Does Manchester United have a central midfield? (Oct 25th 2009)
Some of the more effective central midfield pairings in recent memories are:
Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo
Patrick Viera and (younger) Gilberto Silva/Emmanuel Petit
Roy Keane and (younger) Paul Scholes

For individual brilliance the following midfielders were at the top of their class:
Gheorghe Hagi
Lothar Matthäus
Zinedine Zidane

Today we admire the skills of Makalele, Kaka, Fabregas, Essien, Xavi Hernandez and Adres Inesta in central midfield.

If all Manchester midfielders were healthy the preferred midfield pairing would likely be Owen Hargreaves (holding) and Michael Carrick (attacking). The substiture for Owen would likely be Fletcher or Scholes and for Carrick it would be Anderson and at times Giggs.

Would you take Hargreaves/ Carrick over Keane/Scholes? I don’t think so.

Fletcher/Carrick or Fletcher/Scholes over Gattuso/Pirlo? No way.

It is difficult to make the argument that Manchester United is weak in central midfield when you look at their position in the Premier Legue Table and their standing in the Champions League.

However, as was clearly shown in the game today against Liverpool and in the Champions League Finals in May, when the opposion is better than most Man United is lacking in midfield. Manchester united lacks someone that is very good with the ball at his feet, has pace and can change a game on his own- like Kaka.

Manchester united could use someone of the stature of Makalele or Essien who oppositions have a hard time beating and someone with guile like Iniesta or Kaka.

Carrick is a great passer. No one ever said he was great at dribbling and controling midfield. Scholes has seen better days in midfield.

Manchester United desperately needs to replace the effective pairing of Keane/Scholes to seriously shut down opposing midfielders especially when the opposition is better than most.


Chelsea subdue Liverpool at the Bridge (Oct 4th 2009)
I predicted a 2-1 victory for Chelsea and I would have been right if not for Benayoun's surprise miss in added time. But the game lived up to the pre-game hype. It was high tempo mixed with some meaty challenges. Fortunately, no red card was shown and the ref did not stop the game for every foul.

Liverpool now have 3 losses after only 8 games and the team does not seem able to live up to the high standard set last season. Reason?

I present to you the absense of Xabi Alonso and I blame his departure directly on the shoulders of Rafa Benitez. In expectation of the birth of his only child, Alonso did not travel with the team for an important Champions League match. Rafa was not pleased. Or should I say Rafa had no sympathy. He was heartless. The birth of a child is much more important than a game.

The relationship between the two went from good to very bad. Rafa tried to trade Alonso for Gareth Barry before the start of the 2008/2009 season. That deal did not materialize. Barry went to Manchester City for more money - forget his stated desire to play Champions League Football - and Alonso stayed for one more season at Liverpool. Read Madrid expressed an interest and he eventually left for part II of the "Galacticos."

The Alonso Macherano partnership in midfield was solid and meant a lot for Liverpool last season. Now no Alonso, no Gareth Barry and a defensive back four that is leaking more goals. IT WILL BE A LONG SEASON FOR LIVERPOOL SUPPORTERS! But there is always "NEXT SEASON."


Chelsea Liverpool showdown at the Bridge on Sunday (Oct 2nd 2009)
Chelsea wants payback. Last season Liverpool came to Stamford Bridge on Sunday October 26th and ended Chelsea's 86-game unbeaten home record. Xabi Alonso (now with Real Madrid) struck in the ninth minute when his 20-yard shot deflected off Jose Bosingwa and left Petr Cech wrong-footed. The win put Liverpool three points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League.

Liverpool lacks a certain fluidity in midfield since the departure of Xabi Alonso. Their back four is playing below last season's standard. The Liverpool we see through 7 games is a shadow of last season's team.

If the 6-1 thrashing of Hull signaled the return of the "real" Liverpool, the midweek loss to Fiorentina (0 - 2) in the Champions League reminded us of their frailty at the back.

Chelsea's attacking threat of Drogba, Anelka and Lampard will make life difficult for Liverpool's back four. Liverpool's attacking duo of Torres and Gerard will also make life difficult for Chelsea's rearguard but I think their defensive unit will make the difference. I predict a 2-1 win for Chelsea.


