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Winners
Manchester United
All wins are equal in terms of points but some are more important than others. Manchester United's injury-time breakthrough against Sunderland falls into that category because, while Chelsea and Liverpool have a buffer as insurance at the top of the table, the champions and chasers could not afford to drop points.
Especially at home to a rudderless team in the relegation zone. Had Nemanja Vidic's weaker foot spurned a chance that wasn't quite the formality it has been depicted as then United would have travelled to the World Club Championship with their title aspirations in relative crisis regardless of the result at Tottenham next Saturday.
Saturday's late rescue act had the feel of a season-saving result - perhaps even a season-changing result - but United's position would be altogether more comforting were they hanging on to the lead of the league rather than hanging on to the league leaders. Sir Alex Ferguson's view that his side will be in "good shape" and a "marvellous position" if they enter 2009 within three points of the summit is legitimate but he cannot have been reassured by such an insipid performance.
Ferguson has other matters to consider and fret over. Central midfield has become something of a revolving door and the identity of first-choice XI remains uncertain. After a bright start to his United career, Dimi Berbatov can now be described as struggling and Ferguson's decision to start him in favour of Carlos Tevez was made in contradiction to the majority view inside Old Trafford. Their misgivings were justified by the Bulgarian's appalling headed miss from six yards. Vidic's late intervention spared him and Ferguson.
Tevez, meanwhile, had a face like thunder as he brooded on the bench. He would be a first-choice player in any other team in the league and the difference he would bring to Chelsea would be worth the £25m he will cost when his loan deal expires in six months' time. But how can the United board sanction such a mammoth outlay on a bench-warmer?
Tevez, too, must be having second thoughts about staying. If he cannot dislodge an underperforming Berbatov after scoring four in midweek then when will he? Rooney's suspension next weekend will result in his promotion but it is a short-term fudge. Ferguson admitted in midweek that he cannot fathom a formation that would accommodate Tevez, Rooney and Berbatov but he risks losing the Argentine altogether before long unless he places politics above personal preference and ceases to humble Tevez as the third amongst equals.
Liverpool
After two goalless draws at Anfield against London-based opposition, victory at Blackburn made it four from four for Liverpool away from home in local skirmishes against nearby north-west opponents.
Xabi Alonso
What a lucky escape Rafa Benitez had in the summer when Alonso refused to depart.
Nicolas Anelka
With six goals in seven league starts against Arsenal since abandoning north London in 1999, it was almost guaranteed that Anelka would score against his latest former employers.
Chelsea
An eleventh successive away record to beat the top-flight record held by Bill Nicholson's double-winning side of 1960-61. But it wasn't enough to take Phil Scolari's side top nine months after Avram Grant was made to rue Robbie Keane's 88th-minute equaliser for Tottenham in March on the last occasion Chelsea failed to win an away match in the Premier League.
Since that late and costly setback at White Hart Lane, Chelsea have been remorseless on their travels, beating Man City, Everton, Newcastle, Wigan, Man City, Stoke, Middlesbrough, Hull, Blackburn, West Brom and, most recently, Bolton. Robinho's free-kick in September remains the only goal they have conceded during that spell.
But of the teams Chelsea have visited this season, only one - Hull - are currently in the top ten of the division and only two - Man City and Stoke - boast a better home record than Chelsea. With Stamford Bridge the scene of 12 dropped points already, Chelsea's away form has provided the bedrock of their title tilt. But the road ahead will surely provide a stumble or two: their next five away trips in the league are to Goodison Park, Craven Cottage, Old Trafford, Anfield and Villa Park.
Arsenal
In the ten games - nine in the Premier League, one in the Champions League - that Robin Van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor have both started this season, their combined goals tally stands at 15 (nine for the Dutchman, six for the Togolese).
Michael Owen
Owen has his doubters - and an uncomfortable tendency to make his comebacks at a self-convenient time - but 11 goals in his last 17 league starts for a side struggling at the wrong end of the table tells an impressive tale.
Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe
Their partnership has contributed 14 of the 19 league goals scored by Pompey.
Jimmy Bullard
Bullard's equaliser against City was his first goal at Craven Cottage since his free-kick in February defeated Villa and earned Roy Hodgson his first win as Fulham boss. Yet even on Saturday night Hodgson remained preoccupied with Bullard's defensive work. It has become a strange theme this season. Back in August, Hodgson explained that, although the midfielder's current deal expires in 18 months, Bullard hadn't been offered a new contract due to concerns about his capacity to track back and muck in. "You can't have midfield players who go missing when there is defensive work to be done," he lamented.
