EPL round 20 recap
by Paul O'Donnell
The Cottagers have named their new manager; Roy Hodgson, who formerly was the head man at Rovers and also in Italy at Inter Milan. Good luck to Roy. He'll need it with this bunch. Fulham visits Birmingham and is in dire need of breaking their jinx on their travels. Does McBride make the roster (he had earlier suggested his target for return was the holiday period)?
Doesn't the table look just a little strange these days? Check it out; Man City, Everton, Portsmouth and Aston Villa in 5th-8th. Surely the biggest surprise there is that City is managing to hang in there in a top 6 (UEFA qualifying place, which means either the Cup or perhaps even Champions League is within their reach). No Blackburn (9th), Newcastle (11th) or what has turned out to be my worst pick from back in the summer no Spurs (I picked Spurs for 4th before the season began). And Everton seems poised to move even higher and it wouldn't be a big surprise if they did just that.
Plus, the top two have put a substantial gap (6 points) between themselves and 3rd placed Chelsea. Liverpool visits Man City in hopes of creating more difficulty for Sven and with Everton entertaining Arsenal things are likely to change around a bit this weekend in that part of the table.
In looking at the confrontations this round the massive match, it seems to me, has to be that Toffees-Gunners affair. Strangely enough, Everton fans will be cheering for Liverpool to have a good game against Man City knowing if that happens they could go to 4th if they defeat Arsenal. It would not be surprising to me if David Moyes and Everton handed the Gunners their first defeat of the season at Goodison Park. Actually, I'm cheering for Everton of course.
The other big one of the round is Man City v Liverpool with the teams sitting 4th & 5th, only a single point between them, both will see this one as a pivotal match in the season. And it very well could be. With the draw to Rovers on Boxing Day for City Liverpool will look to add another blemish on City's home record with a road win. A good match to cap off the weekend action with much at stake for both sides.
West Ham will be looking to bushwhack Man United. Not likely to happen but it very well could be a nail biter of a match. Pompey gets another chance to score a goal at home and with Boro visiting it could be a party for the home side as they break that jinx.
Some Toon fans are wondering if Michael Owen will ever play again. Who in the world would have suggested that the signing of Owen would be the downfall of this team, yet that has pretty much been the outcome. Instead of all the hope and cheer that surrounded that event the team has been in near complete turmoil at times.
Frankly, they have the look about them of a Championship side at this stage so the fans should be thanking their lucky stars they have managed to hold on and sit 11th in the table. Quality and flare are not part of this Newcastle team but you can't fault them for sheer effort and determination. The fans should be backing these guys instead of roasting them at the drop of a hat. Instead, we've seen periods of war dances and cries for Big Sam's head which is utter lunacy. Changing the manager won't fix what’s broken at St James' Park.
Owen needs to make it back to the pitch and soon or this side could be in real trouble. A thrashing at Stamford Bridge is sure to get those war dances going again and that would be a real shame. On the other hand, if Newcastle could produce a miracle and end Chelsea's long undefeated run at the Bridge (almost 4 years since they've lost at home) Big Sam's job would be secure. That would be a joyous outcome for the holiday period for Newcastle fans. To some that wouldn't matter much; they'd hoot and howl anyway.
Birmingham 1:1 Fulham
Carlos Bocanegra's 8th minute goal put Fulham on the board early and Larsson leveled matters in the 54th. Despite the point on the road Fulham slips deeper into the zone as Sunderland's win moves them out.
Chelsea 2:1 Newcastle
Chelsea's wonder man Michael Essien staked his side to the lead (28) and Nicky Butt got Newcastle back in it (55) before Kalou won the day for Chelsea with his late strike (86) as Newcastle were left protesting for offside on the play. Big Sam and the Newcastle faithful were correct; he was off. The ball banged around with touches for both sides before it popped loose within Kalou's reach and apparently the official was saying in this case that put him on; nonsense. He was offside.
Sunderland 3:1 Bolton
Kieran Richardson got his first for the Black Cats (12) after just returning to play on Boxing Day. Kenwynne Jones continuing his fine play for Roy Keane made it 2 in the 31st before Diouf halved their lead in the 40th. Murphy (90) killed the match at the death with Sunderland's 3rd.
