FA Barclays Premiership Report (20th - 22nd November)

THE busy November programme in the Barclays Premiership continued this weekend, with more unpredictable results and drama that makes this league as quite simply – the best in the world.  Here’s the round-up.

Saturday 20^th November: Arsenal 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur

COOL: Bale begins the remarkable comeback at the Emirates

THE 165^th North London derby will be remembered for one of the most dramatic fightbacks in its distinguished history.  Once again, Arsenal threw away a commanding position, losing at home for the third time already this season.  The build-up was dominated by the pure hatred between Samir Nasri and William Gallas.  They didn’t shake hands in the greeting stage and it was Nasri on form from the outset, meeting Cesc Fabregas angled ball and punishing Hereulho Gomes hesitation to put the Gunners infront.  Andrei Arshavin set-up Marouane Chamakh to make it 2-0, and the game looked as good as over.  However, the reintroduction of Jermain Defoe into first-team affairs turned the match on its head.  Gareth Bale began the comeback, finishing calmly from Rafael van der Vaart’s lay-off.  Van der Vaart then made it 2-2 from the penalty spot after Fabregas stupidly handballed in a free-kick wall.  With four minutes to go, van der Vaart’s free-kick was flicked into the net by Younes Kaboul, sealing Spurs first win on Arsenal soil since May 1993 and leaving Arsene Wenger furious at his side’s traditional failings, which are just as frequent as a European banking collapse.

Saturday 20^th November: Birmingham City 1-0 Chelsea

FINISH: Bowyer sends Chelsea crashing to another loss

CHELSEA’s third defeat in four games came at St. Andrews, and it was down to Ben Foster, who produced a goalkeeping masterclass to shut out the champions.  Didier Drogba was denied on no less than four separate occasions by the sensational Foster, who looked unbeatable.  Lee Bowyer scored the only goal of the match, played in by Cameron Jerome as Chelsea’s defence stood like statues.  Birmingham move out of the bottom three, whilst Ancelotti’s out-of-form Blues remain top on goal difference.

Sunday 21^st November: Fulham 1-4 Manchester City

RESPECT: Hughes and Tevez share a hug before the clash

MANCHESTER CITY put in their most convincing performance of the season at Craven Cottage, as Roberto Mancini’s men had far too much for a poor Fulham side.  Carlos Tevez came up trumps again for City, starting the rout with a lovely finish on six minutes.  A blockbuster from Pablo Zabaleta doubled the visitor’s advantage and Fulham’s awful first half was completed when Yaya Toure neatly finished past Mark Schwarzer from Tevez’s creation.  The Argentine scored his second, flicking in Zabaleta’s drilled shot almost unknowingly soon into the second half.  The only consolation for Fulham came from substitute Zoltan Gera, scoring via a massive deflection with twenty minutes remaining.  This will have been a painful defeat for Mark Hughes to take.

Saturday 20^th November: Bolton Wanderers 5-1 Newcastle United

STUNNED: Newcastle were hit for five at the Reebok

BOLTON moved briefly into the top four, after another efficient attacking display netted three points against Newcastle.  A handball by ex-Wanderer Kevin Nolan started the rout, with Kevin Davies stroking the penalty gift home.  South Korean Lee made it 2-0, despite looking offside in the build-up and as Bolton turned on the style, they got better.  Johan Elmander gave Fabricio Coloccini a nightmare, scoring twice, before the defender elbowed Elmander and got a deserved straight red card from Howard Webb.  Andy Carroll did pull one goal back, before Davies scored again from the spot when he tumbled under Jose Enrique’s challenge.  Bolton have now notched an impressive 26 goals in 14 Premiership games.

Saturday 20^th November: Manchester United 2-0 Wigan Athletic

SLIDING: Hernandez is delighted to wrap up another win

WAYNE ROONEY’s return took the headlines, but Manchester United produced another business like performance to batter a Wigan side that looked like eleven players stuffed to the brim with some early Christmas turkeys.  Patrice Evra had United infront, dealing quickly to some fatal hesitation from Wigan keeper Ali Al-Habsi.  Rooney returned in the second half, coming onto a very mixed reception after his threats to leave the club last month angered many loyal fans.  Wigan didn’t help their cause, as both Antolin Alcaraz and Hugo Rodallega saw red within three minutes of one another, before Javier Hernandez sealed the victory.

Monday 22^nd November: Sunderland 2-2 Everton

MIKEL Arteta’s dramatic late leveller rescued a point for David Moyes in a thrilling Monday night battle at the Stadium of Light.  Tim Cahill headed Everton infront with a trademark header inside of six minutes, before teen sensation Danny Wellbeck scored twice to hand Sunderland control.  Arteta’s goal, with eight minutes remaining means Sunderland missed the chance to break into the top six.

Saturday 20^th November: Liverpool 3-0 West Ham United

HEAT: Avram Grant is feeling the pressure with every game

AVRAM Grant is coming under more scrutiny, as his West Ham side put in a shocking performance and wilted far too easily at Anfield.  In fact, they made Liverpool look like a world class side.  Glen Johnson finished brilliantly, after bringing down the ball on his chest to open the scoring.  Dirk Kuyt dispatched a penalty after Fernando Torres was blocked off by Danny Gabbidon’s arm and Maxi Rodriguez made it 3-0, converting Paul Konchesky’s cross.

Sunday 21^st November: Blackburn Rovers 2-0 Aston Villa

FUN: Pedersen continued his recent run of cracking form

ROVERS new Indian owners watched on as their side recorded an impressive win – their third in four matches.  Mortem Gamst Pedersen scored both goals; the first coming two minutes into first half stoppage time with a free-kick that made Brad Friedel look rather stupid.  The second came when Ryan Nelsen’s shot was deflected home by the Norwegian midway through the second half. 

Saturday 20^th November: Blackpool 2-1 Wolves

A STUNNING volley from Luke Varney infront of Prince William portrayed the way for another Blackpool victory.  Marlon Harewood scrambled in a second goal, after Marcus Hahnemann dropped the ball from a dangerous corner.  A late consolation from Kevin Doyle wasn’t enough to prevent Wolves fourth straight defeat.

Saturday 20^th November: West Brom 0-3 Stoke City

64% of POSSESSION meant nothing to West Brom, as Stoke moved upto eighth in the table, after their third straight win.  Jonathan Walters scored twice, once from the penalty spot and Matthew Etherington also netted from twelve yards.  One point in five games leaves WBA in the bottom five.

FA Barclays Premiership Report (6th - 7th November)

WITH three sets of matches in seven days, the Premiership is starting to take shape.  Here is a round-up of the weekend’s action, which saw a brilliant weekend for the North West clubs, but a disaster for London’s finest.

Sunday 7^th November: Liverpool 2-0 Chelsea

FERNANDO Torres returned to his world class best, as the Liverpool revival continued, sending Chelsea crashing to only their second Premiership loss of the season.  Torres first goal on 11 minutes was all about control and strength, shaking off John Terry after Dirk Kuyt played him through.  The Spaniard was a man reborn and his second strike, a magnificent curling effort past a stranded Petr Cech confirmed his return.  Chelsea did batter Liverpool in the second half, but with Didier Drogba having been left on the bench, this was a day to forget for the former runaway leaders.

Saturday 6^th November: Manchester United 2-1 Wolves

THE late show happened again at Old Trafford, as Wolves were denied a deserved draw by Ji-Sung Park.  The Korean opened the scoring in the first half, which will be remembered for the disastrous comeback by Owen Hargreaves.  776 days since his last first-team appearance, his comeback only lasted seven minutes, due to a pulled hamstring.  Mick McCarthy made an inspired substitution in the second half, bringing on Sylvain Ebanks-Blake.  Moments later, he had equalised at the Stretford End.  Wolves’ commitment and intent on attacking certainly impressed the neutrals, but they were robbed of their point by Park’s scuffed strike in stoppage time, that creped past Marcus Hahnemann.

Sunday 7^th November: Arsenal 0-1 Newcastle United

ANDY Carroll can’t seem to keep out of the headlines at the moment, and his header put a huge dent in Arsenal’s title chances.  Whilst Newcastle defended brilliantly and Tim Krul had to be at his best to deny Alex Song, Lukasz Fabianski made a meal of Joey Barton’s free-kick on the stroke of half-time and allowed Carroll to out jump him and score his sixth goal of the season.  Basic elementary errors from Arsenal defensively cost them on Sunday, summed up by Laurent Koscieny’s late dismissal for bringing down Nile Ranger, the Gunners fourth red card of the season.  The home supporters booed their players off the pitch, whilst the Magpies now proudly sit in fifth spot in the Premiership table.

