Game Week 26-Review

One story has dominated the headlines, or more specifically the pictures, this weekend. The sight of Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva's left foot at right angles to the rest of his leg was a frightening reminder of how a top-flight career can instantly be thrown into jeopardy by an over-zealous challenge.

There has been much debate over Birmingham defender Martin Taylor clash with the Croatian striker, but while it seems that there was little malice in the tackle, it will be Taylor who will ultimately have to live with the guilt if the injury forces Eduardo into early retirement.

While the St Andrews clash will forever be remembered for Eduardo's injury, the game itself was an entertaining affair which eventually resulted in Arsenal throwing away two vital points in their race for the title after a 2-2 draw.James McFadden put Birmingham in front with a well executed free-kick, before Theo Walcott became the first Englishman to score for Arsenal in over a year when he grabbed a brace to give the Gunners the advantage.With time running out Gael Clichy's comedy defending allowed McFadden to level things up from the spot and saw team-mate William Gallas throw the sort of temper tantrum many three-year olds would have been proud of.

With Arsenal unexpectedly slipping up in the West Midlands, Manchester United took their chance to close the gap to three points when they inflicted yet more misery on Kevin Keegan and his hapless Newcastle side.Ronaldo and co. cruised to a 5-1 victory at St James's park in a game which at times was less competitive than the fabled men against boys.The Portuguese ace helped himself to another two goals to take his tally for the season to 29 and was ably supported by a brace from Wayne Rooney and last-minute strike from Louis Saha.

Liverpool continue to make hard work of claiming a top four spot and needed a scintillating hat-trick from Spanish hit man Fernando Torres in order to claim all three points in a 3-2 home win against Middlesbrough.The baby-faced striker provided the spark for the Reds, but speculation is likely to continue over the future of boss Rafa Benitez after another inept display by his struggling defensive unit.

Portsmouth are up to seventh in the Premier League after a Jermain Defoe penalty gave them a 1-0 win against Sunderland at Fratton Park.Harry Redknapp's side now sit on the cusp of the European places and will be confident of gatecrashing the top six come the end of the season.

West Ham are not out of the European picture just yet and kept their faint hopes alive with a contentious 1-0 win away at Fulham.The Cottagers will feel hard done by after goalscorer Nolberto Solano first appeared to kick their keeper Antti Niemi in the face as the pair challenged for the ball, before then calmly knocking the winner into the back of the net with his elbow.

Derby continued their pursuit of the 'worst team in Premier League history' crown after yet another defeat, this time at the JJB.Paul Jewell returned to Wigan for the first time since walking away from the club at the end of last season, but his Rams side capitulated once more and slumped to a dismal 2-0 defeat.Paul Scharner and Antonio Valencia got the goals which moved the Latics towards the dizzy heights of mid-table.

The Royals succumbed to their eighth consecutive defeat on Sunday when they went down 2-1 to Aston Villa at the Madejski Stadium.Ashley Young and Marlon Harewood kept up Villa's charge towards a UEFA Champions League spot, while Steve Coppell must be grateful that he has no hair left to pull out after another dismal display by his charges.

The final game of the weekend was a feisty Lancashire derby at Ewood Park which saw Blackburn comprehensively gain local bragging rights after an impressive 4-1 victory over Bolton.Benni McCarthy kept his cool on two occasions to bag a brace of spot-kicks, while David Bentley and Morten Gamst Pedersen completed the scoring for Rovers.Kevin Davies had pulled the Trotters level at the start of the second-half, but Mark Hughes' side proved to be far too strong in the end.

Game Week 25-Review

Saturday 9th February 2008
Aston Villa 4-1 Newcastle United
Bolton Wanderers 0-1 Portsmouth
Everton 1-0 Reading
Sunderland 2-0 Wigan Athletic
Derby County 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United 1-1 Birmingham City
Middlesbrough 1-0 Fulham

Sunday 10th February 2008
Manchester United 1-2 Manchester City
Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool

Barclays Premier League Transfers

A review of all the transfers to and from Barclays Premier League clubs during the January transfer window.

