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!

The win against Newcastle came as pressure mounted on the young manager’s shoulders after being knocked out of the League Cup last Tuesday with an awful performance against Liverpool.

AVB continues his quest to play exciting attack-minded football with a high defensive line. But with a slow defence this appears to be causing Chelsea as many problems on the field as their over-inflated egos.  I believe Villa-Boas needs to address the ‘clear as day’ fact that while John Terry continues to show his strength as a natural born leader, his pace is letting the side down, while central defensive partner David Luiz is a defensive liability.

The victory must have caused Andre Villas-Boas a sigh of relief even though he has continued to state to the media that he is still confident he has Roman Abramovich’s backing and fully expects to be at Chelsea for the next three years. Whether he honestly believes this or not, it will surely be a grave concern to know that Villas-Boas has the worst start of any manager at Chelsea since Abramovich took over; and he is not known for his patience!

It’s a job made even more difficult by the fact that Chelsea want instant success.  I remember this time last year Carlo Ancelotti saying these very words as the pressure began to mount on his Stamford Bridge future.  Success for Chelsea and Roman Abramovich is to win trophies, especially the quest to win the Champions League.  Failure is to win nothing and not qualify for next season’s Champions League.  But at the same time, Chelsea have not been able to replicate the level of success with gradual first team changes in the same way as Arsenal and Manchester United. But time has run out for Chelsea.  Now is the time to go with the likes of Sturridge, Mata, Torres, Romeu, Meireles and buy one or two solid central defenders – Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka in January.

Steve Kean can also rest in peace today after Blackburn Rovers beat Swansea 4-2 with Yakubu scoring all four goals in a rare treat for home fans that lifts Blackburn off the bottom of the Premier League table.

So while Sunderland appointed Martin O’Neil as their new manager yesterday, after sacking Steve Bruce in the week, who will be the next Premier League manager to lose his job?  If it was down to the voice of the fans then it would be between Aston Villa’s Alex McLeish and Wolves manager Mick McCarthy.

Wolves play Sunderland today; and while Martin O’Neil will be watching from the stands while assistant manager Eric Black takes charge today, Mick McCarty will be under the spotlight of owners and fans once again.  If Wolves lose to fellow strugglers Sunderland today at Molineux you might not need to read the football betting tips on BettingExpert.

I don’t think anyone could have expected Liverpool to be so poor.  They never got off the bus, as one cliché goes; and Spurs took full advantage by playing fast, fluid football, the best I’ve seen them play since last season’s Champions League matches against Inter Milan.

Liverpool finished the match with nine players after two yellow cards were shown to Charlie Adam and Lucas respectively.  But the way they were playing, Liverpool wouldn’t have won if they had finished with their whole squad on the pitch!

In between the first and last matches of the day, Manchester City threw away a two goal lead at Fulham, and even more surprising was Sunderland thrashing Stoke 4-0 at the Stadium Of Light.

So confident were the bookmakers Paddy Power of a Manchester United victory, they were offering money back on all losing bets, if Chelsea won.

So many times matches like this one are hyped to ridiculous levels and fall short on entertainment value but this was a corker.  Chelsea performed well with an attacking formation.  Andre Villas-Boas continued with the young strike force of Fernando Torres, Juan Mata and Daniel Sturridge.

The weakest link was Frank Lampard who looked off the pace and lacking confidence. Lampard was substituted at half term as Man Utd were amazing leading 3-0 even though the end-to-end game was anything but one sided, with Chelsea having their fare share of possession and more shots on goal.

Minutes into the second half and Fernando Torres was put through one on one against former Athletico Madrid team-mate David de Gea.

Torres showed his growing confidence with a deft chip.  He was put through again and once more showed great skill to beat de Gea, only to shoot wide in front of an open goal.  It was this which courted the headlines, rather than Torres playing well and Wayne Rooney missing a penalty as he slid and landed on his bottom, reminiscent of John Terry’s penalty miss in the Champions League Final against Manchester United in Moscow.

As for Arsenal, they through away a lead to lose 4-3 to Blackburn Rovers.  Pressure continues to grow on Arsene Wenger as the main question appears to be not whether he should keep his position but who Arsenal could possibly replace him with.

Manchester Utd were awesome and deserved the win though Andre Villas-Boas tactic to attack United rather than sit back almost paid off.

They are now two points clear at the top of the Premier League and the only team in the division with maximum points.  In past seasons they have been slow out of the blocks and finish strongly.  This season it could be all over by Christmas!

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.

darren bent in england squad

The top scoring Englishman in the Premier League has at long last been rewarded for his efforts by being called up for the England squad ahead of this Saturday’s friendly in Qatar against Brazil.

Sunderland’s Darren Bent who joined the club for a record £10million from Spurs during the summer, has had an immediate impact scoring eight goals in the Premier League this season.

Having endured a torrid time at Tottenham, where he scored a hatful of goals in pre season only to find himself well down the pecking order of strikers, particularly since Harry Redknapp took over as manager, the striker is enjoying a new lease of life in the North East, where above all, he feels he is wanted.

Now playing regular football again, Bent has proved that he has not lost his eye for goal-even though he missed a crucial penalty against Spurs on Saturday-and his patience has been rewarded with his inclusion in the England squad.

It is good to see that Fabio Capello has been true to his word and chosen a player who is currently on top of his game, although whether he will feature in the friendly on Saturday remains to be seen, but his goal scoring record this season says that he should at least be given a chance to prove himself.

