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.

  

FA Barclays Premiership Report (9th - 10th November)

NOTHING beats a full set of FA Premier League midweek action, infront of packed crowds and floodlit stadiums.  Here is a round-up of the midweek fixtures, which saw Chelsea reaffirm their grip on the title race.

Wednesday 10^th November: Manchester City 0-0 Manchester United

AFTER all the build-up, this was a total non-event.  A very scrappy and cagey affair, both sides seemed fearful of losing the game rather than trying to win it.  Carlos Tevez had the only meaningful effort in the match, with his curling free-kick pushing Edwin Van der Sar to full stretch in the first half.  Other than that and some feisty tackling, the entertainment value was nil in a terrible game.

Wednesday 10^th November: Chelsea 1-0 Fulham

DELIGHT: Michael Essien happy with his winner

FULHAM haven’t won an away game in the Premiership in 15 months and that sorry record continued at Stamford Bridge, as Chelsea went four points clear at the top.  It was a mixed evening for Michael Essien, who scored the winner.  Essien converting another header on his return to the side, creeping in unnoticed and unmarked from Salomon Kalou’s cross.  Essien was then controversially dismissed in the final minute for a two-footed challenge on Clint Dempsey.  Although it was a tough challenge, it didn’t look malicious, with Chelsea considering a possible appeal.

Wednesday 10^th November: Aston Villa 3-2 Blackpool

MOBBED: Aston Villa enjoyed James Collins late header

IAN Holloway made ten changes to his starting line-up from Saturday’s draw with Everton and his gamble nearly paid off, as Blackpool impressed many with their commitment and competitiveness at Villa Park.  Sadly, they got no points for their efforts.  Stewart Downing gave Villa the lead, although via a deflection for his fifth goal of the season.  Marlon Harewood equalised on his return to Villa Park, with a clean finish on the stroke of half-time.  Youngster Nathan Delfouneso was denied a goal early in the second half, but he buried another chance on the hour.  Blackpool looked to have salvaged a point when DJ Campbell bought the visitors level in the 87^th minute, his shot deflecting off James Collins, which took it past Brad Friedel’s despairing dive.  Two minutes later, Collins made up for his misfortune with a bullet header that gave Villa their first win in six games.

Wednesday 10^th November: Newcastle United 1-2 Blackburn Rovers

PUNCH: Joey Barton faces further action for this punch

BLACKBURN Rovers continued their brilliant record at St. James Park, winning for the fifth consecutive occasion on Sam Allardyce’s first return to Tyneside since his sacking as Toon boss in January 2008.  Blackburn were ahead early on, Chiok Tiote couldn’t get the ball out of his feet, allowing Mortem Gamst Pedersen to get in and rifling a shot past Tim Krul.  Andy Carroll equalised with a trademark header as couple of minutes into the start of the second half.  Joey Barton may face sanctions from the FA, after he had an altercation with Pedersen and punched him in the mid-drift.  It was a punch that Audley Harrison would be proud of!  With eight minutes to go, a lapse of concentration at the back of the home side’s defence allowed Jason Roberts, who couldn’t miss to seal back-to-back wins for Rovers.

Tuesday 9^th November: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Sunderland

CONFRONTATION: Spurs angered by Cattermole's tackle

TOTTENHAM put in a dominant first-half display, but failed to convert their chances into goals against Sunderland.  The second half started controversially when Bolo Zenden bought down David Bentley in the penalty area, yet Howard Webb booked Bentley for diving!  Spurs opened the scoring on 55 minutes, when Gareth Bale crossed for Peter Crouch, who laid a chance on for Rafael van der Vaart to convert.  Asamoah Gyan equalised for the Black Cats two minutes later, but they should have been reduced to ten men by the end, when Lee Cattermole should have been sent off for a disgusting foul on Luka Modric.

Wednesday 10^th November: Wolves 0-2 Arsenal

POWER: Chamakh heads Arsenal into a first minute lead

A TERRIFIC game at Molineux saw Arsenal continue their domination over Wolves in the league.  It has been 31 years since Wolves beat the Gunners in the league and that record never looked like changing once Marouane Chamakh scored after only 38 seconds, a perfect header from Alex Song’s beautiful cross.  Wolves had their chances and were probably the better side, despite Andrei Arshavin hitting the post for the visitors in the second half.  Chamakh closed the game down in the last minute, when Arsenal broke quickly after Lukasz Fabianski (who had a great game) made a smart save from Kevin Doyle.  The Moroccan has now scored eight goals for Arsenal and is becoming a real goal scoring threat that Ian Wright and Thierry Henry have produced down the years for the Gunners.

Tuesday 9^th November: Stoke City 3-2 Birmingham City

LATE: Dean Whitehead scrambles a dramatic winner in

THE stalemate at the Britannia was broken just before half-time, when Ricardo Fuller’s shot was blocked, and the follow-up fell to Robert Huth, who powered a shot past Ben Foster.  A breathtaking second half followed, with Fuller doubling the lead – launching an unstoppable shot past Foster on 71 minutes.  For the second successive match, Birmingham launched an impressive comeback, with goals from Keith Fahey and Cameron Jerome’s header.  The scoreline went from 1-0 on 70 minutes, to 2-2 in 76 minutes.  Doubtful defending from Barry Ferguson set-up Dean Whitehead to win it for the Potters with four minutes to go, Stoke’s first win in five Premiership matches.

Wednesday 10^th November: West Ham United 2-2 West Brom

PENALTY: Odemwingie strikes West Brom infront

WEST HAM stay bottom after throwing away another winning advantage.  A very questionable decision in a corner melee saw West Brom get a penalty that was calmly converted by Peter Odemwingie.  Scott Parker launched a brilliant equaliser in his 100^th Hammers appearance, and then West Ham got their own penalty when Kieron Dyer was pushed in the penalty area by Gabriel Tamas.  Frederic Piquionne scored the penalty, but on 71 minutes, Pablo Ibanez met Chris Brunt’s curling cross to rescue a point for Albion.

Wednesday 10^th November: Wigan Athletic 1-1 Liverpool

CLASS: Torres celebrates his early opener at the DW

LIVERPOOL stretched their unbeaten run to four games, though Roy Hodgson will be disappointed that his side didn’t convert on their bright start at the DW Stadium.  There was just seven minutes on the clock when Steven Gerrard’s neat pass found Fernando Torres, who provided a superb finish for his third goal in four days.  Wigan fought back and deserved their equaliser, coming when Ronnie Stam’s testing cross was parried by Pepe Reina, but only straight into the path of Hugo Rodallega, who drilled in the equaliser.  Despite the draw, the bottom three still has Wigan’s name in it.

Wednesday 10^th November: Everton 1-1 Bolton Wanderers

JERMAINE Beckford scored with the very last kick of the game to rescue a point for the Toffees.  It was his first Premiership goal for the club, after Ivan Klasnic had broken through on the counter attack, tapping in Matt Taylor’s magnificent cross.  Maroualine Fellani was sent off for Everton after kicking out at Paul Robinson with four minutes to go.