What with Chelsea continuing to stutter under the ‘leadership’ of Andre Villas-Boas as he attempts to stake a strong air of Mourinho-like authority and dampen any dissenting voices from the old guard, going into the Christmas period it seemed that Manchester United & Manchester City were going to sprint away from the chasing pack.  That was until last weekend when both clubs lost.

Unfortunately for the chasing pack didn’t take full advantage.

After scoring no less than 10 goals against Fulham & Wigan, Manchester United lost at home to bottom of the table Blackburn Rovers 3-2. Take nothing away from Blackburn whose mix of young and experienced players appeared to be playing out of their skins for under-fire manager Steve Kean, Manchester United were shocking; and Sir Alex Ferguson’s decision to leave Wayne Rooney out of the squad for some petty disciplinary decision backfired.  Why when it comes to Ferguson making blatant mistakes do football pundits & journalists alike not tell it as it is? Yes he’s the most successful manager English football has ever seen.  But when he gets it wrong, say so!

Chelsea & Tottenham failed to capitalise on Man Utd losing points (Chelsea lost at home to Aston Villa 3-1 & Spurs drew with Swansea 1-1), leaving Arsenal as the only top 6 team to win last Saturday.

To cap a weekend of surprising results in the Premier League, Manchester City failed to take advantage of Ferguson & United’s blunder on Monday, knowing that winning at Sunderland would have opened a three point gap at the top.  But they failed to beat a rejuvenated Sunderland on Monday as Martin O’Neil continued to steer the Black Cats away from the threat of relegation & into the top half of the Premier League.

As the busy Christmas & New Year fixtures reached a final round of matches this week there were wins for Manchester City (Liverpool 3-0), Spurs (West Brom 1-0) & Sunderland away to Wigan 4-1 on Tuesday; and yesterday was a chance for Bolton to start the New Year with a win and for Man Utd to make amends for ending 2011 with their tail firmly between their legs.

Bolton was captained by Gary Cahill at Goodison Park as they took on an Everton side that included American Landon Donovan in his second loan spell from LA Galaxy. Cahill was probably playing his last match for the North-east side before moving to London.  Though it was interesting to see Harry Redknapp & his chief scout at Goodison, as personal talks between Cahill & Chelsea appear to have stalled.  I expect Redknapp to do everything in his power to sign Gary Cahill. The decision I believe is going to be down to Cahill.

The match produced the most bizarre goal of the season as Tim Howard hoofed a big clearance downfield only for the ball to get caught up in the gusty wind & end up in the Bolton net.  Howard becomes only the fourth goalkeeper to score in the Premier League after Brad Friedel, Peter Schmeichel & Paul Robinson.

The other Premier League game saw Manchester Utd travel to St. James Park (yes, I kmow its been renamed!). Newcastle were in the midst of a bad run with only one win in their last three games, so I was thoroughly expecting Manchester Utd to hit them for four.  Wayne Rooney started along with Dimitar Berbatov.  But United played worse than they did last Saturday.  While Newcastle played with confidence and bossed the midfield.  Alan Pardew’s Newcastle went on to win 3-0.  Another shock result. United have leaked 6 goals in two games.  But more than anything else I believe they are missing a midfield general.  I wonder what Paul Scholes thought of Man Utd’s performance.

At the weekend Manchester United play Manchester City in the FA Cup.  I can’t wait!

It was no coincidence that King Kenny Dalglish was appointed caretaker manager just days before Liverpool was set to play old rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford in the FA Cup 3^rd Round and ahead of their next home game, the Merseyside derby, against their other staunch rivals, Everton.

Unfortunately, what could have been a fantastic return for Dalglish for his second spell as Liverpool manager was spoilt by a dramatic penalty within the first 30 seconds of the match followed by a two-footed lunge that had Captain Fantastic Steven Gerrard sent-off after 30 minutes.  But Liverpool battled on and showed more determination and commitment than they have done for quite some time.  Remember, this run of bad results and poor performances didn’t start when Roy Hodgson was appointed last summer.

