A Tale of Two Derbies

This weekend C&J were in attendance at 2 derbies on Sunday. C was in attendance at Loftus Road for QPR v Chelsea, while J was at Old Trafford for the Manchester Derby between Manchester United and Manchester City...

J -

It's official. Manchester is Red again. Sunday was arguably Man Utd's best performance of the season. Here are J's thoughts on the game:

First point to make is that there is no Moyes-bashing here but it's funny to think that just a few months ago the papers were questioning whether LVG was not progressing the team and was just the same as David Moyes. A quick Google search showed me that on 17 January the Daily Mail asked this very question and concluded that progress had been minimal, particularly for the £150m outlay of the Glazers. What a difference 3 months makes...there is now a clear difference and hopefully the pointless comparisons will stop now. After 32 games last year, United were on 54 points and in 7th position. This year they are now 11 points better off after the same number of games and 4 places higher in the table. From a fan's perspective, there has not really been any comparison this year. The confidence has been restored and even when the team weren't performing particularly well, they still appeared like they could grind out results which they couldn't do last year. Now the performances have clicked the style of football is vastly different and the attacking verve that fans have come to expect of United is back. Importantly, the club have improved in front of the home crowd as well. Last year at home, United picked up a grand total of 30(!!) points at home over the course of the whole season. They had the 9th best home record in the Premier League. After 32 games this year they have 43 points and hold the best record in the league at home. The aura around Old Trafford and the belief in the team is returning, as is the enjoyment watching attacking and winning football.

Moving on to the game...it was striking how polar opposite this year's Old Trafford derby was to last year's. Last year United were meek and rolled over easily. They dominated possession in both games (they had 53% possession last year, compared to 59% this year) which just shows that having possession amounts to nothing if you aren't clinical and prolific with your possession. United's style has been criticised for being too direct this year but since the Tottenham game at Old Trafford it has been direct football with a purpose and has been fast paced with a real gameplan in mind, as opposed to sterile possession. United had 7 shots on target this game and scored with 4 goals. Simply put, they were clinical with their finishing and were dominant throughout the game. It looked like it could have been more more after Smalling got the 4th goal and Citeh just didn't turn up after they got their early goal.

The resurgence of Marouane Fellaini continues. I will hold my hands up and admit I thought he was way out of his depth at United after last season but he has well and truly won me and the majority of United fans over judging by his standing ovation on Sunday. He was absolutely dominant all game and ran Yaya Toure ragged. Fellaini won 9 aerial challenges on Sunday and this was again in stark contrast to his performance in this game last year where he won just 3 aerial challenges. He only had 49 touches in the game last year and was largely absent, exerting no influence at all. This year he had 61 touches including the 2nd goal for United, and he won the ball back in the move which led to Mata's goal. Defensively he had an influence as well and made 2 clearances and 2 interceptions, which again compares to last year where he had 1 interception and 0 clearances. Fellaini has shown character and ability this year in abundance and is due a lot of credit for his turnaround, as is LVG who has played him in his perfect role. It begs the question why Moyes didn't when he knew the player inside out?

Michael Carrick has been called under-rated so many times, it has to come to a point when this is no longer the case but his influence was clearly evident on Sunday. He exerted a calm presence over the midfield and marshalled Jones and Smalling in the centre of defence as well. It's no coincidence that the periods of bad performances came primarily when Carrick was absent. He has been excellent this year and his one year contract extension was an excellent decision by the United hierarchy.

C- 

It was a case of the age old hard luck story for QPR under Chris Ramsey. They fought admirably and tactically were set up perfectly for the match with the village idiots from SW6, but yet again a moment of madness cost the Superhoops so so dear. This was the most gut wrenching of all the recent frustrations, not just because it came at the hands of that lot, but because it genuinely showed we could compete with the best in the Premier League once again and make them very very uncomfortable.

Chris Ramsey was quick to leap to the defence of Rob Green after the match and insisted that the blame would not lie with him, but with the defence for their slow reactions to the situation. Whilst I agree that QPR did not use the thirty-odd seconds they had to scurry back and ensure they each had a Chelsea man very well at all, I can't absolve 'Greeno' of all blame. His kicking has always looked dodgy to me and I think he knows it is his weakness, hence his decision to throw out to his nearest defender so often. He panicked here for no apparent reason and that was inexcusable. Of course, painful as it is to say, the Chavs showed the kind of performance that was worth its weight in dirty Russian Roubles (by the way, how on earth can Jose Mourinho have the audacity to declare the fascist institution as being "Financial Fair Play compliant" and then accuse Manchester City of being the bad guys? I think if it's going to be applied, it should be applied retrospectively right back to the first time Red Rom said "I buy it!"). 

I still can't believe how ordinary we made Chelsea look, how we clearly rattled them and how they only managed one shot on target and 70% pass completion. "Still beat you though" - I can hear those smug b@stards now...

Oh, special mention for the "Captain, Leader, Fascist" John Terry, the treatment of whom by the home fans disgusted many Chelsea fans, I note. How anyone can defend the actions of that man and his family is beyond me - and don't even talk to me about the people that wrote "John Terry" and "class" in the same sentence, as some deluded Village Idiots did. They will argue 'til they're blue in the face that we are hypocrites for saying the same about Joey Barton - I don't see any QPR fan writing "Joey Barton" and "class*" in the same sentence - "class" implies role model status. Neither of the pantomime villains are anything like "class". The missile throwing was unacceptable but will the FA punish the Chelsea players for incitement? Of course not, the top teams are untouchable when it comes to that sort of thing...

*Joey Barton did, in fact, put in a Man of the Match performance - a tenacious, determined performance where he really hassled the Chelsea midfield, not allowing them any time on the ball, as well as providing a driving force as QPR sought an unlikely goal. Still not class, though. Just to clear that up.

Matty Phillips deserves a mention for his progress under Chris Ramsey. Listed for loan in the January Transfer Window and almost joining Derby County, Phillips has been a revelation since the change of management. His confidence has grown week by week and he looks more and more like the player I hoped we had signed when we spent £5m on him from Blackpool two Summers ago (wonder what the Oystons did with that money?). Second top assist maker in Europe behind Messi since the turn of the year?! You bet!

A two week break now (as we're a game ahead of the rest of the pack) this will be a horrible Saturday afternoon spent in front of Jeff Stelling and Co. praying teams around us slip up. It's crap when it's not in your hands! We must win our remaining home games and get a point somewhere on the road in our last three aways to at least have a chance. 

Whatever happens, I really don't think we'd have got this far and shown this much fight and determination under Harry Houdini. Chef Ramsey has done an excellent job since taking over. Unfortunately he can't seem to bring confidence to the fragile defence, the damage to them seems irreparable and this may yet prove to be the trigger for relegation. But he's at least instilled confidence and a new way of playing that means we're having a right good go!

Weekend Review: Anything the League Cup can do...

Well the FA Cup has had to up it's game this year just to compete with the unexpected marvel that has been the Capital One Cup this year. It was hard to imagine anything being able to top Bradford City's phenomenal run to Wembley this year from the fourth tier of English football but the FA Cup did spring a few surprises on fourth round weekend ...


Norwich 0-1 Luton: we've always heard about the famous giant killings of the FA Cup like Sutton v Coventry, and Hereford against Newcastle and this Luton Town victory certainly ranks up at the top with these results. There are 85 places and four divisions between these 2 sides. Just to reiterate Luton are a non-league team, and they've just beaten a Premier League side who at the moment are the 13th best side in the country. This is an amazing result and I feel a little bit sorry for Luton as their story would be given so much more limelight had Bradford not got to the League Cup final in the same week. Here are some of the stats about this result: this was the first victory for a non-league side against a team in the top division since Sutton in 1989, it was the first time in 27 years a non-league side have beaten a top flight team away from home, and it was the first time a non-league side have beaten a team in the top tier since 1949. What an achievement. This match would probably fit the definition of a smash and grab victory, which you would expect in these circumstances. Luton only had 32% possession throughout the game and had just two shots on target, but they outgunned Norwich on that stat that matters: goals. They also put in 18 more tackles over the 90 minutes than their counterparts (11 to 29). Luton were hungrier, pure and simple. The goal emphasised that as Scott Rendell bust a gut to nip in front of Norwich's defence to turn the ball home. It is a great story for a team that have had little to celebrate in recent years (similar to Bradford really). In 2005 Luton were a Championship side, but three consecutive relegations from 2006-2009 has seen them in the Conference ever since. The side took an incredible 4000 fans to Carrow Road and it would take a cold hearted man not to feel pleased for this club, they deserve their moment in the sun and long may their journey continue!

Brentford 2-2 Chelsea: one of the bigger shocks this weekend occurred at Griffin Park. Amid amazing scenes little known striker Fernando Torres actually scored! Seriously though this was another genuinely shocking result in reality when a £50m striker has to rescue the European champions from losing to a side in the third division in England. The pitch at Brentwood was definitely a leveller and with the fervent crowd packed into this historic ground this game was clearly not one that some of Chelsea's highly paid stars relished. It was clear again that it simply meant more to Brentford than to Chelsea. This was billed as the Bees against the Honeypot, and Brentford played extremely well. It is easy to see why Uwe Rosler is a highly rated manager as he seemed to get his tactics spot on in this game. He pinpointed Chelsea's lack of pace in defence with the likes of Terry and Ivanovic and geared his side up to counter attack, particularly using the pace of Harry Forrester who was always a thorn in Chelsea's side. Rosler has been linked with Championship jobs such as the vacancy at Barnsley and its not hard to see why. His star will only continue to rise if he can show such tactical nouse again in the replay at Stamford Bridge.

Millwall 2-1 Aston Villa: what a terrible week to be an Aston Villa fan. Two defeats inside of a week to lower league opposition. Their side sit just one place above the relegation zone and have now exited both domestic cup competitions within a week. This loss will arguably sting less than the Bradford one but its still a big blow and can do nothing but damage to their already brittle confidence. Worryingly for Villa this was not a game they bossed and were unlucky to lose either. They had slightly more possession than Millwall over the 90 with 51% possession but they had just 4 shots during the entire game compared to the Lions' 12. They conceded yet again from a corner to a Danny Shittu header and eventually succumbed to an 89th minute winner from John Marquis. You have to wonder what is next for Villa and its hard to see them bouncing back quickly from this week. They have a young side and really could have done with a confidence boosting win against the Londoners. Instead Paul Lambert is now left with the unenviable task of trying to pick his players up off the floor and instilling in them the grit to succeed in their relegation dogfight this season. Villa fans are beginning to call for Lambert's sacking but the question is: is there anyone that could do a better job with that group of players? We're not sure but it seems unlikely. It looks like being a pivotal week in Villa's season though either way we will find out what their character is like.

Other results: as we're sure you can appreciate it was hard to put in a mention for every shock result this week. Plaudits have to go to Oldham for their brilliant 3-2 victory over Liverpool as forward Matt Smith starred in a bullying performance that put Coates in the centre of Liverpool's defence to shame. Leeds for their 2-1 victory over Spurs and also to MK Dons for their sensational 4-2 victory away at QPR (which will be mentioned below in a bit more detail). Macclesfield Town's dream run was finally ended by Wigan in a hard-fought 0-1 victory at the Moss Rose, while Brighton  ran Arsenal extremely close in an excellent cup tie that ended in a 2-3 victory to the Gunners.

We know we've harped on about it a lot but it really does seem like this year, underdogs have been spurred on by what we'd like to call the 'Bradford Effect'. Bradford have shown other lower league clubs it is possible to beat Premier League teams combined with the performance of promoted teams like Swansea and Norwich as they've stepped straight up to the Premier League has shown teams that the gap is closing. We say long may it continue!

Round up of our teams

J was at Old Trafford to see Man Utd canter to an easy 4-1 victory over a timid Fulham side in the FA Cup Fourth Round. United never looked back after a third minute Ryan Giggs penalty. There was enough time to show Sam Allardyce that contrary to his beliefs, he's not always right, and United don't always get penalties at Old Trafford for anything as Damien Duff clearly handled the ball again in the box not long after the first penalty was (rightly) awarded against Aaron Hughes for another clear handball. United controlled the game from start to finish and Fulham rarely threatened as Phil Jones in particular impressed in a dominating game at centre back as he won every header he seemed to compete in. Wayne Rooney's goal just after the break killed off the game and showcased him at his powerful best, while Chicharito's double further emphasised the depth of United's striking options. All in all this was a powerful performance from the Red Devils, and one of their better performances this season, arguably.

As mentioned above C's QPR suffered a humiliating 2-4 humbling at the hands of League One side MK Dons. Dons had just 6 shots to Rangers' 20 and had less possession of the football and still managed to show up their troubled opponents. This game showed Rangers' dearth of viable options in the side as high paid stars like Anton Ferdinand were shown up time and again. This game looks like being Ferdinand's last for Rangers before an apparent loan move to Bursaspor in Turkey and I'm sure C and many other R's fans will not be sad to see him go. Judging by 'Arry's scathing criticism of his players after the game, he might not be the only player to see the exit at Loftus Road this week. 'Arry has a lot to do before Deadline Day, you feel.

