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Liverpool are a serious team with a serious chance of upsetting the bookies...
Winners
Liverpool
Such was their superiority that even when Rafa Benitez sent instruction to close out the game, Liverpool kept on scoring at St James'.
A winger - Yossi Benayoun - may have been replaced by a defensive midfielder - Xabi Alonso - upon the hour but another goal arrived just six minutes later. Four minutes after that, Steven Gerrard - by a considerable distance the game's most impressive performer - was invited to take a rest but it wasn't long before a fifth goal turned up for the party. Only when Benitez's mercy was so obvious to be humiliating - with striker Dirk Kuyt replaced by defender Martin Skrtel - were the Toon spared further embarrassment.
Liverpool are now in unchartered territory having never before led the Premier League table at the turn of the year. Yet the bookies remain unmoved, with Pool still third-favourites, behind the youseknowwhoes, to be on top in May. What more can they do to impress? This is a serious football team with a serious chance.
Liverpool, Part Two
And chances are that their lead will be increased and not trimmed when the league resumes in two weeks' time. While Liverpool will be in action at Stoke, Chelsea will be travelling to Old Trafford with the inevitable result that one, if not both, of the chasers will drop points.
Steven Gerrard
Liverpool's 4-2-3-1 formation has been the making of Steven Gerrard. An outstanding player beforehand, the Pool captain has become an even better - more influential, more dynamic, more prolific - courtesy of his new role shadowing a lone frontman.
Whether he can still be described as a midfielder is a matter of football semantics, but Benitez has been proved astute in his belief that Gerrard ought not to be pigeonholed as a central-midfielder in a four-man unit. That Gerrard himself was loudest in arguing for central stage is an irony of sorts - seven goals in eight games is a convincing argument both for and against him - as well as a passing commentary on the foolishness of believing that footballers always know best about football.
As repeats are traditional at this time of year, it should be permissible to remark again that Gerrard's precision in front of goal is rarely commented upon but his chances-to-goals ratio must be one of the best around in top-tier football. (Lucas deserved a mention.)
Frank Lampard
Whether the season evolves into another 'Gerrard or Lampard?' remains to be seen, but, in his own way, the Chelsea man was outstanding at Craven Cottage, playfully flopping out his belly in response to the 'fat bastard' taunts, and then inspiring his side's comeback.
Lampard's qualities are deceptively difficult to appreciate because he makes his game so simple. His first goal, for instance, can be downplayed as a tap-in but how many other midfielders have realised that there isn't a barrier preventing them entering the six-yard box? Likewise, Lampard's looping set-pieces never look particularly dangerous but they are effective and efficient because he observes the golden rule that corners and free-kicks should always clear the first defender. And if the success of his free-kick at Fulham owed much to a horrible bounce, the point should also be made that Lampard makes an unerring habit (in Chelsea colours at least) of hitting the target.
Like a short putt in golf, 99% of shots don't go in otherwise.
Fulham
A word to the wise about the advantages of appointing managers with experience and proven pedigree rather than recently-retired footballers with big names and even bigger unknowns: Having had to wait a month for his first win - his first game in charge, almost a year to the day before Sunday's clash, also being a home fixture against Chelsea - Roy Hodgson has turned Fulham from bottom-of-the-table no-hopers into mid-table respectability with 51 points from their last 38 matches.
"It's been one of the best managerial years of my career, if not the best. I'm immensely satisfied with what we've achieved in 2008," he reflected this weekend with good reason.
Benni McCarthy
It is a messed-up football world we watch when Abou Diaby is given half a dismissal for the crime of celebrating his goal with the freezing Arsenal fans who spent their Boxing Day travelling up the M1 to attend a match being televised while not a word is said against players, such as the Blackburn Rovers striker, whose reaction to scoring is to taunt the opposition supporters and ignore his own.
Robinho
His first touch to collect and control Daniel Sturridge's pass was a wonder. From there, his 11th goal in a season that only began in mid-September was a formality.
Denilson
The focus of attention after Arsenal's winner was on David James but there ought to have been an equal amount of credit given to Denilson for the delivery of a wicked free-kick. The lone success story of the Gunners' faltering season, the Christmas period accounted for the third goal and the fourth assist of the 20-year-old's campaign.
