FA Barclays Premiership Report (5th - 6th March)

IT WAS another captivating weekend of Premiership football, which saw more form from the teams battling to beat the drop and the top sides misfiring.  Goals and talking points aplenty on another weekend of pure theatre, as this campaign is becoming one of the best ever to have graced the Premiership’s 19-year history.

HAT-TRICK HERO: Kuyt grabbed three tap-ins in sweet victory

     The most anticipated game of the weekend was at Anfield, where Dirk Kuyt hit his first ever treble for Liverpool in a highly impressive 3-1 success over leaders Manchester United on Sunday.  Kuyt’s hat-trick were all simple tap-ins, and he was helped by the enigmatic Luis Suarez, who produced a magical piece of play to take out three United players in setting up Kuyt’s first goal.  Five minutes later, he header in from close range after a wayward header from Nani.  His third was courtesy of a Suarez free-kick which was spilt by Edwin Van Der Sar.  Even £35million man Andy Carroll made a late cameo, for his Anfield debut after injury.  It was almost the perfect day for Liverpool and surely Kenny Dalglish’s appointment on a full-time basis is now only a formality.  Even Javier Hernandez’s stoppage header consolation couldn’t take the gloss off a marvellous day for Liverpool.  As their revival continued, tempers flared at times in a boiling match.  A horrible tackle from Jamie Carragher saw Nani stretchered off before half-time and seconds later, a poor challenge from Rafael on Lucas got him booked and led to a serious confrontation between the players.  This was a real off-day for United, who refused to speak to Sky Sports, BBC, MUTV or TalkSport afterwards and they have now lost three of their last five games.

     Kuyt’s hat-trick blew the title race wide open, but Arsenal failed to take their opportunity on Saturday, as the Gunners were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by Sunderland.  Arsene Wenger felt justice wasn’t done on two dodgy decisions, with Andrei Arshavin unfortunate on both occasions.  First, the Russian was pushed to the ground in the penalty area by Titus Bramble, which should have been a penalty.  Later, Arshavin was denied a perfectly good goal, when he was wrongly ruled offside.  Nevertheless, Simon Mignolet produced an outstanding goalkeeping display for the visitors and Steve Bruce’s side thoroughly deserved their draw.

     Chelsea’s latest mini revival continued last night, as they recorded an impressive 3-1 win at Blackpool, to leave Ian Holloway’s men only two points clear of the drop zone.  John Terry powered the Blues infront on 15 minutes and two quickfire goals in the second half from Frank Lampard had Chelsea coasting along to another three points.  Carlo Ancelotti insists that the title is gone, but only nine points behind with a game in hand, it is completely over quite yet.  Jason Puncheon scored a consolation for Blackpool, but with only one win in nine games, the Tangerines are looking nervously above the trapdoor.

HAUNTED: Duff came back to continue Rovers slide down the league

     So too are Blackburn Rovers, after another loss; 3-2 at Fulham.  Steve Kean has now seen his team lose five of their six matches as Rovers perilous slide down the table.  Damien Duff haunted his old side with two goals, but it was Mark Clattenburg who made the headlines once again, for the wrong reasons.   With the scoreline at 2-2 in the 88^th minute, Clattenburg denied Andy Johnson a blatant penalty after Grant Hanley tripped him.  Seconds later and probably feeling guilty, he awarded Fulham a spot kick for a gentle tug by Hanley on Aaron Hughes.  If these were given every game, we’d be looking at rugby scores every weekend.  Bobby Zamora converted the penalty in his first Premiership match since September and the drama didn’t end there at Craven Cottage.  Gael Givet ran onto the pitch at full-time, angrily remonstrated with Clattenburg and got sent off.  Clattenburg had a stinker and after the Wayne Rooney elbow scandal last Saturday, his abilities as a top flight referee must be questioned.  He can do the job, he’s proven that before, but a few lower profile matches in the Football League wouldn’t go amiss to take him out of the firing line.

     Birmingham City got brought back to reality after their sensational Carling Cup success on Saturday lunchtime.  In a crunch relegation clash, Birmingham looked second best throughout their Midlands derby with West Brom and ultimately lost 3-1 at St. Andrews.  Goals in the second half from Yusuf Mulumbu, James Morrison with a great strike and a Paul Scharner headed moved Albion clear of the drop zone.  Although Jean Beausejour brought the home side level soon after Mulumbu’s opener, Birmingham got what they deserved and slip into the bottom three.