Not even Bullard's call-up to the England squad a week later prompted a re-think with Hodgson's belated response a complaint that international recognition had sparked a slump. "When you play well enough to get an England call-up then suddenly you're in the spotlight, and sometimes that highlights things you don't want highlighted," the Fulham manager grumbled. "Maybe before he got called up Jimmy's performances weren't always under the magnifying glass. Now he's really under that magnifying glass, and people are analysing everything he does."
Ten days later, and with Bullard telling all and sundry that "I want to stay at Fulham", an unmoved Hodgson stressed "that club wasn't keen to do it [ a new deal], and I've got to say that I'm on the side of the club".
'How Fulham would suffer were he to flee next month,' mused this weekend's Sunday Times. The suspicion remains, however, that Hodgson wouldn't require much persuading to do business.
Losers
Emmanuel Eboue
The recent spate of players being booed by their own supporters must be, in part, a reflection of how estranged footballer supporters have become from the modern-day, top-flight footballer. Mercenary, cheating and smug, what's not to boo? It is surely not a coincidence that the two players subject to the most high-profile barracking from their own supporters are, in the form of Ashley Cole and Emmanuel Eboue, two of the most disliked in the whole country.
No doubt the PFA will, over the next few days, issue stern condemnation of Eboue's treatment. Yet if their members continue to act like shameless reprobates and make signing-on fees and pay hikes the priority over loyalty and decency then such incidents will be the first of many. Not even the comforts of home will provide sanctuary from negative commentary. Eboue suffered not merely because he was having a torrid match and, through his behaviour, invites scant sympathy. He was rebuked, loudly and without restraint, because fans no longer have an obligation to treat players as one of their own.
Arsenal's Ignorants
But then again, are the fans attending matches necessarily still one of our own? The typical attendee of top-flight, top-price matches is an entirely different type of person and supporter to the sort who populated grounds 20 years ago and, as much as footballers have changed, the rush to condemn is equally a reflection on the metamorphosis in the seats.
Decadent, demanding and demeaning, what's not to abhor? They are the easy-come, easy-go, the-world-owes-me-a-living fickle product of an age that fosters the ignorant belief that everyone is entitled to voice an opinion on everything regardless of their expertise (or lack of). Tempting as it is to portray this as an isolated issue, limited alone to the Emirates and the affluent capital, the heckling of Eboue made as little sense as Liverpool being booed off on Monday night after going top.
The scale of Saturday's idiocy was fully revealed when, with Eboue's confidence crushed, Arsene Wenger was forced to withdraw him and brought on Mikael Silvestre instead. Eboue, a right-back converted to no great success as a midfielder last season and restored to the squad this weekend after five weeks on the sidelines, had been playing on the left because the only other alternative after Samir Nasri was hacked out of the game was a 16-year-old rookie or a left-footed centre-half. With Theo Walcott in plaster, Tomas Rosicky in his 11th month of recovery and Abou Diaby suffering his fifth separate injury of the year after a personal-best run of four games without sicknote, a half-fit and out-of-position Eboue was all Arsenal had. But that still wasn't good enough for the sort of people who attend football matches these days despite knowing nothing about football.
Paul Ince
He says that Blackburn should be encouraged to retain him because "you'd like to think the next England manager is going to be English" but who the next England manager is will be no concern of Blackburn compared to the small matter of relegation costing them £50m.
He says that "You have the radio shows with their phone-ins and they pick the six or seven fans who really have a go at you" as he pleads paranoia and proves he will never have the temperament to be England manager.
He says that his problems are media-generated but the calls for his dismissal on Wednesday night at Old Trafford were made from the section of the ground containing the away supporters.
He says that he "will not hide" but he refused to attend the post-match press conference after the defeat at Manchester United.
He says - of Roy Keane and himself - that "people are out to get us, people are envious and don't want us to succeed" but it is because people were in awe of their reputations as a players that they were both given the opportunity to succeed in top-flight management before the age of 41.
He says there is a vendetta against former Manchester United players but the fact that four of the 1994-95 team have managed in the Premier League this season suggests the opposite.
He says the criticism of managers "is bang out of order" but in the week that Kevin Keegan reputedly launched an £8m compensation claim against Newcastle, there will be little or no sympathy for their plight.