Everton
The Toffees have responded superbly to their striker shortage, particularly Tim Cahill and, on Sunday, Mikel Arteta. But it is high time the Spaniard produced against the elite. He doesn't have long to wait: three of Everton's next four opponents are Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United.
West Brom
Successive home victories have taken the Baggies to within two points of Spurs.
Losers
Marouane Screech Fellaini
Despite only making his Everton debut midway through September, the Belgian has already secured his status as the dirtiest player in the league. No other player has conceded more fouls than Fellaini's 59 - Kevin Davies, the usual suspect for this award, has weighed in with 52, with the next-highest tally a relatively soft 42 - and his first 16 appearances in the Premier League have drawn nine yellow cards. It's an astonishing strike-rate, but a booking every sixth foul is a damning statistic against officialdom.
Stoke City
There's commitment and then there's stupidity. There's an excess of red cards and then there's Stoke City.
The gross act of misconduct committed by Andy Wilkinson against Manchester United didn't merely cost his side a point or a draw against the champions but it also cost his club a point or a draw against West Ham because had he not been dismissed then Andy Griffin wouldn't have been required to play whilst injured and his rumpus with Ricardo Fuller would never have occurred. The consequences of Wilkinson's scandalously unprofessional behaviour do not end there because Stoke will now be deprived of their top scorer for another three matches.
Perhaps it's harsh to blame Wilkinson for all of Stoke's Christmas woes - and those that are set to come - but perhaps the Stoke fans will think twice before applauding off one of their players after such stupid recklessness. It is no secret that the league has been plagued this season by two-card dismissals and for Wilkinson, to launch into a no-win tackle on Ronaldo, having been cautioned in the first-half, was unforgivable. Fuller will be fined two weeks' wages for his loss of self-control; Wilkinson deserves at least that.
Tugay (And Other Foul Players)
A follow-up note: The suspicion during Blackburn's game with Man City was that Sam Allardyce withdrew Tugay because of a justified fear that the midfielder was just one foul away from a second yellow.
With so many cautions now being issued by the league's card-happy whistle-blowers, expect the 'cautionary substitution' to become a semi-regular feature in the league.
Luiz Felipe Scolari
The shame for football fans who appreciate their football delivered with a dollop of intelligence is that Match of the Day has long ceased to be a serious football programme fronted by pundits capable of offering greater insight than "I don't know" when faced with such demanding questions as to whether one team deserved to win a football match over another (yes, Alan Shearer, we're all yawning at you).
Were MoTD a programme of proper substance then Scolari wouldn't have been permitted to deflect attention from his post-match finger-wagging session with Petr Cech with a New Year message more cringeworthy than charming. In fairness to the Chelsea manager, he did not disguise the truth in his press conference. "There was one player free in the middle of the area. In the last minute. That's incredible," he raged.
'Incredible' was also his decision to substitute Joe Cole rather than the anonymous Deco - an act that drew a chant of "You don't know what you're doing", the ultimate rebuke of a manger, from the away end - and his explanation for why nobody was on the line as Clint Dempsey scored Fulham's equaliser from an 88th-minute corner. "Players score goals, not posts," retorted Scolari. Try as he might, he doesn't have the lines of Mourinho nor the charisma.
Chelsea
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 - Winners & Losers, December 12.
And after Villa, Chelsea's next away fixtures are at Tottenham and Portsmouth.
Tony Adams
"It's not easy being a manager," remarked Tony Adams on Sunday night and well he might. Of his first 68 matches as a manager, Adams has won just 15.
Portsmouth
And there's a sinking feeling beginning to rumble on the south coast. Lassana Diarra may have gone and Tony Adams may have belatedly confirmed he will not have the midfielder's exit money to spend, but all the indications are that there will be further departures next month. Trouble is, Pompey are selling up when they are just three points above the relegation zone. They can't afford to sell and they can't afford not to.
Blackburn Rovers
As incredible as the fact that Zat Knight was one of four Aston Villa players in the penalty area opposed by just three from Arsenal when he scored on Boxing Day is that, as the ball left Sturridge's boot, there were nine Rovers players goalside and just four for City. And yet the most expensive player in the history of British was still given the freedom of the penalty area.
Harry Redknapp
Houdini has lost his magic. After run of just one win in six matches - with a mere three goals scored - only goal difference is keeping Spurs out of the relegation zone.
