EPL round 11 recap
by Paul O'Donnell
Can Liverpool actually stop Arsenal and win a game at Anfield for a change (3 draws in the league on their home turf already)? What a difference a year makes huh? Last season Liverpool made Anfield a fortress by going 14-4-1 with a +32 GD in league games on their legendary ground while this year they have won only once in front of the home fans.
Now that the Martin Jol era has ended at Tottenham dramatically the buzz has been all about just who will get in that hot seat? My suspicion that the board would deliver another shock by signing as their next manager a man no one expected didn't happen. But, as testament to the relative insanity of the sports press over this feature story their imaginations were running wild. One consequence of the Jol dismissal is there is no bigger match in the EPL this weekend than the one having Blackburn visiting White Hart Lane. So, what do the media pundits come up with on that?
Mark Hughes will not only bring his Rovers to the Lane on Sunday, he'll become the next man in charge there too! For pete's sake! Could it really happen? Wishful thinking I'm sure on the part of David Levy and friends but Hughes himself says no way. As a fan of Rovers and Hughes too, I'm glad to hear that.
With Spurs desire to fill the manager spot quickly developments late on Friday made it apparent that the new man surely would be Juande Ramos from Sevilla. Ramos resigned his position there late Friday and a statement said he had received an offer that simply could not be ignored. Ramos was confirmed as Tottenham's new boss on Saturday signing a four year deal. Ramos stock rose dramatically over the past three seasons as he took his Sevilla side to 2 straight UEFA Cup wins and last years 3rd place finish in La Liga put them in this years Champions League where they are currently 2nd to Arsenal in Group H. Oh, as a side note of interest in this scenario, it was his Sevilla that eliminated Tottenham in last years UEFA Cup semifinals. Though he will be in attendance Sunday, his first match in command will be in the midweek League Cup contest with Blackpool at the Lane.
Bolton Wanderers have also settled their manager search by naming Gary Megson as their new man in charge. He will be on the sideline for their match with Aston Villa on Sunday at the Reebok.
Can Boro step up and provide their own shocker as they did last year by beating Man United? Or, will United equal a 100 year old record by netting 4 again making that their total for the 4th consecutive match?
And what may be the most significant match of the weekend, as far as the rest of the season goes, will Villa recover from being soundly beaten last weekend by United and challenge Bolton at the Reebok? Given the present circumstances this really is a key match for both sides and unfortunately for O'Neill he'll be without Reo Coker and his first choice keeper (Scott Carson) because of the red cards issued last weekend.
Given those questions what answers did we get from the pitch?
Birmingham City 3:2 Wigan
City got another good performance and this time won the points behind a brace from Kapo and Liam Ridgewell's match winner in the 66th minute. Wigan jumped out to the lead with Bent's first (22). City's response came quickly on a Kapo penalty in the 25th before Bent got his 2nd in the 58th minute putting Wigan back on top. Liam Ridgewell steered a rebound in off his knee before Kapo got the match winner ten minutes from full time to ease the pressure on Steve Bruce.
Chelsea 6:0 Man City
The Blues produced that game their fans have been waiting for a very, very long time. It was one of those that everyone knows they are capable of at any time but have rarely managed to come up with in the calendar year 2007. Man City had the misfortune of being the opposition and were simply steamrolled. Beautiful interplay and consistent pressure produced goals from Drogba (15) and Essien (30) in the opening period and served notice that on this day they would not be denied. Second half goals from Drogba (55), Cole (59), Kalou (74) and yes, even Shevchenko (89) looked like carbon copies of one another and were executed just like on the training ground. Frankly, that is what the game turned out to be; an afternoon training session for Chelsea as City was brushed aside all too easily.
Reading 2:1 Newcastle
The Royals scored all the goals at the Madejeski including one that got the game level in the 75th minute on an OG by Duberry after Dave Kitson put them in the lead with his 3rd in two games (52). The match winner came from another of Reading's young Irishmen, Shane Long in the 83rd for the much needed 3pts at home.
Sunderland 1:1 Fulham
Fulham's Davies hit the back of the net in the 31st minute as the Cottager's seemed intent to win their first on the road in over 14 months (last road win was Sep. 9 '06 at Newcastle). It didn't happen as Kenwyne Jones leveled with only 5 minutes on the clock for the Black Cats.
Man United 4:1 Boro
United equaled the 100 year old record with 4 or more goals in 4 consecutive games thrashing Boro. Credit Boro's rapid response in the 5th minute from Aliadiere after Nani got United off to a fine start in the 2nd minute. Rooney's eventual match winner came in the 32nd and was his 6th consecutive game for club and country where he has notched at least one goal. Tevez added his brace (54 & 84) for the final score adding to the league's most impressive double barreled threat. The one-two punch is thriving working off the incisive runs of Ronaldo and United is looking for all the world as the most in form side in club football. Will the young Gunners in North London be able to stay with this Red Devil side from the northwest? Frankly, the way these guys are going right now I don't think so. We'll find out soon enough as they face each other next week.
Portsmouth 0:0 West Ham
Pompey managed to produce another of those unwatchable games and the only one happy about it was Alan Curbishley for winning that valuable point on the road.
Bolton 1:1 Aston Villa
Anelka opened the scoring in the 22nd with a brilliant free kick and Wanderers held on until the 57th when Luke Moore leveled for Villa deflecting a cross off his chest.
Derby 0:2 Everton
Phil Jagielka slipped the pass between defenders to Arteta making the crisp run and he finished cleanly in the 26th for Everton. Yakubu scored his first for Everton in the 63rd in a match that was always in control of the Toffees.
Tottenham 1:2 Blackburn
What is that saying about some things never change? It must seem that way for Spurs fans as they watched their guys concede their 5th goal of the year in injury time losing the match to Rovers. Robbie Keane opened scoring on the day in the 49th from the spot and
Benni McCarthy got the match level in the 60th. Spurs held the upper hand for much of the match only to be stymied time and time again by Friedel keeping Rovers in the game. Then in a scenario that has become all too familiar for Spurs fans a free kick with only seconds remaining in injury time fell nicely to Chris Samba and he made no mistake on his low curling drive.
Liverpool 1:1 Arsenal
Liverpool proved again that their claim to the EPL title is nothing more than a pipe dream unless things change big time at Anfield. A blistering free kick drilled right through the Arsenal wall from Gerrard in the 7th minute rewarded the Reds energetic start. Then they started playing frantic route one speculative balls getting frustrated with that resulting in playing defense constantly which ended up in some ugly almost thuggish fouls. Carragher should have been sent off for drilling Eboue with a forearm to the chin on one of them. Lucky for him and Liverpool nobody saw it until the replay. Benitez started the day with one of his more imaginative lineups of the season with 4 forwards in the 11. An obvious attempt to generate some offense which failed and ended with Arsenal having the better of the possession and run of play. For some strange reason Benitez seems to believe that playing four or five players in other than their favored position on the pitch at one time is a positive. When it doesn't work out that way he just keeps doing even more of it. As one fan that would like to see Liverpool succeed I grew more frustrated with their play as the match wore on and honestly felt the Fabregas strike that leveled matters in the 80th was more than just deserved. It would have been an injustice if Arsenal got nothing on the day. Liverpool drops two more points in their 4th draw of the season at Anfield. While both remain unbeaten in the EPL clearly Arsenal is the better team at this stage and it will take a major turnaround for Liverpool to mount that challenge for the league title they keep telling us they're all about. Unfortunately for Rafa and the Reds they have lost Xabi Alonso again as he reinjured his foot and will likely miss another month or more just when they need him most.