Kenny Dalglish made no secret of the fact that he wanted to the job of Liverpool manager at the end of last season.  But the risk he is taking is that he returns to the Anfield hot seat as one of the most successful Liverpool managers of all time, and is quite rightly adorned as a Liverpool Legend as both player and manager.  But the 2011 squad he has inherited is a poor one, nothing like the squad of 1985 when he took over as player/manager and won the FA Cup & League double for the first time in Liverpool’s history in his first season in charge.

Dalglish has been working behind the scenes at Liverpool since 2009, so I’m confident he has a good understanding of the problems he faces.  It is pretty clear Liverpool need to have a good clearout of players that are not good enough for the Premier League. If this is done correctly with a long term plan in place then Kenny Dalglish may be the man to put Liverpool back on track.  If he doesn’t succeed then like Kevin Keegan’s return to Newcastle, questions will be asked as to whether he should have returned in the first place.

The appointment today of former Chelsea, Newcastle & West Ham coach, Steve Clarke, is certainly a positive one.  I was surprised when Chelsea let Steve Clarke go following the sacking of Jose Mourinho and can see Dalglish and Clarke forging a great double act.  But with a third of the January Transfer Window already gone it will be interesting to see if Liverpool make any new signings or King Kenny can motivate a poor squad enough to get them to finish the season by qualifying for a place Europe next season.  Surely that is the minimum requirement.

As for Roy Hodgson, there are a few vacant managerial posts currently available and no doubt some of those teams would be keen to offer Hodgson the opportunity to resurrect his career in management.  However, I wouldn’t be surprised in Roy Hodgson decideds to avoid a return to management altogether and enjoys an early retirement or possibly the comfort of a studio seat rather than the dugout.

Arsene Wenger’s infamous ‘fox in the box’ signing sadly did not live up to the tag although in fairness his short time at the Gunners was mostly spent in the treatment room,  dogged by injuries as he watched the likes of Thiery Henry hit a rich vein of form.

Loaned back to Everton in 2003, Jeffers eventually fell out with David Moyes that season and was dispatched back to Arsenal who sold him to rival London club Charlton for a fraction of what Wenger had paid for him.

Injuries and temprement have dogged Jeffers through the years since that big move to Arsenal and the Daily Express carries a rather sad report today that the player who is still only 29 years old is without a club and training with the Everton reserves.

He was included in Premier League newcomers Blackpool’s pre season games but was not asked to sign for the club. He says, “I went to Devon with Blackpool and played three or four games in pre-season. I scored in one of the matches, I wasn’t great, but no one is in pre-season. It just never worked out. I’ve been on my own since, doing as much running as you can possibly do without actually playing football. Everton thankfully said I could join in with the reserves. Hopefully it will set me up if something does come along.”

Jeffers must content himself watching his beloved Everton team from the stands at a weekend, but the player says he has no regrets about how his career has turned out.

The only interest appears to be from Australian A-League side Gold Coast United and the former fox in the box says;

“Maybe the time is right for a change of scenery. There’s some interest from Australia. I’ve spoken to Tim Cahill and he says the league there is getting better and better. We’ll see. It’s football. You can’t have any regrets, I still believe I have a bit to offer.”

landon donavon not one to shirk a challenge

Everton have confirmed the loan signing of Landon Donavon from LA Galaxy on a short term loan deal, with the player arriving at Goodison Park on January 2nd and returning to the USA for the start of the MLS season in March.

Not a great deal of time to make his name at Everton, but I am sure Donavon will fit the team like a glove. He has great pace and scores goals, but he is also an intelligent playmaker and not afraid of the physical side of the game, giving as good as he gets.

At 27 years old Donavon has made a record 120 appearances for the USA and scored a record 42 goals for the national team. He is consistently voted the USA Player Of The Year, which may not count for much but in the Confederations Cup earlier this year, Donavon was very impressive playing for his country, especially in the historic win over Spain, that finished the Euro 2008 winners unbeaten record.

Everton fans should be ecstatic, but I doubt they will be very keen to let him go back to the Galaxy.

Everton

Lescott has been hotly pursued by Manchester City throughout the last month or so, even while negotiating with Chelsea for captain John Terry, but Everton have so far resisted any offers for Lescott and have hit out at Mark Hughes for being ‘un-proffessional’ in his pursuit of the player.

But things could be about to change as David Moyes has today said that while he has no intention of letting the defender go, every player has his price.