Crewe lost disappointingly to Bournemouth at  the Goldsands Stadium. A Brett Pitman hat-trick saw off the Alex in a 3-1 loss. The result wasn't a huge surprise considering Bournemouth have only lost 1 game in the 18 they've played since Eddie Howe took the reigns over again, and that loss was against Wigan in the FA Cup Third Round replay. Crewe however, haven't won in 3 and could do with reversing their slump sooner rather than later.

Once you've caught your breath enjoy the round of League games this week and we'll be back soon!

C&J

Weekend Review: Chelsea See Red as Refs Hit The Headlines

It seems like it's been a while since we've spoken about bad refereeing decisions affecting games, so it seems appropriate that they would all come at once on the most Super of all Sundays so far this season...

Chelsea 2-3 Manchester United - Man United finally won at Stamford Bridge in the league for the first time in 10 years but it's hard to argue with the fact that refereeing decisions influenced the game massively. United started like a house on fire and took the lead after just 4 minutes through a quick counter attack that ended with a Robin Van Persie shot hitting the post and going in off the hapless David Luiz. This was only the 3rd time United have taken the lead in their 9th Premier League game this season! Robin Van Persie scored to make it 2-0 after another lightning counter attack down the right hand side. This was his 6th goal at Stamford Bridge and according to Opta Joe he has now scored more goals there than any other visiting player in the Premier League. Chelsea took control from around the half hour mark and scored either side of half time and David De Gea deserves a lot of credit for holding Chelsea out for so long. After his first half free kick Juan Mata has now been involved in 9 goals in his last 5 league games (scoring 4, assisting 5) and he seems to be in the form of his life. Then, enter Mark Clattenburg. Branislav Ivanovic can have no complaints really for his sending off. Ashley Young was through on goal and whether it was intentional or not he clipped Young, was the last man and prevented a goal scoring opportunity. Fernando Torres' red was contentious to say the least. Depending on your allegiance you may feel it was harsh, you may not. Personally (call me biased) I didn't see any contact between Evans and Torres, but Evans did dive in and it could easily have been a foul the other way. United then scored late on through Chicharito, and again Mark Clattenburg was at the centre of controversy as Hernandez was in an offside position. Niall Quinn said 'you have to feel for Chelsea don't you?' As Man Utd and QPR fans we can tell you Niall, no you don't! In our humble opinion any club that celebrates a captain charged with racist abuse and whose fans boo the victim of said abuse and his brother - for having the audacity to be racially abused and to be related to said victim - doesn't deserve any of our sympathy whatsoever! All in all though it seems a bit of a shame that such a fantastic game had to be influenced so heavily by Mr Clattenburg. This was a massive win for United though, and shows that Chelsea aren't going to run away with the title. This makes things a lot more interesting now anyway as only 1 point separates 1st to 3rd place.

Everton 2-2 Liverpool - Earlier this pulsating Merseyside derby was also marred by a late dubious refereeing decision that prevented Luis Suarez (shame!) and Liverpool from claiming a late late victory against Everton. Suarez was clearly motivated by David Moyes' pre-match comments about the Uruguayan's propensity to dive. He was right up for it all game and showed his displeasure with those comments by diving along the ground right in front of Moyes after Leighton Baines' own goal put Liverpool ahead. Suarez had double the amount of shots of any other player on the pitch. The first half was enthralling and all the goals were scored in the first 35 minutes. Liverpool had a goal disallowed in the last minute as Suarez was adjudged (wrongly) to be in an offside position before turning the ball in from a Coates knock down. It was a feisty affair with 7 yellow cards and it almost seems like the biggest hurdle for Everton now to beat Liverpool is psychological rather than based on inequality on the pitch. Everton have all the tools to beat Liverpool and showed their quality by coming back from 2-0 down but they seemed to be a bit fearful of Liverpool's fast start leading to them not really getting started until they were 2 down. That's 3 draws on the trot for Everton and they need to start picking up wins again soon if they want to challenge for 4th position this season. Liverpool meanwhile continued their habit of only showing up for the big games - something they've continued for a couple of seasons now.

There were some big surprises in the Championship this week as Birmingham won at Leeds, Crystal Palace produced an excellent display to continue where Dougie Freedman left off as they won away at leaders Leicester whilst Millwall trounced strong starters Huddersfield.

(Brief) round-up of our sides

QPR's kamikaze performances continued this week with an 11th red cards in 47 Premier League games and  another defeat to go hand in hand with it. C's match report is here.

Crewe  and Union Berlin compounded C's misery with 0-1 defeats against very mediocre opposition (no disrespect to Yeovil Town or SC Paderborn 07 fans among our readers). Crewe were defeated by a disappointing goal scored by a defender from a set piece, whilst Union, who were five games unbeaten before the weekend, will be looking to bounce back in the DFB-Pokal (FA Cup in English money) as they play Offenbacher FC Kickers away as they gear up for the big East German derby against old enemy Dynamo Dresden next Sunday. Apparently Steve Davis is interested in bringing Ryan Lowe back to the Alexandra Stadium from MK Dons - an experienced goalscorer at this level can only be a good addition to such a young side and we hope it happens!

And finally, of course, we've glossed over Manchester United's three points at Chelsea above already.

Things we learnt this week

• The 'Bairdinho' train keeps rolling as Chris Baird scored his second goal in 2 games to equal the amount of goals he scored in his first 120 Premier League appearances.
• Were MOTD having a special on old supporters this week? Apparently there was a  centurion fan present at Arsenal and Wigan and both were honoured by their clubs, which is quite a nice touch really. We didn't even think Wigan had been going that long though?!
• Gordon Bennett that was a lot of Bennetts in the Aston Villa v Norwich game! Elliott and Ryan were both playing for Norwich, while Joe was playing for Villa. It was as if that many Bennetts on one pitch would make the universe implode so Joe got himself sent off to reduce the Bennett number by one.
• Phil Neville obviously got altitude sickness from being so high up the pitch. That's why he dived.
• Jose Fonte looks really out of his depth in the Premier League, and it appears his lack of ability is what is continuing to cost Southampton dear
• G4S security staff do have their uses, it seems. In spite of having their name dragged through the mud all Summer at the Olympics, one of their staff stepped up from being spectator to run the line in Dunfermline v Cowdenbeath after the original linesman stepped up to referee following an injury
• Oxford United - Adam Chapman joins the list of crazies football injuries of our time - playing through the pain barrier after burning his nipple with hot dairy products - proof that there is no point in crying over spilt milk!
• The Davids effect is continuing to impact on the Football League's bottom club Barnet, who recorded a first away win of the season in what has been a productive week or so since the Dutchman's arrival - that's now two wins and a draw in three games.