     They replace West Ham United, as they continue their impressive run of form.  Avram Grant’s side comfortably overcame Stoke City 3-0 at Upton Park in a dress rehearsal for their FA Cup quarter-final this weekend.  A nightmare piece of goalkeeping from Asmir Begovic allowed Demba Ba in for a tap-in and a Manuel Da Costa header shortly afterwards doubled the lead.  Thomas Hitzlsperger’s 82^nd minute bullet shot wrapped the match up and nearly burst the net as a result.  Stoke shouldn’t be in any relegation danger, but need to stop the rot on the road, as they recorded their sixth successive away defeat.

HORROR: Al-Habsi, after his gaffe cost Wigan a result

     Begovic didn’t make the worst goalkeeping cock-up of the weekend.  That went to Ali Al-Habsi, who produced a goalkeeping calamity that is bound to appear on every Christmas blooper DVD for years to come.  The Wigan goalkeeper allowed David Silva’s tame strike through his grasp at his near post and it consigned Wigan to a 1-0 loss at Manchester City.  Roberto Martinez will be pleased with the performance, but once again, no points, which leaves Wigan closer to slipping out of the Premier League.

     The game of the weekend came at Molineux as Wolves and Tottenham played out a wonderful match, drawing 3-3 at Molineux.  It was a moving and fitting tribute to the late Dean Richards, who represented both clubs.  A minute’s applause was held at the start of the match, in honour of the charismatic defender, who died last week after a long illness.  Wolves led on seven minutes, when Kevin Doyle got infront of Hereulho Gomes to head home Nenad Mijias cross.  Jermain Defoe single-handily turned the game on its head with two superb strikes in quick succession, taking his Premiership all-time total to 99 on his 300^th Premier League appearance.  Doyle doubled up from the penalty spot after Mijias was pulled back by Alan Hutton.  Despite being the last defender, Hutton was only booked, which was a staggering decision by anyone’s standards.  Spurs grabbed the lead back, courtesy of a Roman Pavyluchenko pile driver two minutes into the second half, but Wolves deserved their point and earnt it in the 87^th minute.  Steven Fletcher met Matt Jarvis cross and the Scottish international powered a header out of Gomes’s reach.  Richard Stearman was also denied a legitimate goal, whilst Defoe hit the post for the visitors.  The game was breathtaking to watch.

     To conclude the weekend, Bolton Wanderers strengthened their quest for European football, with a 3-2 win over Aston Villa.  Gary Cahill scored twice against his former club and Ivan Klasnic won the match in the 87^th minute for the home side, despite being dominated by Villa for large periods.  Everton virtually secured their Premier League status for another campaign, as they beat Newcastle 2-1 at St. James Park.  Mikel Arteta was the star of the show, setting up the goals for Leon Osman and Phil Jagielka (his first in three years) to see the Toffees bounce back from their dreadful FA Cup exit at the hands of Reading in midweek.

     As the finishing line approaches closer, the entertainment seems to get even better.  Maybe it is more than a two-horse race in the title battle and as for relegation, more than half the league is engulfed in fighting to beat the drop.  I think everyone will be glad for a week off, as the FA Cup retakes centre stage this weekend.

FA Barclays Premiership Report (27th - 28th November)

AN EXTRAORDINARY weekend of Premiership football took place last week, with forty-one goals in ten matches and an extraordinary performance from an under-fire striker, who found the net no fewer than five times in a game, an incredible feat.

Saturday 27^th November: Manchester United 7-1 Blackburn Rovers

EXTRAORDINARY: Dimitar Berbatov hits the target again

DIMITAR Berbatov became only the fourth player in Premier League history to score five goals in a game, as magnificent Manchester United crushed Blackburn Rovers.  Within the opening 90 seconds, Berbatov had United infront, flicking on Wayne Rooney’s deft touch after Anderson had been stronger in a 50:50 challenge with Paul Robinson.  Ji-Sung Park made it 2-0, before a terrible back pass from Pascal Chimbonda allowed Berbatov in for a simple second.  His second hat-trick of the season was of the highest quality, beginning the move in his own half and finishing it off from Nani’s ball into the box.  Nani made it 5-0, cutting inside Chimbonda, before lashing a shot past the helpless Robinson.  Berbatov’s fourth goal was scrappy, but he couldn’t care less and then, looking for Rooney, the brilliant Bulgarian accidentally found the corner of the net for 7-0.  Christopher Samba’s header powered past a frustrated Edwin Van der Sar to get a very scant consolation for a battered Blackburn side.