Manchester United at Top of Table (Sep 27th 2009)
Manchester United has overtaken Chelsea at the top of the Premier League Table after Chelsea suffered their first defeat of the season, falling 1-3 to Wigan.

Man United is still adjusting to life after the departure of Ronaldo and Tevez. Many thought they would struggle and some even suggested they would drop out of the top four especially after Manchester City and Tottenham improved their squad. On the evidence so far, falling out of the top four seems laughable.

On Saturday, August 29 Man United got the better of the previously undefeated Arsenal 2 -1 in unconvincing fashion at Old Trafford. On Saturday, September 12 they outplayed the previously undefeated Tottenham 3 -1 at White Hart Lane, even scoring the third goal with only 10 men (Scholes was sent off for 2 yellow cards). On Sunday, September 20, the much anticipated clash between neighbors Man United and Man City ended in a thrilling 4 - 3 win for Man United. After an even first half, Man United imposed their superiority on their "noisy neighbor" in the second half. They should have won comfortable if not for the "gifts" goolkeeper Ben Foster and defender Rio Ferdinand gave to Man City and the heroics of the City keeper Shay Given.

Man United will face a sterner test when they meet Liverpool with Fernando Torres in unstoppable form and Chelsea under Carlo Ancelotti. Man United's midfield is suspect after the worth of veterans Giggs and Scholes were proven once again against Stoke on Sat September 26. Man United need much better performances from Nani, Anderson and Valencia to be true title contender and to progress far into the Champions League.


Manchester United v Manchester City Derby (Sep 20th 2009)
The decision to add 4 mins added time was made before Bellamy's second goal.

Those 4 mins were based on 3 goals, Fletcher (49), Bellamy (52) and Fletcher (80) allowing 30 seconds each or 1 1/2 min. Also there were 3 substitutions, Valencia for Park (62), Owen for Berbatov (78) and Petrov for De Jong (83) allowing 30 seconds for each or 1 1/2 min.

Technically that's 3 mins added time the way most of us saw the game. Maybe an extra minute for all the goal celebrations took it to 4 mins.

However when Bellamy scored just before the 90th minute (after stoppage time was announced) the 4th official (Alan Wiley) later told Mark Hughes that another minute was added for the goal celebration. (Hughes said the celebration took 45 seconds.) That's 1 minute added to the previously announced 4 minutes.

Then there was an additional 30 seconds for the final substitution of Carrick for Anderson.

From Atkinson's and Riley's viewpoint that is an additional 5 1/2 minutes. Owen's goal was scored at 95:28 that is within the ref's allotted 5 1/2 mins.

The referees believe they did nothing wrong and were justified in their decision.

Most neutrals and City fans disagree with that explantion considering that it seems to favor Man United.

Liverpool, Chelsea, Man Utd and Arsenal all drew this weekend. (Dec 14th 2008)
It has happened again. All the "Big 4" left their game with 1 point this weekend. Arsenal went to Middlesbrough and only managed a 1 - 1 draw. Hull went 2 - 0 up on Liverpool at Anfield before Liverpool scored 2 in a 2- 2 draw. Man Utd played the late game on Saturday at Spurs and had a chance to gain on the top 2. Tottenham did enough to deny Man Utd a win in a frentic 0 - 0 draw.

Having watch all its competitors draw, Chelsea had a chance to retake the top position on Sunday but were frustrated by West Ham in a 1 - 1 draw at Stamford Bridge. So the only change at the top is Aston Villa overtaking Arsenal to claim 4th place in the BPL table after they beat Bolton Wanderers 4 - 2.

Anelka's 100th Premier League goal (Dec 14th)
On Sunday December 14th Chelsea forward Nicolas Anelka scored his 100th Premier League gaol in a 1 -1 draw with West Ham. He is currently top scorer in the League with 14 goals.

Rooney's 100th Man Utd goal (Nov 30th)
Wayne Rooney scored his 100th goal for Manchester United against their local rivals Manchester City on Sunday November 30th 2008. Michael Carrick left foot shot was parried by Hart into the path of Wayne Rooney for one of his easier goals. He almost scored a dramatic 2nd goal when Hard was caught out of his goal.