Weekend Preview: Best League in the...UK?

After a week that confirmed what pretty much everyone has known for a while - the Premier League just isn't the best league in Europe any more - the Premier League is back and the top teams will be looking to bounce back after 4 of the country's representatives failed to win in Europe...

The big talking point this week has to be Man City's failure (yet again) in Europe. Roberto Mancini's record in Europe is coming under close scrutiny as his team look set to bow out at the group stages for the second year in a row, despite their wealth of riches, barring a miracle. Between 2004-08 Mancini got Inter to the Quarters (2004/05, 2005/06) and the last 16 (2006/07 and 2007/08) before he was sacked. This was despite winning the Serie A title three years in a row from 2006-2008. 2 years after he left Inter (with predominantly the same core as Mancini's team) won the Champions League under Jose Mourinho. Coincidence? City’s three fixtures in the Champions League them concede a total of 72 shots in contrast to 85 in their eight Premier League games this season. Yes, Man City have been drawn in the 'Group of Death' this year but they haven't even played well really. They have 1 point and they were extremely lucky to get that against Dortmund. The contrast in the two teams on Wednesday was remarkable and it has been well documented that the total cost of the Ajax starting XI on Wednesday was £2.75m while City's starting XI cost a measly £187.5m! They really should have been winning that game.

Aston Villa v Norwich - Saturday's early kick off will centre around the battle of Norwich and their former manager, Paul Lambert. There is seemingly a lot of ill-feeling between the two parties since their separation - Norwich are suing Lambert for breach of contract while Lambert is counter-suing Norwich for unfair dismissal looking for £2m! This week Norwich's chairman said Lambert walks out on every team he manages while Lambert suggested he hasn't spoken to the chairman, Alan Bowkett in three years (even when he was there). There has been a lack of spark for either team this season and neither has really got going. Both sides only have the one win in the league each from 8 games, and both have struggled for goals scoring less than 1 per game this season on average (both have 6 goals). Norwich have conceded over 2 goals per game this season on average (17 goals in 8 games), while Villa have let in 13 goals in 8 games. Norwich did win against Arsenal last time out and they will be hoping that result will kick start their season but it looks like being a relegation dogfight for both teams this year, and neither have been in good form. Norwich haven't won their last 6 away games, while Villa have failed to win in 17 of their last 18 league games. Both managers have a difficult job on their hands this season and you have to think a lot of both teams seasons depend on Darren Bent and Grant Holt respectively. Holt has 3 goals this season while Bent has 2 and they are the only players from either team who have scored more than 1 goal this season. You have to think this game could be the best opportunity for these teams to fill their boots and score a few, but it appears unlikely. I tend to think that Paul Lambert will thrive on this sort of pressure game. Having played at the likes of Dortmund and Celtic and winning multiple trophies he loves the big games and this is a huge game for his team, and I think the Lambert factor will win out for Villa.

Prediction: Villa 2-1 Norwich

Everton v Liverpool - Sunday's early kick off sees the return of the Merseyside derby. This game seems like it could be a difficult one to predict so I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest there will be a lot of cards. In the last 6 games between these sides there have been 26 yellow cards and 3 reds. So expect more of the same this weekend. Everton have only beaten Liverpool once in the last 6 meetings between the two teams while Liverpool have won 4 and certainly seem to have the edge on their rivals. However, Everton go into this game 8 places and 6 points above their rivals, and have only lost once this season. They have also won 6 of their last 7 home games in the league. However, as we all know the form book goes out of the window in a derby. Liverpool have a young team and the average age of their likely first XI tomorrow is 24.5 years old, whilst Everton's is 29.4 years of age. This youth could either prove to be the undoing of Liverpool or their secret weapon. The players don't look like they have been phased by anything this season but a pressure cooker atmosphere at Goodison Park in the Merseyside derby is another challenge altogether for Liverpool's players. Personally I think the game will come down to clinical finishing and Everton's 15 goals in the league versus Liverpool's 10 tells a story in itself. Liverpool need to take their chances tomorrow otherwise Everton will punish them. I'm going with the form book in this game though.

Prediction: Everton 3-1 Liverpool

Chelsea v Man Utd - Finally, the Sunday evening match is at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea take on Manchester United. Stamford Bridge always seems to be a bogey ground for United and the Reds haven't won at Stamford Bridge in the League in the last 10 games - since April 2002, and Chelsea are the only team in the history of the Premier League who have more wins than losses against United. Funnily enough though United haven't lost in their last 5 meetings against Chelsea (including the two Champions League games from United's 2011 run to the final). This should be an excellent game though and sees 1st take on 2nd in the league. This game could go a long way to showing how serious both teams title challenges are this year. Expect goals - between them these teams have scored 40 goals in the league this year and conceded 17. United are starting games this season bizarrely and seem to be giving teams head starts every game. I think this was slightly inevitable as this season seems to be purely concentrated on attacking and scoring goals with that forward line. Chelsea's forward line is almost as impressive though and it should be a high scoring affair for that reason. United have scored at least 2 goals in their last 7 Premier League games and it seems almost certain that Chelsea will score goals as United's defence seems to be leaking goals on a huge scale this year. United's philosophy this year seems to be 'we will score one more than you'. This has never really worked before (see Newcastle in 95/96) so it is intriguing to see how long this goes on.

Prediction: Chelsea 2-2 United

This weekend QPR take on an Arsenal team who have lost their last 2 games and appear to be back in the middle of a crisis again, just weeks after being the best team since Sliced Bread FC. Rangers are still without a win in the league this season and they will be hoping this is the best time to play Arsenal. However, Mark Hughes has said he fears a backlash this weekend. Rangers avoided defeat last weekend for the first time in 4 in the league and fans will be hoping this could be the start of a turnaround in fortunes, and they will take heart from Norwich's performance against the Gunners last weekend.

 Crewe beat Swindon 2-1 in midweek to record their first win in 4 in the league and they take on an in-form Yeovil team this weekend who have won their last 2 league games. Games between these two teams don't end in draws (both teams have shared 3 wins each in the last 6 games between these 2). Byron Moore got 2 in midweek for his first goals of the season and Steve Davis has challenged him to get double figures this season, so the Railwaymen will be hoping this will spur him on to have more of an impact. Yeovil are an entertaining team this season having scored 24 so far in 14 this season and conceded 21 so there should be goals and an entertaining game at Gresty Road!

