The Flat Back Four: 2009/2010 Barclays Premier League Week 13 Review: Goals Galore And Carlo's Blue Army Marches On

Monday, November 30, 2009

2009/2010 Barclays Premier League Week 13 Review: Goals Galore And Carlo's Blue Army Marches On

And it happened. I guess it was always going to be inevitable, wasn't it? Manchester City would undoubtedly equal the Premier League record for most consecutive draws i.e. seven. City never looked capable of beating a resurgent Hull City. Jimmy Bullard turned in an excellent performance again and it is no coincidence that Hull's rise in form came when he is fit to start.

Liverpool once again defied the odds and doomsayers by topping Everton in the 212th Merseyside derby. Everton slipped down the table to 16th and looking very precarious. Even though the Reds were poor, their resilience and stout defending relieved the noose around Rafa's neck.

Watching the Arsenal-Chelsea match made me think of this great big powerful bully swatting away bothersome flies. Arsenal players were buzzing around, passing and moving but Chelsea's power and precision proved too much for the Gunners. Chelsea have now won all three of their "Big 4" encounters and that's an outstanding achievement. The Blues looks like champions-elect on this form.

After twice letting two-goal lead slip, West Ham almost let a five goal lead count for nought! Luckily, a five-goal lead IS hard to overcome even with an ill-disciplined defence as West Ham's. The Hammers clearly have big problems in defence and simply put, if the club is relegated, it will be because of poor poor poor defence. The midfield and attack are starting to look fantastic and Franco has been a tremendously influential figure in this turnaround. With Diamanti and Noble on the sidelines, this West Ham team does have talent and creativity. Their survival and move up the league table hinges on whether Gianfranco Zola and Steve Clarke can shore up defence.

Here are the five Hammer goals in colour,

pictures are shared via Empics, AP Photo and Getty Images

Lastly, Wayne Rooney's first hattrick in three years pushes his tally this season to ten goals in 13 matches. He is definitely on track for his best goalscoring season since 2006. The one-club loyalist, Ryan Giggs reached a landmark against Portsmouth. He scored his milestone 100th goal for the Red Devils. A definite great of the English game.

These are the results of Week 13 of the Premiership,

Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Status	Home	Score	Away
FT	Fulham	3 - 0	Blackburn Rovers
FT	Hull City	3 - 2	Everton

Saturday, November 28, 2009
Status	Home	Score	Away
FT	Blackburn Rovers	0 - 0	Stoke City
FT	Fulham	1 - 1	Bolton Wanderers
FT	Manchester City	1 - 1	Hull City
FT	Portsmouth	1 - 4	Manchester United
FT	West Ham United	5 - 3	Burnley
FT	Wigan Athletic	1 - 0	Sunderland
FT	Aston Villa	1 - 1	Tottenham Hotspur