First time since Mar 1922 top 4 failed to score on same day (Nov 23rd)
What a weekend! Chelsea played Newcastle at home and failed to score in a 0 - 0 draw. Liverpool played Fulham at home and failed to score in a 0 - 0 tie. Manchester United went on the road and was held to a 0 -0 draw by Aston Villa. Arsenal went on the road and were demolished by Manchester City 3 - 0.

Did the midweek international friendlies have anything to do with the failure to score? Most managers hate these friendlies and sometimes try to prevent their players from participating in them. Manchester United lost Berbatov for about 2 weeks and Arsenal lost Walcott for about 2 months due to injuries.

Most likely we won't see a goal drought like this again for a very long time. There are Champion League matches this midweek but the "big" boys will be firing this wekend. Promise!

Ronaldo 100th Man Utd goal (Nov 15th)
Cristiano Ronaldo's 100th Manchester United goal helped United batter Stoke 5 - 0 at Old Trafford on Saturday, November 15th 2008

Harry Rednapp has the magic touch (Nov 9th)
Harry Redknapp has lifted Tottenham and Darren Bent in particular - and they made it five matches unbeaten under his stewardship with a 2-1 victory at Manchester City on Sunday.

Spurs moved off the bottom of the Premier League in the process, thanks to two goals from a revitalised Bent in a fixture which City finished with nine men - by which time Tottenham themselves were one down too.

Bent built on his midweek hat-trick against Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Cup to help his side record their first away win in the league this season. SOURCE

Frank Lampard's 100th Premier League goal (Nov 1st)
Lampard's 100 Premier League goal came in Chelsea's 5 - 0 thrashing of Sunderland on Saturday Nov 1st.

Harry Rednapp brings Treats - no tricks - to Tottenham (Nov 1st)
After hugging the bottom of the League Table and looking certain to drop to the Championship League, Tottenham took the bold decision to sack Juanda Ramos. In came Harry Rednapp with bags of treats and the positive results started immediately.

On Sunday October 26th Tottenham won their first match of the season when they beat Bolton 2 - 0 at home. On Wednesday October 29th Tottenham made a stunning comeback to draw 4 - 4 with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

On Saturday November 1st last placed Tottenham played first place Liverpool in what was expected to be a blowout. Liverpool scored first within 3 minutes and the rout seemed likely. But Rednapp men fought back in the second half and scored the winning goal in added time. They inflicted the first loss of the season for Liverpool and made things very interesting at the top. (On that same day Arsenal lost 1 - 2 to Stoke.)

Harry Rednapp has brought a new wave of confidence to the team and supporters and they will very likely avoid relegation this season. Same players + experienced manager = better results. (Unfortunately that formula does not work all the time.)

Arsenal is in trouble (Nov 1st)
Last season Arsene Wenger admitted that his team gave up a lot of goals via set pieces especially headers. The faithful gunners thought he would have addressed this issue during the transfer window by bringing in taller defenders. Silvestra was brought in from Man United but the defensive foes continue. (While at Man United Silvestre lost his starting spot at left-back to another Frenchman Patrice Evra.)

Some are calling for Wenger's head. Some are questioning his team selections. Others are blaming Cesc Fabregas for under-performing. Whatever the real reasons are for Arsenal's troubles, Arsenal should be able to beat previously promoted sides Stoke and Hull. Today Arsenal lost to Stoke 1-2 on the road. Both goals conceded were headers. Arsenal lost 1-2 to Hull at home. That shock lost ended Arsenal's unbeaten run at the Emirates Stadium. (Cousin's winning goal was a header in the 66th minute.)

• Man Utd 4 - 0 West Brom (Rooney: 1 goal)
• Belarus 1 - 3 England (Rooney: 2 goals)
• England 5 - 1 Kazakhstan (Rooney: 2 goals)
• Blackburn 0 - 2 Man Utd (Rooney: 1 goal)
• Aalborg BK 0 - 3 Man Utd(Rooney: 1 goal)
• Man Utd 2 - 0 Bolton (Rooney: 1 goal)

No Cech, Carvalho, Essien, Ballack, Drogba, J Cole, A Cole (Oct 18th)
Chelsea went on the road and demolished Middlesbrough 5 - 0 without several regular starters - Petr Cech, Ashley Cole, Ricardo Carvalho, Joe Cole, Didier Drogba, Michael Essien and Michael Ballack. Deco (returning from injury) contributed little to the victory as he was used as a substitute for less than 20 minutes.