Union Berlin take on SC Paderborn 07 on Sunday. Paderborn haven't won in their last 4 and Union will be hoping to build on their win over FSV Frankfurt last week. This is 11th v 10th and should be a tight affair as both teams sit on 12 points. Let's hope Union's good home form continues and they use this to their advantage!

Enjoy the weekend and we'll be back with a review of the weekend next week!

J

Weekend Review: Goals, goals, goals

It was a weekend to remember for the neutral as it rained goals all over the country - in fact, there was not a single goalless draw in any of the top four divisions in England this weekend! Add to that twelve red cards across the leagues and we've certainly got plenty to chew over in this review. 

Perhaps the biggest surprise in the Premier League this weekend came at Carrow Road where Norwich beat Arsenal for the first time in 20 odd years. The Canaries came flying out the traps and really got in the Gunners' faces which really unsettled them and knocked them out of their usual passing rhythm. Maybe Arsene Wenger will draw 'jetlag' from his lucky dip of excuses this week after it was revealed that the team flew from Luton to Norwich, yes, flew. Fourteen minutes from take off to landing! All to avoid a rail replacement bus. Surely somewhere in amongst all those incoming transfer fees and those sky-high season ticket prices they are able to find funding for a team bus? Norwich's performance in this game reminded me a little of Arsenal's last away league defeat - away at Loftus Road in March. The winning goal itself was somewhat fortuitous, Grant Holt tapping in after a Mannone spill (in fairness, it was another 'swerver' which many a Premier League keeper has struggled with so far this year - and the ball bounced right in front of the keeper). Santi Cazorla was pretty absent in contrast to his excellent appearances this season, and that was a big reason that Arsenal managed to have 72% possession during the game and yet not score a single goal. The strikers look like they might struggle to create chances by themselves and if Cazorla's service isn't up to scratch there doesn't appear to be much other alternative. Now we've said that though, they are shoo-ins for goalscorer bets against QPR next weekend at the Emirates.

Liverpool managed a first home win of the season against Reading but it was hardly convincing against a side you'd really expect them to beat comfortably. Raheem Sterling scored his first league goal, which feels like it has been a long time coming. The best QPR youth product in years is living up the all the hype and I've no doubt that this kid is going to be a 'top top player' (Redknapp, 2012). Yet again though we saw that rat boy Suarez can't finish to save his life for all his trickery and build up play. Liverpool just don't look like they have a goalscorer at all in their ranks and the long standing issue of not scoring or winning enough games at home looks set to continue for another year. Liverpool had a staggering 27 shots on goal during the game and yet only managed to get 7 of those efforts on target, and score from the one. Suarez had 10 shots alone in this game and yet only 1 of these efforts was on target, while Raheem Sterling had 5 shots with 3 on target. Even Glen Johnson had more shots on target than Suarez in this game (6 shots 2 on target)!  The need for a finisher is ever more apparent each week at Anfield and it does make you wonder why on earth they let Andy Carroll go out on loan? It seems like Liverpool have been missing wide men for years to provide service for the likes of Crouch and Torres yet when they finally have some exciting wingers it's strikers they lack!

In the preview I said that Chelsea hadn't impressed me so far this season and I was most definitely proved wrong in their 4-2 victory over Tottenham at White Hart Lane. Chelsea were exceptional and it is hard to look past them being the team to beat this year after their showings so far. They are still unbeaten in the league so far this year, but perhaps more impressively they are playing in a wholly un-Chelsea like style this year. Their swashbuckling style with Juan Mata as the spearhead is reaping dividends for Roberto Di Matteo. Chelsea dominated possession against last season's 4th place team and had 58% possession. They were also clinical and scored their 4 goals from just 10 shots, while Spurs scored 2 goals from 26 shots. Chelsea had a shot accuracy of 70%. Juan Mata as mentioned before was unplayable at times and he scored twice and assisted one other goal for Chelsea picking Kyle Walker's pocket before laying the goal up on a plate for Daniel Sturridge. Mata seems to be relishing his freedom this year. Last year he was the only real creative spark in a very rigid Chelsea team but this year he has Oscar and Hazard to share the burden so he has freedom to roam about and more inspiring runs and contributions from his teammates. However, Spurs probably won't be too disheartened by this loss. They were without Gareth Bale, Moussa Dembele, Scott Parker, Younes Kaboul and Benoit Assou-Ekotto - all of whom would arguably be in and around the first team when available. Their lack of depth in midfield, especially on the left, was very apparent and neither Clint Dempsey nor Gylfi Sigurdsson are wingers and both toiled there. All in all, an impressive victory for Chelsea and it is hard not to see them scoring numerous times against the leaky Man United defence.

Elsewhere in the football league it was a good weekend for Leicester City who, in spite of drawing in this particular round of fixtures, moved top of the Championship on goal difference after playing out an entertaining draw at St Andrews. This was by virtue of the fact that all the teams around them failed to pick up points. In fact, the Championship is filled with sides that have started the season consistently inconsistent and it really does look as though anyone can beat anyone in that division this year. Just six points separate the top thirteen sides and the rest of the division are only a couple of points behind that (excluding Ipswich and Peterborough, who are by no means cut adrift). Just think, Watford fans, a couple more wins to add to your three in the last four games and you'll be top of the league!

Roundup of our sides

Finally a week where we can report points gained for all of our sides! 

Chuks Aneke was the unlikely hero for Crewe as they salvaged a stoppage time equaliser to earn a 'Desmond' at the Banks's Stadium. Aneke was on hand to head in a Mathias Pogba cross to make amends for a dreadful showing at Portsmouth last weekend. 

However a first league win of the season still eludes QPR who were made to settle for a point by the ten men of Everton at Loftus Road on Sunday. C's report will be online later this week.

Man Utd beat Stoke 4-2 in an eventful game at Old Trafford on Saturday. United's games this season are becoming a bit silly and they seem to be giving opponents a head start by giving a goal away early and then seeming to start performing after 20 minutes. The attacking trio of Rooney, Van Persie and Welbeck were all superb and the two crosses by Van Persie and then Rooney for each other's goals were sublime. Just wondering: did Wayne Rooney get to keep the match ball for that hat trick or not?!

Union Berlin beat FSV Frankfurt 1-0 thanks to a Torsten Mattuschka penalty. This was a very decent win for Union at home as they won for the third time there this season. Having not won away from home yet the Stadion An Der Alten Forsterei needs to become a bit of a fortress to keep Union from being sucked towards the relegation zone. This win sees Union sit in 10th place in the league but only three points away from third bottom. Overall though a much needed win, and a move in the right direction.

What we learned this week

• If you want to please Edin Dzeko, you could do worse than calling him a super sub - we've heard he really enjoys being called that!
• Southampton's 'attack is the best form of defence' philosophy is continuing to fail at the top level. This week they shipped another four goals. That's now 24 goals shipped in eight league matches, a Premier League record. Changing goalkeeper for the third time this season didn't improve their defending one iota. 
• We think Manish Bhasin and Leroy 'Absolutely' Rosenior decided to make this week's Football League Show a love-in for Wilfried Zaha. Yes, he is in sparkling form and looks a decent shout for a move to the Premier League, but other players deserve some praise too at Palace for their excellent run!
• Chris Eagles has found his level again - not good enough for the Premier League, too good for the Championship. This weekend he notched his 6th of the season and inspired a Bolton comeback from 2-0 down at home to Brizzle City to win 3-2.
• Staying in Lancashire, Charlie Austin netted a 13th goal of a so far terrific campaign up front for Burnley, who as a team haven't exactly set the world alight either - a testament to what an achievement that is!
• £1 million Ipswich flop Jay Emmanuel-Thomas managed a first goal in 13 games but it still couldn't stop Paul Jewell's side chalking up yet another defeat, after they lost to two goals scored by another striker struggling to live up to his price-tag so far this season, £2.5 million Hull summer signing Nick Proschwitz
• 'Marvellous Marvin' Morgan went from hero to zero in thirty seconds at Fratton Park this weekend. The Shrewsbury striker scored, then was booked for a foul following the restart after his goal, only to be given a second yellow card moments later for the protest against his first booking. Madness!
• The FA Cup 1st round draw will have really given Coventry fans a harsh dose of reality - pitting them against Arlesey Town, who will no doubt miraculously find a thousand 'die hard' glory hunting fans from the street to take to the Ricoh. Hereford v Shrewsbury and the potential for Chelmsford v Colchester were further highlights of the draw
• Not particularly specific to this week, but we're hearing ever increasing use of the shout 'AWAY!' by goalkeepers in the Football League as an instruction to defenders to clear their lines when crosses come in. On Match of the Day the yell could be heard from custodians Guzan, Friedel, Begovic and Hart

Six weekends, zero wins

As it's now after Monday dinner time and neither of us have managed to catch much of the weekend's action, we thought we'd give you a treat and combine our weekend review with C's match review of Monday night's East-West London derby at Loftus Road.

The weekend itself brought a memorable (or less so in J's case) win for Spurs over Manchester United at Old Trafford - a first since 1989, in fact. I managed to take in the game in the pub and I'll be honest, I genuinely thought I was watching match highlights in that frantic three minutes at the start of the second half. In summary, United showed just how much they missed the presence of Wayne Rooney in the first half, whilst at the back Rio Ferdinand looked past it (not for the first time, I hasten to add) up against the pace of Bale and Defoe. Evans looked like he has returned to his bad old ways again after a fairly solid season last season in which he won over several of his critics. I don't really understand how anyone can criticise RVP for his performance (as some have) - it was simply an off day for him and he'll be hitting the net again in no time. Finally, did Sir Alex really say there was 'not enough injury time to win the game'?! The team selection seemed a bit baffling considering it's total lack of pace, when everyone knows that is Spurs main attribute. However to paraphrase Mark Twain 'reports of Man Utd's death are greatly exaggerated'. Don't write them off any time soon.

Liverpool picked up their first league win of the campaign away in Norfolk where they could easily have won by a greater margin but for their usual profligacy. The Norwich defence were all at sea again with Michael Turner and Leon Barnett having a very good go at impersonating the Keystone Cops. It is no coincidence that in the two games that Sebastien Bassong has missed for the Canaries, they have conceded 11 goals. Rat boy Suarez cashed in here as he recorded a second consecutive hat-trick at Carrow Road to leave the locals sick of the sight of him (isn't that the feeling most people get when they see him though?!).

Roundup of our teams

We've said enough about the misfortunes of Manchester United above and QPR below but it didn't stop there for us as Crewe Alexandra had a five match unbeaten run ended by MK Dons. Charlie MacDonald struck after just eight minutes after getting himself on the end of a ball in from Dean Bowditch to give Franchise FC all three points.

Imagine our delight then when our German correspondent told of back to back home wins for 1. FC Union Berlin who emerged victorious in the Brandenburg derby with a 3:1 win over Cottbus. In a bad tempered affair which saw both sides finish ten-a-side, Simon Terodde, Christoph Quiring (who has been something of a revelation for Union so far this year) and Björn Jopek scored for Die Eiserner to rocket them up to 13th in the German 2nd Division. Daniel Haas, a newbie between the sticks for Union having signed from Hoffenheim over the Summer, also saved a crucial penalty at 2:1. Keep it up lads!!

Match Review: QPR 1-2 West Ham United

Sky Sports, the Park Ji-Sung fan club and I were in attendance for Monday night football as QPR took on West Ham in the Premier League seeking a first win of the season. Sadly, the QPR defence were not in attendance, and that's not the first time this week I've said that!

Gearing up for another defeat

QPR started this game as they left off the last - chasing shadows. West Ham came out of the blocks all guns blazing and their tempo, determination and tough tackling somehow caught the Hoops by surprise (you'd have thought they'd have learned from the Reading experience). The Hammers were rewarded for a good start but it was made all too easy for them as Matt Jarvis was allowed a free header across Julio Cesar into the far corner to give them a 2nd minute lead. This was hugely frustrating as yet again we are gifting teams easy goals but yet having to work ten times as hard to score ourselves (which is what you'd expect in the Premier League). The R's were lethargic, lacked urgency and struggled to string more than two or three passes together at a time, and Djibril Cisse was still insistent on shooting from distance, troubling Jaaskelainen just once all half.

The home side's best chance of the half came from an excellent Esteban Granero delivery on 21 minutes which somehow was cleared off the line by a combination of West Ham bodies (proper defending - a 'keep the ball out at all costs' mentality - take note Rangers!). One of those was that of Winston Reid, who appeared groggy as he was escorted from the pitch after being hurt in the goalmouth scramble. 

After a lengthy delay, play resumed and it was much of the same, with West Ham's energy and determination dominating the midfield. QPR were making Nolan, Diame, Vaz Te and Jarvis look like world beaters and West Ham were having far too much joy down the wings with any of the above proving a mismatch against the ageing Clint Hill or Nedum Onuoha (who I felt went on to have his poorest game in Blue and White Hoops yet). Wright-Phillips was just barged off of the ball by Joey O'Brien (another mismatch), Park was ineffective and distinctly lacked his usual work-rate (just like against Reading) and Granero, who has impressed many since joining us, was very frustrating all half (his free kick aside). The Spaniard insisted on dilly dallying with the ball rather than taking the better option of an open pass to a team mate, which allowed the West Ham midfield far too much time to anticipate his next move every time. 

