20 years of the FA Premier League - Part 3

2002/03

HAVING ended the previous season empty-handed, Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United were determined for revenge in 2002/03 and they hunted Arsenal down successfully to regain the Premiership title.  It was their eighth success in 11 years.  Despite having broken the British transfer record to sign Rio Ferdinand from Leeds United for £30million; old frailties seemed to be around Ferguson’s team early in the season.  Bolton beat them at Old Trafford for the second successive season, with Leeds and Manchester City (in the last Manchester derby at Maine Road) also inflicting early season defeats.  Meanwhile, Arsenal and Liverpool both started the season in sensational fashion.  Liverpool went 12 games unbeaten at the start of the season, but then endured a miserable run in wintertime.  Gerard Houiller’s side went 11 games without a win, dropped to 7^th and saw their title challenge melt away.  However, Arsenal continued to fly, with Thierry Henry, Sylvain Wiltord and Robert Pires all in great form.  On March 2, they beat Charlton Athletic at Highbury 2-0 to extend their points advantage over Manchester United to eight points.  Gradually, United took bites out of the deficit, until they overhauled them before a Highbury face-off in mid-April.  Ruud Van Nistlerooy swung the Premiership pendulum United’s way with an early goal, but two Henry strikes in the opening moments of the second half turned the game around.  A free header from Ryan Giggs drew the sides level, before Sol Campbell was sent off controversially for an accidental elbow into the face of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.  The game finished 2-2, and injuries and suspensions took their toll on Wenger’s side.  Ten days later, they threw away a 2-0 lead to draw at Bolton and a week later, it was all over.  Marc Viduka’s 87^th minute winner was not only enough for Leeds to win 3-2 at Highbury and ensure Premiership football at Elland Road for another season, but give the title to one of their bitter rivals.  Newcastle United launched a brief title assault, with Sir Bobby Robson’s exciting young side finishing a creditable third.  Chelsea took the final Champions League spot on offer, as Claudio Ranieri penniless side won the £25million showdown with Liverpool on the final day of the season.  Little did we know of the drama and the new investment to enter West London that summer!  The stress of management was also shown as Glenn Roeder collapsed and was taken to hospital after West Ham beat Middlesbrough 1-0 on April 21.  Trevor Brooking took over the reins, but he couldn’t save his beloved club from shock relegation on the final day of the season.

CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2^nd: Arsenal 3^rd: Newcastle United, 4^th: Chelsea 5^th: Liverpool, 6^th: Blackburn Rovers, 7^th: Everton, 8^th; Southampton, 9^th: Manchester City, 10^th: Tottenham

RELEGATED: West Ham United, West Brom, Sunderland

BIGGEST WIN: West Brom 0-6 Liverpool (26 April 2003)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Manchester United 5-3 Newcastle United (23 November 2002), Newcastle United 2-6 Manchester United (12 April 2003), West Ham United 3-4 Leeds United (10 November 2002)

SCORERS: Van Nistlerooy (Manchester United) 25, Henry (Arsenal) 24, Beattie (Southampton) 23, Viduka (Leeds) 20, Owen (Liverpool) 19, Shearer (Newcastle) 17, Scholes (Manchester United) 14, Pires (Arsenal) 14, Anelka (Manchester City) 14, Zola (Chelsea) 14, Keane (Leeds & Tottenham) 14, Kewell (Leeds) 14, Sheringham (Tottenham) 12, Hasselbaink (Chelsea) 11, Radzinski (Everton) 11

2003/04

ONE team dominated the 2003/04 season and totally rewrote the football history books.  On Saturday May 15 2004, Arsenal beat Leicester City 2-1 to complete a truly remarkable feat.  Not since Preston North End in 1888 had this happened.  A team had gone unbeaten for an entire league season.  The Gunners record was; P38, W26, D12, L0.  Arsene Wenger had completed total football perfection.  The turning point of their season was an early showdown with Manchester United at Old Trafford.  The match was disappointing, finishing 0-0.  However, it exploded into life in the closing stages.  Already angered by Patrick Vieira’s dismissal, Arsenal were even more incensed when Diego Forlan went down in stoppage time under a Martin Keown challenge.  Ruud Van Nistlerooy, involved in the Vieira scuffle, hit the crossbar from the penalty, and then, all hell broke loose.  Eight players were charged, with six Gunners players getting up to 18 games in total of suspensions.  After that, Arsenal let their football do the talking, rather than the aggression they showed on that awful day.  Whilst the Gunners were achieving record after record, Chelsea began spending money almost as lavishly at Harrods.  Roman Abramovich bought the club from Ken Bates in June and gave the club fortunes to spend in the transfer market.  In came the likes of Wayne Bridge, Claude Makelele, Damien Duff, Glen Johnson and Adrian Mutu and in also came a new force in the Premiership reckoning.  Chelsea topped the table on merit at the end of November and finished second, their best finish in the league since winning in 1955.  Claudio Ranieri’s reward was the sack.  Manchester United finished a distant third in the table, hobbled by Rio Ferdinand’s eight month suspension he received before Christmas for missing a drugs test.  Amongst their shock defeats was a 1-0 loss away to newly promoted Wolves in January.  Both Liverpool and Newcastle United had very inconsistent seasons, although they just about managed to scrap it out for the final Champions League spot.  A run of four wins in a row towards the season’s end meant Liverpool finished in the coveted fourth position, but Gerard Houiller lost his job after an abject campaign which saw his side finish a mammoth 30 points behind the champions.  Many other established clubs had dismal seasons too.  Tottenham sacked Glenn Hoddle in September, were in the bottom three at the turn of the year and only finished 14^th, whilst Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City and Everton finished in the bottom six after dreadful seasons.  Worse befall Leeds United however.  Champions League semi-finalists three years earlier, Leeds were relegated as their financial mess imploded with more star players being sold and total disarray in the boardroom.  Leicester City and Wolves went straight back down too, but Portsmouth finished a very creditable 13^th in their first season back in the top flight.

CHAMPIONS: Arsenal, 2^nd: Chelsea 3^rd: Manchester United, 4^th: Liverpool 5^th: Newcastle United, 6^th: Aston Villa, 7^th: Charlton Athletic, 8^th; Bolton Wanderers, 9^th: Fulham, 10^th: Birmingham City

RELEGATED: Leicester City, Leeds United, Wolves

BIGGEST WIN: Portsmouth 6-1 Leeds United (8 November 2003)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Manchester City 6-2 Bolton Wanderers (18 October 2003), Tottenham Hotspur 4-4 Leicester City (22 February 2004), Middlesbrough 5-3 Birmingham City (21 March 2004)

SCORERS: Henry (Arsenal) 30, Shearer (Newcastle) 22, Saha (Fulham & Manchester United) 20, Van Nistlerooy (Manchester United) 20, Forssell (Birmingham) 17, Owen (Liverpool) 16, Angel (Aston Villa) 16, Yakubu (Portsmouth) 16, Anelka (Manchester City) 16, Pires (Arsenal) 14, Beattie (Southampton) 14, Keane (Tottenham) 14, Hasselbaink (Chelsea) 12, Ferdinand (Leicester) 12

