Premier League Weekend Wrap Up

Another week has passed and it’s been a weekend of thrills, spills but no nil-nills in the Barclays Premier League.

Saturday’s action saw 31 goals rattle the back of goalkeeper’s nets across the country, with nearly a third of them coming in an eight goal thriller between Chelsea and Arsenal.

The Gunners, coming into this fixture, had been on a great run of from recently with 7 wins from their last 8 games. Chelsea on the other hand were looking to make headlines for their play and not the things they say, as allegations around John Terry’s racist remarks against QPR continue to fly around the papers.

Both sides got their wish although Chelsea will be making Monday’s back pages for all the wrong reasons. 

It started so well for the Blues when they took the lead after just 14 minutes. Juan Mata swept the ball into the box allowing Frank Lampard to nod the ball past Wojciech Szczesny.

Arsenal proved to be resilient though, and Robin van Persie pulled his side level 20 minutes later with a simple finish after Aaron Ramsey’s ball split the Chelsea defense, before Gervinho squared the ball to the Dutchman who tucked the ball into and empty net.

But Chelsea retook the lead minutes before the halftime break when John Terry popped up at a Lampard corner with a tap in from six yards out.

The Gunners came out firing from the interval, with Ramsey squandering a difficult chance from close range before Andre Santos scored his first Arsenal goal after the summer move to London. 

Theo Walcott then gave the visitors the lead when he found space on the edge of the area before smashing the ball past Peter Cech at his near post.

The game slowed down for 25 minutes but Juan Mata finally pulled Chelsea level ten minutes before time with a pile driver from 18-yards out.

Disaster struck for Chelsea just moments later when John Terry tripped receiving a back pass in the midfield. With no one behind him, Terry’s stumble allowed van Persie to break unchallenged, round a helpless Cech, and give Arsenal the lead once again.

The Dutch striker, who’s future at the Emirates still remains in the balance, wrapped up the points for the Gunners in injury time as he blasted home his third of the day, after stunning the Blues on the break.

Both sides could have had seven or eight goals apiece at the Bridge. Neither defended well and both were punished for their inability to hold off their opponents attack.

John Terry’s slip will do little to win his critics over, while van Persie has now scored seven goals in Arsenal’s last four games.

The weekends other early fixture on Saturday was at Goodison Park where Manchester United and Everton played out a much more low-key affair.

Javier Hernandez gave the reigning champions the lead inside the opening 20 minutes when Patrice Evra crossed into the six-yard box. Hernandez found Evra’s cross hitting a controlled volley past Tim Howard.

Sir Alex Ferguson left Rio Ferdinand on the bench for this fixture and Everton tried to take advantage of United’s missing experience at the back. David de Gea was forced to save from Leon Osman’s snatched strike, while Leighton Baines’ free kick struck the frame of the Spanish keepers goal.

Jack Rodwell’s second half strike had United’s keeper diving to his right to keep it out while Danny Welbeck kept Howard on his toes at the other end with a thundering effort.

Magaye Gueye was knocked over in the final minutes of the game, but the Everton striker’s penalty appeals were waved away as United held on to take all three points away from the Toffees.

United’s cross town rival Manchester City faced, what was thought to be, an easy tie at home to Wolves.  The two sides met in midweek in the Carling Cup, during which City’s reserves smashed Wolves’ reserves 5-2.

Both Roberto Mancini and Mick McCarthy played their full strength sides on the weekend and Wolves looked much stronger then their Carling Cup second side.

The visitors managed to weather the worst of City’s storm in the first half as Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko forced some magnificent saves from Wayne Hennessey in the Wolves goal.

But McCarthy’s side couldn’t hold on for long after the interval.

City’s first came when Hennessey was caught in possession by Aguero on the edge of his box. The loose ball rolled neatly into the path of Dzeko who tucked it away into an empty net.

Their second came from another Hennessey mistake. This time Wayne palmed David Silva’s strike straight to Aleksander Kolarov who finished from six yards out and seemingly wrapped up things for the league leaders.