A second goal was only a matter of time but when it did arrive it was thanks yet again to shocking marking. Stephane Mbia, guilty of leaving Jarvis all alone for the first, gave Ricardo Vaz Te the freedom of West London this time around. Perhaps he expected Julio Cesar to deal with the cross but neither player spoke to each other and it seemed that Cesar expected Mbia to deal with this. Under no pressure, the Portu-geezer had time to adjust himself and score from a seemingly impossible angle (afforded that much time, I probably could have, too). Half time couldn't come soon enough and after six minutes of injury time the R's were booed off when Mark Clattenburg did eventually whistle.

Clattenburg clearly decided at half time that he hadn't been controversial enough in the first half, booking just two West Ham players and no QPR players. He returned to the field later than everyone else and started the second half late after prancing around for a minute or two, seemingly determined to influence the outcome of the game. West Ham started as they had left off and did most of the early second half running. Diame had a decent effort stopped by Cesar and that was enough to spark Sparky into making changes. He called Taarabt and Diakite back from their warm up, a shout met by a chorus of cheers from QPR fans desperately seeking a game changer. On his day, Taarabt is exactly that. Brought on in the 57th minute here, the R's side were visibly lifted by the Moroccan entering the fray and a minute later Taarabt turned on the style, something we've just not seen enough of from him in the Premier League. After taking on the outstanding Diame with a confident swagger, he unleashed an unstoppable 25 yard shot into the top right corner of Jaaskelainen's net. Game on! The crowd were back behind the R's and West Ham looked shell shocked. Unfortunately, Clattenburg picked this moment to try to grab the headlines. He outrageously booked Taarabt for celebrating when he didn't remove his shirt (he only lifted it to reveal a religious message). And after letting so many similar challenges go in the first half, he booked Samba Diakite for the first tackle he made since coming on - yes it was a foul, but not worthy of a yellow for the first time it was committed! 

Unfortunately for QPR fans, Samba Diakite is a lunatic. This was the worst time he could have got a booking and knowing the way the man plays, it was only going to be a matter of time before he got his marching orders. However in the time leading up to his sending off, Diakite was calm, assured and offered the tough-tackling, determined, energetic approach that was required to put the Irons on the back foot. For a twenty minute spell, he ran the central midfield and West Ham had no answer. QPR were creating chances like they haven't done for weeks and it seemed they could go on and get the equalise. Clattenburg had lost his head by this point and was dishing out soft looking yellows to several West Ham players, including one for timewasting to Jussi Jaaskelainen. This is an offence that goes unpunished almost every week in the league but to the Finn's defence, he had only done it once and wasn't even given a warning by the referee. With all these soft yellow card awards having occurred, Clattenburg had set the precedent for the level of challenge that he would deem as a yellow card and with the bar very low, a fairly standard Samba Diakite foul was enough to persuade the deluded referee that it was time to change the colour of the card being dished out. I think it was coming anyway, with Samba being the wrecking ball that he is, but no way would another referee awarded two yellow cards for those two fouls. 

Diakite's sending off effectively ended the game as a contest and whilst Clattenburg continued filling his notebook, Carlton Cole missed a sitter which would have put the game to bed and was duly replaced by Andy Carroll. Unfortunately, QPR became more and more desperate and resorted to the kind of hoof ball I'd associate with the opposition manager. Of course, with his side being masters of this game, Allardyce's men mopped up everything that was hurled towards Zamora and Collins and Tomkins were given an easy ride to the final whistle. There was even time for Ricardo Vaz Te to force Julio Cesar into a world class stop from a thunderous half volley - the Brazilian got a firm hand on the shot and tipped it on to the crossbar where it then went out for a corner. Take a bow son! (However, Julio, your homework this week will be dealing with crosses). In added time Clattenburg finally got the accolade his performance merited by booking an eighth West Ham player (no Premier League side had had eight bookings in a match before this game): James Tomkins this time going in the book, presumably because he took ten seconds to take a free kick and was the only West Ham player that Clattenburg could think of that he hadn't cautioned. 

So all in all a massive disappointment yet again, but bizarrely I'm still convinced that we'll come good under Hughes. I'm not expecting anything at West Brom on Saturday (where the home side have won three out of three and have yet to concede), so I think I'll review his position again after the international break when we *might* have a team of competent defenders. 

Man of the Match: Apart from Adel Taarabt who was a breath of fresh air when he came on and just has to start at the weekend in my mind, it was another poor performance all round from the others. Therefore, I'm forced to consider opposition candidates, and I can't look much further than Mohamed Diame, who has looked an excellent piece of business on a free transfer for the Hammers and ran the midfield here. 

What we learned this weekend

- It should be a criminal offence to leave Peter Crouch unmarked from a set-piece, what were the Swansea defence thinking?!

- Petr Cech showed yet again that he is the world's best goalkeeper in one-on-one situations when attackers try to round him to score
-Steve Kean's sacking must have been the most inevitable yet surprising (timing) ever? Why give him over £8m to spend on players exactly?!
- Who on earth will Venky's pick to replace him? Bookies seem to be assuming they have some football sense which they clearly don't

Week Review: Round Two

Hello all, we hope you've had a good bank holiday weekend. We are back up to full strength this week after last week's staff shortages so we've got a lot to review from this weekend's action...

Balls-ups

Our main talking point this week has to be the abnormal number of goalkeeping and defensive errors we've seen in the Premier League since the start of the season. Several of the Premier League's most experienced custodians like Petr Cech, David De Gea and Rob Green (can I really place him in that sentence along with those names?!) have found themselves on the receiving end of criticism from fans, managers and the press alike for misjudging long range shots or crosses, whilst we've seen Skrtel and Collins send woefully short backpasses to their respective keepers. Is it sheer coincidence that these keepers are all making dreadful mistakes at the same time or is there something everyone is missing? Well, we think the latter. Specifically, we think the ball is to blame. The new Nike Maxim ball looks as though it will take some getting used to and is swerving all over the place. Several strikers and midfielders are trying their luck from innocuous looking distances and it is really causing goalies to panic and parry what seem like straight forward catches, or in some cases inadvertently they've even ended up help divert the ball into their net. Saturday’s game at Villa Park saw both Shay Given and Tim Howard appear to misjudge the flight of the ball in mid-air and end up letting in tame shots they would usually have snapped up. Rob Green let in a really harmless daisy cutter from Michu, while Adam 'Butterfingers' Federici has let in 2 howlers already this season from fairly innocuous shots on goal, and Petr Cech’s mistake was in the same game as Federici’s second mistake of the season. Meanwhile David De Gea and Pepe Reina both lost themselves in the flight of crosses to allow their opponents to score an absolute gift. These are not all bad goalkeepers and there have been an extraordinary amount of errors for such a short period of time. Therefore, the common factor would seem to be the new ball.