Steve Bruce was delighted to hear of the call up for a player he obviously thinks has been overlooked for too long, saying;

“When we first signed him, I was amazed at his natural ability in front of goal and said to myself ‘this lad’s going to be a top player for this club, that’s for sure’. If you look at the number and type of goals he’s scored this season, it shows what a well-rounded player he is.

Darren is a top lad with an immaculate work-rate on and off the pitch and it’s a testament to his record and attitude that Mr Capello has decided to add him to the squad.”

Bent played his first game for England in 2006 and has played four times for the senior team without scoring, his record at Under 21 level is 14 games with 8 goals scored.

alex ferguson charged

It appears that the Football Association intends to make an example of  Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson following his remarks about referee Alan Wiley after the 2-2 draw with Sunderland at Old Trafford.

Ferguson has been charged with improper conduct and has until November 3rd to answer the charge. If he is found guilty he could be given a hefty fine or banned from the touchline for a number of games.

While Ferguson was given the opportunity to apologise over his remarks, his half hearted attempt at an apology has simply dug a deeper hole for the 67 year old Scot, who has in the past two seasons been fined and banned from the touchline for his comments about referees.

Alan Leighton, head of the officials’ union Prospect said:

“We think that the attack on Alan Wiley was an attack on his professionalism, struck at the heart of his professionalism and was totally unwarranted. Since then we believe he has broadened out that attack to talk about the fitness of other referees and hasn’t retracted that main allegation that Alan was unfit.

Some people suggest it is us picking on Sir Alex. I’m not interested in previous. If this had gone unchecked, other managers would have felt able to make similar slurs and that fundamentally brings the game into disrepute.”

While the charge is unlikely to cause sleepless nights for Ferguson, the whole sorry affair could easily have been resolved if only he could find it in himself to admit that he was wrong.

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.

Sir Alex Ferguson

“The pace of the game demanded a referee who was fit. He was not fit. It was ridiculous.” said Ferguson after watching United steal a point in the last minute of injury time, something else that irked the Scot who said that Wiley had not added time on after the equalising goal.

I half expected to hear Ferguson saying that Wiley had not allowed them to play on until they won the game like other referee’s do, but he stopped short of that.

Ferguson has been asked by the Football Association to explain his comments which also include the classics , “He was taking 30 seconds to book a player” and “He was also walking up the pitch for the second goal needing a rest. He was not fit enough for a game of that standard.”

Blackburn Rovers’ Sam Allardyce has managed to get away with his outburst after seeing his team beaten 6-2 by Arsenal. He did have a valid point though when he questioned why anyone would not give a penalty after Thomas Vermaelen’s blatant trip on David Dunn when the score was 3-2 to Arsenal.

Sam is big enough to accept that the best team won the game, but points to the ‘penalty’ decision as the crucial turning point of the game. He also added, “I try not to say too much publicly and say it through the system but unfortunately the system is not working so I have to be heard. People may say it is bitter or twisted, but I know I am 100% right because I am very professional in what I do. I research everything and Keith Hackett knows I am right.”

Finally, England’s World Cup qualifier in Ukraine on Saturday will be shown exclusively live to subscribers on the internet who will pay at least £4.99. The fee rises  the closer the game gets, settling at 11.99 if you pay for the match on Friday.

The rights to the game were originally purchased by Setanta but after going into administration the the digital sport specialist Perform was appointed to stream the game online.

The Odeon cinema will show the game live at eleven venues around the country, including Leicester Square, but the match will not be screened in pubs in the UK.

It is pretty amazing that none of the UK terrestrial stations made a bid for the match, although ITV do have rights to all England home games and has recently taken over Setanta’s rights for away friendlies.

Bent is undergoing a medical with Sunderland and the transfer is expected to go ahead as soon as possible after he is proved fit. Reports of £14 to £16million have been quoted in various places, which if it is true makes Harry Redknapp’s cheeky £10million offer for Chelsea’s Joe Cole appear the steal of the century. Chelsea were quick to nip the stories in the bud saying Joe Cole is going nowhere. At least not for that money!

Aston Villa have been praised by Leeds United for the way they have conducted themselves in making an approach for highly rated Fabian Delph. Villa have agreed a transfer figure with Leeds and need to discuss terms with the player. Leeds say they have refused permission to other Premier League clubs.

Peter Crouch

The transfer fee has not been disclosed but is believed to be in the region of £10million with a five year contract for the 28 year old England striker. Crouch will once again team up with Jermain Defoe, having formed a good partnership while briefly together at Portsmouth.

Redknapp is ecstatic over the arrival of Crouch, who had turned down a move to Sunderland because he wanted to stay in the south of England. The Spurs manager says;

“We now have four top strikers which is what you need at every club and so I am delighted to have Crouchy, he is different to almost anyone else in the league in terms of his size and the way he plays the game. With Crouch, Robbie Keane, Jermain Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko we have a good strikeforce.”

Clearly Redknapp believes that Darren Bent has no future at Spurs and says that he expects the misfit to accept an offer from Sunderland over the coming days.

Portsmouth have defended the sale of Crouch with a statement that says, “His sale was necessitated by the club’s commitment to repay scheduled debts while we are in a transitional period of completing the takeover.” The statement goes on to say that Pompey will be looking to strengthen the squad with ‘fresh faces’ as soon as the takeover is finalised.