bolton
We needed the 3pts from this game so the performance, whilst we hoped for a good one, wasn't that important.
Liverpool got the win from a couple of scrappy goals. We got the striker, Own Goal, in on loan after he had scored so many goals for the Mancs so far this season. His brother, same name, netted again for them yesterday but I digress...
We set up with attacking intent which brought about the demotion of one of our two holding midfielders to the bench. Lucas sat this one out and deserved a rest as he has played most of our games this season. That is an indictment of our season to be fair as Lucas, whilst not a bad player, isn't someone who should be first name on the teamsheet and should only be used as cover. This coincided with one of Masch's better games, so hopefully the point was made to Rafa that we shouldn't be playing two holding midfielders at home.
The first half was scrappy and very few chances were made although we monopolised possession. Insua put in a couple of decent crosses and Kuyt should have really got onto the end of one where he tried to kick it in where a header would have been better. The goal came at the right time with Aquilani heading the ball back well and Kuyt scuffing it in. If that had been our defender on the line totally missing the ball, I would have gone apoplectic, since it was theirs I was happy. Bolton created a good chance when their player ran, what seemed, the length of the pitch unchallenged before rounding Reina and having his shot cleared off the line by our big Greek centre half. Who, it must be said, has been very consistent since taking his place in the side - he is there on merit presently and will take some shifting as we are much more solid in terms of defending set pieces with him in the team.
Gerrard looked a bit more like his old self in the 2nd half, visibly getting stronger in confidence as the game wore on. He was involved in much of our good play and had a couple of decent strikes on target, one of which N'Gog really should have scored from on the rebound.
With the result at Birmingham going our way, it was a decent weekend for Liverpool as we made points back on Spurs. Villa and City winning took the shine off a bit, however.
The next three games are crucial in terms of our challenge for the top four. We have a resurgent Everton at home (not that it matters as they could be playing awfully and still be up for it), City and Arsenal away. I believe we need to come out of those games with a minimum of 7 points which will be very, very difficult. However, with our captain returning to decent form and some big players due back in after that, it will be a different Liverpool side.
After Portsmouth, we called for the team to put a run together and we have had 4 wins and 2 draws since then. More of the same in the next 6 games please!
As an aside, at the time of writing we have approx 40 mins of the transfer window left and still no signings for our club. If anyone was in any doubt about how much trouble we are in financially, they won't be now.
Star man: Nick the Greek. Cult hero in the making.
Worst performer: Aquilani was anonymous
Best moment: Hicks getting it in the ear after the game. Not welcome at our club.
Tactics: Attacking line up, more of the same please.
Chant of the game: Crowd was dead until the match ended, got spicy then though...
Oppo fans: Hardly any of them which was strange as it wasn't like they had far to travel...
Keith Barkley, http://www.liverpool.vitalfootball.co.uk/
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MAN CITY 2 – 0 Portsmouth
(Awaiting match report)
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Arsenal 1 – 3 MAN UTD
Slick Manchester United brushed aside Arsenal at the Emirates, handing the home side a lesson in counter-attacking football that Arsene Wenger will not soon forget. Goals from Wayne Rooney, Park Ji-Sung and a Nani-inspired own goal were enough to take the spoils as United closed to within a point of leaders Chelsea.
In the build-up Sir Alex Ferguson had spoken of United's "biggest game" this season and his side put on a stellar performance at the Emirates for the second visit in succession. There may be no more Cristiano Ronaldo in the visiting side but the Portuguese's compatriot Nani proved tormentor-in-chief today. The much-maligned winger, whom many predicted would leave the club this winter, turned in a man-of-the-match performance to repay the manager's faith.
United, as is now customary, lined up with Rooney as a lone frontman, ably supported by Nani and Park. If Rooney and Nani were the stars of the show, then Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes and Darren Fletcher provided a superb platform on which to build. Once again the Scot overshadowed the much-celebrated Cesc Fabregas in the centre of the park. So much for Wenger's "anti-football" jibe.
Ferguson's men were bright from the start, dominating early passages of play as they had in last April's Champions League semi-final. And while Wenger's side, typically, was neat in possession to the final third, there was little in the way of threat to Edwin van der Sar's goal.
It was fitting that Nani, at the centre of United's best attacking moments in the first half, provided the opening goal for the visitors on the half hour. The winger's sublime flick beat two Arsenal defenders before the Portuguese international ghosted past a third and clipped to the back post. Manuel Alumuni, back-peddling, could only palm the ball into his own net.
A second, on the counter attack, followed less than five minutes later as United swept the length of the pitch to score. Rooney and Nani recalled the visitors third in last season's semi-final by exchanging passes before the former-Evertonian fired gloriously home.
Wenger's half-time comments had little effect with the home side reduced to long-range pot shots and Ferguson's side dominating midfield.
In any case the match was over as any kind of meaningful contest as the visitors one again demonstrated the brand of counter-attacking football that has been a hallmark of Ferguson's sides. This time Park was the beneficiary, just five minutes into the second period, running half the length of the pitch before coolly slotting home.
Thomas Vermaelen's late consolation did little more than spoil van der Sar's clean sheet, with even Wenger bereft of excuses for a sound beating.
