Premiership Weekend Roundup [Football]

Now that the games have been played and things are starting to shape up in the table, lets look at the games this weekend...

Manchester United 1 - 0 Everton

United cemented their place atop the Premier League with a 1-0 victory over Everton. David Moyes' record against United is rather poor and Everton went into this game relying on a rock solid defense to keep the score respectable and considering United's only goal came from a penalty, which came about when Arteta fouled Carrick in the Everton box, this is probably a good result. Ronaldo was the penalty taker and his cool stroke into the Everton net sealed the win for United.

Liverpool 2 - 0 Chelsea

Thanks to two late goals from Fernando Torres, Liverpool move into second place in the league three points ahead of Chelsea. The game was a typical high tempo affair with very little for the neutral to enjoy and referee Mike Riley had to keep his cool and make sure the game did not boil over, which for the most part he did. Chelsea fans will be disappointed with his decision to send off Frank Lampard in the 60th minute after a challenge on Xabi Alonso but in truth this did not change the game too much for Chelsea as Liverpool had most of the play and Chelsea were poor going forward. Scolari would have probably taken a draw after the sending off but it wasn't to be.

Torres scored his first goal, a header, with 90 seconds left of normal time which came from a cross from Fabio Aurelio. Torres then netted his second deep in to injury time when he took advantage of an Ashley Cole error.

Bolton 3 - 2 Tottenham

Kevin Davies is having a good season for Bolton and this continued with his late winner against Spurs on Saturday. Wanderers fans might have been forgiven for thinking Deja Vu after seeing their side go two goals up before letting Spurs back in to bring the scpre to 2-2.

Puygrenier put a header past Cudicini to make it 1-0 to Bolton and then Bolton went further ahead on 64 minutes with a lovely goal from Kevin Davies slotting the ball in the top-right corner. Darren Bent then got two goals for Spurs and the striker showed no lack of confidence with his simple finishes to bring it level. The game looked to be heading towards a draw but Kevin Davies powered a header past Cudicini to seal all three points for Bolton.

Middlesbrough 0 - 0 Blackburn

Yet another draw for Big Sam leaves Blackburn in the bottom three as Rovers failed to capitalise on a poor Middlesbrough performance. Chances were kept to a minimum as both sides lacked a killer instinct and an injury time miss by Jason Roberts pretty much summed up the game.

Stoke City 1 - 0 Manchester City

Mark Hughes was disappointed with his side after failing to score against a resolute 10-man Stoke City. The only talking points of the game was the sending off of Rory Delap and the goal from James Beattie. Delap took umbrage at Wright-Phillips' lunging tackle on Danny Pugh and tripped the former Chelsea wide man from behind before kicking the ball into Wright-Phillips' torso.

Wright-Phillips was lucky not to be sent off himself after appearing to retaliate to Delap's outburst but instead of City capatalising on the advantage of an extra man they let James Beattie power a header from the back post giving Joe Hart no hope at all. Let's hope Shay Given knows what task he is letting himself in for.

Aston Villa 0 - 0 Wigan

Villa missed the chance to go level on points with United with a goalless draw against a strong Wigan side. Villa hammered the Wigan goal in the second half hitting the post on one occasion and having two shots cleared off the line by Wigan's Paul Scharner. This was a very good game with the scoreline perhaps not doing the game justice. Steve Bruce will be happy with the point, which his side worked incredibly hard for.

Arsenal 0 - 0 West Ham United

Arsenal see this as two points dropped as they failed to close the 5 point gap between themselves and Aston Villa with the goaless draw at the Emirates. Arsenal dominated the game from start to finish with West Ham's efforts severely restricted and thus bringing an end to Carlton Cole's run of goals. Arsenal did not create many clear-cut chances and their worries were added to by the injuries to Abou Diaby and Emmanuel Eboue. The focus now seems to be on signing Andrei Arshavin before the 5pm deadline on Monday.

