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Odd that Gameweek 33 has fallen on Easter&nbsp;weekend (if you don’t get the direct correlation, ask someone who celebrates Easter) even more odd that a pesky little Argentinian (who may, or may not be mentioned later) is leading his current club emphatically as his former club and cross town rivals reaaaaaally could have used his services as they languish in second place. Such it is that players and football move on yet remain inexplicably linked.
Was it the game of the week? Probably not, but in all the pre-match hype, analysis and predictions, at the end of the day, Berbatov wasn’t good enough to lead United’s front line against Chelsea. If you play 1 up front against Chelsea, you must put a Rooney or Tevez type player in that spot, and not a player such as Berbatov. The 4-3-3, or 4-3-2-1 (call it what you will) that Ferguson employed on Saturday was never going to work with Berbatov leading it. He’s got skill and worth, but not in that role. United sorely missed Wayne Rooney who could only look on from an executive box and wonder.
The same formation was also used by Carlo Ancelotti but with better results because of the consistent play and ability of Florent Malouda to get past United defenders and provide better service than Ji-Sung Park&nbsp;could for United.

As good as Giggs has been for United in his limited role in the last year, on Saturday, he was largely absent. United looked slow and lacked creativity against a Chelsea team who didn’t play midweek and looked the better for it. Chelsea seemed&nbsp;more the&nbsp;potential Champions when compared with United on the day. In all of&nbsp;their first half dominance, Chelsea’s second and winning goal was clearly offside and never should have counted. Such is football.
I still believe with 5 matches left that the title hasn’t comprehensively been won or lost by any of the three teams in contention.
We have a new fourth place representative in Manchester City. City and Tottenham are on equal number of games played, yet 1 less than Liverpool who could only manage a draw away to Birmingham City.
Honorable Mentions –
Steed Malbranque, Sunderland– Darren Bent got the goals, but Malbranque was the engine that turned the Sunderland gears on Saturday as the Black Cats came out on top of Tottenham, 3-1. Malbranque has caught my eye for the last couple of weeks as Sunderland seem to have re-found some form that’s seen them steer clear of the relegation battle and claim 8 points from their last 5 league matches.
The Belgian-born French midfielder is at his best moving forward in midfield either in the center or on the left. He’s got the ability to run at pace with the ball and can spread and dictate play with good effect. The 30 year old Malbranque’s experience and work for Sunderland is invaluable as Steve Bruce elects to often surround Malbranque with a young midfield including Lee Cattermole and Jordan Henderson.
Florent Malouda, Chelsea– Malouda really could be mentioned in some form on this post every week. United simply didn’t have an answer for him on Saturday and his first half run where he shrugged off multiple United defenders was a game-changing moment that&nbsp;led to Chelsea’s opening goal when he crossed for Joe Cole.
Malouda was the best player on the pitch for either side on Saturday. His consistent play over the season has seen Chelsea re-claim top spot and has made the title now Chelsea’s to lose.
Glen Johnson, Liverpool – Liverpool fans will probably be a bit disappointed with their 1-1 draw on Sunday away to Birmingham City. Although they’re still in the race for L4, and the draw really didn’t help their cause, supporters should take pride in their team’s second half display. Liverpool were in fact quite good, especially in the final 15-20 minutes of the match.
Led by Steven Gerrard and the ability of Glen Johnson to get forward and support the attack, Liverpool created 4 to 5 quality chances that should have seen a second and winning goal for Liverpool. One may question the decision of Rafa Benitez to pull Fernando Torres off in the 65th for David Ngog as a deciding factor in the draw. Regardless, Johnson’s return to form is great news for Liverpool and England. He’s able to&nbsp;torment defenders on the right side with his quick footwork and ability to create space and cross the ball.
Premier League Footballer of the Week –
<div style="text-align: center"><a href="http://view.picapp.com/default.aspx?term=carlos tevez&amp;iid=8427007" target="_blank"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" src="http://cdn.picapp.com/ftp/Images/7/1/0/2/Burnley_vs_Manchester_3d94.jpg?adImageId=12123008&amp;imageId=8427007" border="0" alt="Burnley vs Manchester City" width="500" height="344"></figure></div></a></div>
Carlos Tevez, Manchester City– I’m cheating a little with this one and combining the two games Tevez played this week that saw him&nbsp;contribute 4 goals, 1 assist, and most importantly, saw his team claim 6 valuable points. With Tevez, we all know he brings more to a football club than just goals. His work rate, movement and passion make him invaluable to City, and I believe he’ll be the deciding factor that will see Manchester City finish fourth this season (Yes I said it, City will finish 4th).
Last Monday proved that Tevez, lauded with all his work and running, is still a deadly striker. His 12 minute hat trick finished off Wigan and won a match where City didn’t impress over the full 90. Tevez was the game changer for City and one of the only bright spots that saved City from what looked to be an embarrassing 0-0 home draw with Wigan. On Saturday, City had won the match with in a few minutes as Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor linked well together and with the City midfielders to score 4 first half goals en route to a 6-1 destruction of Burnely.
Tevez, having won the Champions League with United in 2008, will be integral in City’s end of season run that will see them finish in fourth. Even as a United supporter, for some odd reason I’m looking forward to seeing what City can do in the Champions League should my prediction hold true. With players such as&nbsp;Craig Bellamy, Adam Johnson, Adebayor and Tevez himself in attack, Manchester City will strike fear in opposition defenses&nbsp;regardless of who&nbsp;they play.
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Author’s Note: After you listen to Richard Farley &amp; Co’s EPL Talk Weekend Review Podcast, the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/5lfd/" target="_blank">BBC 5 Live Football Daily</a>&nbsp;podcast from April, 4th comes highly recommended. This podcast usually consists of&nbsp;10-15 minute news recaps&nbsp;from each day. However, Sunday’s show is a 50+ minute special featuring Stuart Hall&nbsp;who presents&nbsp;some incredible interviews from giants of English football such as Bill Shankly, George Best, Alex Ferguson, Harry Gregg&nbsp;and Dixie Dean to name a few.
For American fans of English football, do yourself a favor and listen to this show. Think of it as a sort of “history lesson out of respect”&nbsp;from a time when&nbsp;the game you love was much, much different than it is now.

