FA Barclays Premiership Report (7th - 9th May)

THE most decisive weekend of the Premiership season saw history being made at the top of the table and the battle to stay afloat in the top flight tighten up even more.

RECORD: The title looms large for Manchester United

    The title showdown at Old Trafford between Manchester United and Chelsea went United’s way.  They outfought, outpassed and outclassed Chelsea and deserved to win more than the 2-1 final scoreline suggests.  The win means the Red Devils only need one point at Blackburn on Saturday lunchtime to secure a 19^th league title, surpassing Liverpool’s long-standing record as the most successful club in English football history.  Sir Alex Ferguson’s side started in clinical fashion, as Javier Hernandez pounced on David Luiz’s slip inside 36 seconds to give United an unbelievable start.  Chelsea looked unrecognisable in the first half and didn’t turn up.  They went 2-0 down inside 23 minutes.  Nemanja Vidic powered in an easy header from Ryan Giggs brilliant cross.  Chelsea did get a glimmer hope with 22 minutes to go, when Frank Lampard touched in Branislav Ivanovic’s flick-on.  Ultimately, the men from West London end the season with nothing to show for their efforts, except question marks over Carlo Ancelotti’s future.  Speculation is rife linking Ancelotti with a return to Serie A with AS Roma.

    At the wrong end of the table, Mick McCarthy’s Wolves celebrated a huge 3-1 win over West Brom in the Black Country derby.  It is Wolves first win in six games against their great rivals and takes Wolves out of the bottom three, with their Premiership destiny now in their own hands.  Steven Fletcher took full advantage of West Brom’s horrendous defending display to score two goals and Adeline Guedioura celebrated his first goal in English football through some ditzy defending from their rivals in the Midlands.  Peter Odemwingie did pull a goal back from the penalty spot, but this was Wolves day.

     Blackpool dropped back into the bottom three, despite a battling draw at White Hart Lane against Tottenham on Saturday evening.  Charlie Adam, almost signed by Tottenham on deadline day in January had a dramatic match.  His crude challenge on Gareth Bale finished Bale’s season early with ankle ligament damage.  He then had a penalty saved by Hereulho Gomes when Michael Dawson handled in the box.  Seconds later, Gomes’s inconsistent form continued when he needlessly bundled over Gary Taylor-Fletcher for a second spot kick.  This time, Adam made no mistake.  In the 88^th minute, Jermain Defoe broke Blackpool’s hearts by earning the home side a point, but it made Champions League qualification pretty much impossible.  All those dreams died with a 1-0 loss at Manchester City last night, which secured City’s place in Europe’s premier club competition next season. 

GLOAT: Everton won the battle, but City recovered to claim 4th

     Before last night’s joy, City had a frustrating day at Goodison Park at the weekend.  In the ultimate game of two halves, they lost 2-1 at Everton.  The visitors had bossed the first half and deserved their first half lead, courtesy of Yaya Toure.  However, Everton turned the game around with two headers in the second half, through City old boy Sylvain Distin and a brilliant header by Leon Osman.  You could tell that it was a bad day for the blue half of Manchester, as manager Roberto Mancini attempted to pick a fight with Phil Neville at the final whistle.  Tottenham might miss out on Europe altogether next season, thanks to a revitalised Liverpool outfit.  In the final Monday Night Football of the season, Kenny Dalglish’s side ripped Fulham apart – winning 5-2 at Craven Cottage.  Maxi Rodriguez scored inside 30 seconds and went on to complete his second treble in three matches.  Dirk Kuyt and Luis Suarez scored too and now, if Liverpool beat Tottenham on Sunday at Anfield, they secure England’s final UEFA Europa League qualification place.

     Back in the scrap to stay up and time is rapidly running out for Avram Grant and West Ham United.  They needed to beat Blackburn on Saturday and they didn’t.  The 1-1 draw kept the Hammers rooted to the foot of the table.  Jason Roberts had the visitors infront on 12 minutes, which meant West Ham got that familiar feeling.  Although Thomas Hitzlsperger drilled in one of his specials, crucial blocks from Christopher Samba and another missed sitter from the misfiring Robbie Keane, it was a result West Ham needed to improve on.  At Villa Park, Wigan’s promising start did little to ease their relegation worries.  Although they remain unbeaten at Aston Villa since entering the Premiership in 2005, the 1-1 stalemate means Roberto Martinez continues to feel the strain.  For the second successive weekend, Charles N’Zogbia had Wigan infront inside of ten minutes, but Ashley Young’s free-kick seven minutes restored parity.  A tepid game was spiced up by a tantrum from Emile Heskey, who looked like he might punch somebody if he didn’t calm down.  Stand-in boss Gary McAllister wisely subbed Heskey at half-time.  This means the Wigan v West Ham clash on Sunday is quite possibly the game that will end up deciding one of their short-term futures.

     The other weekend matches saw Stoke City’s historic week began with a great 3-1 victory over an off-colour Arsenal.  Poor defending from the Gunners allowed Kenwyne Jones, Jermaine Pennant and Jonathan Walters to send Stoke to Wembley for the FA Cup final on a high.  It was Arsenal biggest defeat of the season and they haven’t frankly recovered from that late heartbreak in February’s Carling Cup final.  Elsewhere, Newcastle United beat Birmingham City 2-1 and Sunderland secured Premiership football for another season, as Sulley Muntari’s last-minute goal overcame Bolton 2-1 at the Reebok.  Two weekends to go and whilst the relegation scrap looks set to go to the wire, we can congratulate Manchester United on another Premiership title.  They deserve it!

FA Barclays Premiership Report (30th October - 1st November)

THE final weekend in October provided plenty of Halloween horrors, as the clocks went back.  Here is a round-up of the great action.