But when Vincent Kompany pulled down Kevin Doyle in the box, as they battled to reach a loose ball after Joe Hart fumbled a long-range effort, referee Stuart Attwell gave Wolves a penalty, and sent Kompany off the pitch.

Stephen Hunt finished from the spot kick, leaving the visitord a goal behind but a man ahead for the final quarter of an hour.

Adam Johnson killed off Wolves’ late advances as City caught their opponents on the break. The English winger had plenty to do, but his strike from 30 yards curled neatly into the bottom corner, giving City the win and maintaining their five point lead at the top of the table.

Down in the Premier Leagues bottom three Blackburn squandered a 3-1 one second half lead away at Norwich. The Canaries fired twice in the final ten minutes through Bradley Johnson and Grant Holt to the dismay of the few Rovers fans at Carrow Road.  Blackburn still have only one win in the league this season and pressure is mounting on Steve Kean to start getting results, or move to pastures new.

Bolton, who are also struggling this year, faced a Swansea City side who hadn’t lost or even conceded a goal at home so far this season.

Ricardo Gardner was sent off early in the second half for a second bookable offence and from then on Bolton were struggling.

Swansea went one up from the resulting free kick as Joe Allen scored a beautiful goal from the edge of the box, before Scott Sinclair doubled his side’s lead from the penalty spot after Darren Pratley needlessly fouled Angel Rangel.

Ten man Bolton pulled one back when Danny Graham put the ball in his own net, but the Swansea striker hit Bolton on the break in the 93^rd minute to see of Wanderers and continue the Welsh sides impressive home form.

Fellow strugglers Wigan entertained Fulham at the DW Stadium. With some fans calling for Martinez head already this season, Wigan were desperate to show that they believed in their manager with a win over the visiting Londoners. Clint Dempsey and Mussa Dembele had other ideas as their goals earned Fulham a 2-0 win despite the tireless efforts of Hugo Rodallega and co.

Aston Villa made the trip north to Sunderland to try and get back to winning ways after losing their last two games against Man City and West Brom.

Silvan Petrov’s exquisite strike gave Villa the lead, but Connor Wickham scored his first goal for the Black Cats to make things level before the half.

Richard Dunne’s late header seemingly granted the visitors a win but, with a minute to play, Stephan Sessegnon scored his second goal in as many games to see that all things finished square at the Stadium of Light.

Saturday’s late kick-off was at The Hawthorns, where Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool  arrived to take on Roy Hodgson’s West Brom.

Luis Suarez has been in fine form this season and the Baggies struggled to contain the shifty Uruguayan.

First Suarez won Liverpool a penalty after Jerome Thomas bundled him over unnecessarily in the box.

Then, after Adam converted the resulting spot kick, Suarez set Andy Carroll through to double Liverpool’s lead as the Baggies back four fell asleep.

Somen Tchoyi gave the visitors a slight scare, but his strike was saved by Pepe Reina in goal, while Liverpool continued to pressure their hosts.

Ben Foster made a great save to deny Carroll his second of the game, while Stuart Downing struck the post late on as he looked for his first goal in a Liverpool shirt.

Sunday Evening saw QPR venture to Tottenham in their second London derby in a week.

Gareth Bale took advantage of some shoddy defending to find space on the edge of the box and blast Spurs ahead, before Rafael van der Vaart brought Ledley King’s wild strike under control and tucked the ball past Patrick Kenny to extend his side’s advantage and continue his scoring run to five games.

Jay Bothroyd’s header halved the deficit 15 minutes into the second half, but Gareth Bale nullified Bothroyd’s strike when he and Aaron Lennon exchanged passes, before the Welshman curled his effort into Kenny’s top corner.

Stoke City complete the weekend’s action on Monday night when they welcome Newcastle to the Britannia stadium.

Stoke v Arsenal: Match Report

Tony Pulis may well have been thinking three points away at Arsenal was a feasible outcome from Sunday’s game in London.

The Gunners have had a torrid start to the season while Stoke have already managed draws at home with Chelsea and Manchester United.