Saturday 27^th November: Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal

HI-FIVE: Samir Nasri and Andrei Arshavin celebrate

ARSENE Wenger will be relieved to see his Arsenal side not throwaway another advantage, beating Aston Villa 4-2 at Villa Park.  Andrei Arshavin scored seven minutes before half-time, when James Collins and Luke Young showed no communication and ran into each other.  Samir Nasri was given the freedom of Birmingham to strike a beautifully deflected effort past Brad Friedel to give the Gunners a worthy 2-0 lead.  Villa got back into the game six minutes into the second half, when Ciaran Clark produced a cracking shot, his team’s first shot on target.  The two goal buffer was restored, as Marouane Chamakh slid the ball past Friedel from Tomas Rosicky’s lovely ball.  Clark then stretched to reach Richard Dunne’s header that crept over the line against the underside of the bar.  Clark’s brace were his first goals for Aston Villa at senior level.  Arsenal were finally handed the points, when Chamakh lobbed Friedel, which allowed teenager Jack Wiltshire to head home from close range.

Sunday 28^th November: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Liverpool

TERRIFIC: Aaron Lennon completed Tottenham's fightback

A TERRIFIC match in North London saw Tottenham produce another stirring fightback to beat a Liverpool side that spurned several great chances.  Spurs suffered a blow early on, losing Rafael van der Vaart to a suspected hamstring injury.  Martin Skrtel scored on 42 minutes, poking in a shot on the second attempt, when the home side failed to deal with a set-piece.  Maxi Rodriguez and Fernando Torres then missed glaring chances at the end of the first half, and this came back to haunt Roy Hodgson’s side.  David N’Gog blocked a Gareth Bale free-kick in the wall with hand, but Jermain Defoe dragged the resulting penalty horribly wide.  Moments afterwards, Skrtel had scored at both ends, sticking out a leg to prevent Luka Modric’s cross reaching Peter Crouch.  Tottenham won it in stoppage time, when Aaron Lennon ran past a dithering Paul Konchesky to beat Pepe Reina and move Harry Redknapp’s side into the top five.  Liverpool stays in a disappointing mid-table position.

Sunday 28^th November: Newcastle United 1-1 Chelsea

ADVANTAGE: Carroll holds off Mikel to give Toon the lead

CHELSEA lost top spot in the Premiership, with another shoddy performance at a very snowy St. James Park.  Andy Carroll scored again after only six minutes, taking full advantage of a Chelsea defense that looked in a complete mess.  Both Alex and John Obi Mikel made shocking errors of judgement in the build-up.  Chelsea equalised on the stroke of half-time, when Salomon Kalou controlled Florent Malouda’s pass beautifully, before hitting a shot, which took two big deflections to take it past Tim Krul.

Saturday 27^th November: Wolves 3-2 Sunderland

EQUALISER: Bent's goal wasn't enough to prevent a loss

WOLVES recorded a priceless victory over high-flying Sunderland, but still remain in the bottom three.  After early domination from the home side, Kevin Foley fired Wolves into the lead in the second half in clinical fashion, after Craig Gordon had beaten away Matt Jarvis’s shot.  Darren Bent capitalised on a poor Richard Stearman error to make it 1-1 and the Black Cats went infront soon afterwards, Danny Wellbeck guiding a header into the bottom corner past Wayne Hennessey, making his first appearance in goal for Wolves this term.  A double substitution turned the game around for Mick McCarthy, Stephen Hunt tapping the ball in during a packed penalty area and Sylvain Ebanks-Blake scored a huge winner, a magnificent finish past the luckless Gordon in the 89^th minute.

Saturday 27^th November: West Ham United 3-1 Wigan Athletic

OPENER: Valon Behrami gives the Hammers the lead

WHEN you get banners to saving our season in November, you know that your club is in serious trouble.  However, West Ham responded to the call from its fans, with a brilliant win over underachieving Wigan.  Valon Behrami hit a crucial opener, under pressure from two Wigan defenders and Victor Obinha found a crisp finish to put the Hammers on the way to sealing three priceless points.  Mauro Boselli’s first touch in the match for Wigan was a poor one, his spot kick being simply saved by Robert Green, before Obinha found the inform Scott Parker to seal the game.  A terrific goal from Tom Cleverly was no more than a scoreline response for the visitors.