Chelsea continue to lead the table, they look impressive, they are scoring lots of goal as the goal difference shows and their squad is very deep. Additionally, they have the best midfield in Europe (Lampard, Deco, Mikel, Ballack, Essien). DON'T BET AGAINST CHELSEA!

Chelsea looks impressive; Man Utd stutters without a striker (Aug 17th)
Chelsea put on a master class in drubbing Portsmouth 4 - 0 at the "Bridge." The ball movement in the first half especially with Deco, Obi Mikel and Joe Cole was a delight to behold. Chelsea for the title? Good bet.

Manchester United looked in disarray without Tevez (family bereavement), Ronaldo (injury), Nani (suspension) and Anderson (Olympics). Man Utd is paying the price for not signing Defoe or Anelka in the January transfer window. Both players were available but Man Utd probably thought they were not worth the asking prices. Is Man Utd having money issues? Hmmm!

New Season has started (Aug 16th)
The Barclays Premier League 2008/2009 season has begun. The opening match between Arsenal amd new-comers West Bromich Albions ended in a 1 - 0 win for Arsenal. Arsenal did not look very convincing in their win BUT it's only the first game.

For the statisticians the first goal of the season was scored by BPL debutant Samir Nasri (France) now playing for Arsenal. Also in their first entry in the Premier League, Hull City beat Fulham 2-1. Caleb Folan scored the winning goal for Hull.

Who started this mess about WH conspiracy? (May 4th)
Each person is entitled to his own opinion but not his own fact.

FACT: There are 20 teams in the Barclays Premier League for the 2007/2008 season.

FACT: Each team plays 19 home games and 19 away games.

FACT: Manchester United played 19 home games this season and have lost 1 game (Man City 1-2), drawn 1 game (Reading 0-0) and won 17 games.

FACT: The 17 home wins include the following:

Sep 23 Chelsea 2-0
Oct 27 Middlesbrough 4-1
Jan 12 Newcastle 6-0
Jan 30 Portsmouth 2-0
Mar 23 Liverpool 3-0
Mar 29 Aston Villa 4-0
Apr 13 Arsenal 2-1

Now this is my interpretation of these facts. If Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton, Aston Villa, Blackburn and Portsmouth could not get a draw let alone a win at OT, why would any reasonable person think that West Ham (a team that is below these teams in the table) could get a win or draw at OT this past weekend?

Also consider that WH was without Fredrik Ljungberg, Jonathan Spector, Anton Ferdinand, Craig Bellamy, Kieron Dyer and other starters.

Why are some people complaining about a conspirary, throwing game, investigation Alan Curbishley and Sir Alex?

If we accuse West Ham of "rolling over" are we also accusing Wigan, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Liverpool of doing the same.

First Arsenal and now Man Utd Stumbling Fast (April 26th)
Arsenal at one point enjoyed a 5 points lead over Man Utd. After a run of 4 consecutive draws and a loss to Chelsea, that lead evaporated.

Man Utd recently dropped 2 points at Middlesborough and Blackburn. And then they faced Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. And loss 1-2 just like Arsenal. Is Chelsea slaying the giants? Will Chelsea will the league?

Chelsea plays Newcastle away on Mon May 5th and Bolton at home on May 11th. Man Utd plays West Ham at home on May 3rd and travel to the JJB to play Wigan on the final day. All Man Utd have to do is simply win both games and they are save. Can they do that?

R.I.P. Arsenal (Apr 13)
Arsenal started the season very brightly although their top scorer, Thierry Henry left for Barcelona. The young "guns" of Fabregas, Adebayor, Hleb, Eduardo and Flamini gave all Arsenal supporters hope.

Arsenal made it quite clear that they were going to challenge for 4 titles with their young and inexperienced squad. Unfortunately, they were knocked out of the Carling Cup by Tottenham (1-5), out of the FA Cup by Manchester United (0-4) and out of the Champions League by Liverpool (3-5 aggregate over 2 legs).


