After this week’s frantic round of Premiership matches, we won’t mention Sol Campbell storming out of Highbury after being substituted in Arsenal’s shock 3-2 defeat at the hands of West Ham.
And we can’t possibly comment on David Bentley, the unwanted Arsenal youngster, scoring a hat-trick in a 4-3 win for Blackburn over Manchester United the week that he signed away his Highbury future.
Poor old Alex Ferguson won’t want to discuss Rio Ferdinand’s first ever sending off in that game, for a foul on that lovely Robbie Savage.
Jose Mourinho certainly doesn’t want to talk about referee Rob Styles’s decision not to award a penalty for Chelsea when Arjen Robben was brought down in the dying seconds of their 1-1 draw against Aston Villa. Mind you, what about John Terry’s handball in the 77th minute — even he looked surprised when it wasn’t given!
Hmm, actually Mourinho did talk about it. Quite a lot. Ah, shaddap, Jose. You are not allowed to complain when you’re walking away with the title.
And I’m sure Robbie Fowler won’t want to talk about the eagle-eyed linesman who disallowed his spectacular overhead kick in the final moments of Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Birmingham. What a return that would have been.
But the least talked about subject of all this week has to be the future employment of Graeme Souness. Life among the Geordies proved simply too tough for the hardest midfielder in football and he was sacked on Thursday.
Newcastle were desperate in Wednesday’s 3-0 defeat at Manchester City, a result which left them six points off the relegation zone. A veteran of a heart operation and all kinds of nastiness, he said: ”I can deal with this.” But Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd couldn’t.
So let’s discuss the weekend games:
Brum vs Arsenal
Steve Bruce’s Brummies remain firm relegation candidates despite Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at Liverpool. Arsenal? With Sol Campbell sulking and the Champions League their only hope of silverware this season, defeat at St Andrews is unthinkable.
Verdict: Birmingham 0 Arsenal 1
Bolton vs Wigan
Held 1-1 at Portsmouth on Wednesday, but FA Cup winners over Arsenal last weekend, Bolton are a difficult side to predict right now. Wigan on the other hand are becoming more reliable after their early fireworks. They simply don’t win any more.
Verdict: Bolton 3 Wigan 1
Everton vs Man City
Everton’s expected surge has come just like boss David Moyes expected, but in Manchester City, 3-0 winners over Newcastle on Wednesday, they come up against a side motivated by the most frightening man in football, Stuart ”Psycho” Pearce.
Verdict: Everton 1 Man City 1
Man United vs Fulham
Unexpectedly thrust aside at Blackburn in the week, United stubbornly refuse to close the gap on Chelsea at the top while Fulham, shock winners over Spurs on Tuesday, look like they’re approaching safety.
Verdict: Man United 2 Fulham 0
Boro vs Aston Villa
Steve McClaren, once the next England manager, is just holding on to his current job at Middlesbrough. The 3-0 win at Sunderland helped but Villa held Chelsea 1-1 on Wednesday and are a couple of points safer.
Verdict: Boro 2 Villa 2
Newcastle vs Pompey
Graeme Souness didn’t survive another performance like Wednesday’s abject capitulation against Manchester City. Portsmouth are picking up points, they’ve got nine new signings — but Harry Redknapp’s side need to learn to live with each other before they can expect points from the Toon.
Verdict: Newcastle 1 Portsmouth 0
WBA vs Blackburn
Mark Hughes has his wild Rovers on track for a European finish this season while his old Manchester United pal Bryan Robson continues to flirt with disaster at the foot of the table with West Brom.
Verdict: West Brom 0 Blackburn 2
West Ham vs Sunderland
The Hammers were magnificent this week. The FA Cup win over an in-form Blackburn was followed by that titanic 3-2 win at heavenly Highbury. Sunderland are rubbish. Surely even the Hammers can’t fail to nail this one?
Verdict: West Ham 3 Sunderland 0
Chelsea vs Liverpool
Game of the weekend. Jose Mourinho’s hair dryer would have been out after Chelsea’s draw at Villa.
Verdict: Chelsea 1 Liverpool 2
Spurs vs Charlton
Tottenham will have been gutted by the late defeat at Fulham on Tuesday but Charlton are not a bad side to have around when you need to pick yourselves up. Spurs coach Martin Jol can begin his push for the Champions League with gusto.
Verdict: Spurs 2 Charlton 0