He says "it is important the likes of myself, Gareth Southgate and Tony Adams get their grounding in the Premier League and some experience" but he still hasn't completed the coaching course mandatory for Premier League managers.
He says it "winds me up when every day it's Blackburn, Blackburn, Blackburn but Joe Kinnear is two points away from me and nobody is mentioning him and nobody is mentioning Harry Redknapp" but Redknapp has taken 13 points from seven games at Tottenham and Kinnear 12 from 10 at Newcastle while Ince's Blackburn haven't won any of their last 11 games.
He says his side were "excellent" against Liverpool and "they showed they want to play for me" but in front of their own supporters, Rovers produced just three shots on goal and had only 38% of possession.
He says, "All I want people to understand are the hard facts" but the reality of football is that it is a results-based industry and the hard fact of Blackburn's position is that they are in the relegation zone.
Newcastle United
Had Newcastle's last two home matches ended after 89 minutes the Toon would have an additional four points and be in tenth place.
Middlesbrough
After Jeremie Aliadere's three-game suspension for flicking Javier Mascherano was increased because the FA in their idiocy deemed Middlesbrough's appeal to be 'frivolous', Boro will not rush into appealing David Wheater's dismissal at Hull. It would, in any case, take time just to decide which particular aspect of the injustice should be the centrepiece of their appeal if they opt to plead for clemency.
The sending-off was, first and foremost, wrong as a matter of fact because the attack began with Geovanni two yards offside and Wheater off balance as he requested the linesman to provide competence. Or Boro could question the challenge itself with Geovanni leaning in to Wheater and then falling over when he made contact. Or Boro could point out, as this column has done so on a few other exasperated occasions, that Wheater was dismissed for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity when the denial was actually a mere delay as Hull were instead awarded an even better opportunity to score from the penalty spot.
Everton
After winning just one game at Goodison Park so far this season, they are second-bottom in the Home Table.
Bolton
Beaten to nil on all six of Chelsea's last visits to the Reebok.
Jose Bosingwa
The foul on the touchline by Kevin Nolan on the Chelsea right-back produced no fewer than seven separate rolls. Presumably the treatment he then
requested was for dizziness.
Pete Gill
Manchester United
All wins are equal in terms of points but some are more important than others. Manchester United's injury-time breakthrough against Sunderland falls into that category because, while Chelsea and Liverpool have a buffer as insurance at the top of the table, the champions and chasers could not afford to drop points.
Especially at home to a rudderless team in the relegation zone. Had Nemanja Vidic's weaker foot spurned a chance that wasn't quite the formality it has been depicted as then United would have travelled to the World Club Championship with their title aspirations in relative crisis regardless of the result at Tottenham next Saturday.
Saturday's late rescue act had the feel of a season-saving result - perhaps even a season-changing result - but United's position would be altogether more comforting were they hanging on to the lead of the league rather than hanging on to the league leaders. Sir Alex Ferguson's view that his side will be in "good shape" and a "marvellous position" if they enter 2009 within three points of the summit is legitimate but he cannot have been reassured by such an insipid performance.
Ferguson has other matters to consider and fret over. Central midfield has become something of a revolving door and the identity of first-choice XI remains uncertain. After a bright start to his United career, Dimi Berbatov can now be described as struggling and Ferguson's decision to start him in favour of Carlos Tevez was made in contradiction to the majority view inside Old Trafford. Their misgivings were justified by the Bulgarian's appalling headed miss from six yards. Vidic's late intervention spared him and Ferguson.
Tevez, meanwhile, had a face like thunder as he brooded on the bench. He would be a first-choice player in any other team in the league and the difference he would bring to Chelsea would be worth the £25m he will cost when his loan deal expires in six months' time. But how can the United board sanction such a mammoth outlay on a bench-warmer?
Tevez, too, must be having second thoughts about staying. If he cannot dislodge an underperforming Berbatov after scoring four in midweek then when will he? Rooney's suspension next weekend will result in his promotion but it is a short-term fudge. Ferguson admitted in midweek that he cannot fathom a formation that would accommodate Tevez, Rooney and Berbatov but he risks losing the Argentine altogether before long unless he places politics above personal preference and ceases to humble Tevez as the third amongst equals.
Liverpool
After two goalless draws at Anfield against London-based opposition, victory at Blackburn made it four from four for Liverpool away from home in local skirmishes against nearby north-west opponents.