Their Premier League Title hope was shattered at Old Trafford. After taking a 1-0 lead, Arsenal self-destruck to gift Man Utd a win with a penalty and needless freekick that was briliiantly taken bu Owen Hargreaves.

The pressure is on Arsene Wenger to buy in the summer so that he has a bigger squal to last the entire season.

Ps. Rumors has it that Flamini and Hleb are leaving. If Wenger can hold on to his players that will be stronger and more experenced next season.

Grand Slam Sunday left a lot to talk about(Mar 23)
The much-anticipated Easter Sunday fixtures (dubbed Grand Slam Sunday by Sky Sports) lived up to the hype in my humble opinion. Man Utd got the better of Liverpool 3 - 0 in a game that featured the sending off of Javier Mascherano and Chelsea came back from 0 - 1 down to beat Arsenal 2 - 1 in a very hectic game.

Liverpool came to Old Trafford on a run of 7 undefeated games. They were brimming with confidence and heaping praise on the Torres-Gerrard dynamic duo that was demolishing opposing defenses.

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher felt the time was right for his team to get the better of Man Utd after 7 unsuccessful tries in the Premier League. He felt the dynamic duo of Torres and Gerrard would unsettle Man Utd's back four and give them a chance to beat their hated rivals. Before the match Carragher said, "When you put great players together, you get results. Torres and Gerrard are certainly that, they are both very clever on the pitch. Torres stretches defenses and Gerrard gets into the hole behind; Stevie then is able to produce the passes for Fernando to run on to."

Apparently Carragher ignored the fact that Man Utd has the stingiest defense in the league and has kept the most clean sheets so far this season. Sunday was no different for Man Utd. They kept another clean sheet and moved 6 points clear of Arsenal before the Chelsea - Arsenal game.

The Man Utd win at OT placed a huge pressure on the Arsenal and Chelsea. A draw would not be good for either team. So both teams set out to secure a win. Arsenal was desperate for a win after 4 successive draws and 8 points dropped.

The game was played at a hectic pace but ended 0 - 0 at half time. Arsenal took the lead with a header by Sagna. Then Drogba stunned the Arsenal supporters with 2 goals in ten minutes. Chelsea is now second in the BPL table and only 5 points behind Man Utd. Man Utd have to go to Stamdford Bridge for a game that could determine the eventual winner of the BPL title.

The fight to avoid relegation (Mar 22)
The following teams are fighting to keep their stay in the Premier League: Newcastle, Wigan, Reading, Sunderland, Birmingham, Bolton and Fulham. Derby is as good as relegated since it is highly unlikely that they will win all or most of their remaining 7 games.

Today's results brought some hope and despair. Kevin Keagan was smiling as Newcastle defeated Fulhan 2 - 0. Reading beat Birmingham 2 - 1 and Sunderland surprised Aston Villa 1 - 0 at Villa Park.

There were no smiles for Wigan as they lose to Blackburn and for Fulham who squandered chances against Newcastle. Bolton secured a point in their draw with Manchester City.

Tomorrow's anticipated clashes between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford and Chelsea versus Arsenal at Stamford Bridge will likely play a big part in deciding the eventual winner of the Premier League Title. If Man Utd beat Liverpool and Chelsea and Arsenal play to a draw, that would put Man Utd 5 points clear of Arsenal and 7 points ahead of Chelsea. Then there is the matter of Man Utd and Liverpool going to Stamford Bridge later in the season.

This may well be the most keenly contested title chase!

The race for the title (Mar 19)
Last Saturday Arsenal, Man Utd and Chelsea were looking to solidify their position at the top of the table. Man Utd and Chelsea played on the road while Arsenal had a home game.

Surprisingly Arsenal dropped points at home by drawing 1 - 1 with Middlesborough, the only team to beat them this season. Man Utd missed several chances before Ronaldo put them ahead in a 1 - 0 affair with Derby and Chelsea won by the same margin against Sunderland.

Man Utd is now level on points (67 points) with Arsenal with one game in hand. Chelsea is lurking right behind with only 3 points back. Today Man Utd and Chelsea play their "catch-up" games - Man Utd hosts Bolton at OT and Chelsea travel to White Hart Lane to face Tottenham. This is one heck of a race for the Barclays Premier League title.

The Fight for Survival in the Premier League! (Mar 2)
With 10 games left to be played (11 for a few teams) the fight for survival in already intense. One thing is already certain. Derby is going down. Eight other teams, Fulham, Reading, Bolton, Birmingham, Sunderland, Wigan, Newcastle, Middlesbrough are trying to prevent the drop.

On Saturday March 1st, there were 3 games that were decided in the 90th minute. Arsenal were losing 0 - 1 to Aston Villa when Bendtner scored with Arsenal's last touch of the ball.

Middlesbrough and Reading were heading for a 0 - 0 draw when James Harper grabbed all 3 points for Reading in the 90th minute. Newcastle looked certain to secure a point at home when Blackburn's Matt Derbyshire scored a goal in the 90th minute. That was a heartbreak for Kevin Keagan and the Geordie faithfuls.

Birmingham secured a vital win at home against Tottenham to move out of the bottom 3. Newastle has not won a game in their last 11 matches and is sinking perilously close to the drop zone. Their next game is against Liverpool and things look very bleak for Newcastle.

There will be more sleepless nights and heartbreaks over the next 3 months.

IS THIS A JOKE? - AC Milan's Dida crocked sitting on bench! (Feb 16th)
AC Milan goalkeeper Nelson Dida was injured during yesterday's 0-0 draw with Parma while sitting on the bench!

The Brazilian is now a serious doubt for Milan's Champions League clash with Arsenal after his back seized up before halftime. Dida was stretchered off at half-time after finding he couldn't get up off the bench.

The weekend the title was decided? (Feb 12th)
The big 3 all played at home over the past 2 days. Manchester United was at home playing Manchester City in the Manchester Derby. Chelsea took on Liverpool at home in a quest to extend their remarkable unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge. And Arsenal hosted Blackburn Rovers at the Emirates.

The first of the three games was played at Old Trafford where a special tribute was paid to those who died in the Feb 6 1958 Munich plane crash. The Old Trafford faithfuls were looking for a victory but saw their team put on the worst performance of the season. They could not pass, they were second to the loose balls and they could not finish. If the legs of Ronaldo, Nani, Anderson, Vidic, Brown and Ferdinand were tired from midweek friendlies, then Giggs, Tevez and Scholes had no such excuse.

Manchester City were the deserved winner. Ater the loss Manchester United were hoping Blackburn could hold Aresenal or else the lead at the top of the table could extend to 5 points. But Monday's result placed Arsenal securely at the top with 5 points clear of Man Utd and 12 games to play.

Chelsea also dropped points after playing to a dull 0 - 0 draw against Liverpool. Chelsea now sit 8 points behind Arsenal. Chelsea can only hope that Arsenal will drop points at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge later this season. Chances are Chelsea will not gain 8 points to overtake Arsenal. Man United has a better chance only if Arsenal is defeated at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge.

It will be a very interested season from here on out!

What they are saying about Ronaldo! (Feb 1st)
Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp - "George Best was the best player I've ever seen, but Ronaldo is certainly in the top two or three players in the world at the moment. He really is special. If he runs at you, you're in trouble, he'll do 14 step-overs and give you twisted blood. He is an amazing player - he's got the lot really. He's big, strong, six-foot tall and great in the air."

Uefa president Michel Platini - "If Ronaldo is the best player in the world or Europe he will have to prove it in the Euros because that will be the only way we can judge him, when all the best players will have had the chance to be recognised. It's difficult to compare players in competitions and teams. Is it more difficult to play right wing in Manchester than it is in Italy, where it doesn't exist? Ronaldo has a number of advantages to his game and, of course, the last matches in the finals of the European Championship this summer will be decisive."

President of the Portuguese Football Federation, Gilberto Madaíl - According to the last FIFA Player Award the best player in the world is Kaká, and that I am not going it to discuss. He is not yet better than the Brazilian. But in my opinion I believe that Christian Ronaldo should have been in front of Messi in that voting. So, as a minimum he is one of the best players in the World.