Saturday 30^th October: Manchester United 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur

MARK Clattenburg awarded one of the strangest goals in FA Premier League history to Manchester United, in their routine victory over Tottenham at Old Trafford.  Nemanja Vidic’s perfect header on the half hour had Spurs behind, who have not won away from home at any of the ‘big 4’ (Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Man Utd) since August 1993.  However, it was the second goal that caused all the controversy.  Nani went down dramatically from Younes Kaboul’s tug on his shirt.  He handled the ball on the deck and a free-kick was awarded.  Not according to Clattenburg though, who allowed the Portuguese winger to roll the ball away from a startled Hereulho Gomes and into a vacated net.  Confusion and confrontation reigned, but the ‘ghost’ goal was eventually given, much to the staggering of Harry Redknapp.  United can count their blessings, in a game full of entertainment, which saw Gareth Bale, Nani, Roman Pavyluchenko and Ji-Sung Park all hit the woodwork.

Sunday 31^st October: Newcastle United 5-1 Sunderland

IT WAS a Halloween horror show from Sunderland, as Newcastle ripped their great neighbours to pieces at St. James Park, recording the biggest Tyne & Wear derby win since 1956 in the process.  Toon captain Kevin Nolan scored a memorable hat-trick, and there were two goals from Shola Ameobi too.  Former Magpies defender Titus Bramble got a straight red card in the second half for scything down the magnificent Andy Carroll, and then he was waved off sarcastically by the home fans.  Darren Bent scored a meek consolation in stoppage time for the visitors, but this was truly a day that Steve Bruce will want to forget ever existed.

Saturday 30^th October: Wolves 2-1 Manchester City

ROBERTO Mancini looked on in disgust, as his players Vincent Kompany and Emmanuel Adebayor had a near pitch bust-up at Molineux.  Their argument overshadowed a great Wolves display, as they recorded only their second win of the season.  Nenad Mijias and David Edwards were the scorers, cancelling out Adebayor’s early penalty after David Silva was fouled by Richard Stearman.

Saturday 30^th October: Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Chelsea

CHELSEA struck lucky to leave Ewood Park with three points, after a plucky performance.  The Blues left it late to win in Lancashire, with Branislav Ivanovic heading the winner in from Yuri Zhirkov’s cross with just four minutes to go.  Earlier, Benjani headed Blackburn into a deserved lead, before Nicholas Anelka equalised.  Sam Allardyce will look at this as a missed opportunity, as both Mame Diouf and Jason Roberts missed chances that a clergyman could have scored with their eyes shut!  Rovers slip into the bottom three.

Sunday 31^st October: Bolton Wanderers 0-1 Liverpool

LIVERPOOL’s first away win in the Premiership since the end of April was much-needed and like Chelsea, they snatched it at the Reebok.  In a mundane match against a lacklustre Bolton side, the winner came with four minutes to go.  Fernando Torres, who missed a glaring chance in the opening exchanges, played through Argentine Maxi Rodriguez, who coolly finished underneath Juusi Jaaskelainen.  It was an unlikely winner, but it records an 8^th successive Premiership win over Bolton for Liverpool and lifts Roy Hodgson’s side into the dizzy heights of mid-table.

Monday 1^st November: Blackpool 2-1 West Brom

BLACKPOOL recorded their first home victory in the top flight since 1971, helped by a lack of indiscipline from a West Brom side, which missed the chance to break into the top four.  Pablo Ibanez was dismissed for the visitors on 11 minutes, for a foul on DJ Campbell in the penalty area.  This red card has since been rescinded on appeal.  Charlie Adam scored the spot kick and when Gonzalo Jara lunged in on Luke Varney before half-time, Albion ended up being down to nine men.  Varney doubled Blackpool’s lead and although Youssouf Mulumbu curled in a late consolation, Blackpool fully merited the three points that lift them back into the top half of the table.

Sunday 31^st October: Aston Villa 0-0 Birmingham City

LOCAL pride remained intact in a dull Second City derby at Villa Park.  Villa had the best of the chances, with Ashley Young hitting the post and Ben Foster being tested by Barry Bannan and Nigel Reo-Coker.  A well-organised Birmingham will be far happier with the point, whilst Gerard Houillier must be worried with the lack of goals, Villa drawing a blank for the third successive league match.

Saturday 30^th October: Arsenal 1-0 West Ham United

ARSENAL snatched a crucial victory in the dying stages against struggling West Ham, to keep in touch with leaders Chelsea.  The under-fire Robert Green was in superb form at the Emirates, producing a number of top-class saves as the Gunners struggled to breakdown the bottom side in the Premiership.  Alex Song broke the resistance, heading the winner past Green from Gael Clichy’s cross with just two minutes to go.

Saturday 30^th October: Fulham 2-0 Wigan Athletic

FULHAM were outstanding against Wigan, recording only their second win of the league campaign so far.  American Clint Dempsey scored twice in the first half against a dreadful Wigan side.  Wigan’s unpredictability must concern Roberto Martinez, who have the ability to play like a top six team, or a side that faces relegation to League Two.  Fulham’s excellent day was complete with a late cameo role for Andy Johnson, his first game since January after a fraught spell on the sidelines through injury.

Saturday 30^th October: Everton 1-0 Stoke City

STOKE’s resistance was broken in a game that will never be remembered as a classic, by any stretch of the imagination.  Yakubu scored the winner, reacting quickest to Tim Cahill’s shot hitting the post.  Stoke will feel aggrieved though to have a goal disallowed, when Tuncay was adjudged to have fouled Leighton Baines.  Television replays indicate that Baines was caught in two minds, and lucky to get away with such a dithering error.