2004/05

JOSE Mourinho was welcomed into the Premiership and his mission was simple; to deliver Chelsea their first championship in 50 years.  Along the way, he not only mastered the English game, but revolutionised Chelsea’s fortunes.  On Saturday April 30, the inspirational Frank Lampard scored twice to seal a 2-0 win at Bolton and complete Chelsea’s dream.  They became Premiership champions for the first time.  Not only that, but they rewrote the Premiership history books.  Mourinho’s men only conceded 18 goals all season, whilst new goalkeeper Petr Cech broke the record for the number of minutes he kept goal without conceding.  The Blues managed 95 points, won 27 games, which was the most ever in a 38-game season and lost only once (1-0 at Manchester City on October 16).  Blue really was the colour in 2004/05.  Established contenders Arsenal and Manchester United were forced to play second fiddle.  The Red Devils did manage to end Arsenal’s incredible unbeaten run at 49 games, after another bruising encounter between the two teams at Old Trafford ended 2-0 in United’s favour on October 24.  However, it was Arsenal who had the last laugh and finished second, ensuring automatic qualification for the Champions League.  Having sold star striker Wayne Rooney to Manchester United and been relegation favourites in pre-season, Everton defied all the critics to finish an outstanding fourth in the league, despite a humiliating 7-0 defeat at Arsenal towards the season’s end.  It meant that Everton beat Liverpool in the league table for the first time since 1987, although Rafa Benitez did mastermind an incredible Champions League triumph in his first season at the club.  A new manager became the new fashion this season too with Paul Sturrock (Southampton), Sir Bobby Robson (Newcastle), Gary Megson (West Brom) and Jacques Santini (Tottenham) among those to lose their jobs in the first three months of the season.  Graeme Souness was given the task of managing Newcastle, but he couldn’t stop an amazing incident in April, when two of his midfielders, Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer started fighting during a match at home to Aston Villa.  Both were sent off and banned and 14^th place was the final outcome.  At the bottom of the table, Norwich City, Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Brom got locked in an intense dogfight all season.  On ‘Survival Sunday,’ Norwich had their fate in their own hands, but lost 6-0 at Fulham and went straight back down.  Harry Redknapp failed to mastermind Southampton’s sorry season and their 27 year stay in the top flight was ended by a 1-2 loss at home to Manchester United.  West Brom beat Portsmouth 2-0 and a late Charlton equaliser from Jonathan Fortune at home to Crystal Palace was enough for the Baggies to stay up.  In doing so, West Brom became the first team ever to stay up in the Premiership, having been bottom of the table on Christmas Day.

CHAMPIONS: Chelsea, 2^nd: Arsenal 3^rd: Manchester United, 4^th: Everton 5^th: Liverpool, 6^th: Bolton Wanderers, 7^th: Middlesbrough, 8^th; Manchester City, 9^th: Tottenham, 10^th: Aston Villa

RELEGATED: Crystal Palace, Norwich City, Southampton

BIGGEST WIN: Arsenal 7-0 Everton (11 May 2005)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Tottenham Hotspur 4-5 Arsenal (13 November 2004), Arsenal 5-3 Middlesbrough (22 August 2004), Tottenham Hotspur 5-2 Everton (1 January 2005)

SCORERS: Henry (Arsenal) 25, Johnson (Crystal Palace) 21, Pires (Arsenal) 14, Lampard (Chelsea) 13, Hasselbaink (Middlesbrough) 13, Defoe (Tottenham) 13, Yakubu (Portsmouth) 13, Gudjohnsen (Chelsea) 12, Cole (Fulham) 12, Crouch (Southampton) 12, Rooney (Manchester United) 11, Cahill (Everton) 11, Fowler (Manchester City) 11, Keane (Tottenham) 11, Earnshaw (West Brom) 11

2005/06

FOR the second successive season, Chelsea totally dominated the Premiership, winning the league by eight points from nearest rivals, Manchester United.  At times, Chelsea had leads in the table as big as 15 points.  They were top of the league from the third week onwards, kept clean sheets in their first six Premiership games and never looked threatened.  They won the league in crowning style, on the penultimate weekend of the season.  Goals from William Gallas, Joe Cole and Ricardo Carvalho spearheaded Chelsea to a 3-0 win over Manchester United, which highlighted the gulfing class between the two sides.  Liverpool had a much better domestic campaign this time around, winning ten games in a row between October and December and achieving a similar run from March to May.  The Anfield club also gave Robbie Fowler an emotional return in January, when he signed from Manchester City.  Four goals in the season run-in earnt him an extra season on Merseyside.  Whilst Fowler continued, Alan Shearer retired at the end of the season.  Sadly, injury forced the decision prematurely three weeks earlier than anticipated, but his final involvement was scoring a penalty at the Stadium of Light against Tyneside rivals Sunderland.  Whilst Newcastle finished seventh in the table, Sunderland had a horrific campaign.  They wound up with 13 points, which for two seasons, was the worst total ever in Premiership history.  The Black Cats only managed three wins all season and sacked Mick McCarthy in March.  After walking out on Portsmouth a year earlier to manage bitter South Coast rivals Southampton, Harry Redknapp returned to Fratton Park, and ‘Harry Houdini’ inspired the club to an incredible run of form that kept them in the Premiership.  They were eight points adrift of safety in March, but two Pedro Mendes strikes against Manchester City were the catalyst for the dramatic upturn in fortunes.  Portsmouth’s revival meant Birmingham City were relegated, just two years after finishing in the top half of the league and West Brom also couldn’t hold onto their Premier League status.  After 93 years at Highbury, time ran out on the glorious stadium as Arsenal got prepared for life at their new home.  Plus, the new 60,000 capacity Emirates Stadium could welcome Champions League football after a dramatic final day.  For much of the season, a disastrous away record meant Arsenal trailed the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and newcomers Wigan Athletic in the table.  They went into the final day a single point behind Tottenham and fell 1-2 behind at home to Wigan on Highbury’s final day.  However, the King of Highbury, Thierry Henry, said farewell in the grand manner.  He scored a hat-trick to complete a 4-2 victory.  Dodgy food chef or not, Tottenham folded at Upton Park, losing 2-1 at West Ham, which meant they were pipped to the final Champions League spot right at the end of the campaign.   

CHAMPIONS: Chelsea, 2^nd: Manchester United 3^rd: Liverpool, 4^th: Arsenal 5^th: Tottenham, 6^th: Blackburn Rovers, 7^th: Newcastle United, 8^th; Bolton Wanderers, 9^th: West Ham United, 10^th: Wigan

RELEGATED: West Brom, Birmingham City, Sunderland

BIGGEST WIN: Arsenal 7-0 Middlesbrough (14 January 2006)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Blackburn Rovers 4-3 Manchester United (2 February 2006), Charlton Athletic 2-5 Manchester City (4 December 2005), Fulham 6-1 West Brom (12 February 2006)

SCORERS: Henry (Arsenal) 27, Van Nistlerooy (Manchester United) 21, Bent (Charlton) 18, Lampard (Chelsea) 16, Rooney (Manchester United) 16, Keane (Tottenham) 16, Harewood (West Ham) 14, Bellamy (Blackburn) 13, Yakubu (Middlesbrough) 13, Drogba (Chelsea) 12, Camara (Wigan) 12, Mido (Tottenham) 11, John (Fulham) 11, Gerrard (Liverpool) 10, Shearer (Newcastle) 10

2006/07

CHELSEA’s two year domination of the Premiership crown ended in 2006/07, as Manchester United became champions once again.  United secured the league title at the beginning of May, with a 1-0 win at Eastlands against goal shy Manchester City.  24 hours later, Khalid Boulahrouz was sent off and Chelsea failed to beat Arsenal at the Emirates, drawing 1-1.  This meant that Jose Mourinho’s team had to gracefully give up the title.  Manchester United were inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo, who finally began to show some consistent form at club level, which would make him one of the world’s best footballers in years to come.  Late winners away from home at Fulham and Liverpool on two successive Saturdays in springtime turned out to be very decisive for Sir Alex Ferguson’s team, despite a late slip-up against Portsmouth and a frustrating home draw with Middlesbrough.  Chelsea ended up drawing their last five matches, and tensions clearly were beginning to rise between owner and manager.  Jose Mourinho didn’t seem impressed with Roman Abramovich’s interference in purchasing both Michael Ballack and Andrei Shevchenko.  Neither player made a significant impact at Stamford Bridge.  Key injuries to the likes of John Terry and Petr Cech also had their effects on Chelsea’s season.  Liverpool edged out Arsenal by a single point, but both clubs had inconsistent campaigns.  There seemed to be positive news from Anfield in February, when George Gillett and Tom Hicks completed a deal to buy the club.  Sadly, the promises made by the pair of success and a new stadium were broken and dark days in the long-term faced the Anfield side.  The other big story of the season was West Ham’s controversial signings of Argentine pair Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.  The club had broken Premier League third-party ownership regulations and the clubs fighting around them such as Sheffield United and Wigan Athletic were incensed when the Premier League decided on giving the Hammers a fine rather than a points deduction.  Alan Pardew was sacked in December by the new owners and Mascherano moved away from the controversy to sign for Liverpool.  However, Tevez scored a flurry of late season goals, which ultimately kept the Hammers, now managed by Alan Curbishley, up.  The great escape was completed by a last day victory at Old Trafford, with Tevez scoring the deciding goal again.  Wigan beat Sheffield United 2-1 at Bramwall Lane, which meant their Premiership adventure cruelly ended after one season back in the top flight.  Not only that, the deciding goal came from a David Unsworth penalty.  Unsworth had started the season as a Sheffield United player!  A similar fate of one season in the top flight befell Watford, whilst Charlton Athletic paid the price for sacking two managers and also were relegated. 

CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2^nd: Chelsea 3^rd: Liverpool, 4^th: Arsenal 5^th: Tottenham, 6^th: Everton, 7^th: Bolton Wanderers, 8^th; Reading, 9^th: Portsmouth, 10^th: Blackburn Rovers

RELEGATED: Sheffield United, Charlton Athletic, Watford

BIGGEST WIN: Reading 6-0 West Ham United (1 January 2007)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Arsenal 6-2 Blackburn Rovers (23 December 2006), West Ham United 3-4 Tottenham Hotspur (4 March 2007), Blackburn Rovers 4-2 Manchester City (17 September 2006)

SCORERS: Drogba (Chelsea) 20, McCarthy (Blackburn) 18, Ronaldo (Manchester United) 17, Rooney (Manchester United) 14, Viduka (Middlesbrough) 14, Doyle (Reading) 13, Bent (Charlton) 13, Kuyt (Liverpool) 12, Berbatov (Tottenham) 12, Yakubu (Middlesbrough) 12, Lampard (Chelsea) 11, Van Persie (Arsenal) 11, Anelka (Bolton) 11, Zamora (West Ham) 11, Johnson (Everton) 11

20 years of the FA Premier League - Part 2

1997/98

ARSENE Wenger’s first full season in English football ended with a fantastic league and cup double.  His acquisitions of pacy winger Marc Overmars and the dynamic Emmanuel Petit, combined with the brilliance of Dennis Bergkamp were the main reasons why Arsenal managed to break Manchester United’s stranglehold on the Premiership.  In fact, it looked like Manchester United could only throw the title away when Phil Neville struck his first senior goal to beat Chelsea 1-0 on February 28 at Stamford Bridge.  Some bookmakers began paying out after that result, but Arsenal had other ideas.  They overhauled the 11-point deficit, with the big breaker being Overmars sole goal to see off United at Old Trafford on March 14.  As Liverpool and Newcastle nicked draws at Old Trafford over the Easter period, Arsenal continued to fly, steamrolling both Blackburn Rovers and Wimbledon with consummate ease.  On May 3, another awesome display was enough.  The Gunners thrashed Everton at Highbury 4-0 to seal the title, with the icing on the cake coming from a magnificent Tony Adams volley in stoppage time.  The formidable backline and football flair meant that the ‘1-0 to the Arsenal’ chant was consigned to the history books.  Wenger leading them to their first championship in eight years and becoming the first foreign manager to achieve his dream of managing a Premiership side to title glory.  At times, Blackburn showed some of their old spark, beating Sheffield Wednesday 7-2 and Aston Villa 4-0 early in the season.  Chris Sutton ended the season as joint top scorer with 18 goals, but Roy Hodgson’s side faded badly in the finishing straight to sixth place.  Chelsea sensationally sacked Ruud Gullit in February whilst in second position, claiming they couldn’t meet the Dutchman’s demands over a new contract.  Gianluca Vialli was thrown into the job and although he guided the Blues to success in the League Cup and Cup Winners Cup, their league season capitulated, only losing one less game than relegated Bolton Wanderers.  Michael Owen joined Sutton and Coventry’s Dion Dublin at the top of the scorer’s charts and was a shining figure in another inconsistent season for Liverpool.  They finished 12 points behind the champions and it led to some major changes in the Anfield management for the following season.  Merseyside neighbours Everton had a nightmare campaign and going into the final games, were in the bottom three.  A nervy 1-1 draw at home to Coventry City was good enough for a last ditch survival, as Bolton lost 2-0 at Chelsea.  For the first and only time in Premiership history, all three promoted clubs (Bolton, Barnsley and Crystal Palace) went straight back down to Division One. 

CHAMPIONS: Arsenal, 2^nd: Manchester United, 3^rd: Liverpool, 4^th: Chelsea, 5^th: Leeds United, 6^th: Blackburn Rovers, 7^th: Aston Villa, 8^th; West Ham United, 9^th: Derby County, 10^th: Leicester City

RELEGATED: Bolton Wanderers, Barnsley, Crystal Palace

BIGGEST WIN: Manchester United 7-0 Barnsley (25 October 1997)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Blackburn Rovers 7-2 Sheffield Wednesday (25 August 1997), Wimbledon 2-6 Tottenham Hotspur (2 May 1998), Blackburn Rovers 5-3 Leicester City (28 February 1998)

TOP SCORERS: Owen (Liverpool) 18, Sutton (Blackburn) 18, Dublin (Coventry City) 18, Bergkamp (Arsenal) 16, Hasselbaink (Leeds) 16, Gallacher (Blackburn) 16, Cole (Manchester United) 15, Hartson (West Ham) 15, Huckerby (Coventry City) 14, Wanchope (Derby) 13, Overmars (Arsenal) 12

1998/99

THIS will be the season that will always be remembered for Manchester United’s historic treble.  In the Premiership, they were taken to the wire by Arsenal and were also pushed most of the way by the multi-millionaires from Chelsea.  It was gripping stuff on the last day, as Arsenal relied on a positive result from Old Trafford, which involved their deadly North London rivals, Tottenham.  For a while, it seemed positive for the defending champions, especially after Les Ferdinand put Tottenham in the lead midway through the first half.  However, his goal was cancelled out by David Beckham, before Andy Cole lobbed Ian Walker and finally silenced those critics who had portrayed him as the enemy for all those missed chances at West Ham on the final day of the 94/95 season.  Kanu’s winner at home to Aston Villa was not enough for Arsenal, with Arsene Wenger’s side falling one point short and ending gallant runners-up.  The deciding result was Arsenal conceding a late winner five days earlier to Leeds United and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink at Elland Road.  If they’d held on for a draw in that game, it would have been back-to-back titles for the North Londoners.  After last season’s disappointment, Alex Ferguson had spent big in the summer, acquiring Jaap Stam and Dwight Yorke.  With Yorke and Cole in perfect harmony upfront and scoring goals almost at freewill, the Red Devils remained unbeaten in the league after a 2-3 reverse at home to Middlesbrough before Christmas.  Chelsea came close, but fell away in the final hurdle.  The death knell for Gianluca Vialli’s team was a match against Leicester City in mid-April, where his side threw away a 2-0 lead and were eventually pegged back by a brilliant curling effort from Steve Guppy in stoppage time.  For a while, it looked like Aston Villa could maintain a sustained challenge under John Gregory.  Top at Christmas, things looked good, despite Stan Collymore being sidelined by stress!  However, they collapsed in the second half of the year, ending sixth and failing to even qualify for Europe.  They were pipped in the table by an ever improving Leeds United and West Ham United.  During the season, Leeds managed to win seven matches in a row in the top flight, equalling a record set by Don Revie’s great side of the 1970s.  It was a great effort from David O’Leary in his first season in charge, after George Graham moved to Tottenham in October, where he guided them to Worthington Cup glory, but little else.  There was a changing of the guard at Liverpool, as Gerard Houillier was appointed joint manager with Roy Evans in the summer.  It had ‘disaster’ written all over it and Evans quit in November.  Seventh place was their worst finish in five years, but Michael Owen was joint top scorer again.  It was worse for Blackburn Rovers, who slipped out of the FA Premier League.  Jack Walker could only watch on, as his beloved club were relegated along with Charlton Athletic and Nottingham Forest, just four years after being champions. 

CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2^nd: Arsenal, 3^rd: Chelsea, 4^th: Leeds United, 5^th: West Ham United, 6^th: Aston Villa, 7^th: Liverpool, 8^th; Derby County, 9^th: Middlesbrough, 10^th: Leicester City

RELEGATED: Charlton Athletic, Blackburn Rovers, Nottingham Forest

BIGGEST WIN: Nottingham Forest 1-8 Manchester United (6 February 1999)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Nottingham Forest 1-8 Manchester United (6 February 1999), Liverpool 7-1 Southampton (16 January 1999), Leicester City 2-6 Manchester United (16 January 1999)

SCORERS: Yorke (Manchester United) 18, Hasselbaink (Leeds) 18, Owen (Liverpool) 18, Cole (Manchester United) 17, Anelka (Arsenal) 17, Ricard (Middlesbrough) 15, Joachim (Aston Villa) 14, Fowler (Liverpool) 14, Shearer (Newcastle) 14, Dublin (Coventry & Aston Villa) 14, Zola (Chelsea) 13

1999/00

MANCHESTER United’s grip on the Premiership title continued in season 1999/2000 – coasting to the title, a mammoth 18 points clear of their nearest challengers.  Although Real Madrid were too strong in their Champions League defence and there was an embarrassing early exit from the FIFA World Club Championship in Brazil, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side swept all amongst them in this campaign, as their strength in depth showed throughout.  The champions only lost three games all season; one of those was a 5-0 battering at Stamford Bridge by Chelsea.  Chelsea, who had ran the established challengers close the previous campaign never recovered from a 2-3 defeat at the hands of Arsenal in October, when Kanu scored an incredible 17 minute hat-trick.  Fifth place was a poor finish and put Gianluca Vialli under pressure, although an FA Cup final victory at Wembley (a trophy Manchester United forfeited to play, due to their Brazil commitments) softened the blow.  If there was one team that pushed Manchester United the hardest, it was David O’Leary’s young guns, Leeds United.  Leeds topped the table at Christmas and gave Ferguson’s team some early season headaches, before a crucial defeat to United at home in February.  Tragedy would later befall the club in April, when two Leeds supporters were stabbed to death in Istanbul before their UEFA Cup semi-final with Galatasaray.  After the grief and shock, Leeds got over the finishing line and claimed the final Champions League place, ahead of Liverpool, who made a right old mess of their final matches and ended fourth, when second was theirs for the taking.  Once again, Arsenal finished runners-up, but lacked the consistency to mount any serious threat to their great rivals.  Daft away defeats to the likes of West Ham, Tottenham and Bradford exposed the Gunners frailties.  12 wins at home made Highfield Road a very formidable ground for Coventry City.  This meant that despite not winning a single match away from home all season, relegation never looked a significant problem for the Sky Blues.  It did for Newcastle early on, as Ruud Gullit was dismissed after losing out in a battle for supremacy with skipper Alan Shearer.  Bobby Robson returned home, reignited Shearer’s goalscoring form and guided them to comfortable mid-table security.  Among their highlights was an 8-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday on Robson’s home debut, with Shearer scoring five times.  At the bottom of the table, Watford went straight back down, although they did record memorable wins over Liverpool and Chelsea in the early weeks of the season.  Sheffield Wednesday sacked Danny Wilson in March and caretaker boss Peter Shreeves couldn’t keep them afloat.  The final relegation spot went down to the final day of the season.  David Wetherall’s fantastic header was enough for Bradford City to beat Liverpool 1-0 and keep them up.  Wimbledon lost 2-0 to Southampton.  They went down, ending their 14-year stay in the top flight, promoting unbridled joy at Valley Parade.

CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2^nd: Arsenal, 3^rd: Leeds United, 4^th: Liverpool 5^th: Chelsea, 6^th: Aston Villa, 7^th: Sunderland, 8^th; Leicester City, 9^th: West Ham United, 10^th: Tottenham

RELEGATED: Wimbledon, Sheffield Wednesday, Watford

BIGGEST WIN: Newcastle United 8-0 Sheffield Wednesday (19 September 1999)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: West Ham United 5-4 Bradford City (12 February 2000), Tottenham Hotspur 7-2 Southampton (11 March 2000), Bradford City 4-4 Derby County (19 April 2000)

SCORERS: Phillips (Sunderland) 30, Shearer (Newcastle) 23, Yorke (Manchester United) 20, Cole (Manchester United) 19, Bridges (Leeds) 19, Henry (Arsenal) 17, Di Canio (West Ham) 16, Armstrong (Tottenham) 14, Quinn (Sunderland) 14, Iversen (Tottenham) 14, Pahars (Southampton) 13

2000/01

ONCE again, Manchester United’s supreme class shone through, as they took their third successive Premiership title.  Their final margin of victory by ten points over Arsenal flattered the Gunners, as Sir Alex Ferguson side were miles ahead of the competition again.  This was no more evident when they played Arsenal on 25 February.  They were 5-1 up inside half an hour, eventually winning 6-1.  The crushing result took them 16 points clear of Arsene Wenger’s side.  They secured the title on Easter Saturday, with a 4-2 victory over Coventry City in a lunchtime kick-off.  Hours later, any mathematical hope Arsenal had of launching a sensational comeback were ended in a shock 3-0 loss at home to Middlesbrough, not helped by two own goals in the match.  It was a great season for Liverpool, who began to blossom under Gerard Houiller’s stewardship.  They won an incredible treble of cup competitions (UEFA Cup, Worthington Cup and FA Cup).  Not only that, but an impressive 4-0 demolition of Charlton Athletic on the final day of the season ensured Champions League qualification for the first time since the Heysel stadium disaster of 1985; a fitting reward for the club.  The season will also be remembered for a fantastic league double over the league champions Manchester United for the first time in 11 years.  Chelsea won the Charity Shield, but made a depressingly slow start to the season and dispensed with the services of Gianluca Vialli at the beginning of September.  The relatively unheard Claudio Ranieri came into the hotseat.  Ranieri got the tag of ‘The Tinkerman,’ but he managed to bring the team upto sixth position in the final standings, with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink returning to the Premiership after an unhappy season in Spain, and ending as the league’s top scorer.  Manager of the season however was George Burley.  The Scotsman, on a limited budget took his Ipswich Town side to a hugely impressive fifth position in their first season back in the top flight.  Marcus Stewart scored 19 league goals as the Tractor Boys came within a whisker of Champions League qualification.  Another side that impressed were Sunderland, with Peter Reid’s side holding down a genuine second position in January, before coming seventh for the second successive season.  Southampton bid an emotional farewell to The Dell at the end of the season after 103 years.  Despite manager Glenn Hoddle walking out on them for the Tottenham job in March, the Saints finished life at the old ground on a high, with Matt Le Tissier scoring an 89^th minute winner on the final day against Arsenal.  Another Premiership stalwart lost their status, as Coventry City finally got consigned to relegation after 34 years in the top flight.  They went down after a 3-2 defeat at Aston Villa in May with Manchester City and Bradford City also going down.

CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2^nd: Arsenal, 3^rd: Liverpool, 4^th: Leeds United 5^th: Ipswich Town, 6^th: Chelsea, 7^th: Sunderland, 8^th; Aston Villa, 9^th: Charlton Athletic, 10^th: Southampton

RELEGATED: Manchester City, Coventry City, Bradford City

BIGGEST WIN: Manchester United 6-0 Bradford City (5 September 2000)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Arsenal 5-3 Charlton Athletic (26 August 2000), Chelsea 6-1 Coventry City (22 October 2000), Leeds United 4-3 Liverpool (4 November 2000)

SCORERS: Hasselbaink (Chelsea) 23, Stewart (Ipswich) 19, Henry (Arsenal) 17, Viduka (Leeds) 17, Owen (Liverpool) 16, Sheringham (Manchester United) 15, Heskey (Liverpool) 14, Phillips (Sunderland) 14, Boksic (Middlesbrough) 12, Smith (Leeds) 11, Poyet (Chelsea) 11

2001/02

AFTER eight loyal seasons, brewery giant Carling was replaced as title sponsors by Barclaycard.  With the change came a gripping scrap for the title between Manchester United, Newcastle United, Leeds United, Liverpool and Arsenal.  Leeds and Newcastle set the pace in the early weeks, with Manchester United struggling to integrate Juan Sebastian Veron and Ruud van Nistlerooy into their squad.  They did produce an epic comeback, from 3-0 down at half-time in September to Tottenham, storming back to win 5-3 but after a 0-1 reverse at home to West Ham in December, Sir Alex Ferguson’s team were 9^th in the table, 11 points off the pace.  Cue a historic scoring run from Van Nistlerooy, with the Dutchman becoming the first player to score in eight successive Premiership matches, as the champions charged to the top of the table.  However, Arsenal looked in even better form, staying unbeaten away from home all season and scoring in every single FA Barclaycard Premiership game.  The crunch match came on May 8, where Sylvain Wiltord’s second half winner sealed Arsenal’s second Premiership title at Old Trafford.  To take the championship away in the backyard of their main rivals just made the success all the sweeter for Arsene Wenger.  On top of that, they achieved the league and cup double and Thierry Henry edged out Van Nistlerooy and Alan Shearer to win the Golden Boot for the first time.  Worse was to come for Manchester United, as they finished out of the top two for the first time in Premiership history.  Liverpool’s 5-0 final day victory over Ipswich Town sealed runners-up spot for the Reds, despite losing manager Gerard Houillier to a serious heart scare at half-time of a match with Leeds United on October 13.  Phil Thompson did a brilliant job in caretaker charge, including inspiring the men from Merseyside to another league double over Manchester United.  Liverpool’s final day victory also meant Ipswich had to deal with relegation, just a season after finishing fifth and earning UEFA Cup qualification.  It was a terrible year for the East Midlands, with both Derby County and Leicester City changing managers as many times as hot dinners and both ended up being relegated.  This meant that for the first time in Premiership history, the three promoted clubs all managed to stay up.  Fulham were welcomed into the Barclaycard Premiership family and comfortably stayed up, as did Bolton Wanderers.  Bolton even topped the table after three matches, which included a shock win against Liverpool.  After two seasons away, Blackburn returned too and finished a creditable tenth.  Graeme Souness bought Andy Cole from Manchester United at Christmas, inspired his team to a 7-1 demolition of West Ham along the way and also earnt European football, via their triumph in the Worthington Cup final. 