Moyes said: “Joleon’s attitude has not been right these past days, he has disappointed me and he has disappointed his team-mates. He is not in the right frame of mind. People can read what they like into this. But I have said all along I don’t want to sell him. But it is a bit like Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Manchester United, there is always a price. At this moment no club has made us an offer for the player that we want to accept.”

Then in the space of ten minutes or so Arsenal suddenly found themselves leading the game by three goals and any fight in the normally physical game of Everton had suddenly deserted them as heads dropped both on and off the pitch.

Even the normally verbal and animated David Moyes sat almost still and speechless as Everton went in at half time, already well beaten.

The fighting spirit that is synonymous with Everton re-appeared for the second half, but lasted barely two minutes before Fabregas scored the first of his two goals, to heap the misery on Everton and the Goodison Park fans.

Everton were woeful throughout, not just defensively but also terribly lacking in any firepower or pace in attack, totally out of character with what we have come to expect.

Arsenal will have a massive boost of confidence going into their Champions League qualifier with Celtic, but I doubt they will have an easier pay day in the Premiership all season.

Final score: Everton 1 – 6 Arsenal

Real Madrid

On the other side of Liverpool, Everton’s Joleon Lescott has followed Alonso’s initiative by handing in a transfer request to get his move to Manchester City. Everton have meanwhile been holding talks with Phillipe Senderos of Arsenal as a possible replacement for Lescott.

Everton are expected to complete the signing of American forward Cody Arnaux on a years contract, in the next few days.

City have also lost midfielder Gelsen Fernades, who has moved to French club St Etienne for an undisclosed fee. The 22 year old Swiss international joined City in 2007 from FC Sion, he made 59 appearances for the Eastlands team and scored four goals.

Also City have said that they are no longer pursuing Samuel Eto’o. The Barcelona player had allegedly been given an ultimatum-make your mind up in 24 hours or forget being the best paid player in the premier league. The 24hrs has passed and so has the offer.

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.

A few years ago Michael Owen & Emille Heskey were the first choice striking partnership for England.  Both could be sold in January to cash in on contracts that end in the summer. 30 year-old Emille Heskey has resurrected his England career and is a good team player and a work horse, but has never been a 20 goals a season striker; whereas Michael Owen has a fantastic average of one goal per two games ratio, but alas Owen’s constant struggle with fitness makes him an expensive liability unless he is playing every week.

Allegedly Tottenham, Aston Villa & Everton are “interested” in buying Emille Heskey from Wigan.  Everton certainly need a striker after this weekend where Yakubu picked up a ruptured achilles injury that will have him miss the rest of this season, and Louis Saha will be out for several weeks with a torn hamsring.  Add to this, the injury of young James Vaughan, you will appreciate Everton, currently seventh in the Premier League, are in more need than most to add a striker to their team.

I’m not sure Everton could afford Michael Owen’s wages; and though it may be fitting for Owen who supported The Toffees as a boy, surely an injury-prone player to replace a list of injured players would be nonsensical.  Furthermore, with Saha and Yakubu’s wages to pay I wonder if Everton will be look for a short-term loan rather than a big money transfer.

David Moyes could do a lot worse than contacting Henrik Larsson as a short term saviour in the same way as Alex Ferguson did for Manchester United when, faced with a similar situation he brought the former Celtic and Barcelona striker to Old Trafford for two months in the winter of 2007 during the Swedish League’s winter break.

Apparently David Moyes is keen on bringing Polish-born Germany international Lukas Podolski to the Premiership, though I can’t imagine Bayern Munich will let one of their star strikers leave in January, even for an estimated £10 million.

Another star striker that looks unsettled and too often left warming the bench, as far as he’s concerned, is the much troubled and not loved Chelsea striker Didier Drogba.  I personally believe he will be off to Spain or Italy for a big money transfer.  But maybe Manchester City could offer him a ridiculous wage to lure him to stay in the Premiership.

Man City certainly have the money that might just prize a few top players away from top European clubs in the January transfer window; and they certainly need a top striker or two; and unless Zimbabwe striker Benjani and Darius Vassell are happy to become squad members with limited first team appearances, they may well be first to join the transfer merry-go-round come 1st January 2009.