Kenwyne Jones opened the scoring with another headed goal from a Jermaine Pennant cross. Ryan Shawcross tapped in a second from inside six yards, and Jermaine Pennant made it 3-0 with a deflected shot from about eight yards.

Wolves were very poor while Stoke continue to impress, playing to their strengths under the excellent management of Tony Pulis.

Wolves (34 points) stay in the bottom three, along with Wigan (33 points) and West Ham (32 points) but there is still time for all three to avoid relegation with four games still to play.
Blackpool climb out of the relegation places on goal difference after a 1-1 draw with Newcastle on Saturday.  Blackburn are currently 16th (35 points) and Birmingham (38 points) are far from safe following a run of bad results.  Fulham are in 14th position with 39 points and a game in-hand on the six teams below them, which I believe will be enough to see them play Premier League football next season.

I personally think the relegation battle will go to the final day and is now between the bottom six: Birmingham, Blackburn, Blackpool, Wigan, Wolves and West Ham.

At the top of the Premiership Arsenal and Tottenham both dropped more points at the weekend.  Spurs were held to a 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane by West Brom, while Arsenal lost away to Bolton. Tottenham appear to have blown a chance of a top four finish and Champions League football next season with two from a possible six points last week; while Manchester City overcame Blackburn on Monday with Edin Dzecko’s first Premier League goal.

Man City are now 5 points clear of Spurs with five games to play; and with Arsenal winning only one point from their last two games, Arsene Wenger will be looking over his shoulder at Roberto Mancini’s sky blues who are now just 5 points behind them with a game in hand.

Chelsea continued their recent good run as the most inform team in the Premier League with a 3-0 thrashing of West Ham on Sunday, including a first goal for Fernando Torres, and Manchester United continued to grind out results beating Everton at Old Trafford 1-0 on Saturday.

Both Chelsea (67 points) & Manchester United (73 points) have four games left.  This weekend Chelsea are at home to Spurs while Man Utd are away to Arsenal; two massive games for all four clubs.  But the Premier League title could be decided when Chelsea play Manchester Utd at Old Trafford on Sunday 8th May.

As for Bolton Wanderers reaching the other semi-final in the same year legend Nat Lofthouse died, well it seemed almost written in the stars that it would be apt if there was a repeat of the 1958 FA Cup final when Nat Lofthouse helped Bolton beat Manchester United 2-0.
I was pretty confident both semi-finals played at Wembley last weekend would be tight but exciting matches.  On Saturday Man Utd started the brighter, and if Dimitar Berbetov had scored one of his two early chances, the game would have taken on a completely different path.  As it was, Man City weathered the initial storm and gradually began to dominant the game.  Every Manchester City player worked hard, even Mario Balotelli, but the difference was David Silva.  He managed to boss the midfield while Joe Hart showed touches of brilliance to keep United at bay.

Even after an early second half goal (Yaya Toure, 59 minutes), City continued to pressurise United and kept control of the game.  Paul Scholes didn’t help the cause by being sent off for a trademark late challenge that left a calling card on Pablo Zabaleta’s thigh.

So with one surprise already complete I sat down on Sunday to watch the second Wembley semi-final between the much fancied Bolton Wanderers and Stoke City.   What happened next was the most one-sided semi-final I have ever seen, in any competition … in any sport!
Not only were Stoke City 3-0 up within 30 minutes but they looked likely to score every time they looked at the Bolton goal, let alone had a shot.  The normally dependable Jussi Jaaskelainen could have done better with every goal but he wasn’t helped by the whole Bolton team who looked stagestruck!

Bolton were truly shocking but I couldn’t believe it when supporters began filing out after less than one third of the game considering the expense of the ticket and the hours they had spent travelling down to north London. Stoke City went on to win 5-0 though it could have been more.

The last time Tony Pulis was at Wembley was in the League One play-off match as manager of Gillingham.  With 10 minutes to go they were leading 2-0 only to let in two late goals and eventually lose on penalties.  The opponents on that day were Manchester City.  Must has changed in the lives of Tony Pulis and Manchester City since then but for Pulis, revenge would be sweet.