CHAMPIONS: Arsenal, 2^nd: Liverpool 3^rd: Manchester United, 4^th: Newcastle United 5^th: Leeds United, 6^th: Chelsea, 7^th: West Ham United, 8^th; Aston Villa, 9^th: Tottenham, 10^th: Blackburn Rovers

RELEGATED: Ipswich Town, Derby County, Leicester City

BIGGEST WIN: Blackburn Rovers 7-1 West Ham United (14 October 2001)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Tottenham Hotspur 3-5 Manchester United (29 September 2001), Charlton Athletic 4-4 West Ham United (19 November 2001), West Ham United 3-5 Manchester United (17 March 2002)

SCORERS: Henry (Arsenal) 24, Van Nistlerooy (Manchester United) 23, Shearer (Newcastle) 23, Hasselbaink (Chelsea) 23, Owen (Liverpool) 19, Solskjaer (Manchester United) 17, Fowler (Liverpool & Leeds) 15, Gudjohnsen (Chelsea) 14, Pahars (Southampton) 14, Cole (Manchester United & Blackburn) 13, Ljungberg (Arsenal) 12, Ricketts (Bolton) 12, Angel (Aston Villa) 12 

2011 UEFA Champions League final - Brilliant Barca down United dream

CONVINCING: Barcelona's players celebrate with the European Cup

BARCELONA turned on the style last Saturday, overcoming Manchester United 3-1 at Wembley Stadium to regain the UEFA Champions League.  It is a third title in six years for the La Liga champions, who now are equal holders for the most Champions League’s (three, with bitter arch rivals Real Madrid).  After the match, Pepe Guardiola confirmed he would be staying with the Catalans for another season, and on the evidence of this performance, he would have been crazy to think about leaving the Nou Camp.  Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, who have made everyone look ordinary in the Premiership this season, were made to look distinctively average by Barcelona’s fearsome attack, which would have anyone quaking in their boots. 

      Like the 2009 final encounter between the sides in Rome, it was the English champions who started the stronger.  Javier Mascherano, playing as an emergency centre-back, seemed uncertain against Wayne Rooney in the opening exchanges.  Ferguson had shocked Dimitar Berbatov by leaving his top scorer this season out of the squad, which will raise serious questions over the Bulgarian’s long-term future at Old Trafford.  From the 15^th minute onwards, Barcelona started launching raid after raid on Edwin van der Sar’s goal.  Only some desperate defending from Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand kept the scoreline at 0-0 until the 27^th minute.  Xavi was given the freedom of the Wembley pitch, and played in Pedro, who stayed cool under a late attempted block from Vidic to beat Van der Sar, in his farewell football appearance.

HOPE: Given to United by Rooney, but it was a false dawn

     If anyone questioned the resolve of Manchester United, then the response was fantastic.  Barcelona carelessly gave possession away from a cheap throw-in and Rooney combined superbly with the off-colour Ryan Giggs to produce a stunning strike from the edge of the area, which left Victor Valdes with no chance.  Finally, Rooney had been able to produce on the biggest stage of all, after his peripheral roles in the 2008 and 2009 Champions League finals.  With the scoreline at 1-1 at half-time, the game was firmly in the balance.  What happened after the break highlighted the gulfing class between the two teams.

      Ten minutes into the second half, and with the United defence rocking, and Van der Sar having to be at his best to deny Daniel Alves, Messi seized his moment.  He stepped away from Ferdinand, and fizzled a shot which an unsighted Van der Sar couldn’t keep out.  The Dutchman will be disappointed to have not done better, but Messi wasn’t complaining.  That was the Argentine’s 53^rd goal of a staggering season.  With Darren Fletcher sill nursing a stomach bug, and Michael Owen not quite having the ultimate killer instinct he used to have at Liverpool, Ferguson’s substitute options were limited.  His only main weapon was Nani.  The dynamic Portuguese winger came on in the 68^th minute for the injured Fabio, and made an immediate telling impact.  Sadly, it was the wrong kind of impact.

      Nani gave away the ball on the edge of his own area, and a deadly Barcelona attack was never going to not punish this careless act of possession.  David Villa producing another beautiful goal, curling a shot in that gave Van der Sar no hope of keeping his attempt out.  That was that, Barcelona had completed the ultimate football performance.  There was time for Paul Scholes to make a brief cameo before he announced his retirement from the game today, and for Nani to create a late moment of panic for the untroubled Valdes.  However, this was undoubtedly Barcelona’s night, Barcelona’s season and Barcelona’s best performance ever.

     There was a nice touch at the end of the game.  Club captain Carlos Puyol allowed left-back Eric Abidal the chance to lift the European Cup.  Abidal had undergone life-saving liver surgery just 70 days ago!  His comeback to lift football’s greatest club competition prize is a story full of emotion and miracles.  For United, it isn’t the end of the world, but Ferguson knows he must come back next season, with a stronger and better squad, otherwise Barcelona will dominate European club football again.  There could be no complaints in the greatest final performance since AC Milan’s 4-0 demolition of Barcelona themselves in the 1994 final.  The class of Barcelona 2011 is quite possibly the greatest team to have graced the game.  They thoroughly deserve to be champions for such a special occasion and on this evidence, Guardiola has the ability to produce a side that can dominate European football for the next decade.

FA Barclays Premiership Report (14th - 15th May)

RECORDS and hearts were broken in the penultimate weekend of the Premiership season, which saw Manchester City’s FA Cup win against Stoke City pale into almost total insignificance.

United make it 19

PROOF: Yes, they are champions, AGAIN!

Manchester United made it 19 English league titles, overtaking Liverpool long-standing record with a nervy 1-1 draw at Ewood Park against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday lunchtime.  Sir Alex Ferguson took a risk in resting Edwin van der Sar for Thomas Kuszczak and Kuszczak looked totally indecisive in the first half.  He was partly to blame for Rovers opener, which was fired in by Brett Emerton on 20 minutes.  You could tell it was going to be United’s day when Martin Olsson’s header hit the post in the second half.  With 17 minutes remaining and the one point required to clinch the title still deserting them, Javier Hernandez went on a game breaking run.  The Mexican was brought down by Paul Robinson and after some consultation with his linesman; Phil Dowd rightly gave the penalty.  Wayne Rooney kept his cool and scored the penalty.  The full-time whistle bought an element of relief, but more delight as the new champions were crowned.  When Sir Alex first came to Old Trafford in November 1986, the record stood at 18-7 Liverpool.  So, this is no doubt, one of the finest achievement every in the history of football.  It is a 12^th Premiership title in 19 seasons and that also means 12 titles for the amazing Ryan Giggs.  There is no doubt that this team lacks the class and qualities of previous title winning teams, particularly those of 1999 and 2008.  However, you don’t win the title by accident.  Hernandez’s goals, Rooney’s return to form, Vidic and Ferdinand’s partnership at the back, Nani’s radical improvement, the experience of Giggs and Van der Sar all have played their part in this title.  They may only have won five away matches all season, but 17 wins from 18 at Old Trafford have set the stone for another title-winning season.  Plus, think of all the comebacks this season; 2-0 down at Aston Villa in November, 2-0 down at Blackpool in January and 2-0 down at West Ham in April and they turned no points into seven.  That makes the difference between a good side and a championship winning team.  Congratulations to all the players and staff at Manchester United for achieving this piece of history.