But the Gunners, heading into Sunday’s game, had won five of their last six games in all competitions and Stoke hadn’t won away at Arsenal in 30 years.

Well now its 31.

Despite starting from the bench for the first time in the League this season, Robin van Persie’s two strikes were enough to edge the Gunners past Pulis’ men at the Emirates.

Arsenal had taken the lead after 27 minutes when number 27, Gervinho, got behind the Stoke back four and brought down an exquisite chip from Aaron Ramsey, before firing past a helpless Asmir Begovic in the Stoke goal.

Pulis made six change to the side that won in Europe on Thursday night and the fresh legs on the pitch helped Stoke grab an almost immediate reply.

Glenn Whelan lofted a freekick down to Ryan Shawcross on the bye-line. Shawcross headed across goal causing all kinds of problems for Arsenal in their six-yard box as they struggled to clear from danger. The ball eventually landed at the foot of Peter Crouch who tucked the ball home from close range to pull Stoke level.

Wenger had started the game with Moroccan Marouane Chamank up front but his uninspiring performance, that included a miss from a free header just six yards from goal, forced Weneger to bring Arsenal’s talisman off the bench for the final 20 minutes.

Stoke had looked resolute at the back before van Persie’s introduction, but the crafty movement and play of the Dutch striker helped provide space for Gervinho and Andre Arshavin on the wings, while Mikel Arteta and Ramsey kept providing service form the middle of the park. 

Minutes after van Persie’s introduction Arsenal took the lead.  Gervinho ran at Jon Walters on the Arsenal right before cutting the ball back from the bye-line. Van Persie, at the near post, just opened his body and tucked the ball past a sprawling Begovic who’s hand to the ball couldn’t prevent it crossing the line.

The Gunners third was a mirror image of their second.  Gervinho, this time on the left, broke past Andy Wilkinson and Matthew Upson before pulling the ball back to find van Persie again on the edge of the six-yard box.

“We held them out until the main man comes on up front, he’s on a bit of form now at the minute and he’s put in two goals.” Said Glenn Whelan after the game.

“We’d done really well up until 60 - 70 minutes,” continued the Ireland international.

“But then we’ve dropped off a little bit, doing what we didn’t want them to do, letting them in behind us and then they’ve dragged two back from the by-line and scored two goals which he’s [Tony Pulis] disappointed in and it’s something we need to work on.”

Stoke did seem to lose some gas in their tank after the hour mark but Whelan wasn’t going to let Thursday nights Europa League clash be used as an excuse.

“I think because we’ve got beaten in a few games afterwards it’s easy for everyone to say that and it gives us an excuse, but the managers made changes he knows what the lads are like and what they’ve got in their legs to play in these games,” continued the Potters midfielder.

“If he’s picking the team to go out on a Thursday and then to go out on a Sunday, he knows that he’s got a team going out to win a game so it would be easier for us to say that it’s an excuse but we wont.”

Arsenal’s win sees them jump past Stoke up into seventh place in the Premiership while Stoke’s thoughts must now turn to their Carling Cup tie with Liverpool on Wednesday night.

“We’ve got a tough draw against Liverpool but we fancy ourselves against anybody at home in the Britannia,” an eager Whelan commented.

“We’ll be going out to win the game and get into the next round.”

West Brom v Wolves: Match Report

West Brom v Wolves

The Hawthorns

Premier League

Week 8

Chris Brunt’s unstoppable effort after eights minutes set the first Black Country derby of the year well on its way.  Youssouf Mulumbu played in left back Billy Jones on the over lap, before Jones found a waiting Brunt at the back post. His strike curled into Wayne Hennessey’s top corner to the dismay of the away fans behind the goal. 

The opening 20 minutes of the half were open and littered with chances. Jonas Olsson cleared Kevin Doyle’s close range attempt off the West Brom goal line while Shane Long’s effort from 20 yards was straight at a grateful Hennessey.

Wolves began to dominate possession as the game continued but the Baggies still looked a threat on the counter attack. Mulumbu smashed an effort on goal after Jerome Thomas was able to break down the Wolves right flank while Paul Scharner’s attempt, from a similar position to Brunt’s earlier strike, was pulled wide.

Wolves weren’t able to turn their possession into chances, only Christophe Berra’s deflected effort caused trouble for Ben Foster between the Baggies posts.

Both sides continued to press each other in the second half, with Wolves having the better of the possession and West Brom creating the more clear cut chances.

Hennessey prevented both Thomas and Brunt from doubling the Baggies lead, while Mulumbu blazed an effort way over the bar from 18 yards.

Wolves brought on Sylvan Ebanks-Blake to try and spice things up going forward and his assist for Adam Hammill almost produced an equalizer, but the Wolves winger dragged his effort just past the post.

Captain Roger Johnson wasted Wolve’s best chance of the half as he lifted a free header from eight yards over the bar.

The Baggies doubled their lead through substitute Peter Odemwingie 15 minutes from time, after Scharner’s cutting run and back heel gave the striker time and space in the Wolves box to place an effort into Hennessey’s bottom corner.

Odemwingie and fellow sub James Morrison both saw efforts easily saved by the Wolves keeper while Wolves struggled to make the most of their ample time on the ball.

A comfortable win for the Baggies as they now move out of the bottom three and into 12^th place while Wolves stay stuck on seven points in 16^th.

No Rooney, No Problem

So it’s happened again. Beckham did it in 98, Rooney did it in 2004 and now Wayne has destroyed England’s chances of lifting a major trophy, again.

Although this time at least he’s given us all a chance to prepare for this disaster having committed his petulant act almost 12 months before a tournament. 

Rooney’s red in Montenegro last Friday has forced UEFA to award the England striker with a three-match ban. Three matches means Rooney will play no part in England’s progress through the group stages of Euro 2012.

Classic Wayne

Rooney isn’t exactly known for being the best-behaved lad on the pitch, either in an England shirt or when playing for his club.

His jibe at fans booing the team after England’s woeful draw with Algeria at World Cup 2010 earned him little love from fans and  press, while his stamp on Ricardo Carvalho in the 2006 World Cup quarter-final, disgraced the England number 10 in the eyes of the whole country.

His elbow to the face of Wigan’s James McCarthy last season gave his critics more firepower, while his general temperament on the pitch, and sometimes reckless challenges, have seen England’s golden boy in hot water for much of his career.

This incident in Montenegro is just another one to add to the list, much like a badly behaved kid at school will have his misdemeanors tallied up and stored away on his permanent record.

The Choices We Have Now

Fabio now has to make two very important decisions.

1) Who do you play up front instead of Rooney?

2) Do you  even take Rooney to the tournament?

The answer to question number two is a tough yet simple answer.

You DON’T take Wayne to Poland.

This is a character who has twice now made foolish decisions that have cost England on a big stage.  Although Wayne’s latest misdemeanor didn’t take place in a major tournament, the repercussions will now affect us for the whole of the group stage at one. 

His kick on Miodrag Dzudovic was stupid, childish and a final straw. Wayne must be punished for his actions, and he should sit and watch as England battle their way to their usual heart breaking quarter-final loss without one of their key men.

So Back To Question One

Question one is still a difficult one to answer. The young talent that England have in their squad will make adequate cover for Rooney, but seeing as there’s so much of it, and England have only played two competitive games without Rooney since 2008, Fabio is going to have to go back to the drawing board to find a new attacking system for his side.

Darren Bent partnered Rooney up front last Friday, and the trio of Bent on his own with Ashley Young and Stuart Downing paid off for Villa towards the end of last season.  But Fabio may well be drawn to the young wonder kids of Danny Welback and Daniel Sturridge.  Both have started the season well for United and Chelsea and both have shown that they can perform on the big stage for their clubs.

Young and exciting, the pair of them together could make a devastating partnership as long as Capello gives them the time in friendlies to develop a playing relationship and flourish.

Bent on his own however, offers the safest option and as long as he has the support and service from a quick flowing midfield, England should be able to find a way to escape the group stages in Poland.

The Big Picture

It’s unlikely that England would have made the Final or even Semi-final’s of the tournament with Rooney in their squad.  Spain, Holland and Germany would all make sure of that.

Now he is gone, Capello at least has the excuse to not take him and try to develop something new for his successor to continue in the lead up to 2014.

Leave Rooney, start a fresh, and give the kids a chance to get used to the pressures of being in an England squad at a major tournament.  World Cup 2014 here we come.

An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman. Villa v Wigan

A woeful Wigan left Villa park with nothing as Gabby Agbonlahor’s sterling performance helped seal a 2-0 win for the still unbeaten Midlanders.

“I would have hated to play against him in his current form,” was Alex McLeish’s reaction to his attacking midfielder’s performance that saw him score one himself before setting up Darren Bent for Villa’s second of the afternoon. 

Both Agbonlahor and pint-sized Scotsman Barry Bannan were at the heart of every move for Villa on Saturday as they tried to coax the rest of the side out of a slow sluggish first 20 minutes.

Once both grew into the game Villa created a number of chances and the midfield duo opened up the Wigan defense with attacking runs and pin point passes that provided service for Bent and each other.

Bannan had already granted two opportunities for Bent before the opening goal but his header flew wide before Wigan keeper Al-Hasbsi denied the England striker from close range.

Bannan then went to Agbonlahor who took full advantage of the space granted to him on Villa’s left wing. The 24 year old ran straight at Gary Caldwell before cutting onto his right foot and blasting into Al-Habsi’s near top corner to open the scoring.

On the hour mark Villa had doubled their lead through Bent. Agbonlahor, again, raced down Villa’s left flank before finding an unmarked Bent who’s side foot volley neatly wrapped up the points for the home side.

To say an Englishman, a Scotsman and Irishman won the game for Villa would sound like the start of a bad joke, but both Richard Dunne and Shay Given were able to hold off Wigan’s advances in the final 15 minutes to keep a clean sheet for their side and maintain Villa’s unbeaten record for another week.

“It’s nice to get back to winning ways,” said a delighted Given after the game.

“It’s a nice feeling in the changing room to have won the game, and I thought we deserved to win the game today.  We all know we’ve had too many draws so it’s nice to be picking up three points again.”

Aston Villa v Wigan Athletic: Match Report

Aston Villa remains one of four unbeaten sides in the Premiership after a convincing 2-0 win against a troubled Wigan Athletic. 

Despite the sun and fun at Villa Park on Saturday the opening 20 minutes against Wigan produced very little heat on the pitch. 

Both sides traded possession for most of the first half with Villa creating the better of the chances in the early going.

Barry Bannan continued his fine form and his cross, from a Villa free-kick, for Darren Bent almost produced the opening goal of the game. Bent however was unable to direct his header anywhere apart from wide of the Wigan goal.

Bannan turned provider again for Bent five minutes later but, after some phenomenal control from the Villa forward, his effort was beaten away from close range by goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi.

Villa eventually broke the deadlock after 36 minutes when Bannan released Gabby Agbonlahor down the left flank before the striker cut inside onto his right foot and fired into the near top corner from 12 yards out.

Agbonlahor and Bannan both had curling strikes on goal straight after the half time interval, but Bannan saw his effort tipped away by Al-Habsi while Agbonlahor’s strike drifted just wide of the left post.

Villa doubled their lead thanks to a Darren Bent goal on the hour mark. Agbonlahor made himself a neusance again for Wigan as he broke down the left flank before clipping in a cross to Bent who was unmarked towards the back post.  The England striker made no mistakes tucking the ball home with a side foot volley.

Wigan tried to pull themselves back into the game with 15 minutes to go but Richard Dunne and Shay Given were in fine form at the heart of Villa’s defence, as they repelled everything the Latics could throw at them.

A dominating Villa performance means they are still unbeaten in the Premiership this season while Alex McLeish can sleep a little easier tonight after grabbing his first win in the last four games.