Even though they are one of the oldest clubs in the English Football League, Saturday 14th May will be Stoke City’s first appearance in an FA Cup final.  They will start the game as massive underdogs and know Manchester City will not be overawed by the big occasion. The size of the pitch should suit Manchester City, but that’s what pundits were said about Bolton Wanderers.

For reasons of money, investment and past glories, it is easy to think of the aforementioned clubs as the five teams that still have a realistic chance of winning this season’s Premier League. But Spurs are only above Bolton Wanderers (who have a better goal difference) because Bolton could only manage a home draw with Blackpool on Saturday.  Both Bolton and Blackpool are playing really exciting football under the guidance of Owen Coyle and Ian Holloway respectively, and have been involved in some surprise results already this season.

So, as we head into December it is good to see there are only six points between the top 5 clubs, and the top half of the Premiership includes some surprises.  Liverpool can only scrape into the top half of the table on goal difference, ahead of two of last season’s promoted teams, Blackpool and West Brom. While ahead of them are Bolton (6th), Sunderland (7th), Stoke City (8th) and Newcastle United (9th).

Manchester United are top of the league for the first time this season after a 7-1 thrashing of Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford on Saturday.  It marked the return of Wayne Rooney to the starting line-up and also the best performance I have witnessed from Dimitar Berbatov since his move from Spurs.  Not only did the Bulgarian striker score five goals, his movement and link up play with Rooney was as sharp as I have seen.

Blackburn were awful but that takes nothing away from an excellent team performance by Man Utd who remain unbeaten this season but moreover have started to play better football and look like possible champions. Lest we forget, Manchester Utd have regularly started the season off slowly in recent years, only to make a charge for the Premiership title come the New Year.

Furthermore, United’s thrashing of Blackburn has meant they now have the same goal difference as Chelsea who started the season so well.

Defending champions Chelsea find themselves two points behind Manchester United after only being able to manage a draw against Newcastle at St James Park.  This follows defeats to Sunderland & Birmingham, and more importantly, the surprise sacking of assistant manager, Ray Wilkins, which has now been followed by the news that Frank Arneson has resigned and will leave his post as head talent scout at the end of the season.

It is clear that there is something wrong behind the scenes as well as on the pitch at Stamford Bridge, and though the return of John Terry, Michael Essein and Frank Lampard to the Chelsea team will help alleviate some of the problems Carlo Ancelotti is faces on the pitch with a team that were playing exciting football and looked invincible just a month or so ago, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Chelsea continue to implode over the coming weeks and months.

For the first time since July, I can muster a grin at the fact that I had a pre-season bet that Manchester United would win the Premier League this season.

Stoke were no doubt lifted by the surprise half-time appearance of Tony Pulis who had not been present for the first half due to the death of his mother; and the result was crucial.  This is Stoke City’s third consecutive season back in the top flight of English football, and it has been their home form that has kept them in the Premier League thus far.

As for Aston Villa, what were they thinking when they appointed a manager in Gerard Houllier who has still not been released from his current position with the French FA. Last night, Caretaker Manager Kevin MacDonald told reporters he was still unsure when Houllier was going to take charge of the team.  For now he had been told to pick the team to play against Stoke and again on Saturday at home to Bolton Wanderers.

To suggest Aston Villa is a club in turmoil is far from the truth.  However, the next six weeks could be very important in deciding the fortunes of this so-called ‘sleeping giant’.

Following their home game on Saturday with Bolton they will play a very difficult game against Blackburn Rovers in the third round of the Carling Cup. In all honesty, neither side may play their strongest teams.  But if Sam Allardyce decides to strike while Aston Villa’s morale is low, Blackburn could quite easily knock Villa out of the cup.