Pete Gill
Winners
Liverpool
Such was their superiority that even when Rafa Benitez sent instruction to close out the game, Liverpool kept on scoring at St James'.
A winger - Yossi Benayoun - may have been replaced by a defensive midfielder - Xabi Alonso - upon the hour but another goal arrived just six minutes later. Four minutes after that, Steven Gerrard - by a considerable distance the game's most impressive performer - was invited to take a rest but it wasn't long before a fifth goal turned up for the party. Only when Benitez's mercy was so obvious to be humiliating - with striker Dirk Kuyt replaced by defender Martin Skrtel - were the Toon spared further embarrassment.
Liverpool are now in unchartered territory having never before led the Premier League table at the turn of the year. Yet the bookies remain unmoved, with Pool still third-favourites, behind the youseknowwhoes, to be on top in May. What more can they do to impress? This is a serious football team with a serious chance.
Liverpool, Part Two
And chances are that their lead will be increased and not trimmed when the league resumes in two weeks' time. While Liverpool will be in action at Stoke, Chelsea will be travelling to Old Trafford with the inevitable result that one, if not both, of the chasers will drop points.
Steven Gerrard
Liverpool's 4-2-3-1 formation has been the making of Steven Gerrard. An outstanding player beforehand, the Pool captain has become an even better - more influential, more dynamic, more prolific - courtesy of his new role shadowing a lone frontman.
Whether he can still be described as a midfielder is a matter of football semantics, but Benitez has been proved astute in his belief that Gerrard ought not to be pigeonholed as a central-midfielder in a four-man unit. That Gerrard himself was loudest in arguing for central stage is an irony of sorts - seven goals in eight games is a convincing argument both for and against him - as well as a passing commentary on the foolishness of believing that footballers always know best about football.
As repeats are traditional at this time of year, it should be permissible to remark again that Gerrard's precision in front of goal is rarely commented upon but his chances-to-goals ratio must be one of the best around in top-tier football. (Lucas deserved a mention.)
Frank Lampard
Whether the season evolves into another 'Gerrard or Lampard?' remains to be seen, but, in his own way, the Chelsea man was outstanding at Craven Cottage, playfully flopping out his belly in response to the 'fat bastard' taunts, and then inspiring his side's comeback.
Lampard's qualities are deceptively difficult to appreciate because he makes his game so simple. His first goal, for instance, can be downplayed as a tap-in but how many other midfielders have realised that there isn't a barrier preventing them entering the six-yard box? Likewise, Lampard's looping set-pieces never look particularly dangerous but they are effective and efficient because he observes the golden rule that corners and free-kicks should always clear the first defender. And if the success of his free-kick at Fulham owed much to a horrible bounce, the point should also be made that Lampard makes an unerring habit (in Chelsea colours at least) of hitting the target.
Like a short putt in golf, 99% of shots don't go in otherwise.
Fulham
A word to the wise about the advantages of appointing managers with experience and proven pedigree rather than recently-retired footballers with big names and even bigger unknowns: Having had to wait a month for his first win - his first game in charge, almost a year to the day before Sunday's clash, also being a home fixture against Chelsea - Roy Hodgson has turned Fulham from bottom-of-the-table no-hopers into mid-table respectability with 51 points from their last 38 matches.
"It's been one of the best managerial years of my career, if not the best. I'm immensely satisfied with what we've achieved in 2008," he reflected this weekend with good reason.
Benni McCarthy
It is a messed-up football world we watch when Abou Diaby is given half a dismissal for the crime of celebrating his goal with the freezing Arsenal fans who spent their Boxing Day travelling up the M1 to attend a match being televised while not a word is said against players, such as the Blackburn Rovers striker, whose reaction to scoring is to taunt the opposition supporters and ignore his own.
Robinho
His first touch to collect and control Daniel Sturridge's pass was a wonder. From there, his 11th goal in a season that only began in mid-September was a formality.
Denilson
The focus of attention after Arsenal's winner was on David James but there ought to have been an equal amount of credit given to Denilson for the delivery of a wicked free-kick. The lone success story of the Gunners' faltering season, the Christmas period accounted for the third goal and the fourth assist of the 20-year-old's campaign.