Saturday 6^th November: Bolton Wanderers 4-2 Tottenham Hotspur

BOLTON brought Spurs down to earth after their midweek high in the Champions League.  Kevin Davies scored twice, as Tottenham’s miserable record of no wins at the Reebok in Premiership history continued.  After Davies scored the solitary goal of the first half, Gareth Bale hit the bar with a free-kick.  Gretar Steinsson doubled the lead, and Bolton’s physical dominance was highlighted when Benoit Assou-Ekotto fouled Lee in the penalty area.  Davies tucked away the spot kick with ease, infront of Fabio Capello.  Alan Hutton’s curler and a bullet volley by Roman Pavyluchenko gave Spurs hope in the last ten minutes, before Martin Petrov came off the bench, to seal the points on a counter-attack in time added on.  To add to Tottenham’s woes, Tom Huddlestone is likely to face further action from the FA, after a deliberate and malicious stamp on Johan Elmander.

Sunday 7^th November: West Brom 0-2 Manchester City

MARIO Balotelli showed his good, bad and ugly side, as Manchester City ended their run of three successive defeats.  Balotelli’s first two goals in Manchester City colours came in the first 26 minutes.  The first was a simple tap-in from three yards out, after an acute cutback from Carlos Tevez.  His second was precise, capitalising on poor Albion defending to slot a low drive past Scott Carson infront of the Italian coach Cesare Prandelli.  After the restart, he lost his head and a childish kick-out at Yusuf Mulumbu saw him get a straight red card.  City has appealed the decision.  Mulumbu was also sent off for a second yellow, after a crude and silly challenge on Tevez.  West Brom’s 11-month home unbeaten run is over then, on a comfortable afternoon for the under-fire Roberto Mancini.

Saturday 6^th November: Sunderland 2-0 Stoke City

WHEN Darren Bent went down with flu on Saturday morning, Steve Bruce must have been wondering just where the goals were going to come from.  Step forward Sunderland’s record signing Asamoah Gyan – who scored twice.  Steed Malbranque also had a first half penalty saved by Asmir Begovic, but the scoreline doesn’t tell the full story.  Stoke’s rotten luck of refereeing decisions continued when Kenwyne Jones’s header from a Roy Delap might have gone across the line.  However, Lee Cattermole blatantly handled the ball, so a stonewall penalty was denied.  Seconds later, Martin Atkinson’s eyesight went again when Jones had another header that looked to have crossed the line.  Ryan Shawcross’s harsh red card for two challenges on Danny Wellbeck compounded Tony Pulis misery.  Atkinson may need to go to Specsavers after this horror show!

Saturday 6^th November: Birmingham City 2-2 West Ham United

DAVID Gold’s comments about Birmingham meant the West Ham co-owner was banned from returning to his former ground.  When the sprinklers went on in a dire first half, any neutral could predict that the goals would rain down in the second half.  Frederic Piquionne and Valon Behrami put the Hammers 2-0 at St. Andrews, but the home side fought back brilliantly and Cameron Jerome pulled a goal back.  When Robert Green spilled Sebastian Larsson’s free-kick, Liam Ridgewell completed the brilliant fightback.  This was a missed opportunity for West Ham to climb off the foot of the table.

Saturday 6^th November: Blackpool 2-2 Everton

HAVING helped the Tangerines gain promotion last season, Seamus Coleman returned to Bloomfield Road and scored his first senior goal for Everton, as these teams shared the spoils.  Neal Eardley opened the scoring with a brilliant free-kick, which was quickly cancelled out by a trademark Tim Cahill header, his 50^th Premiership goal.  DJ Campbell put Blackpool back infront, despite seemingly handling the ball in the build-up, before Coleman drew the teams’ level again.  Both sides had chances to win all three points, but Louis Saha missed a great chance and Marlon Harewood had a late goal chalked off for a debatable push on Phil Neville.

Saturday 6^th November: Fulham 1-1 Aston Villa

ASTON VILLA wasted chance after chance at Craven Cottage and can only blame themselves for not leaving West London with all three points.  Marc Albrighton ended their barren scoring drought in the first half, but Brede Hangeland equalised in the 95^th minute, to rescue an undeserved point for a surprisingly subdued Fulham side.

Saturday 6^th November: Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Wigan Athletic

BLACKBURN moved out of the bottom three and dumped Wigan into the drop zone in their place.  Mortem Gamst Pedersen floated a free-kick in, and Jason Roberts – who didn’t have a squad number at the start of the season put Rovers 2-0 up.  Charles N’Zogbia did score a brilliant free-kick, but it was too little, too late for Roberto Martinez’s side at Ewood Park.