Odds and Sods

Arsenal 3 - Tottenham 1

The Cesc Fabregas for Player of the Year campaign starts now.  His goal, a stunner, was sandwiched between an Adebayor Brace.  It was his 5th already this season from midfield, for a player who, unlike C. Ronaldo, takes neither penalties nor free kicks in range.  Despite the great result, the Gilberto in Central Defense experiment was woeful, and only saved by a magnificent performance from Toure.  A team less wasteful than Tottenham, could have easily taken advantage.

Chelsea 0 - Blackburn 0

Joe Cole proved that he is still an elite player deserving to be in the Starting XI, and Sheva proved that he is still a lazy waste of space and 30m GBP.  Chelsea were notably less scary around goal, sans the finishing ability of Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard.  Either of those two players missing a significant amount of time will cripple their title chances.

Sunderland 2 - Reading 1

Keano has got the boys back on track, with 6m GBP striker Kenwyne Jones looking a more savvy buy than initially expected.  Reading, the darlings of last season, appear to be pulling a Wigan.  They were successful last season by going after teams and shooting for the three points rather than trying to settle for draws, and that is the approach they will need to take to stay up.  If neither Doyle nor Lita can replicate last season’s excellent form, Reading could be in trouble.

Wigan 1 - Fulham 1

The Deuce is still loose.  Clint Dempsey scored once again for Fulham, his third Premier League goal this season.  Given a consistent run of games in the absence of Brian McBride, he is showing the potential that many in American soccer believed that he had.  If he can develop into a decent and consistent 10-15 goal scorer in the Premier League, it would be a huge step forward for American soccer.

Manchester City 1 - Aston Villa 0

City moved into 2nd place in the table with this win over another solid squad.  Sven is working his magic and the boys in Sky Blue look like a solid contender for a European place, a shocking development after the state the squad was in just a few months ago.  They are solid in defense and dangerous in the midfield with the creative ability of Elano.  However, their lack of quality up front will keep them from pushing over the hump into serious contention in the top four.