Saturday 27^th November: Everton 1-4 West Brom

COMPETITION: West Brom and Thomas were far stronger

WEST BROM’s fortunes turned around, with a super win at a surprisingly flat Everton.  Paul Scharner scored his first Baggies goal with 15 minutes gone, before Chris Brunt scored a free0kick in spectacular fashion, a shot that Tim Howard never looked like saving.  Tim Cahill netted again for the Toffees, his sixth goal in nine league game, but any hope of Everton getting back into the match went when a blatant double stamp on Gonzalo Jara saw Toffees captain Mikel Arteta rightfully dismissed.  Tchoyi and Youssouf Mulumbu wrapped the result up in the last quarter of an hour, though Mulumbu blotted his copybook with a late dismissal for two yellow cards, which did look a rather soft decision.

Saturday 27^th November: Bolton Wanderers 2-2 Blackpool

EXTENDER: Varney doubled Blackpool's lead

A CRACKING match at the Reebok saw Bolton recover from 2-0 down to rescue a draw against a hard-working Blackpool side.  Tangerines defender Ian Evatt gave the visitors the lead, attacking far more than Johan Elmander at the near post and heading the ball away from Juusi Jaaskelainen.  Luke Varney headed in a second, when Wanderers struggled to deal with another set-piece, but the introduction of Bulgarian Martin Petrov turned the match Bolton’s way.  A fantastic strike from Petrov bought Owen Coyle’s men back into proceedings and Mark Davies finished a brilliant team goal to make it 2-2, after a quality build-up involving Elmander and Kevin Davies.  A share of the spoils was a fair result.

Saturday 27^th November: Stoke City 1-1 Manchester City

IT WAS a tight game at the Britannia, which Micah Richards looked to have settled in the last ten minutes, with a nice turn and a thundering finish underneath the body of Asmir Begovic.  Matthew Etherington grabbed a dramatic equaliser, two minutes into time added on as Stoke fought back to deserve their draw.

Saturday 27^th November: Fulham 1-1 Birmingham City

BIRMINGHAM CITY and Fulham shared the points at Craven Cottage.  A terrific piece of acceleration from Aleksandar Hleb, squared the ball for Sebastian Larsson, who placed a shot past Mark Schwarzer, his first goal since last December.  Clint Dempsey drew Fulham back on level terms, heading home from close range.

FA Barclays Premiership Report (28th - 29th August 2010)

Three weeks in and it is still very early days in the 2010/11 FA Barclays Premiership.  Here is a round-up of the action from the final weekend in August.

Saturday 28^th August: Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Arsenal

Arsenal had to show a lot of grit and fight to overcome a determined Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off.  Theo Walcott continued his flying start to the new domestic campaign, firing the Gunners ahead on twenty minutes.  Seven minutes later, Mame Diouf levelled the game up with his first goal for the club, since his loan deal went through from Manchester United.  Andrei Arshavin scored the winner midway through the second half, and despite losing Robin van Persie to an ankle injury, Arsene Wenger’s side did well to pass a very stiff test in Lancashire.

Sunday 29^th August: Bolton Wanderers 2-2 Birmingham City

Ten man Bolton Wanderers produced a stirring comeback from two goals down, to rescue a draw with Birmingham City at the Reebok.  Birmingham looked in complete control with an hour gone, ahead inside of three minutes courtesy of a tap-in from centre-back Roger Johnson, his first goal in Birmingham colours.  A moment of madness from Juusi Jaaskelainen which saw the experienced Finnish goalkeeper slap Johnson in the face resulted in a deserved dismissal.  Craig Gardner then bundled home a scrappy second goal, but Owen Coyle’s side are made of sterner stuff nowadays and did exceptionally well to battle on.  Kevin Davies won a lucky penalty and converted it and with fifteen minutes remaining, substitute Robbie Blake hit a wonderful curling free-kick to ensure a share of the spoils.

