Things we Learned from the Weekend Football (December 10-12)

I haven't done one of these for a while due to being away and the busy nature of working at the same time as keeping this blog going.

It was another interesting weekend in the Premier League when the title race was reignited, while the teams at the bottom are all jockeying for position and trying their best to avoid the cursed 'bottom of the table at Christmas' position.

The next few weeks are full of football with this being the quietest week we will see until the middle of January. Below are a few thoughts from the weekend football that has just passed:

1) Manchester City are still the right favourites for the Premier League title: The win for Chelsea has at least put a little bit of interest back in the Premier League title race after it had looked like Manchester City were going to run away with the lead.


While they will be disappointed with the defeat at Stamford Bridge, it did take a bit of luck for the home side to grab the win when City were not awarded what looked like a clear penalty while leading the game 0-1.


It will be interesting to see how they react to this defeat, but their next set of fixtures are not the most taxing in my opinion as they face Arsenal (H), Stoke City (H), West Brom (A) and Sunderland (A)... It is entirely possible that their lead at the top of the table is extended after those games.


2) Phil Jones has all the makings of a Centre Midfielder... For now at least: I said when United signed Phil Jones that I expected him to make more appearances as a Centre Midfielder than a Centre Defender- partly that was down to the two centre halves United had and partly because of what I had seen from his time at Blackburn Rovers.


Jones has the drive and box-to-box ability that gives him different abilities than the midfielders at Old Trafford, while I have not been as convinced as the pundits about his performances at centre back.


I find Jones is very much like David Luiz in the fact he comes out with the ball and can find himself in very poor positions positionally when playing at the back.


I expect Jones will be able to learn his trade at the back under the tutelage of some of the players at United, but for now I would keep him in positions like centre midfield and right back where his drive and stamina can be a real strength for the team.


3) Liverpool need to find more goals if they are to finish in the top 4: Liverpool earned a 1-0 win over QPR at the weekend and remain 5 points off the pace set by the sides in the top 4. However, the lack of goals in the side has to be a worry considering they have scored just 18 goals in 15 League games this season.


The Reds have really struggled at home, failing to score more than 1 goal since a win over Wolves at the end of September and they are in need of bringing in another striker who can finish off the number of chances they are creating.


Luis Suarez is a real handful up front, but he could be facing a long suspension if a couple of charges brought by the FA find him guilty, while the Uruguay striker only scored his first goal in 8 games at the weekend.


Andy Carroll has really struggled to justify the ridiculous fee paid for him and I think the likes of Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt are not likely to get the number of goals required for this team to finish higher than the 6th they managed last season.


4) Robin Van Persie is the best striker in the Premier League: The Dutchman has been in fine form this entire calender year, and he has really improved by adding the simple goals to the great ones he was known for scoring.


His strike at the weekend was absolutely sublime and was deserving of winning any game, but I think Arsenal are going to find it tough to keep hold of him this Summer.


Van Persie is 28 and will surely be wanting to win the big trophies now as his career starts coming towards its conclusion. He has not extended his contract and the rumour is that he has already agreed in principle to sign for Manchester City.


5) Bolton Wanderers are in big trouble: Bolton Wanderers have found themselves in a tough position as we move into a crucial period of the season and they are 5 points behind Wolves in the final relegation spot.


A disappointing 1-2 loss at home to Aston Villa at the weekend has begun to increase the pressure on Owen Coyle who has never replaced the loss of Daniel Sturridge and Johann Elmander who left in the Summer.


I think all Trotters fans out there will know a lot more about their future position as a Premier League club as 2012 ticks around- the team face Fulham (A), Blackburn (A), Newcastle (H) and Wolves (H) in the coming two weeks and anything less than 6 points could spell a lot of trouble for the side.


6) The Championship remains a tough Division to predict: You can see why managers and fans always talk about how tough it is to move out of this Division which remains one where any team can beat any other on any given day.


It is telling that there are only 15 points between 6th placed Leeds and 22nd placed Nottingham Forest while any team that gains a couple of wins in a row or loses a couple of games in a row can move a team up and down the table.


It is no surprise that almost every season a team bursts through the pack to make it in to the Play Offs and can cause a surprise or two when they get there.


The only thing that seems certain in this League so far is that Coventry City, a Premier League team up until 2001, are going to have a long season trying to survive from their current position of 13 points from 21 games, leaving them 7 points from the safety zone.

Things we Learned from the Weekend Football (October 1-2)

It was a very interesting weekend for me as Saturday looked to have killed me and left me in a big hole this month, mainly thanks to some sorry officiating and bad luck with injuries. However, the outlook looks much brighter as much of the damage was saved thanks to a strong Sunday when all 3 picks came in, including the biggest pick I made this week.

Below is a few of my thoughts from the weekend as we get ready for a 2 week break from the Premier League:

1) Jack Rodwell's sending off was rightly rescinded, now what happens to Martin Atkinson?: The decision made by Martin Atkinson essentially helped my 'overs' pick fall down, but it was the shocking nature and terrible decision making that was in question.


Everton learned earlier that Jack Rodwell will not be suspended as the FA, rightly, decided to reverse the decision.


All of this means something has to be done about Martin Atkinson, the most card happy referee in the Premier League. He has to be demoted, in my opinion, as he should not be put forward to referee top flight games when he cannot make the simple decisions- if the tackle was made 30 yards from him, I would be more forgiving, but he cocked up from all of 2 feet and that is unacceptable.


Jack Rodwell was going to miss 3 games, I think that suspension should be given to Martin Atkinson and then he should be forced to referee Championship games until he can prove he is good enough not to put his dirty rubber stamp on a Premier League game again.


2) Manchester United have real defensive concerns: The Basel game made it clear that United were having a few problems at the back, but Norwich became the latest team to expose these weaknesses. I am less entitled to blame the defence as I feel they are given little to no protection from the midfield, allowing teams to break with 4-5 players breaking on the back 4.


Nemanja Vidic has been the biggest loss as his experience and leadership quality really would help the younger members of the back 5, and United will be desperate to the get the Captain back in the team ahead of the next 3 Premier League games at Liverpool, at home against Manchester City and at Everton.


3) I have said it before, but Arsenal are going nowhere with that defence: I said after Arsenal made their transfers in August that I didn't believe Arsene Wenger had improved his squad that much and they were panic buys from a manager under pressure.


Arsenal are conceding far too many goals to earn a top 4 place this season, with the 2 goals conceded at Tottenham meaning they have conceded 14 goals in 3 away games since drawing at Newcastle, and the Gunners are well off the pace compared with Liverpool, Spurs and the top 3 from last season.


Bacary Sagna is the latest injury at the back when he unfortunately broke his leg on Sunday, Thomas Vermaelan is a long term absentee, and I see problems for Wenger.


They are coming up to an extremely soft section of the schedule in the next few weeks, facing Sunderland, Stoke, West Brom, Fulham and trips to Norwich and Wigan, with only a trip to Chelsea being a big test.


I would expect Arsenal to start moving up the table, but defensively they need to improve.


4) Wigan and Bolton are both in a bit of bother: Both of these sides look like they are going to be in for a real scrap for their Premier League lives judging from their early season form.


Bolton had ended the season with a really bad run of form and they have lost 11 of 12 games in the Premier League, while Wigan continue to look like a side struggling to score goals.


Wigan had much more of the possession against Villa on Saturday, yet lost without causing too many problems, and it looks like a long season for both of these sides.