Bye-bye West Ham

DISMISSED: Avram Grant gets the sinking feeling at Wigan

In a dramatic and frenetic game at the DW Stadium on Sunday, West Ham’s six-year stay in the Premier League was ended by another second half capitulation.  At half-time against rivals in distress, Wigan, the Hammers were coasting at 2-0 up, courtesy of two headers from Demba Ba.  However, defending that would even shame a pub team saw Wigan turnaround the deficit to win 3-2 and keep alive their hopes of beating the drop alive.  This was the final straw for the West Ham board and manager Avram Grant was sacked shortly after relegation was confirmed.  Charles N’Zogbia was superb for the home side, scoring twice.  The winner came in the fourth minute of stoppage time.  Conor Sammon also netted his first goal in English football, which turned the atmosphere around in the stadium, from one of misery to one of joy.  A win at beaten FA Cup finalists Stoke next Sunday could keep Wigan in the top flight.  For West Ham, the search begins for a new manager, with former England coach Steve McLaren already ruling himself out of the running.  Expect a host of their top players like Scott Parker, Robert Green, Matthew Upson and co to be at alternative clubs next season.   

Birmingham dragged into the mire

Carling Cup winners Birmingham City are now only above the drop zone on goal difference.  They face Tottenham on Sunday knowing that a heavy defeat could seal their fate.  Alex McLeish could only look on in horror, as his side produced a terrible performance at home to Europa League-bound Fulham.  Norwegian Brede Hangeland scored twice to seal a comfortable 2-0 win for Fulham at St. Andrews, only their third away success of the season.  Had Fulham taken all of their chances, they could have won this game by a cricket score, such was their domination.  Even goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer nearly scored from his own goal kick!  Saturday’s results really hurt Birmingham, as Blackpool and Wolves both collected valuable victories.  In a ding-dong match at Bloomfield Road, Blackpool edged out Bolton Wanderers 4-3.  Charlie Adam netted the winner in a seven-goal thriller.  In the North East, Mick McCarthy finally won a match at the Stadium of Light in the Premiership, at the 20^th attempt of asking (he won none as Sunderland boss in 2003, 2005 & 2006!).  Jody Craddock, Steven Fletcher and George Elokobi scored the goals in a 3-1 win at Sunderland.  With Blackburn still in the mix too, it is two sides from five who will drop out of the Premiership come 6pm on Sunday evening.

Spurs move into pole position & the rest of the action

DIPPING: Van der Vaart's precise effort had Spurs on their way

The Europa League showdown at Anfield went Tottenham’s way.  Harry Redknapp’s side beat a lethargic Liverpool 2-0, to move one point clear in fifth spot.  Tottenham know that beating Birmingham on Sunday will guarantee them European football next season, and leave Liverpool out of a continental competition for the first time since 2000.  A brilliant goal from Rafael van der Vaart had the visitors infront on eight minutes.  Luka Modric banged home a second half penalty, which shouldn’t have been given as John Flanagan barged over Steven Pienaar outside the penalty area.  It didn’t even look like much of a foul to be honest.  However, Liverpool looked flat and suffered a deserved first home defeat of 2011.  It is Tottenham’s first league win at Anfield since August 1993.  Chelsea wrapped up the runners-up position at the weekend, despite only managing a 2-2 draw against a battling Newcastle United side at home.  Branislav Ivanovic gave Chelsea the lead inside two minutes; a good volley from Frank Lampard’s corner.  Newcastle’s first equaliser came fortuitously, as Ryan Taylor’s free-kick was deflected in wickedly by his own player, in the form of Jonas Gutierrez.  A dreadful second half only livened up in the last seven minutes.  It looked like Alex had won the game, when the centre-back met Lampard’s free-kick to head home.  However, Fernando Torres stood around in the penalty area and allowed his marker, Steven Taylor to nod home in stoppage time and earn the Magpies a deserved point.

In the other games, Arsenal’s home season ended with another dreary performance.  The summer break can’t come quick enough for the Gunners, who lost 2-1 at home to Aston Villa.  Darren Bent scored both goals for the visitors.  At the Hawthorns, West Brom overcame Everton 1-0, courtesy of an early goal from Yusuf Mulumbu.  Diniyar Bilyadetinov was harshly sent off for the Toffees and David Moyes was so incensed, he decided that no Everton representative should speak to the media after the match.  It is West Brom’s first Premier League clean sheet since August.

I will be back next week with a round-up of the final Sunday of the season, plus a comprehensive review on the entire Premiership season.  It is Survival Sunday for Blackburn Rovers, Wolves, Birmingham City, Blackpool and Wigan Athletic.

  

FA Barclays Premiership Report (19th - 20th March)

THE final hurdles in the Premiership season have seen the whole of the bottom half engulfed by the biggest relegation scrap in the league’s history, whilst at the top, Manchester United regained control of their own destiny.

     Despite having Sir Alex Ferguson banned from the touchline for six matches, following his comments about Martin Atkinson after a recent loss at Chelsea, United had to work extremely hard to edge out Bolton Wanderers 1-0.  Ferguson was sat in the stands, but was on the phone half the time to the dugout, as his leaders struggled against Owen Coyle’s determined Wanderers outfit.  Manchester United’s defensive problems continued as Wes Brown limped off injured and Jonny Evans was sent off for a crunching tackle on Stuart Holden, which has left Holden on the sidelines for the rest of the season.  Despite playing very poorly, the home side nicked it through substitute Dimitar Berbatov.  The Bulgarian pounced on Juusi Jaaskelainen spilling Nani’s shot to score the most valuable goal of his career.

OOPS: Manuel Almunia made another blundering error at the Hawthorns

     It earnt the Red Devils a four point lead at the top of the table, after Arsenal dropped two more points, this time at West Brom.  The Gunners had to fightback from 2-0 to leave the Hawthorns with a battling 2-2 draw.  Steven Reid headed improving West Brom infront inside of four minutes, and the second Albion goal was indefensible as far as Arsenal concerned.  Manuel Almunia entered no man’s land, got into a horrible muddle with Sebastian Squillaci, which allowed Peter Odemwingie and easy goal.  Jens Lehmann has been bought out of retirement as a back-up may be needed sooner rather than later, especially as Almunia looks like a clown juggling away in a circus!  A brilliant hit from Andrei Arshavin bought Arsenal back into the game, before Robin Van Persie bundled in a late leveller.

     Chelsea moved into third place, as they comfortably beat a negative Manchester City 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.  City’s key threat Carlos Tevez was missing through injury and they failed to show any attacking intent whatsoever.  Meanwhile, Mario Balotelli was dropped after his Europa League kung-fu kick had seen him sent off against Dynamo Kiev three nights earlier.  Chelsea had to wait for their goals, and they came in the last ten minutes.  A David Luiz header and a brilliant solo effort from Ramires were the difference, as Fernando Torres continued to misfire badly at Stamford Bridge.

     Torres’s old club Liverpool closed to within four points of fifth placed Tottenham, after getting more than a friendly helping hand in a 2-0 success at Sunderland.  The main controversy came in the first half.  Jay Spearing was fouled by John Mensah, after the Ghanaian made an awful mistake.  Referee Kevin Friend gave a free-kick, but one of his linesman, 40 yards away from the incident amazingly decided that contact was made inside the box and consequently, a penalty was awarded.  Dirk Kuyt duly converted the spot kick calmly.  A dynamic finish from Luis Suarez with 13 minutes to go, helped by a poor piece of goalkeeping from Simon Mignolet sealed the result and to make matters worse for Sunderland, they only had one shot on target and Mensah was given a straight red card for fouling Suarez.  This red card has since been rescinded.  Tottenham missed their chance to close the gap on the top four, as they shared a belting 0-0 draw with West Ham United.  There were over 30 shots on goal, with Robert Green in inspired form.  Jermain Defoe, Gareth Bale and Roman Pavyluchenko were all denied spectacularly by Green, who showed form not seen since his England gaffe in Rustenberg.

