A stacked Boxing Day fixture list contained some intriguing match ups which posed some pertinent questions.
Aston Villa Vs Arsenal - Could Villa show that they are a true threat to the Gunners fourth spot ? Yes. Accusations of bias may abound, but Villa should have been out of sight by half time as they played a lacklustre Arsenal off the park. Somehow, the Villains failed to make their superiority count, thrice hitting the bar and Sagna acrobatically over-head kicking it off the line. Incredibly, O'Neills men then conceded sloppy sucker punch goals either side of half time and suddenly Arsenals tails were up and they started stroking it around with their customary verve. All seemed lost and a cruel blow to Villa's aspirations seemed to have been struck, but Gareth Barry, restored to the captaincy in the absence of Martin Laursen, smashed home a penalty before Zat Knight rifled in a left footer in injury time. Parity regained and justice prevailed, but not in the eyes of Wenger who seems to be losing his marbles, inferring that the referee had been intimidated at half time and that his side could have scored 5 goals, despite not even having that many chances. Any talk of the title is fanciful for both teams, but they are certainly embroiled in a genuine duel for the fourth spot.
Liverpool Vs Bolton - Could Liverpool overcome their indifferent home and prove they have what it takes for a title tilt ? Yes. I have questioned the reds credentials more than once, but they swept aside one of the leagues 'uglier' sides in a Bolton team who Liverpool have been known to struggle against in the past. Robbie Keane answered some questions of his own, swiping a brace to defy his critics. His second was to put the finishing touch to a lightning counter attack started by Pepe Reina, the imperious Xavi Alonso the fulcrum of the move.
Chelsea Vs West Brom - Could Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka play together ? Yes. Obviously not the sternest test of this particular quandary, but there is no reason why two top class strikers shouldn't be able to forge a devastating partnership. Scolari's 4-5-1 tactics away from home have resulted in a wonderful sequence of away wins, but at home they possibly need to be a bit more aggressive and direct in order to break teams down. Didier "Cyrille Sneer" Drogba headed home after three minutes in a comfortable 2-0 home win which leaves the Blues hanging on Liverpools coat tails at the Premiership summit.
Stoke Vs Man Utd - Would the Mancs have the stomach for a battle following their World Club Cup exploits ? Just about. I'm sure United fans would disagree with me, but I felt they got lucky at the Brittania Stadium. The atmosphere at the ground was deafening and the Potters contested everything, giving their illustrious opponents no time to breath. The Red Devils were struggling to carve out even half chances and as the game progressed all the hateful hallmarks of Uniteds petulant bad sportsmanship when things don't go their way could be spotted - a Neville shove, a Rooney elbow, a Ronaldo stamp (W***er). It was a naive lunge by Andy Wilkinson that got punished though, the Stoke defender seeing red after clattering Ronaldo by the half way line. Suddenly United had a little bit of extra space and Charles Tevez was able to grab victory for his team close to the end, leaving Man Utd very much in the hunt to reclaim their crown.
Man City Vs Hull - Could the richest club in the world stop the rot ? Emphatically. City haven't won much this season, but when they do, they do it at a canter. They're like a haunted lighthouse ; hardly ever functioning properly and potentially disastorous, but occasionally and inexplicably illuminating with piercing brightness. They romped home 5-1 with an unlikely hero leading the charge. Burly Ecuadorian striker Felipe Caicedo has been about 9th choice foward over the last year as Eastlands has seen a swathe of strikers in and out the door. However, with the likes of Samaras, Corradi, Bianchi, Castillo & Mpenza offloaded, Benjani, Bojinov, Evans & Sturridge injured, Vassell preferred as a wide man and Jo just complete crap, Caicedo was given his first start and he took the opportunity by nabbing a brace. With Stephen Ireland pulling the strings coupled with Robinho and the rightfully restored Elano on song, City were devastating and with Hull 4 down at half time, manager Phil brown resorted to the somewhat showy gimmick of lecturing his players on the pitch in front of the away support.
Portsmouth Vs West Ham - Which inexperienced young coach would prove himself ? The Equidae Civil War saw Equus Asinus (Adams) take on Equus Caballus (Zola) in a result that was a feather in the cap of the Italian and showed up Adams as an Ass. Animal analogies aside, Portsmouth can consider themselves unfortunate as they dictated the play for the first hour or so and with the scores level at 1 apiece, muffed a great chance to take the initative when Jermaine Defoe, daydreaming about a Tottenham return, conspired to miss the target from the penalty spot. West Ham then continually hit Pompey on the counter attack and ran out 4-1 winners, in demand Craig bellamy putting himself in the shop window with a couple of goals.
Sunderland Vs Blackburn - Who would triumph in the Battle of the (new) Brooms ? Possibly to be expected from teams coached by Big Sam and his protege, this insipid goalless encounter wasn't easy on the eye, but would've satisfied both managers as the performance was enough to get Sbraglia the job full time and Rovers remain unbeaten without conceding under Allardyce.
Middlesbrough Vs Everton - Could Everton maintain their recent good form despite still having no strikers ? The Toffees, at times almost playing the 4-6-0 that a decade ago, former Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira predicted wold be common place (and he said that 4-5-1 would emerge as the top teams favoured formation, so who knows) were victorious again, with the likes of Fellaini and Cahill combining their midfield work with stints up top. Its working for them and the Australians goal has left beaky Southgates misfiring misfits right in the relegation mire.
Tottenham Vs Fulham - Could Fulham stifle another team and produce a fourth successive away stalemate ? Yes they could and its a testament to the under-rated coaching prowess of manager Roy Hodgson who sees his West London charges currently sitting comfortably in 8th spot. Tottenham could definetly use another foward and Harry definetly seems in the market for one. He's certainly welcome to Craig Bellamy.
Wigan Vs Newcastle - Could Latics midfielder Ryan Taylor keep up his record of scoring fantastic goals against the Geordies ? Ok, I doubt this was the burning question on many peoples lips before this fixture, but it is certainly one of those unusual quirky statistics that the sport loves to throw up. As it happened, a Taylor free kick flew into the back of the net to make it four goals for him in four appearences against Newcastle. Amir Zaki got back amongst the goals, albeit from the penalty spot, to give Wigan a 2-1 win. On the day that his leg break victim Craig Fagan returned to action and scored a consolation goal for Hull, Danny Guthrie showed the good side of his game, topping off a solid outing with a penalty strike of his own. Kinnear had terrible luck, with injuries to Jose Enrique, Habib Beye and Mark Viduka as well as a red card for Sebastian Bassong blighting his afternoon. The cockney Irishman was frothing at the mouth once more at some of the refereeing decisions and was certainly out of festive cheer come the end, saying "They want respect in the game but what would you say after today. I'm too sick to say anything else." Cheer up Joe and have another mince pie you porker !
Results - Aston Villa 2-2 Arsenal, Chelsea 2-0 West Brom, Liverpool 3-0 Bolton, Man City 5-1 Hull, Middlesbrough 0-1 Everton, Portsmouth 1-4 West Ham, Stoke 0-1 Man Utd, Sunderland 0-0 Blackburn, Tottenham 0-0 Fulham, Wigan 2-1 Newcastle.
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