"I am content that a Portuguese player is scoring so many. And some still forget the goals he has scored for Portugal this season, of which there have been a few."

That Boy Ronaldo! (Jan 31th)
Love him or hate him, you must admit "That Boy Ronaldo" is special. He has scored 27 goals in all competition this season. On 6 occassions this season he has scored 2 or more goals including his brace against Portsmouth on Wednesday. Remember he scored another brace against Tottenham on Sunday in the FA Cup competition.

What can be said about that freekick against Portsmouth? It had just the right pace, power and placement to clear the wall and leave David James stranded as he watch in disbelief.

Ronaldo is good with both his right and left foot. He is good in the air. He is good at penalty kicks and freekicks. He is fast and his dribbling is second only to Barcelona's Messi. He may easily win the Barclay's Premier League (BPL) Player of the month for January and the best player for the BPL 2007/2008 season.

It will be interesting to watch Ronaldo and Adebayor "duke" it out for the top goal scorer award. After 24 games Ronaldo has 19 BPL goals and Adebayor 16.

Trivia: Anton Ferdinand and Rio Ferdinand scored today (Jan 12th)
Anton Ferdinand gave a fitting response to a half-time ear-bashing from his manager by scoring the winner as West Ham came from a goal down against Fulham.

Manager Alan Curbishley said: "We didn't start so well and Anton copped it at half-time. I wasn't happy with how he and Matthew Upson started.

"But they came out to put it right. We wanted to cement our position in the top half and this was a big result for us."

Rio Ferdinand got a little adventurous after Manchester United took a 3 - 0 lead against Newcastle. He started showing up on the right wing and delivered a terrific cross to Rooney in the 64th minute. Unfortunately Rooney did not make the best of his header.

Minutes later Rooney returned the favor and delivered a cross to Rio which he finished in style. Rio's finishing had a striker's touch to it, a touch that eluded Rooney throughout the match.

Should the "Wenger Babes" be taken seriously? (Dec 30th)
Have you ever heard the cliche "Nothing is guaranteed; that is why you play the games?" Saturday's football results make sense of this cliche.

Manchester United was "SUPPOSED" to beat West Ham and stay atop the table. Arsenal was "SUPPOSED" to struggle against an organized Everton team at Goodison Park. There was a "strong possibility" that Arsenal would gain 1 or Zero point after playing Everton. Everton scored the first goal and it seemed like Arsenal was following part of the script.

However, whoever wrote the script is not a prophet. And he was not aware that "Nothing is guaranteed; that is why you play the games."

The second half of the Everton-Arsenal match is reason to believe the "Wenger Babes" are to be taken seriously. Eduardo was an ASSASIN. He was clinical and he was deadly. He had a job to do and he did it like a professional "paid assasin."

His performance should not be surprising. Did you see his performance against Blackburn in the Carling Cup?

The "Wenger Babes" reached the Carling Cup final last season, and by beating Blackburn Rovers 3-2 on the road they reached the semi-finals of the same competition this season. And they did it despite being reduced to 10 men for the whole of extra-time.

The average age of the "Wenger Babes" that played Blackburn is 19. Eduardo, at 24, was the oldest.

Mark Hughes was full of praise for these youngsters. He compared them to the 'Fergie's Fledglings' of 15 years ago.

"Arsenal's players have the same mentality and they are very competitive. They can do very well too. Their mentality is that they expect to win games — they don't just hope to win games.

"At United, lads like Beckham, Scholes, Neville and Butt all had that same mentality. You could see it in them right from the time that they were in the youth team.

"I look at Arsenal's young players and I see that in them as well. They will always get the ball down and pass and move, and they'll create opportunities."

Hughes also noted "What Arsenal have are two excellent teams — a first-choice team and another one which is made up of all the other exceptional players they have."

During the second half of the season it will be interesting to see how Wenger integrate some of the "Wenger Babes" into the first team. Arsenal will lose Toure and Eboue (Ivory Coast) for the 2008 African Cup of Nations. However they will have Adebayor - Togo did not qualify - van Persie and Eduardo as available forwards. Also Johan Djourou is set to return from his loan spell at Birmingham to bolster the defence when Kolo Toure is away.