     At the bottom, there were more questions created rather than answers given.  Everton reached the 40 point mark and probable Premiership safety, with a 2-1 victory over Fulham at Goodison.  David Moyes celebrated his ninth year in charge and with a potential takeover at Goodison Park being reported, life seems much better on the blue side of Merseyside.  Seamus Coleman made the breakthrough with a diving header in this match, with Louis Saha scoring against his former club, driving a free-kick in early in the second half.  Clint Dempsey did pull a goal back, but Everton deserved their victory.

OPENER: Charlie Adam strikes home the penalty at Blackburn

     The relegation battle at Ewood Park turned into the ultimate game of two halves.  Blackburn Rovers and Blackpool shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw; a result that helps neither side.  Luke Varney was denied a goal by the offside flag and then the Tangerines were given a dubious penalty.  Charlie Adam scored the penalty, and then produced a perfect free-kick to have Blackpool 2-0 up at half-time.  Christopher Samba pulled a goal back early in the second half after a spot of penalty pinball and in stoppage time, Richard Kingston flapped at a free-kick and Junior Hoillett turned in the equaliser for Blackburn.

     In the other matches, Stoke City recorded their biggest ever Premiership win, to all but guarantee their own Premiership safety.  They thrashed Newcastle United 4-0, who had a miserable day and still need at least two wins to follow Stoke’s survival state.  Birmingham are now second from bottom, after losing a crunch match at Wigan Athletic.  Maynor Figueroa produced a stunning late winner to earn the home side a 2-1 victory and throw a lifeline into their season.  Finally, Wolves first win at Villa Park in 37 years has thrown Aston Villa into serious trouble.  Matt Jarvis headed in the winner in a 1-0 win, resulting in a deserved England call-up.  Villa got booed off the pitch and the fans demanded Gerard Houillier to be sacked.  They are now only one point clear of the bottom three.  Two months remain, and who goes down, it’s still far too close to call.

Men behaving badly in the beautiful game

LAST week was a bad week for the game of football.  The beautiful game was dragged through the mud by a series of unprofessional events which soured its image spectacularly.  Touchline brawls, tunnel punch-ups, unpunished elbows and gun incidents; the game made the headlines for completely the wrong reasons.

Saturday

INNOCENCE: Rooney protests the incident, and gets away scot-free

Nine minutes into the match between Wigan Athletic and Manchester United and Wayne Rooney throws an elbow into the back of James McCarthy’s head.  It is an act of thuggish behaviour from Rooney, who still has to justify many for earning £250,000 a week.  Remarkably, referee Mark Clattenburg seemed to share a joke with Rooney about the incident and only gave Wigan a free-kick for the incident.  In his match report, Clattenburg believed that he had dealt with the incident in a calm and professional manner, meaning that the FA couldn’t punish Rooney further until strict FIFA guidelines.  Once again, Wayne Rooney sets a poor example for those who idolise him.

Sunday

Twenty-four hours after the Rooney saga and it is another England team-mate who faces the wrath and condemnation for his actions.  The News of the World break the story that Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole carried an air rifle into the club’s training ground and ‘accidentally’ shot a 21-year old work placement student.  Carlo Ancelotti insists he is still in control with events at the club, but how can this be deemed acceptable.  The club are believed to have fined Cole the maximum two weeks wages for this bizarre and frankly, unforgiveable behaviour.  If Chelsea had been serious, a suspension invoked by the club would have got the message across.

Monday

Stoke City and West Brom have played out a drab 1-1 draw in the Barclays Premiership and Jonas Olsson is angry when he attempts to shake the hand of a Stoke player.  The player, reportedly Dean Whitehead refuses to accept Olsson’s reconciliation attempt, which suggests of some previous bad blood.  In his rage, Olsson punches a picture in the Britannia Stadium tunnel afterwards.  Tony Pulis is furious and insists that disciplinary action should be taken.  Roy Hodgson apologises on Olsson’s behalf, but once again, a stance has not been set out by the club in question.

Tuesday

A pivotal clash in the Premiership title race sees Chelsea beat Manchester United 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.  However, it is Sir Alex Ferguson’s behaviour that is called into question.  Ferguson is incensed at the appointment of Martin Atkinson as referee for this match.  He questions Atkinson’s ability as a referee and insists the game was bound to be unfair.  In the match itself, Chelsea’s winner came from a dubious penalty decision, whilst Nemanja Vidic was sent off and David Luiz avoided a red card for two blatant trips on Rooney.  The FA charge Ferguson with improper conduct and rather than most accepting the charge, Sir Alex has decided to contest the decision, which could lead to an extended ban from the touchline.  Although I personally thought Atkinson had a poor game and made some incorrect calls, there was no need for Ferguson’s outburst and I hope the FA throw the book at him.

Wednesday

UGLY: Neil Lennon and Ally McCoist have to be pulled apart

North of the Border and Celtic entertain Rangers in a fifth round Scottish Cup replay.  It is already the fifth time that these giants of the Scottish game have met this season and the fireworks explode on a bruising and shameful night for the history of the Old Firm Derby.  Three Rangers players; Steven Whittaker, Majid Bougherra and El-Hadji Diouf are all sent off.  Whittaker and Bougherra for fouls that are more expected in a wrestling ring, not a soccer pitch.  Diouf was dismissed after the full-time whistle for an outburst at the referee.  He then evaded police to throw his shirt into the Rangers crowd.  The Senegalese also had an ugly clash with Celtic boss Neil Lennon on the touchline during the match and was goaded all night by the Celtic fans.  This leads back to a spitting incident whilst playing for Liverpool in a 2003 UEFA Cup tie at Parkhead.  At full-time, Lennon and Rangers assistant manager Ally McCoist attempt to stage their own version of ‘Big Fight Live!’  They have to be pulled apart by both benches.  With over 30 fans arrested too, it’s a grim night and leads to calls for significant disciplinary action from the SFA, even from the Scottish Parliament.  The whole incident is a complete fracas and distasteful for many.  Oh and there was a football match, which Celtic won 1-0.

Thursday

Manchester City suspend Kolo Toure after the FA confirm that the Ivorian defender failed a routine drugs test following the Manchester derby last month.  Toure is an integral part of the City team and was club captain at Eastlands last season.  It is thought that the club received the news before Wednesday’s 3-0 FA Cup fifth round romp of Aston Villa, hence why Toure didn’t play.  Toure, who played for Arsenal between 2002-2009 is believed to have taken a weight loss tablet, which his wife is on.  Arsene Wenger, who still has regular contact with Toure confirmed at his pre-weekend conference on Friday that Toure takes it, as he is concerned about his weight on a regular basis.  When playing for Sheffield United, Paddy Kenny did something similar and got a nine-month ban for his actions.  If a B sample comes back positive, Toure could face upto two years out of the game, effectively ending his career in England and tarnishing all of his great memories in this country.  Once again, strong action has to be taken, so the message gets across that cheats simply don’t prosper.

For football, it has been a forgettable week.  For many lovers of the game, we all hope this was an unfortunate week and just a nasty sequence of events, but it is understandable why those who don’t follow the game question the worth of today’s footballers and their excessive wage demands.

It is now time for the politics to end, and for the worldwide and national governing bodies to get together and stamp out this kind of childish behaviour which ruins a sport most of us love for the majority.

Wayne Rooney's Greedy Attitude Gets Great Results

THIS week, Wayne Rooney hasn’t been out of the headlines, and this time it has regarded his next football career move.  Rooney’s greedy demand of wanting to earn £200,000 a week came to fruition yesterday, when he signed a new five-year contract to stay at Manchester United against all the odds.  Sadly, this can only been seen as a victory by blackmail over pure commonsense.

The trouble started back in August, when Rooney and his agent met chief executive David Gill to discuss terms over a new contract.  Rooney’s previous deal expired in 2012 and he wanted guarantees over United’s strength in the transfer market, especially when you consider the wealth that their neighbours Manchester City have at their disposal.  Gill couldn’t guarantee these promises, and he had every right to do so, as the club is over £700million in debt.  Consequently, Rooney decided to play hardball and it is sad to have seen United give in to his over-the-top demands. 

The feverish newspaper speculation about his future began last weekend, when Rooney was left on the bench for last Saturday’s disappointing 2-2 draw with West Brom at Old Trafford.  Reports of conflict over an ankle injury were alleged by the papers, between Rooney and Sir Alex Ferguson.  On Tuesday, at the standard UEFA Champions League press conference, Ferguson looked like a broken man, when he told the media of Rooney’s decision to leave the club.  Rooney later stated that it was because ‘Manchester United couldn’t meet his ambitions!’  For someone who may have won three Premiership trophies and the Champions League during his six-year tenure at the Theatre of Dreams, this was a staggering remark.  Even for people who don’t know football, Manchester United is the biggest brand in football.  There was no doubt that this was all about money, rather than ambition to play in another country.