Xabi Alonso
What a lucky escape Rafa Benitez had in the summer when Alonso refused to depart.
Nicolas Anelka
With six goals in seven league starts against Arsenal since abandoning north London in 1999, it was almost guaranteed that Anelka would score against his latest former employers.
Chelsea
An eleventh successive away record to beat the top-flight record held by Bill Nicholson's double-winning side of 1960-61. But it wasn't enough to take Phil Scolari's side top nine months after Avram Grant was made to rue Robbie Keane's 88th-minute equaliser for Tottenham in March on the last occasion Chelsea failed to win an away match in the Premier League.
Since that late and costly setback at White Hart Lane, Chelsea have been remorseless on their travels, beating Man City, Everton, Newcastle, Wigan, Man City, Stoke, Middlesbrough, Hull, Blackburn, West Brom and, most recently, Bolton. Robinho's free-kick in September remains the only goal they have conceded during that spell.
But of the teams Chelsea have visited this season, only one - Hull - are currently in the top ten of the division and only two - Man City and Stoke - boast a better home record than Chelsea. With Stamford Bridge the scene of 12 dropped points already, Chelsea's away form has provided the bedrock of their title tilt. But the road ahead will surely provide a stumble or two: their next five away trips in the league are to Goodison Park, Craven Cottage, Old Trafford, Anfield and Villa Park.
Arsenal
In the ten games - nine in the Premier League, one in the Champions League - that Robin Van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor have both started this season, their combined goals tally stands at 15 (nine for the Dutchman, six for the Togolese).
Michael Owen
Owen has his doubters - and an uncomfortable tendency to make his comebacks at a self-convenient time - but 11 goals in his last 17 league starts for a side struggling at the wrong end of the table tells an impressive tale.
Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe
Their partnership has contributed 14 of the 19 league goals scored by Pompey.
Jimmy Bullard
Bullard's equaliser against City was his first goal at Craven Cottage since his free-kick in February defeated Villa and earned Roy Hodgson his first win as Fulham boss. Yet even on Saturday night Hodgson remained preoccupied with Bullard's defensive work. It has become a strange theme this season. Back in August, Hodgson explained that, although the midfielder's current deal expires in 18 months, Bullard hadn't been offered a new contract due to concerns about his capacity to track back and muck in. "You can't have midfield players who go missing when there is defensive work to be done," he lamented.
Not even Bullard's call-up to the England squad a week later prompted a re-think with Hodgson's belated response a complaint that international recognition had sparked a slump. "When you play well enough to get an England call-up then suddenly you're in the spotlight, and sometimes that highlights things you don't want highlighted," the Fulham manager grumbled. "Maybe before he got called up Jimmy's performances weren't always under the magnifying glass. Now he's really under that magnifying glass, and people are analysing everything he does."
Ten days later, and with Bullard telling all and sundry that "I want to stay at Fulham", an unmoved Hodgson stressed "that club wasn't keen to do it [ a new deal], and I've got to say that I'm on the side of the club".
'How Fulham would suffer were he to flee next month,' mused this weekend's Sunday Times. The suspicion remains, however, that Hodgson wouldn't require much persuading to do business.
Losers
Emmanuel Eboue
The recent spate of players being booed by their own supporters must be, in part, a reflection of how estranged footballer supporters have become from the modern-day, top-flight footballer. Mercenary, cheating and smug, what's not to boo? It is surely not a coincidence that the two players subject to the most high-profile barracking from their own supporters are, in the form of Ashley Cole and Emmanuel Eboue, two of the most disliked in the whole country.
No doubt the PFA will, over the next few days, issue stern condemnation of Eboue's treatment. Yet if their members continue to act like shameless reprobates and make signing-on fees and pay hikes the priority over loyalty and decency then such incidents will be the first of many. Not even the comforts of home will provide sanctuary from negative commentary. Eboue suffered not merely because he was having a torrid match and, through his behaviour, invites scant sympathy. He was rebuked, loudly and without restraint, because fans no longer have an obligation to treat players as one of their own.
Arsenal's Ignorants
But then again, are the fans attending matches necessarily still one of our own? The typical attendee of top-flight, top-price matches is an entirely different type of person and supporter to the sort who populated grounds 20 years ago and, as much as footballers have changed, the rush to condemn is equally a reflection on the metamorphosis in the seats.