Premier League Footballer of the Week, Gameweek 33

Premier League Footballer of the Week, Gameweek 33 - World Soccer Talk

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Why are Tottenham fans still so unforgiving toward Hossam Ghaly is a mystery to me, but Friday night left me even more perplexed as to why the Egyptian is still disliked so much still at White Hart Lane. There were 12 minutes to go on Friday night and Ghaly seemed set to be sent on by Harry&nbsp;Redknapp to add a bit more steel to midfield and help close the game out against Wigan Athletic. As he stood up, a fair amount of booing and jeering began to echo around the stadium, Ghaly looked stunned, Redknapp horrified and a couple of minutes later, Ghaly was sat back down, tracksuit top now zipped up and looking beyond crestfallen. The day after, Facebook groups and petitions began to appear, all appealing for forgiveness towards the midfielder and the club have acknowledged hundreds of letters and phone-calls sending Hossam their best wishes and sympathy for the events.
Let’s be honest, to still be giving the lad stick nearly 2 years after he threw his shirt down in a fit of pique is pathetic and I don’t understand the boo boys at all. The shirt throwing incident happened against Blackburn Rovers in May 2007 and saw Ghaly substituted for tactical reasons after actually coming as a substitute in the first half for the injured Steed Malbranque. Spurs were desperately pushing for 5th place and Martin Jol made the decision to increase Tottenham’s attacking potential, Ghaly didn’t agree and as he reached the touchline, threw his shirt down and stormed down the tunnel. Three days after the incident, Ghaly issued a public apology and offered to redeem himself by his performances on the park for Tottenham, but he’s never been close to the squad until Friday night.
<div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" border="0" align="right" width="203" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/uploads/img.dailymail.co.uk/images/pictures/hossam_ghaly%20tottenham.jpg" height="270"></figure></div>Now I know football’s a passionate game, but surely this is getting a bit stupid when someone makes a mistake, apologies and yet two years later, people still castigate him. After the Sol Campbell debacle at Portsmouth earlier this season, the last thing Tottenham fans need right now is more abuse aimed at a player which can quickly be leapt upon by morons using the situation to vent more than their displeasure at Ghaly’s treatment of the shirt. Look at&nbsp;the Campbell issue; fine vent your displeasure at him for leaving Tottenham for Arsenal, but racial and homophobic&nbsp;abuse?&nbsp;For any moron to racial abuse players as a so called Tottenham fan makes a complete mockery of the clubs history, squad, integration and location. Tottenham fans and players are a multicultural bunch from all creeds, races and areas. These are the people that will jump on the Ghaly situation to use for their own twisted agenda’s.
Hasn’t this gone on quite long enough? I can understand the treatment given out to players who cause injury on and off the pitch, who walk out to go to other clubs just for the money and who simply don’t try when they’re out on the pitch, but Ghaly realised he made a mistake, apologised and yet still for some it’s not enough. It’s a sad indictment of an extremely vocal&nbsp;minority of&nbsp;Tottenham fans that they cannot find it in themselves to let the situation die down and allow the lad a chance to show us some of the form he’d given in the 2006-2007 season. It’s time to forgive and forget Spurs fans and give Ghaly the opportunity to make it up to us on the pitch.

Time For Tottenham Fans To Forgive Hossam Ghaly

Time For Tottenham Fans To Forgive Hossam Ghaly - World Soccer Talk

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Premier League Footballer of the Week, Gameweek 33

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Time For Tottenham Fans To Forgive Hossam Ghaly