Arsenal

IN: Luke Freeman (Gillingham, undisclosed)

OUT: Matthew Connolly (Queens Park Rangers, undisclosed), Lassana Diarra (Portsmouth, undisclosed), Mark Randall (Burnley, loan), Kieran Gibbs (Norwich City, loan)

Aston Villa

IN: Wayne Routledge (Tottenham Hotspur, £1.25million)

OUT: Chris Herd (Port Vale, loan), Gary Cahill (Bolton Wanderers, undisclosed)

Birmingham City

IN: David Murphy (Hibernian, £1.5million); James McFadden (Everton £5million) , Mauro Zarate (Al-Sadd, loan)

OUT: Neil Kilkenny (Leeds United, £150,000), Sam Oji (released), Rowan Vine (Queens Park Rangers, undisclosed), Wilson Palacios (loan expired), Olivier Tebily (released) , Neil Danns (Crystal Palace, £600,000) , Mathew Sadler (Watford, £750,000)

Blackburn Rovers

OUT: Robbie Savage (Derby County, £1.5million) , Peter Enckelman (Cardiff City, loan), Paul Gallagher (Stoke City, loan)

Bolton Wanderers

IN: Tamir Cohen (Maccabi Netanya, undisclosed), Gretar Steinsson (AZ Alkmaar, £3.5million), Matthew Taylor (Portsmouth, undisclosed), Gary Cahill (Aston Villa, undisclosed), Grzegorz Rasiak (Southampton,loan)

OUT: Gary Speed (Sheffield United, loan); Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea, £15million), Gerald Cid (Nice, undisclosed), Christian Wilhelmsson (Nantes, loan cancelled), Lubomir Michalik (Leeds United, undisclosed),

Chelsea

IN: Nicolas Anelka (Bolton Wanderers, £15million), Branislav Ivanovic (Lokomotiv Moscow, £9million), Franco Di Santo (Audax Italiano La Florida SADP, undisclosed)

Derby County

IN: Danny Mills (Manchester City, loan), Emanuel Villa (UAG Tecos, £2million), Laurent Robert (unattached, free transfer), Robbie Savage (Blackburn Rovers £1.5million), Hossam Ghaly (Tottenham Hotspur, loan), Mile Sterjovski (Genclerbirligi OFTAS, undisclosed), Roy Carroll (Glasgow Rangers, undisclosed), Alan Stubbs (Everton, free)

OUT: Steve Howard (Leicester City, undisclosed), Mo Camara (Norwich City, loan), Andy Griffin (Stoke City, £300,000), Matt Oakley (Leicester City, £500,000), Jonathan Macken (Barnsley, undisclosed), Stephen Bywater (Ipswich Town, loan), Lewin Nyatanga (Barnsley, loan)

Everton

IN: Manuel Fernandes (Valencia, loan), Dan Gosling (Plymouth Argyle, undisclosed), Anthony Gardner (Tottenham Hotspur, loan)

OUT: Lukas Jutkiewicz (Plymouth Argyle, loan); James McFadden (Birmingham City £5million), Patrick Boyle (Crewe Alexandra, loan) , Alan Stubbs (Derby County, free)

Fulham

IN: Brede Hangeland (FC Copenhagen, undisclosed), Leon Andreasen (Werder Bremen, undisclosed), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards, undisclosed), Erik Nevland (FC Groningen, undisclosed), Jari Litmanen (Malmo FF, undisclosed), Toni Kallio (Young Boys Berne, undisclosed), Paul Stalteri (Tottenham Hotspur, loan)

OUT: Collins John (Watford, loan), Lee Cook (Charlton Athletic, loan), Steven Davis (Glasgow Rangers, loan), Tony Warner (Barnsley, loan)

Liverpool

IN: Martin Skrtel (Zenit St Petersburg, £6.5m)

OUT: Jack Hobbs (Scunthorpe United, loan), Mohamed Sissoko (Juventus, undisclosed), Lee Peltier (Yeovil Town, undisclosed)

Manchester City

IN: Nery Castillo (Shakhtar Donetsk , loan), Filippo Mancini (Inter Milan, loan), Felipe Caicedo (Basel, undisclosed), Benjani (Portsmouth, £3.87million)

OUT: Danny Mills (Derby County, loan), Marc Laird (Millwall, undisclosed), Ched Evans (Norwich City, loan), Matthew Mills (Doncaster Rovers, loan), Rolando Bianchi (Lazio, loan), Georgios Samaras (Celtic, loan), Ousmane Dabo (Lazio, undisclosed), Ishmael Miller (West Bromwich Albion, undisclosed), Paul Dickov (Blackpool, loan)

Manchester United

OUT: Jonny Evans (Sunderland, loan), Lee Martin (Sheffield United, loan), Phil Bardsley (Sunderland, £2million), Ryan Shawcross (Stoke City, £1million)

Middlesbrough

IN: Afonso Alves (Heerenveen, undisclosed)

OUT: Andrew Davies (Southampton, undisclosed), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham Hotspur, £7million), Ben Hutchinson (Celtic, undisclosed)

Newcastle United

IN: Ben Tozer (Swindon, undisclosed), Tamas Kadar (Zalaegerszegi, £900,000), Fabio Zamblera (Atalanta, undisclosed)

OUT: Tim Krul (Falkirk, loan extension), David Rozehnal (Lazio, loan)

Portsmouth

IN: Danijel Subotic (Basel, undisclosed), Lassana Diarra (Arsenal, undisclosed), Lucien Aubey (Lens, loan), Milan Baros (Lyon, loan), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur, loan)

OUT: Matthew Taylor (Bolton Wanderers, undisclosed), Djimi Traore (Rennes, loan), Benjani (Manchester City, £3.87million)

Reading

IN: Marek Matejovsky (Mlada Boleslav, undisclosed), Radoslav Vasilev (Slavia Sofia, undisclosed), Jimmy Kebe (Lens, undisclosed)

OUT: John Halls (Crystal Palace, loan), Simon Cox (Swindon Town, undisclosed)

Sunderland

IN: Jonny Evans (Manchester United, loan), Jean-Yves M'Voto (Paris Saint-Germain, undisclosed), Phil Bardsley (Manchester United, £2million), Rade Prica (Aalborg, £2million), Andy Reid (Charlton Athletic, £4million)

OUT: Stanislav Varga (Burnley, loan), Andrew Cole (Burnley, loan), Greg Halford (Charlton, loan)

Tottenham Hotspur

IN: Chris Gunter (Cardiff City, undisclosed), Jonathan Woodgate (Middlesbrough, £7million)), Alan Hutton (Glasgow Rangers, £8million), Gilberto (Hertha Berlin, undisclosed)

OUT: Ben Alnwick (Leicester City, loan), Philip Ifil (Colchester United, undisclosed), Hossam Ghaly (Derby County, loan), Wayne Routledge (Aston Villa, £1.25million), Paul Stalteri (Fulham, loan), Anthony Gardner (Everton, loan), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth, loan)

West Ham United

OUT: Hogan Ephraim (Queens Park Rangers, undisclosed), Christian Dailly (Glasgow Rangers, loan)

Wigan Athletic

IN: Wilson Palacios (Deportivo Olimpia, undisclosed), Maynor Figueroa (Deportivo Olimpia, loan), Antonio Valencia (Villarreal, undisclosed), Erik Edman (Rennes, £500,000), Marlon King (Watford, undisclosed), Erik Hagen (Zenit St Petersburg, loan)

OUT: Fitz Hall (Queens Park Rangers, undisclosed), Denny Landzaat (Feyenoord, £1million)

Game Week 24- Review

Arsenal are back in pole position as Emmanuel Adebayor continued his stunning streak in front of goal with a brace in the 3-1 victory over Manchester City at Eastlands.The Togolese striker has now scored 11 times in his last eight games, and also provided a towering assist for Eduardo da Silva's acrobatic volley.