Despite interest from Manchester City and Real Madrid, showdown talks were held yesterday and Rooney put pen to paper on a new deal.  With lucrative sponsorship deals from EA Sports and Nike, he could be earning upto £250,000 a week!  That is more money than I will probably see in a lifetime and on a week, when millions have been affected by the spending cuts and when clubs like Portsmouth face going out of business, you can’t help but feel that this he has been no more than a selfish monster.

Ferguson has stood up to many players before and the likes of Jaap Stam, Ruud van Nistlerooy, Paul Ince, Roy Keane and David Beckham have all lost in battles against the governor of football.  So how Rooney won in this game is staggering.  Maybe Sir Alex’s age is starting to affect his wisdom and decision making, though who I am to question someone who has won everything in the game during his twenty-five years at Manchester United.

Does Rooney deserve the money?  The answer is a simple no.  Granted, he is a world-class player and class is permanent, but his form at the moment is diabolical.  His performance at the World Cup for England was dismal, and his form for United this season has made him look like an ageing figure.  Fortunately, with Dimitar Berbatov, Javier Hernandez, Michael Owen and Federico Macheda on their books, the Red Devils have plenty of striking options to step up to the plate when Rooney falters.  Let’s not forget his private life has been intruded into, which is bound to affect anyone.  However, that is his own fault, and he should have thought about it when he starting sleeping with Spanish girls.

I hope that Manchester United fans will take their time to forgive their No.9.  Rooney’s actions this week have made him out to be a spoilt, childish brat.  He has let down his army of supporters, his team-mates and the manager big time.  When people like Wayne Rooney become all arrogant that £100,000 a week is not enough, then you realise how much of a financial mess the game of football is. . .

Now, can we please return to more serious issues in the news next week?  Thank you very much!  

FA Barclays Premiership Report (16th - 18th October)

AFTER another international breather, the Premiership returned to action.  This weekend’s highlights included another painful defeat for Liverpool, another lead thrown away by Manchester United and more controversy about the very unclear offside ruling.  Basically, a typical weekend then. . .

Sunday 17^th October: Everton 2-0 Liverpool

AFTER a week that seemed more fitting for a storyline in Brookside, Liverpool’s on-field issues continued with another limp display that saw Roy Hodgson’s men crash to a sorry 2-0 defeat in the Merseyside derby.  With new owner John W. Henry in attendance, he saw first-hand of the issues currently in the Anfield changing room.  Forget restraining orders and injunctions, Liverpool need orders from their defensive line, for two more sloppy goals that they conceded on Sunday.  Ten minutes before the interval, youngster Seamus Coleman ran past a static Paul Konchesky, before crossing for Merseyside derby specialist Tim Cahill to smash an unstoppable shot past Pepe Reina.  Five minutes into the restart, Raul Meireles gave Mikel Arteta too much room to aim a shot from the edge of the penalty area and the result was inevitable.  Everton’s second win in a row lifts them into mid-table, whilst sorry Liverpool slip to second from bottom, their lowest ever position in Premiership history.

Saturday 16^th October: Manchester United 2-2 West Brom

MANCHESTER UNITED continued their recent trend of opening up an early Christmas gift shop, as West Brom stole another result off one of the big teams.  After a pathetic performance for his country in midweek, Wayne Rooney was restricted to a sideline role from the start and United didn’t need him in the first half, as his replacement in the starting eleven, Javier Hernandez and Nani fired the home side into a quick fire 2-0 lead.  However, it all went pear-shaped in the early moments of the second half, when Chris Brunt’s free-kick from a narrow angle took several deflections and came off the unlucky Patrice Evra.  Moments later, Edwin van der Sar made the biggest mistake of his United’s career so far, by allowing a Brunt cross to slip through his hands, despite getting both hands onto the ball.  The unknown Somen Tchoyi couldn’t miss from seven yards out.  Afterwards, the visitors looked more likely to get the winner, on another damaging afternoon for Sir Alex Ferguson’s team.

Saturday 16^th October: Fulham 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur

FULHAM’S unbeaten start to the Premiership season ended in controversial fashion at home to Tottenham.  In a London derby that was always going to throw up thrills and spills, the two teams exchanged goals within 60 seconds of one another, midway through the first half, courtesy of Diomansy Kamara and Roman Pavyluchenko.  The winner on 63 minutes came from Tom Huddlestone, with a long-range drive.  Initially, the linesman disallowed the goal for offside, but referee Martin Atkinson decided that William Gallas wasn’t interfering with play, and allowed the goal to stand.  Television replays suggest an inconclusive call, but Spurs will be pleased with this result, before their testing trip to the San Siro to play Inter Milan tomorrow.

Sunday 17^th October: Blackpool 2-3 Manchester City

MANCHESTER CITY closed the gap to two points on leaders Chelsea, with a lucky victory at Blackpool, who definitely were robbed by a series of decisions by referee Phil Dowd that left Tangerines boss Ian Holloway very perplexed.  A quiet first half gave way to a crazy second forty-five minutes, which began when Carlos Tevez put City infront, with a goal that looked marginally offside.  Super sub Marlon Harewood equalised for the home side, a deserved leveller, as they had the better of the first half play.  Less than two minutes later, Tevez scored his second, again controversial, as it looked like he had fouled Ian Evatt on the edge of the penalty area in the build-up.  Spanish winger David Silva put the game beyond doubt, with a brilliant individual third goal and although Gary Taylor-Fletcher scored a consolation in stoppage time, it didn’t change the final outcome. 

Saturday 16^th October: Arsenal 2-1 Birmingham City

ARSENAL edged past Birmingham City in Arsene Wenger’s 800^th game in charge of the club.  The visitors, who have only won one game all season, took a shock lead when Nikola Zigic headed home a Keith Fahey cross.  Arsenal levelled the match before half-time, when Scott Dann made minor contact with Marouane Chamakh in the penalty area.  Samir Nasri levelled from the spot and Chamakh scored a magnificent solo effort shortly after the second half had begun.  The only black cloud on a good afternoon for the Gunners was the red card of Jack Wiltshire, dismissed for a crazy tackle on Zigic in the closing stages.

Saturday 16^th October: Aston Villa 0-0 Chelsea

CHELSEA will be pleased to leave Villa Park with a point, on a ground in which they only won once in 12 Premiership attempts.  Nicholas Anelka and Branislav Ivanovic both hit the crossbar for the Blues, whilst Nigel Reo-Coker went closest for Villa, missing a great chance when one-on-one with Petr Cech in stoppage time.

Saturday 16^th October: Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Stoke City

IN A hard-fought encounter, Bolton’s impressive start to the season continued with victory over Stoke.  Wanderers were infront through Lee Chung-Yong’s brilliant curling effort in the first half.  Stoke pegged the home side back in the second half, when Rory Delap scored his first goal in two years, nodding in Robert Huth’s flick-on from Jermaine Pennant’s corner.  Stoke were also denied a stone-wall penalty, when Zat Knight handled, before substitute Ivan Klasnic scored a magnificent injury time winner, then got sent off for two yellow cards with seconds to go.

Saturday 16^th October: Wolves 1-1 West Ham United

MARK Noble scored from the penalty spot to rescue a draw for West Ham United against fellow strugglers Wolves.  Wolves dominated the first half; infront inside of ten minutes through Ryan Jarvis, but Noble levelled the match when Kevin Foley fouled Victor Obinha.

Saturday 16^th October: Newcastle United 2-2 Wigan Athletic

CHARLES N’Zogbia returned to St. James Park and scored twice in quick succession to put Wigan in command at Newcastle.  Newcastle produced a gallant fightback with goals from Shola Ameobi and a 94^th minute equaliser from Fabricio Coloccini which rescued a point for the home side.

Monday 18^th October: Blackburn Rovers 0-0 Sunderland

ON A soggy night at Ewood Park, Blackburn and Sunderland played out a very tame goalless draw.   The only flashpoint of a tedious match was a red card before half-time for Christopher Samba.  The Rovers defender saw red for bringing down Danny Wellbeck when the striker was in on goal.