Fulham 3 - 1 Portsmouth

This was a nightmare game for Tony Adams who will have to start turning things around very soon if he is to keep Portsmouth in the Premier League. Fulham were very good in this game and their 3-0 lead after 80 minutes reflected this. Goals from Johnson and Nevland were enough to end this as a contest with David Nugent's goal a mere consolation to what was a bad day at the office for Tony Adams.

Hull City 2 - 2 West Brom

One of these teams is in a relegation fight. Arguably the other will be if they keep struggling to close out games. Hull twice gave away the lead to allow West Brom to snatch a point from an entertaining game at the KC Stadium. Bernard Mendy put the Tigers ahead after latching on to Ian Ashbee's long ball and rounding keeper Scott Carson. On-loan striker Jay Simpson leveled the game for Albion after being set up by James Morrison in the penalty area. Craig Fagan then put Hull back in the lead but the Tigers hearts were broken when Chris Brunt scored a vital penalty to make it honours even.

Newcastle 1 - 1 Sunderland

Three points in this game will have been vital for both teams so its perhaps fate that meant this one ended with the spoils shared. In typical North East derby fashion the game started with a quick tempo and the action was end to end with both teams carving out small chances. It was Sunderland who opened their account with Cisse scoring a cool rebound finish after seeing his first effort deflected by Harper.

Cisse and Jones made life difficult for the Newcastle defense but the visitors managed to step up a gear and create opportunities for themselves. It was in the 68th minute that Newcastle equalised with a controversial penalty decision. Malbranque was controversially adjudged to have felled Taylor inside the box and it was Shola Ameobi who stepped up and blasted the ball past Fullop to make it 1-1. Sunderland then upped their tempo and put Newcastle under pressure but in the end a poor effort from Michael Chopra meant the game ended with both sets of supporters applauding what was a terrific contest.

The Day Today and the Day After [Football]

David Moyes takes his "Moyes Boyes" to Old Trafford, just outside Manchester, to take on the reigning Champions of the Universe Manchester United in what some have described as "a game on the telly tomorrow."

Setanta have very generously decided to move the match from Monday to Saturday, bearing in mind that Everton have the small matter of the Merseyside Derby to worry about on Wednesday. Obviously Setanta's decision had nothing at all to do with them trying to get back into both clubs good books after ludicrously trying to move last year's clash to an 8pm kick-off on Christmas Eve.

Naturally Everton have injury worries ahead of the game, their only fit forward is now Victor Anichebe after Tim Cahill limped off against Arsenal with a foot injury. Which is just magnificent, Moyes' squad is getting smaller and smaller by the minute. Cahill is expected to be rested tomorrow to make sure he is ready for Wednesday night.

United meanwhile will still be without W**** R****y who is still injured and will miss the opportunity to kiss the corner flag right in front on the travelling support. So Gary Neville will have to fill in for him on that front. It is also not known who United have selected to be referee for tomorrow's match, an official announcement is expected closer to kick off. Maybe.

Also, Liverpool's match with Chelsea is expected to go ahead, despite the obvious mental health problems of Rafael Benitez. Benitez is reportedly refusing treatment for his condition on the grounds that it is "Not his fault, it's Mr. Ferguson's, that is fact."

Everton v Arsenal Preview [Football]

Everton's only injury concern tonight is Spaniard Mikel Arteta who is doubtful for the game because of his rib injury. Louis Saha is battling back to full fitness but is not ready for a full comeback just yet! Fellaini also returns for the blues after serving his two match ban.

Arsenal have William Gallas fit and available for selection and they also welcome back Gael Clichy after serving his one match suspension. Silvestre is out of tonight's game with a thigh problem.

At home Everton should be capable of pulling off a result tonight. Even without a proper strike-force they have proven that they still carry a threat, especially from set-pieces. They will miss Arteta tonight though but their biggest boost could come from the fact Fellaini is back in the side.

Arsenal still have the belief that they can win the Premier League and with Van Persie on the field they are always capable of getting goals. If Everton defend well tonight it might mean Arsenal may have to be a bit more clinical with their chances.