Sir Alex Ferguson had warned his Manchester United side that they could not afford another defeat if they were to retain the title, but they came within seconds of leaving White Hart Lane with nothing.Tottenham dominated for much of the match and took a deserved lead when Dimitar Berbatov slotted home from close range after Edwin van der Sar had parried Aaron Lennon's low cross into his path.But United refused to buckle and an intense spell of pressure over the closing stages finally told in the last seconds of the game as Carlos Tevez sneaked in front of Michael Dawson to apply the finishing touch to Nani's corner.Cue manic celebrations from the entire United side, but they have still slipped two points behind the Gunners at the Premier League summit.

Chelsea are now six points adrift as Jermain Defoe proved an immediate point following his deadline day departure from Spurs with a goal on his debut to earn Portsmouth a 1-1 draw at Fratton Park.Nicolas Anelka has settled immediately into the Blues' starting XI and was on target again for Avram Grant's men, with his impending partnership with Didier Drogba an enthralling prospect.

The battle against relegation is even more tightly packed, with only nine points between second from bottom Fulham and Newcastle, who are up in 12th.Jimmy Bullard's late free-kick earned the Cottagers their first victory under Roy Hodgson, denting Aston Villa's UEFA Champions League dreams in the process.Given Bullard's long road back to full fitness after suffering an horrific knee injury against Newcastle in September 2006, few would begrudge his exuberant celebrations, which included a hug for referee Chris Foy at the final whistle.

Emanuel Villa grabbed a late equaliser for Derby as they snatched a point at Birmingham, which will do far more to damage Blues' survival hopes than boost those of Paul Jewell's side.Villa has stated he wants to follow in the footsteps of Carlos Tevez, whose goals helped West Ham beat the drop last term, but with so much ground to make up and games running out fast, it is a forlorn hope.

Reading's freefall towards the relegation places gained more unwanted momentum as Bolton claimed their first away victory of the season at the Madejski Stadium.Steve Coppell's men have lost six successive matches and are leaking goals at a rate which puts them on a par with Derby.

Wigan were the other big winners of the weekend at the wrong end of the table, climbing out of the bottom three thanks to Kevin Kilbane's solitary strike against lacklustre West Ham at The JJB Stadium.

Sunderland's miserable form on the road, they have taken just two points from the 39 on offer, could well be their undoing come May, and they were brushed aside 3-0 by Liverpool at Anfield.Rafa Benitez's men were far from their best, but gained the upper hand after a turgid first half with goals from Peter Crouch, Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard.

David Moyes was left seething on the sidelines at Ewood Park as the Toffees were held to a goalless draw by Blackburn Rovers.Andy Johnson had what looked to be a perfectly legitimate goal ruled out for a debatable offside call, Everton were denied what they felt was a penalty for a foul on Johnson and David Dunn, who later cleared off the line, escaped a red card when a deliberate handball went unpunished.

And on Tyneside, the much-feted return of 'Messiah' Kevin Keegan continues to flounder, although Newcastle at least managed to get on the scoresheet for the first time in his four games at the helm as they drew 1-1 with local rivals Middlesbrough.

Game Week 23- Review

Tuesday 29th January 2008

Arsenal 3-0 Newcastle United
Bolton Wanderers 0-0 Fulham
Middlesbrough 1-0 Wigan Athletic
Sunderland 2-0 Birmingham City

Wednesday 30th January 2008

Everton 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United 1-0 Liverpool
Chelsea 1-0 Reading
Derby County 1-1 Manchester City
Manchester United 2-0 Portsmouth