After the Carling Cup game next Wednesday (22nd September), Aston Villa will play two difficult away fixtures at Wolves and Tottenham. They do not play another home game until they host a goal-rampant, ultra-inform Chelsea on Saturday 16th October.  And if that wasn’t bad enough, their only other home game in the Premier League in October is against arch-rivals Birmingham (31st October).

With an away game at Sunderland between the two, it is clear to see that Aston Villa needs the French FA to release Gerard Houllier as soon as possible.  And if the situation carries on until the end of October, Houllier could quite possibly arrive to find Aston Villa languishing amongst the relegation places.

Furthermore, the longer this bizarre situation continues, the more vocal the fans were air their disapproval and the higher eyebrows will be raised at the owner Randy Learner’s decision to appoint a manager who is actually not available!

Lastly, once Gerard Houllier eventually arrives at Villa Park he will have big shoes to feel with both the fans and club expectations, if he is to exorcise the ghost of Martin O’Neill; and there is also the small matter of how he consoles goalkeeper Brad Friedel and defender Stephen Warnock.  Both players were told they were surplus to requirements when Houllier became manager at Liverpool.

As one alcoholic striker once said, ‘it’s a funny old game’.  But its stories like this that makes the game of football as exciting as the results themselves.

Bolton manager Owen Coyle was left fuming after the game as once again the referee and his assistants made what appeared to be glaring errors over the penalty appeals.

Coyle even suggested that Drogba would make a world class volley ball player on the evidence of this game and his anger is understandable.

There is little doubt that once again Chelsea rode their luck and a single goal from former Bolton striker Anelka was all that separated the teams at the end of the game.

None the less the win puts Chelsea four points clear of Manchester United at the top of the Premiership table and six ahead of Arsenal, who will play their local derby game against bitter rivals Tottenham tonight.

It also gives Chelsea the upper hand in their new quest to win the FA Cup and League double for the first time in their history.

It all makes for yet another exciting finish to the season with so many teams having everything to play for in what could yet prove to be the pivotal week in deciding the issues of the championship race, relegation and of course the coveted fourth place in the title race.

The news that Wayne Rooney isn’t fit for Manchester United’s game on Saturday is perhaps no surprise, but as one of Manchester United’s key players already this season, it does leave a gaping hole for Ferguson to fill.

And poor old Rafa will have to do without what are considered to be his two best players as neither Steven Gerrard or Fernando Torres have returned to fitness following injuries during World Cup games.

Considering that none of the three mentioned took part in the mid week games it seemed probable that they would be fit for this weekend, but with Champions League games next week the managers may feel that the players would not be worth risking  for the Premier League games.

Certainly Sunderland will fancy their chances at home to Liverpool, having rattled Ferguson’s cage at Old Trafford last week when United grabbed an equaliser in the last minute of injury time, Steve Bruce will definitely believe his team can beat a stuttering Liverpool at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland are likely to have former Liverpool player Bolo Zenden in the team and he too will feel he still has a point to prove, although in fairness he didn’t prove it at Liverpool or Chelsea.

Gary Megson must also believe that Bolton can get something out of United, even at Old Trafford. The team has toughened up once again under Megson and their physical style will make it tough for United to break down unless someone can step in and fill Rooney’s boots.

It is a powerful start for Tottenham, in direct contrast to this time last year when everything conspired against Juande Ramos who eventually lost his job at Spurs before taking control of Real Madrid for half a season.

One thing the experts all consider when talking about league winning teams is ‘depth of squad’ and Spurs must have the biggest in the league. For three seasons/managers at Spurs have bought about three players for every one they sell so there must be some squad still there.

That doesn’t stop Harry Redknapp from being linked to every player that enters the market, the latest football news says he is after buying Arjen Robben from Madrid. While there is little substance to the story it may be different if Spurs have maintained their form into the January transfer window.

If they are still top come January, Redknapp will be determined to show his skill in the attracting the best players to the club. It will be like me playing fantasy football for Harry, spend every penny available and to hell with the defence.