The second half of the season is shaping up to be one "hell" of a competition. The "Wenger Babes" may very well help Arsenal secure the Premier League Title.

Shocking Day of Football (Dec 29th)
NOTHING IS GUARANTEED! That is why the games are played.

Manchester United was "supposed" to beat West Ham and Arsenal had "little chance" against the well organized Everton at Goodison Park.

As it turned out Man Utd lost to West Ham after giving up 2 late goals from set pieces and Arsenal fought back from 0 - 1 down to defeat Everton 4 - 1. (Ronaldo missed a penalty. He is human after all.)

Tottehham keep entertaining us but they keep leaking goals. They gave up 4 goals but fortunately take scored 6 of which Berbatov had 4. Will Berbatov leave during the transfer window?

Boxing Day Treat (Dec 26th)
For most of the English-speaking world (UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Trinidad etc) the day after Christmas is Boxing day, traditionally a big sporting day. Unfortunately the USA does not celebrate Boxing Day so while I was at work (here in Florida) the rest of the world was trated to a memorable day of English football.

Fox Sports World and Setanta Sport replayed all the games later that day so I was able to watch the Chelsea-Aston Villa games and parts of the other matches. I am tempted to say the game of the day is Spus 5 Fulham 1 but with 3 red cards, 2 penalties and 8 goals, the Chelsea-Aston Villa was arguably the top game on the Boxing Day schedule.

There were other interesting "events" of the day. Early in the day Manchester United went top of the table with a 4 - 0 trashing of Sunderland. Arsenal failed to reclaim position no 1 after they drew 0 - 0 with Portsmouth. Next up for Man Utd is West Ham on the road. Arsenal will play Everton on the road. Arsenal will be desperate to take 3 points away from that game but a win against Everton on the road will be very difficult.

The "injury bug" bit Chelsea again as Frank Lampard had to leave with a thigh injury. Michael Ballack played his first Premier League game for Chelsea this season and was infuential in creating a controversial penalty and scoring a freekick.

The Tale of 2 Penalties...(Dec 24th)
For me there is no one better than Eric Cantona at taking penalty kicks. He had an uncanny ability to send keepers the wrong way. If a keeper studied his penalties, he would not find a tendency. He was able to beat keepers to their right and left with ease. And it was hard (or impossible for some keepers) to look at his body language and predict where the ball was going.

Fortunately for many keepers Cantona no longer plays football. However there are excellent penalty "takers" in today's game. Some notable examples are Ronaldinho (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) and Robbie Keane (Tottenham Hotspurs).

Over the weekend Robbie Keane and Ronaldo were given the chance to break a 1 - 1 tie in their respective games. The ever reliable Keane missed his penalty kick and Ronaldo made his. What's the difference?

Keane usually hits his penalties hard to the left (the keepers' right). In some cases they are driven to the top left corner with no chance of the keeper getting a hand to it. However his penalty against Arsenal on Saturday was not hit with the usual power and it was low and close to the keeper. The keeper guessed right and gave himself a good chance of stopping it which he did.

Ronaldo usually stikes the ball hard to the left. This time however he struck his penalty to the right (Tim Howard's left) and completely fooled him. Even if he had guessed where the ball was going he probably would not have stopped the ball because it was struck hard to the top right corner.

Keene let the pressure of the moment get to him. His team was playing on the road and against a Arsenal team that has not lost to the Spurs since November 1999. Robbie wilted under the pressure.

Ronaldo on the other hand was cool, composed and decisive in where he wanted to ball to go. Tim Howard's antics did not changed Ronaldo's mind. The penalty was well taken and struck out of the reach of the keeper. Fooling Tim into going the wrong direction was adding insult to injury.

The Gunners are unstoppable... (Dec 22nd)
...at least for now. After struggling to break down Tottenham in the first half, Adebayor quickly put Arsenal on track shortly after the break. Robbie Keane hit the post before Berbatov equalised in the 78th minute.

Robbie Keane failed to convert a penalty that would have put the Spurs up 2 - 1. That mistake proved costly as substitute Bendtner headed in to give Arsenal a 2-1 lead which they never relinquished. Arsenal are still top of the BPL Table with 43 points from 18 games.