TEAMS:

Everton (from): Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Lescott, Baines, Anichebe, Gosling, Castillo, Rodwell, Neville, Osman, Arteta, Fellaini, Pienaar, Cahill, Nash, Yobo, Van der Meyde, Jacobsen, Jutkiewicz.

Arsenal (from): Almunia, Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Eboue, Denilson, Song, Nasri, Adebayor, Van Persie, Fabianski, Diaby, Vela, Ramsey, Gibbs, Djourou, Bendtner, Wilshere.

Podcast: Episode 1 [27/01/09]

Join me, Chris McDonnell and Barry McHale as we discuss the past weekends sporting events including the FA Cup, Austrailian open and why on earth Khan has taken the Barrera fight!

We look ahead to the games this week and have a right old sound off on the Merseyside Derby.

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People Living In Glass Houses [Football]

So for the second time in a week, the bragging rights of Merseyside were shared at Anfield, which means both Liverpool and Everton must square off one last time this season at Goodison next Wednesday. On prime time telly no less. The prize? A 5th round FA Cup tie at home to Tom Hanks' boys, Aston Villa. But the honours for the most churlish manager of the year yet again goes emphatically to Rafael Benitez.

Over the past few weeks, Benitez has developed a sizeable chip on his shoulder, which after Sunday's outburst has now become a large portion of chips on his shoulder, salt and vinegar included. And once again, Everton were the subject of his ire. Benitez was infuriated that a team with just one fit striker and virtually no midfield, looked to play to their own strength's and not let his Liverpool side have their own way. Everton, having taken a first half lead through Joleon Lescott, decided defence was the best form of attack and did duly allow Liverpool to come onto them. However all Liverpool had to show for their territorial and possession dominance was another Steven Gerrard derby goal which owed a lot to the class of Fernando Torres and the clumsiness of Tim Howard.

So it was only natural that Benitez would ignore his own side's failings, i.e. allowing Tim Cahill a free header in the box for the 2nd game running and his own side just plain not being good enough to break down a resolute Everton side. Benitez chose instead to blame Everton's negative tactics, claiming only one team wanted to win the game and one team wanted to draw it. He also claimed he never would and never has employed such tactics. It was classic Benitez, blaming someone else for his own problems.

David Moyes for his part, refused to bite and shot down these accusations quite majestically by claiming that while Liverpool are "A great club going for the title", Everton were a club that "did things with dignity and style". A great retort from a less childish manager. But if Moyes had wanted to enter into a war of words with Benitez, then he could easily have reminded his Iberian counterpart of Liverpool's glorious Champions League triumph of 2005. Then he could have reminded Benitez of tactics he used at the Stadio Delle Alpi in the 2nd leg of the quarter final against Juventus, in which Liverpool needed a goalless draw to reach the last four of the competition. Or indeed the tactics he used, at Anfield no less, in the 2nd leg of the Semi-Final against Jose Mourinho's Chelsea once Liverpool had taken the lead in the 4th minute. Or maybe he could have reminded the Spaniard of the tactics he employed once Liverpool had completed their remarkable comeback on the hour mark of that famous night in Istanbul. On all three ocassions, Benitez utilized the exact tactics he lambasted Moyes for using on Sunday, and to an extent on Monday too.

Moyes has since refused to discuss Benitez's comments, claiming he is "not interested". And it is Benitez that has once again, made himself look like a petty spoilt child. All this hot on the heels from his now infamous attack on Alex Ferguson. Even then, Benitez managed to accuse Ferguson of things that he himself has complained about in the past, most notably the fixture schedule for his side after Champions League ties.

It is simply quite clear that until Benitez addresses his own short-comings, he may never deliver that coveted 19th League Title to Anfield. Instead he may be in danger of disappearing up his own considerable backside. Which, like next Wednesday's 4th round replay, will make for entertaining viewing for the nation.