I wonder what the football betting odds are on Spurs to win the league, I wouldn’t bet against it, but it really is early days and lets face it anything can happen. I do expect a closer group of teams in the top six or eight this season, from the limited action I have seen most teams have shown improvement on last season.

However and not withstanding Arsenal’s fine result on Saturday, I am predicting that we will see the top four become six, and Liverpool will lead the pack. I do expect both Spurs and Manchester City to make a big impact this season and look forward to the fight with Arsenal to secure the fourth place.

At the other end newcomers Wolves, Birmingham and Burnley all have a win under their belt’s and what an incredible result it was for Burnley to beat the champions Manchester United.

Right now they are all pretty much unknown quantities and maybe capable of the odd surprise, but how regular will that become? I expect all three to be involved in the traditional end of season relegation battle  along with Stoke, Bolton and Hull, with the latter trio going down.

As United split the mid season pairing of Liverpool and Chelsea at the top of the league, it does make you wonder what Ferguson was getting at when complaining of bias against his team in the  premier league fixture list.

Manchester United may not be on top of the league just yet, but the win against Wigan pushes them past Chelsea and another win away to Bolton on Saturday will move them to the summit, with nothing Liverpool can do about that until Monday, when they take on an in form Everton at Anfield.

Of course United also have a game in hand on their rivals which they will be aiming to make the most of to put some light between themselves and the rest of the league.

It is fair to say that certainly in recent times there has never been such an exciting premiership football season, as things stand there are four, maybe five teams still with a realistic chance of the title and perhaps more excitingly at the other end of the table any three from a dozen clubs could be involved in a relegation dog fight.

Two things that have thrilled me this year are, firstly the football being played by the teams promoted from the Championship, each has contributed in their own way to making this the most exciting season for years by playing excellent football and in the process upsetting some of the better known teams.

Secondly, seeing Martin O’Neil’s Aston Villa breaking the monopoly of the ‘big four’ is particularly satisfying. They currently sit in fourth place, one point behind Chelsea and three ahead of Arsenal and have quietly got on with the job despite the Gareth Barry saga throughout the summer.

Here’s to the second half of the best Premier league season for years.

Apparently this is the biggest betting day in the entire season and the bookies will be looking for no upsets.

I believe Chelsea will beat Bolton and Manchester United will thrash Wigan, giving Man Utd the Premier League title on goal difference. I might even have a bet on Nicolas Anelka to score against his old club.

Of the teams fighting against relegation, Reading are away to Derby, and though they haven’t been playing well recently, should fancy their chances against Derby who have only being playing for pride for some time now.

Fulham are away to Portsmouth, and though Harry Redknapp and Portsmouth will not want to loseat Fratton Park in front of their loyal fans, I would be surprised if Harry puts out a full strength team ahead of next Saturday’s FA Cup final against Cardiff.

Birmingham are the only team of the three fighting relegation who play their final game at home, but it is definitely the hardest game of them all, against Mark Hughes’ Blackburn Rovers who are looking for a UEFA Cup place.

I predict Birmingham to lose, Fulham to draw and Reading to win.

Do you agree?

Chelsea missed the chance to go level on points with Arsenal in a 4-4 draw at White Hart Lane.

Drogba scored within three minutes for Chelsea, but bogey man Jonathon Woodgate put Spurs level on 12 minutes.

Essien put Chelsea back in front and the visitors went in leading 2-1 at half time. Joe Cole made it 3-1 in the 52nd minute and Chelsea must have thought the game was in the bag, but Spurs came back yet again with Berbatov and then Huddlestone scoring spectacularly to equal the scores.

Joe Cole put the visitors back in the driving seat with ten minutes to go, only to see Robbie Keane snatch an equaliser eight minutes later.

Even then it wasn’t all over, in the dying minutes Cudicini made a brilliant save to deny an equally brilliant shot from Berbatov.

A breathtaking game of football, but one point is not going to help Chelsea’s late challenge for the title, while United will be smiling down ominously from the top of the table.