Tottenham 6:4 Reading
The Match of the Day in the Prem
What a game this one was and man would I love to have been there to see it! Berbatov's first put Spurs on the board in the 6th minute and Cisse leveled matters for the Royals in the 15th. Then the game became a chess match after the hectic start before Ingimarson put Reading up in the 52nd. Ten minutes later Berbatov had his second of the day and we were again level. Kitson then found the net for 3-2 Reading in the 68th before Berbatov got his hat trick in the 72nd and the scores were level again at 3. A minute later Kitson had his 2nd and it was 4-3 Reading. This time it was Malbranque with the leveler for Spurs (75) before Defoe (78) and then Berbatov's 4th (82) made the final 6-4 Spurs. Can you imagine that? Ten goals in an EPL match! Amazing. I really wish we'd see more like this where both sides take off the constraints and just pin their ears back and go for it. No time like the holidays for such a display.
Portsmouth 0:1 M'Boro
Can you believe it? Pompey fails to score at home yet again! This one marks the 6th consecutive home match where they have failed to score. This is amazing and this time it cost them as Boro's Tuncay Sanli (his 4th in 6 games) got his in the 19th and their defense made it stand up. Last time out Harry had a bit of cover since the opponent was Arsenal, but to not score yet again on their home ground is stunning to be frank.
West Ham 2:1 Man United
Ronaldo scored the opening goal with a crisp and unchallenged header from a Giggs cross (13) but then failed to convert a penalty as the defiant Hammers hung in there and scored twice on headers off set plays (Anton Ferdinand, 76 and Upson, 81) to pull off a famous victory. With the loss United falls back to 2nd. Bet United won't have the day off tomorrow and they'll be on the training ground practicing defending free kicks and corners.
Wigan 1:2 Aston Villa
Wigan Drops Back Into the Relegation Zone
Titus Bramble made up for his recent howler putting Wigan up (27th) before Curtis Davies got Villa level in the 54th when he headed home his first for the club off a Gareth Barry corner. Then came the winner from Agbonlahor (69) and Aston Villa get a needed win on the road as they bid to recover from their recent poor form and four consecutive defeats, two of them at home.
Everton 1:4 Arsenal
Gunners Wipe the Floor with the Toffees at Goodison Park
A decisive and devastating win for the Gunners. Arsenal goes back to the top with the win and United's loss at West Ham as they completely dominated the Toffees in the 2nd half. A very uncharacteristic Arsenal play produced Eduardo's first on a 70 yard ball from a free kick by Clichy (and a handball helper) sent Eduardo in alone on Howard (46). It took that spectacular play to get the Gunners level after Everton's inspirational leader, Tim Cahill, put them on top in the 18th minute. From that moment on Arsenal bossed the game and Eduardo added his 2nd in the 57th after some fancy footwork, then Adebayor became the beneficiary of loose play in the back and was gifted a goal. Arteta was shown a straight red for a flailing elbow to the face of Fabregas (it was clearly incidental contact, not at all intentional or aggressive) in the 74th. Arsenal were also to go to ten when Boxing Day's hero Niklas Bendtner was shown his 2nd yellow on the day (84). Rosicky made it four in extra time with a blast to the back post that caught Howard by surprise. Oh just a side note; Tomas Gravesen, a hero at Goodison from just a few seasons ago before he saw stars in his eyes and left for Real is proving by his erratic and out of form play that old adage that says "you can't go back".
Sunday, Dec. 30
Derby 1:2 Blackburn
Derby again played well enough to earn at least a point and may have won it all if it were not for a missed penalty in the 36th. Matt Oakley slipped a nice shot under Friedel in the 26th minute for the lead. Fifteen minutes later Ryan Nelsen was shown yellow and a penalty awarded (unjustifiably) which Friedel saved at the corner. In the next five minutes Rovers won the contest with goals from Santa Cruz (his 8th in five games) on 38 minutes and David Bentley's match winner in the 41st. Again, Derby deserved better on the day but it wasn't to be.
Man City 0:0 Liverpool
Liverpool again showed they can't seem to take advantage of opportunities to close the gap with those in front of them and City showed the world that their unbeaten home record is genuine thanks to Richard Dunne primarily on this day. Good chances were spurned by Benayoun, Gerrard, Torres and Kewell. Despite Liverpool's dominance of the run of play with those better chances wasted there would be no goal. To win the match you have to actually score a goal of course and Liverpool didn't.
