The Christmas weekend matches were possibly the round of matches that passed us by without much talking points. Apart from the sacking of Gary Megson, every match and result went according to script.
What are The Flat Back Four's conclusions from watching the matches over the Christmas period? Here goes...
1. Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard scored during Christmas period in which Liverpool secured two consecutive wins, it is a confirmation that Liverpool is officially a two-man team.
2. Chelsea without Drogba is easier to play against, the Drog hauled Chelsea past the finishing line against Fulham even though he was subjected to all kinds of physical abuse. Watch Chelsea struggle in his absence.
3. Life after Hughes looks to be rosy with two wins out of two for Manchester City and Roberto Mancini. The boasting has started.
4. Joe Hart's in the best goalkeeping form of his career and Birmingham is benefitting from it. Will Hart be England's no. 1 come World Cup time?
5. West Ham will need to take risk and sell Scott Parker to avoid relegation. Selling Scott Parker to Arsenal enables Zola to buy a striker and get Jack Wilshere on loan. A striker? Hmmm, how about prising an out-of-favour Andy Johnson away from Fulham?
6. Manchester United is awesome against the likes of Wigan, Birmingham and Wolves but cannot match up against the big clubs. That's been their biggest problem the last two seasons and will undoubtedly be their downfall in 2010.
Christmas results are shown below,
| Saturday, December 26, 2009 | ||||
| Status | Home | Score | Away | |
| FT | Birmingham | 0 - 0 | Chelsea | |
| FT | Fulham | 0 - 0 | Tottenham Hotspur | |
| FT | West Ham United | 2 - 0 | Portsmouth | |
| FT | Burnley | 1 - 1 | Bolton Wanderers | |
| FT | Manchester City | 2 - 0 | Stoke City | |
| FT | Sunderland | 1 - 1 | Everton | |
| FT | Wigan Athletic | 1 - 1 | Blackburn Rovers | |
| FT | Liverpool | 2 - 0 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | |
| Sunday, December 27, 2009 | ||||
| Status | Home | Score | Away | |
| FT | Arsenal | 3 - 0 | Aston Villa | |
| FT | Hull City | 1 - 3 | Manchester United | |
| Monday, December 28, 2009 | ||||
| Status | Home | Score | Away | |
| FT | Tottenham Hotspur | 2 - 0 | West Ham United | |
| FT | Blackburn Rovers | 2 - 2 | Sunderland | |
| FT | Chelsea | 2 - 1 | Fulham | |
| FT | Everton | 2 - 0 | Burnley | |
| FT | Stoke City | 0 - 1 | Birmingham | |
| FT | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 - 3 | Manchester City | |
| Tuesday, December 29, 2009 | ||||
| Status | Home | Score | Away | |
| FT | Aston Villa | 0 - 1 | Liverpool | |
| FT | Bolton Wanderers | 2 - 2 | Hull City | |
| Wednesday, December 30, 2009 | ||||
| Status | Home | Score | Away | |
| FT | Portsmouth | 1 - 4 | Arsenal | |
| FT | Manchester United | 5 - 0 | Wigan Athletic | |
The highlight of the holiday year-end matches must be the 50th goal milestone by Fernando Torres. Here is a video by powerfulLFC showing the goals El Nino has scored for Liverpool.
Funniest quote over the holiday period was the one from David Moyes,
Everton manager David Moyes holds Marouane Fellaini in higher regard than Arsenal captain Francesc Fabregas, Chelsea star player Frank Lampard, and Liverpool's talismanic leaderSteven Gerrard .
The Toffees' boss recently declared that the club's attack-minded Belgian international is "the best midfielder in England".
Following the club's 1-1Boxing Day draw with Sunderland, a game in which Fellaini scored to level the scoreline, Moyes said in The Northern Echo: "It was a reward for how the players have played in the last week or two.
"We have played much better and looked more like ourselves, and in Marouane Fellaini, we have probably got the best midfield player in the country at the moment.
"He is outstanding the way he is playing."
Sorry Mr. Moyes, you've got that one totally wrong.
The Flat Back Four's weekly English Premier League reviews:
The transfer window is now opened. This allows for lavish speculation and rumours. I have realised over the years that the January transfer window throws up a few surprise moves. Example of this: Andy Cole's transfer from Newcastle to Manchester United in January 1995.
I look forward to a January packed with transfer surprises.
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment