New Years Eve Odds and Sods

Berbatov pads stats

Against weaker opponents

Bad news for Reading
West Ham shocked Manchester United 2-1 at Upton Park.  It was West Ham’s third consecutive victory over United in the League.  The result was a bit unfair to Man U, who controlled much of the match.  They had a chance to seal the victory foiled when Ronaldo shanked his penalty (One suspects we won’t be seeing him wink or kiss the ball anytime soon).  The last two goals were from set pieces, which were simply poor marking and poor concentration.  Man U have no one to blame but themselves.

Brace yourselves for the thundering sound of the more corpulent members of the English Press hurling themselves off the bandwagon.

Everton dishearteningly lost to Arsenal 4-1 at home.  The Toffees looked set to take this one, bringing a 1-0 lead to the half-way point.  They dictated the play and possession, the crowd was up for it and the rain was pooring down.  Arsenal looked dead and dusted.

However, Everton flat-lined in the second-half, allowing Arsenal to climb back into it, after two spectacular finishes from Eduardo.  Adebayor and Rosicky came on late to poor salt on their wounds, and Arsenal escaped with a victory to vault them back on top of the table.

Eduardo thrived when finally given a league start, and, hopefully, Wenger will wisen up and give him a decent run of games to find his form.  He may just be the mythical fox in the box for which Gooners have been pining.

Nicklas Bendtner, however, had a horrendous outing in his first league start.  The normally precocious youth was hesitant and a step off the pace for the entire match.  He punctuated his piss poor performance by getting sent off for a second booking just as Wenger attempted to substitute him.

The rivalry between the Spanish Internationals also injected a bit of spice to the match, with Arteta being sent off for elbowing Fabregas in the face.  Cesc may have made the most of it, but it was an easy call and a stupid move by Arteta.  He now faces a three match ban and, as Everton’s best player, his absence could very well cost Everton a chance to compete for the Champions ‘ League places.

Chelsea weasled a home win against Newcastle 2-1.  Big Sam’s Boys deserved at least a draw from this match, as they dominated much of the second half.  They were burned on Kalou’s entirely offside goal.  You could have driven a truck between Kalou and the last defender.  Allardyce will be vindicated on The Right Result but that won’t help him stave off uber-qualified Angel of the North from taking his job.

Grant’s substitutions would undoubtedly have earned more scrutiny, if Chelsea had not been fortunate and come away with a victory.  Why remove arguably your best attacking player on the field in Joe Cole, particularly with an unfit Michael Ballack huffing and puffing but not blowing any houses down in midfield?  Let alone for Pizarro, who is completely worthless.

Also the announcer described Ballack as being an expert at timing late runs.  He’s not timing late runs it just takes him that long to finally get forward.  He doesn’t get forward.  He doesn’t get back in defend.  He can’t tackle.  He doesn’t pass real well.  What exactly does he do?  And why the captain’s armband over Essien?

Tottenham beat out Reading in a prolific 6-4 encounater at White Hart Lane.  Spurs play sub-par opposition and, surprise, Dimitar Berbatov pops up like a randy groundhog to score four before scurrying back underground in preparation for a top half of the table side.

It seems like these type of games always involve Reading on the losing end, which is not exactly a good thing.  Reading’s defense is shit, and it is an area Steve Coppel needs to shore up, to assure Reading staying in the Premier League.

Juande Ramos should quit football and start his own diet business.