Everton
The Toffees have responded superbly to their striker shortage, particularly Tim Cahill and, on Sunday, Mikel Arteta. But it is high time the Spaniard produced against the elite. He doesn't have long to wait: three of Everton's next four opponents are Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United.
West Brom
Successive home victories have taken the Baggies to within two points of Spurs.
Losers
Marouane Screech Fellaini
Despite only making his Everton debut midway through September, the Belgian has already secured his status as the dirtiest player in the league. No other player has conceded more fouls than Fellaini's 59 - Kevin Davies, the usual suspect for this award, has weighed in with 52, with the next-highest tally a relatively soft 42 - and his first 16 appearances in the Premier League have drawn nine yellow cards. It's an astonishing strike-rate, but a booking every sixth foul is a damning statistic against officialdom.
Stoke City
There's commitment and then there's stupidity. There's an excess of red cards and then there's Stoke City.
The gross act of misconduct committed by Andy Wilkinson against Manchester United didn't merely cost his side a point or a draw against the champions but it also cost his club a point or a draw against West Ham because had he not been dismissed then Andy Griffin wouldn't have been required to play whilst injured and his rumpus with Ricardo Fuller would never have occurred. The consequences of Wilkinson's scandalously unprofessional behaviour do not end there because Stoke will now be deprived of their top scorer for another three matches.
Perhaps it's harsh to blame Wilkinson for all of Stoke's Christmas woes - and those that are set to come - but perhaps the Stoke fans will think twice before applauding off one of their players after such stupid recklessness. It is no secret that the league has been plagued this season by two-card dismissals and for Wilkinson, to launch into a no-win tackle on Ronaldo, having been cautioned in the first-half, was unforgivable. Fuller will be fined two weeks' wages for his loss of self-control; Wilkinson deserves at least that.
Tugay (And Other Foul Players)
A follow-up note: The suspicion during Blackburn's game with Man City was that Sam Allardyce withdrew Tugay because of a justified fear that the midfielder was just one foul away from a second yellow.
With so many cautions now being issued by the league's card-happy whistle-blowers, expect the 'cautionary substitution' to become a semi-regular feature in the league.
Luiz Felipe Scolari
The shame for football fans who appreciate their football delivered with a dollop of intelligence is that Match of the Day has long ceased to be a serious football programme fronted by pundits capable of offering greater insight than "I don't know" when faced with such demanding questions as to whether one team deserved to win a football match over another (yes, Alan Shearer, we're all yawning at you).
Were MoTD a programme of proper substance then Scolari wouldn't have been permitted to deflect attention from his post-match finger-wagging session with Petr Cech with a New Year message more cringeworthy than charming. In fairness to the Chelsea manager, he did not disguise the truth in his press conference. "There was one player free in the middle of the area. In the last minute. That's incredible," he raged.
'Incredible' was also his decision to substitute Joe Cole rather than the anonymous Deco - an act that drew a chant of "You don't know what you're doing", the ultimate rebuke of a manger, from the away end - and his explanation for why nobody was on the line as Clint Dempsey scored Fulham's equaliser from an 88th-minute corner. "Players score goals, not posts," retorted Scolari. Try as he might, he doesn't have the lines of Mourinho nor the charisma.
Chelsea
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 - Winners & Losers, December 12. And after Villa, Chelsea's next away fixtures are at Tottenham and Portsmouth.
Tony Adams
"It's not easy being a manager," remarked Tony Adams on Sunday night and well he might. Of his first 68 matches as a manager, Adams has won just 15.
Portsmouth
And there's a sinking feeling beginning to rumble on the south coast. Lassana Diarra may have gone and Tony Adams may have belatedly confirmed he will not have the midfielder's exit money to spend, but all the indications are that there will be further departures next month. Trouble is, Pompey are selling up when they are just three points above the relegation zone. They can't afford to sell and they can't afford not to.
Blackburn Rovers
As incredible as the fact that Zat Knight was one of four Aston Villa players in the penalty area opposed by just three from Arsenal when he scored on Boxing Day is that, as the ball left Sturridge's boot, there were nine Rovers players goalside and just four for City. And yet the most expensive player in the history of British was still given the freedom of the penalty area.
Harry Redknapp
Houdini has lost his magic. After run of just one win in six matches - with a mere three goals scored - only goal difference is keeping Spurs out of the relegation zone.
Pete Gill