Unsurprisingly Ferguson delighted in victory after a mid-winter wobble that saw defeats to Fulham, Aston Villa, Leeds United and Manchester City.
In fact United was so dominant in the centre of the pitch it is not unfair to recall Patrice Evra's cutting men-against-boys refrain from last season's semi-final. It set up a platform for the devastating talents further forward.
Rightly Ferguson saved special praise for Nani, who after months in the wilderness has now put in a run of fine performances on the right side of midfield. With Antonio Valencia so bright in the opening half of the season, Ferguson now has two top class options on the right of his team.
So frustrating has Nani been that many supporters had lost faith in the player who cost more than 15 million from Sporting Lisbon in 2008. Ferguson spoke of the players new-found maturity whatever the manager is putting in his half time tea, well have some more of that.
An unlikely hero in a high quality team performance from United, who face Portsmouth at Old Trafford next weekend. Arsenal meet Chelsea at Stamford Brige, with Ferguson hoping that Wengers side batter their cross-town rivals. Amen to that.
Star man: Rooney was magnificent again but the award goes to Nani. Or is it Nani's twin, the transformation is so spectacular.
Worst performance: Rafael was naive in defence at times, but he's young and is learning fast.
Tactics: Spot on. United bullied Arsenal in midfield and Rooney and Nani were far too quick on the break for Wenger's side.
Chant of the game: Sit down you... actually we completely respect you Mr Wenger, especially when your team is this lightweight.
Oppo fans: It's almost as bad as the Highbury Library at the Emirates. Just another soulless corporate vanilla football venue for the 21st century.
Ed Barker, www.unitedrant.co.uk
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Man City 2 – 0 PORTSMOUTH
(Awaiting match report)
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Birmingham 1 – 1 TOTTENHAM
(Awaiting match report)
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WEST HAM 0 – 0 Blackburn
(Awaiting match report)
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WIGAN 0 – 1 Everton
A typical Toffee performance at the DW Stadium. Despite being second best for large periods of the game, David Moyes' side came away with the three points. Not content with suffocating the life out of the game, the Toffess kept the pillow held firmly over Latics faces as they suffocated all three points of a Wigan team that is exciting to watch.
Being an Everton supporter must be exciting on the one hand because they have a decent points total and have experienced European football.
On the other hand though it must be one of the most boring pastimes available to man. Two solid banks of four supplying two dangerous strikers, Moyes has his team set up perfectly for the modern day game.
They suffocate the play to a level where the game is all but lifeless and hope they are capable of nabbing a winning goal. Successful, yes, but oh dear me it is dull to watch.
Give me Roberto Martinez and his total football anyday. We dominated the game and if we had had a decent striker on the field, would have come away with all three points.
A blatant penalty aside, both Hugo Rodallega and Jason Scotland were guilty of missing two sitters apiece, whilst Charles N'Zogbia was unlucky to rattle the bar in the final minute.
Tim Cahill's free header apart, Gary Caldwell has helped to shore up the defence and Emmerson Boyce has been a revelation at right back. Aligned with heavy competition for a midfield place we're starting to look more solid, dominating possession from the first whistle to the last.
James McCarthy is a man possessed in midfield and the defensive role played by Hendry Thomas and Momo Diame allow the 19-year-old to roam forward. A trio for the future two as Thomas and Diame are just 23 and 22 respectively.
Our main problem now is goals. We're well on the way to sorting the leaky defence, but we just cannot score. The arrival of Victor Moses from Crystal Palace cannot come soon enough. He is hopefully the final piece in the jigsaw.
Congratulations to Everton for the three points, but by God they are dull. Give me the Latics anyday. Martinez is building a godo side at the DW and we'll hopefully be a big force next season.
Star man: James McCarthy is proving to be a real star buy from Martinez. Not only is he only 19 years old, but he is playing like Steven Gerrard (when he was good). Certainly one for the future, and hopefully a Latic for a lengthy time to come. Other noticeable performances from Emmerson Boyce at right back and Gary Caldwell on his home debut.
Worst performer: Hugo Rodallega's sulking performance was clearly a message that he isn't happy on the wing. Like it or lump it though Hugo, it is a team game.
Best moment: Seeing Maynor Figueroa wearing a Wigan shirt and sporting a new contract as the transfer window comes to a close. A solid two-fingered salute to Steve Bruce at Sunderland. He's doing quite a job of making the Black Cats a European force with only one win in their last six.
Tactics: We played our usual 4-3-2-1 formation and it was working. We had the lion share of possession and looked the more likely to score. In typical Everton fashion though, they operated with two solid banks of four and two dangerous forward players. After nabbing a goal, the Toffees did what they do best and suffocated the three points off us.
Chant of the game: When the Latics fans awoke mid-way through the second half to chant the name of Roberto Martinez. He's got quite a job on his hands but he is taking things in the right direction.
Oppo fans: A good following from Everton. The unemployed football fans seem to have been the least affected in the recession hence the large away following. They were noticably quiet though until going in front.
Paul Farrington, www.WIGANER.net
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Hull 2 – 2 WOLVES
(Awaiting match report)
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