Decadent, demanding and demeaning, what's not to abhor? They are the easy-come, easy-go, the-world-owes-me-a-living fickle product of an age that fosters the ignorant belief that everyone is entitled to voice an opinion on everything regardless of their expertise (or lack of). Tempting as it is to portray this as an isolated issue, limited alone to the Emirates and the affluent capital, the heckling of Eboue made as little sense as Liverpool being booed off on Monday night after going top.
The scale of Saturday's idiocy was fully revealed when, with Eboue's confidence crushed, Arsene Wenger was forced to withdraw him and brought on Mikael Silvestre instead. Eboue, a right-back converted to no great success as a midfielder last season and restored to the squad this weekend after five weeks on the sidelines, had been playing on the left because the only other alternative after Samir Nasri was hacked out of the game was a 16-year-old rookie or a left-footed centre-half. With Theo Walcott in plaster, Tomas Rosicky in his 11th month of recovery and Abou Diaby suffering his fifth separate injury of the year after a personal-best run of four games without sicknote, a half-fit and out-of-position Eboue was all Arsenal had. But that still wasn't good enough for the sort of people who attend football matches these days despite knowing nothing about football.
Paul Ince
He says that Blackburn should be encouraged to retain him because "you'd like to think the next England manager is going to be English" but who the next England manager is will be no concern of Blackburn compared to the small matter of relegation costing them £50m.
He says that "You have the radio shows with their phone-ins and they pick the six or seven fans who really have a go at you" as he pleads paranoia and proves he will never have the temperament to be England manager.
He says that his problems are media-generated but the calls for his dismissal on Wednesday night at Old Trafford were made from the section of the ground containing the away supporters.
He says that he "will not hide" but he refused to attend the post-match press conference after the defeat at Manchester United.
He says - of Roy Keane and himself - that "people are out to get us, people are envious and don't want us to succeed" but it is because people were in awe of their reputations as a players that they were both given the opportunity to succeed in top-flight management before the age of 41.
He says there is a vendetta against former Manchester United players but the fact that four of the 1994-95 team have managed in the Premier League this season suggests the opposite.
He says the criticism of managers "is bang out of order" but in the week that Kevin Keegan reputedly launched an £8m compensation claim against Newcastle, there will be little or no sympathy for their plight.
He says "it is important the likes of myself, Gareth Southgate and Tony Adams get their grounding in the Premier League and some experience" but he still hasn't completed the coaching course mandatory for Premier League managers.
He says it "winds me up when every day it's Blackburn, Blackburn, Blackburn but Joe Kinnear is two points away from me and nobody is mentioning him and nobody is mentioning Harry Redknapp" but Redknapp has taken 13 points from seven games at Tottenham and Kinnear 12 from 10 at Newcastle while Ince's Blackburn haven't won any of their last 11 games.
He says his side were "excellent" against Liverpool and "they showed they want to play for me" but in front of their own supporters, Rovers produced just three shots on goal and had only 38% of possession.
He says, "All I want people to understand are the hard facts" but the reality of football is that it is a results-based industry and the hard fact of Blackburn's position is that they are in the relegation zone.
Newcastle United
Had Newcastle's last two home matches ended after 89 minutes the Toon would have an additional four points and be in tenth place.
Middlesbrough
After Jeremie Aliadere's three-game suspension for flicking Javier Mascherano was increased because the FA in their idiocy deemed Middlesbrough's appeal to be 'frivolous', Boro will not rush into appealing David Wheater's dismissal at Hull. It would, in any case, take time just to decide which particular aspect of the injustice should be the centrepiece of their appeal if they opt to plead for clemency.
The sending-off was, first and foremost, wrong as a matter of fact because the attack began with Geovanni two yards offside and Wheater off balance as he requested the linesman to provide competence. Or Boro could question the challenge itself with Geovanni leaning in to Wheater and then falling over when he made contact. Or Boro could point out, as this column has done so on a few other exasperated occasions, that Wheater was dismissed for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity when the denial was actually a mere delay as Hull were instead awarded an even better opportunity to score from the penalty spot.
Everton
After winning just one game at Goodison Park so far this season, they are second-bottom in the Home Table.
Bolton
Beaten to nil on all six of Chelsea's last visits to the Reebok.
Jose Bosingwa
The foul on the touchline by Kevin Nolan on the Chelsea right-back produced no fewer than seven separate rolls. Presumably the treatment he then
requested was for dizziness.
Pete Gill