Saturday 28^th August: Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Wigan Athletic

Tottenham suffered a dreadful European hangover, as Wigan Athletic secured a priceless victory at White Hart Lane, which gave under-fire Roberto Martinez some much-needed confidence to perform at the top level as a manager.  The only goal of the match was scored by Hugo Rodallega with ten minutes remaining, as Tottenham looked sloppy, lacklustre and got what they deserved, which was nothing from the game.

Saturday 28^th August: Blackpool 2-2 Fulham

After a 39-year absence, top-flight football returned to Bloomfield Road and it witnessed a cracking encounter, as Blackpool and Fulham shared a point apiece and four goals.  Fulham, now having drawn their first three games went infront through Bobby Zamora, though a shoulder injury has now ruled Zamora out of England’s first two Euro 2010 qualifiers this week.  A cataclysmic own goal from John Pantsil put the Seasiders on level terms and they went into a deserved lead, through loan signing from Derby County, Luke Varney.  A clinical late equaliser from Nigerian international Dickson Etuhu earnt the Cottagers a draw but Ian Holloway will be delighted with the response by his players, after last week’s drubbing at the Emirates and the League Cup exit in Milton Keynes last Tuesday.

Sunday 29^th August: Aston Villa 1-0 Everton

After a dreadful week on a domestic and international basis, Kevin McDonald’s final caretaker game in charge of Aston Villa ended with a fortuitous win over a wasteful Everton at Villa Park.  The sole strike came after nine minutes, after Ashley Young took advantage of an air shot by Maroualine Fellani to feed in his namesake, Luke Young.  The right-back took his goal with some aplomb, enough to lift Villa into fourth place in the Premiership table and stake McDonald’s chances of getting the vacant position on a full-time basis.  Poor finishing from Everton’s attackers and brilliant goalkeeping from veteran Brad Friedel made it a very frustrating day for David Moyes’s side; the Toffees now only have one point from three matches.

Saturday 28^th August: Manchester United 3-0 West Ham United

After a fruitless summer, Wayne Rooney ended the longest goal scoring drought of his career, by scoring a penalty in Manchester United’s Saturday evening stroll against a West Ham side that seem to get worse with every passing week.  Rooney’s penalty after 33 minutes broke a 13-game drought and set Sir Alex Ferguson’s men on their way, with further goals from Nani and an acrobatic effort by Dimitar Berbatov putting the seal on another impressive performance.  Avram Grant has the big test to steady the ship for the Hammers and it only gets easier for him, Chelsea is next after the international break.

Sunday 29^th August: Liverpool 1-0 West Brom

In nine attempts, West Brom have failed to score a Premiership goal against Liverpool, but their hard-working approach nearly frustrated Roy Hodgson and the Anfield crowd on Sunday afternoon.  Watched on by new signings Paul Konchesky and Raul Meireles, Liverpool lacked the fluidity required, but a first goal since April for Fernando Torres was the difference between the two sides.  James Morrison was sent off in stoppage time for a terrible lunge on Torres.

Saturday 28^th August: Chelsea 2-0 Stoke City

For once, Chelsea didn’t actually win by six clear goals, though they always were in command against a Stoke side, yet to get a point so far this term.  Frank Lampard had a first-half penalty saved comfortably by Thomas Sorensen and then limped off and out of England’s Euro 2012 qualifiers.  However, Florent Malouda and Didier Drogba continued their impressive form, each scoring as the champions remained the only team to remain 100% after the first month.

Sunday 29^th August: Sunderland 1-0 Manchester City

The first blip on the Manchester City radar came on Wearside, where a stoppage time penalty from the reliable Darren Bent sank Roberto Mancini’s multi-millionaires.  Carlos Tevez chalked up an early contender for miss of the season, firing over with a gaping net to aim for in the 10^th minute and after that, City never recovered.  A push on Bent by Micah Richards in the box, led to the England striker’s opportunity, which he dispatched underneath Joe Hart’s body for a massive result for the Black Cats.

Saturday 28^th August: Wolves 1-1 Newcastle United

Both sides were fairly satisfied with the final outcome at Molineux, which saw Wolves and Newcastle dispute a hotly-contested 90 minutes, which ended all-square.  Whilst Karl Henry and Joey Barton seemed to be having their own private duel throughout, the goals were scored by the in-form Sylvain Ebanks-Blake for Wolves and Andy Carroll for Newcastle, a goal in each half.  Wolves remain unbeaten, Newcastle probably the happier of the two sides with the point.