FA Barclays Premiership Report (4th - 6th December)

DESPITE the cold chill, nine out of ten Premiership fixtures beat the weather.  Not quite the action of the previous weekend, but with Manchester United’s game at Blackpool frozen off, new league leaders were found and we have now seen the first managerial casualty of the season.

Sunday 5^th December: West Brom 3-1 Newcastle United

KNELL: Peter Odemwingie sealed Chris Hughton's fate

CHRIS Hughton was sacked as Newcastle United manager, after being comfortably seen off at the Hawthorns.  Salmon Choi put West Brom infront with a precise shot on 32 minutes.  Peter Odemwingie doubled Albion’s lead when he got the better of the Magpies defence, after Danny Guthrie got his foot trapped in the turf.  With three minutes to go, Odemwingie got round Tim Krul to help himself to a second, and to seal the Baggies first win in the league over Newcastle since 1984.  Newcastle scored in added time through substitute Peter Lovenkrands, but they looked a pale shadow of the side that drew with champions Chelsea last week.  Despite not winning in five games, Hughton’s dismissal is another piece of lunatic actions from owner Mike Ashley.  Alan Pardew is set to be announced tomorrow as successor and he will have a tough job on his hands on Tyneside.

Saturday 4^th December: Arsenal 2-1 Fulham

MOVING: Samir Nasri's brilliance took the Gunners top

ARSENAL were very twitchy again at the Emirates, but held off a brave Fulham challenge to claim the three points and go top of the league.  Samir Nasri fired Arsenal to the top with two more goals, both pieces of individual brilliance.  The first came when he stepped inside two defenders, before finishing from Andrei Arshavin’s delayed pass.  A collision between Sebastian Squillaci and Laurent Koscieny allowed Diomansy Kamara in for the equaliser.  Koscieny had a head injury and Arsene Wenger had every right to be unhappy that play wasn’t stopped.  A beautifully balanced Nasri waltzed into the penalty box to seal the match with fifteen minutes to go.

Saturday 4^th December: Manchester City 1-0 Bolton Wanderers

CARLOS Tevez’s 50^th Premiership appearance for the home side ended in disgust, when the Argentine was replaced by James Milner is stoppage time.  The captain was seen to have a rather distasteful and animated argument with Roberto Mancini afterwards.  Tevez had settled the match with the only goal early on as City dominated throughout.  Left-back Aleksandar Kolarov was sent off late on for two yellow cards, but Bolton couldn’t find a way through.

Monday 6^th December: Liverpool 3-0 Aston Villa

STRIKE: N'Gog fired Liverpool up to eighth in the table

GERARD Houillier experienced a miserable return to Anfield as his Aston Villa side were soundly beaten by Liverpool on Monday night.  The match was over as a contest within of fifteen minutes, with the Reds 2-0 up through goal from makeshift front pairing David N’Gog and Ryan Babel.  Missing Steven Gerrard through injury and Fernando Torres away in Spain, with his wife expecting their second child, Roy Hodgson will be delighted with this convincing performance, sealed by Maxi Rodriguez second-half strike.  Villa looked devoid of confidence and the club are now in a serious relegation battle.

Saturday 4^th December: Chelsea 1-1 Everton

SMASH: Drogba's penalty wasn't enough for Chelsea

YET again, Chelsea failed to pick up three points at home to their new bogey side, Everton.  Didier Drogba scored in the Premiership for the first time since October, smashing home a penalty after Phil Neville’s poor back pass allowed Nicholas Anelka to be clattered by Tim Howard in the area.  Everton rapidly improved in the second half and Leighton Baines in particular caused havoc.  One of his crosses found the head of Tim Cahill, who nodded it back across the box for Jermaine Beckford to equalise.  Chelsea’s dismal form continues, now only have won one of their last six Premiership games.

Saturday 4^th December: Wigan Athletic 2-2 Stoke City

HUDDLE: Wigan fought back to draw

THE honours were shared at the DW Stadium with four first-half goals and hardly a goal straightforward between Wigan Athletic and Stoke City.  Robert Hutch opened the scoring for the visitors, with a deflected free-kick.  Danny Collins put the ball into his own net to make it 1-1, but Stoke soon went back infront, Matthew Etherington scoring for the second successive match.  Tom Cleverly’s mishit strike then came off the luckless Rory Delap to earn Wigan a point, but not enough to take Roberto Martinez’s team out of the bottom three.

Sunday 5^th December: Sunderland 1-0 West Ham United

WEST Ham’s mini revival came to an abrupt end in a game where both teams looked devoid of ideas and creativity.  The only goal of a very scrappy encounter came from Jordan Henderson.  Asamoah Gyan’s clever pullback found Henderson, who crowned his 50^th appearance in the Premiership with his first goal of the season.

Saturday 4^th December: Blackburn Rovers 3-0 Wolves

HAPPY: Blackburn were in cheery mood at the weekend

SAM Allardyce’s two-day rest he gave his players after the mauling in Manchester seemed to reinvigorate Blackburn, who produced a glorious display of purposeful finishing against struggling Wolves.  David Dunn had Rovers infront, heading in from close range and Brett Emerton smashed in a second before half-time, after being teed up by the dangerous Jason Roberson.  Mortem Gamst Pedersen’s free-kick was floated into the net by Ryan Nelsen to wrap the game up.

Saturday 4^th December: Birmingham City 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur

IT WAS a missed opportunity for the visitors, as Birmingham deserved their point against Champions League contenders Spurs.  Once again, Gareth Bale was involved in the build-up for a Tottenham goal.  His free-kick was dealt with by Ben Foster and allowed Sebastian Bassong to take full advantage and poke home the first goal.  Birmingham looked much better in the second half and got a credited leveller through Craig Gardner.