Chelsea: Genuine title contenders?

Chelsea have started the season like a house on fire and as many pundits have remarked, Roman is finally getting the exhilarating football he has apparently craved at Stamford Bridge for so long. Eden Hazard looks magnificent, and it seems more and more likely he will be the next Premier League world superstar after Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry. Fernando Torres seems to have hit on some form, and he must be carrying through the confidence he gained from his golden boot winning exploits at Euro 2012 with that tremendous 2 goal haul. Juan Mata was a class act last season but now he has some equally gifted and classy team-mates Chelsea look incredibly potent going forward. However, I don’t want to come off as biased but I am really not that impressed with them defensively. They conceded 2 against Reading and looked on the rack in that game for a period. They kept a clean sheet against Newcastle, but as far as I could tell, Newcastle had some very decent chances, which you would normally expect Ba and Cisse to put away. Papiss Cisse in particular had 2 very good chances and had he been sharper this could have been a very different result. I think Chelsea could come undone against more clinical teams really as David Luiz always looks like he has a mistake in him, while John Terry looks like he’s over the hill now. With Victor Moses going in to sit on the bench, Marko Marin still not playing and Daniel Sturridge in reserve though, Chelsea appear to be going with the mantra ‘attack is the best form of defence’ so irrespective of whether it works or not, it should be bloody exciting at the Bridge this season!

Stoke City RFC have a non-controversial game v Arsenal!

Is it me or do Stoke save their very roughest for Arsenal? Stoke fans, players and management alike appear to have a vendetta against Arsenal and their combative style turns into borderline GBH. I am sure it is this fixture which leads to Stoke being frowned upon so much by other clubs and the football purists. I remember coming across this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGmJrfAAKyE a while back - this game is usually a carbon copy of it. These bully-boy tactics have paved the way for a player with absolutely zero football ability, Andy Wilkinson, to play regular Premier League football and 'shine' on occasions like this. Once again, this brute who Pulis has clearly groomed to play 'the Stoke way' was flying in to tackles, some reckless and most needless, and, like team mate Robert Huth, deserved his customary yellow card. Though for all their full-bloodedness, the rest of the Stoke team weren't as fiery as usual for this one and didn't look like they could score in a month of Sundays. Fortunately for them, Arsenal were reduced to hopeful long punts that went miles wide or over the bar. There were only the two bookings mentioned, 14 shots in total (Stoke managed just three and no corners) and the game finished a bore 0-0 draw.

Championship pacesetters

Early days and all that, but Blackpool have made an extremely impressive start in the Championship this season. Ipswich were their latest victims this weekend, who they demolished 6-0 at Bloomfield Road on Saturday. Nouha Dicko has had the same impact he had when on loan at Blackpool from Wigan last season, whilst Tom Ince has shown what a class act he is in the opening three games. Promisingly, Ince has also started to show the consistency he struggled to find last season. Blackpool fans will be hoping he is still a Tangerine on Saturday morning. Next up in the league for the Seasiders is a tough trip to the King Power stadium to take on Leicester City, where I expect they'll be given a more thorough examination of their promotion credentials.

Usual roundup:

Similarly to Chelsea I think Manchester United’s season will be chock full of attacking excitement, but defensive openness. The summer signings have been mainly attacking and Shinji Kagawa looks like a real bargain at £12m and an absolute class act. His partnership with RVP up front for United this season should be really exciting and I think that those 2 signings are sending a message to Wayne Rooney. For years he has been indispensable and when fit, has played. He has been United’s only top class player in reality since Ronaldo left and he has perhaps become lackadaisical due to this. He doesn’t look like the hungry Rooney of old (unless of course you count the extra few pounds he seems to have put on this summer!), and now he will have to perform week in week out, or he can be replaced by players at least as good as him. I hope he responds well to the message rather than sulking but only time will tell. His injury lay-off could be a good chance for him to regroup and come back stronger, but he will probably have a real fight on his hands when he gets back just to get in the starting XI.

A marked improvement for QPR this week, who recovered sufficiently from their drubbing last week to gain a point at Norwich, traditionally a ground on which they have had some awful luck over the years. Whilst I wasn't at the game (probably a blessing), I gather that yet again Grant Holt gave the QPR defensive duo of Clint Hill and Anton Ferdinand a torrid time and both were given yellow cards. Clint Hill struggled so much that Hughes saw the need to replace him with Onuoha whilst Anton Ferdinand's yellow card was specifically as a result of Holt's standard tactic of dragging the man to ground with him when he falls over and convincing the referee he was fouled. The only surprise this time around was that Holt didn't score a 99th minute winner against us!

Oh, and a message for Chris Hughton if I may: Yes, it was a foul on Cisse for the penalty, and yes there was encroachment on Zamora's behalf, but how many encroachment incidents go unspotted every week? It seems to me that the fuss about encroachment only ever surfaces when the rebound is tucked away by an onrushing attacker. So seeing as the rule is not properly policed, I don't really see a problem. However, you can guarantee that because Mr Hughton kicked up a fuss this week, some poor bugger in League Two next week is going to have to retake his spot kick because the FA will have sent out a memo to referees to watch for it this week.

Union Berlin went down 2-0 to 2. Bundesliga new boys SV Sandhausen. It's not been a great start in the league for the boys from Köpenick and the same travel sickness bug suffered last season seems to have carried into this one. Next week: home to Hertha in the Stadtderby. It doesn't get any easier!

And the less said about Crewe's game at Brentford, the better!

What we learned this week: 
-  Everton are flying
-  Whilst they are good at creating chances, Southampton's defence is a huge cause for concern
- Wigan's summer recruits seem to be very shrewd, particularly Arouna Kone.
-  Swansea's result v QPR wasn't a one-off, but Sunderland promise to provide a sterner test next week
-  City look vulnerable at the back - Sparky take note!
- Zonal marking is a hated system. No-one seems to like it, so why do managers play it?
-  MK Dons can't keep 11 men on the pitch, whilst the real Wimbledon have shipped 11 goals in 2 games. Sort it out Dons!