Premiership Ups & Downs....

After a week of roasting in Manchester it was back to the bread and butter of the Premiership this weekend. Here are the latest ups and downs as Arsenal and Man Utd look set to enter into a two horse race for the Premiership

Going Up


Fernando Torres

Whilst Liverpool's title challenge has faltered in recent week it is clear and obvious to everyone that El Nino is on fire at the moment and is probably the best striker in the Premiership. In recent years, even the likes of Bergkamp, Henry and Drogba have taken their time to bed in to the speed and pace of the Premiership and then you have players like Sheva who look completely like a fish out of water. Torres however, has settled in immediately and looks already as though his price tag was completely justified.

It may be a cliche, but Torres appears to have everything in his locker. Poise, balance, a great turn of pace, two great feet and decent ability in the air. Basically he has everything that his hapless partner Dirk Kuyt doesn't have.

Arsenal & Man Utd

Sometimes it takes alot more luck than skill, to win a Premiership title, and both these teams got their fair share of it over the weekend.

Derby

Two goals in one away game? Surely not. Next thing you know referees will be giving penalties to the away team at Old Trafford and Chelsea players will accept every decision made by the men in black...I wouldn't hold your breath though.

Hilario

He may well be a figure of fun but his fine one handed save from Santa Cruz made sure that Chelsea held onto three points in this tricky tie at Ewood. Apart from that he was pretty shite though so unless Cech makes an immediate return expect Chelski's goals against record to take a bit of a pounding in the next few weeks.

Bentley

Another eye catching display from the midfielder who surely must now get a chance for England on the right hand side. He appears to have learnt a lot from Wenger's foreign legion with great technique and vision which is such a rare commodity in England players these days.

Going Down

Lycra

Perhaps after all the hype from last week's Grand Slam Sunday footballers think that they ought to begin looking like the wrestlers from the other side of the the Atlantic. It seems as though lycra tops underneath the jersey are the latest fashion accessories for footballer. Don't be surprised to see Rooney and Tevez soon featuring in an advert for the latest skin tight leggings. Come on lads, ditch the gloves and lycra and lets not forget this is a man's game.

Robbie Keane

On Saturday morning on Football Focus, the wee Irishman was showing doing his bit for footballers (not by roasting someone) by going to a local children's ward to had out Xmas presents to unfortunate children. To Keane's horror about 99% of the children were Arsenal fans, but being the good sport he is he didn't take exception and made sure all the kids for their presents. Thankfully for Arsenal fans his kindness extended to Saturday afternoon as his penalty miss howler was followed almost instantaneously by Arsenal taking the lead at the other end. Keane's previous penalty record was pretty exceptional and it just shows was pressure can do to you as the Irishman shows that perhaps he has balls like cashew nuts after all.

Stephen Pienaar

Robbie Keane wasn't the only player handing out premature Xmas gifts as the Everton midfielder's moment of madness allowed the Cheeky Winker to steal the points at Old Trafford and move them to within one point of Arsenal. What quite Pienaar was thinking I don't know as he showed all the intelligence of an amoeba to bring down Giggs just as Everton looked as they were going to close out the game.

Newcastle

Big Sam can say what hes like but this was another embarrassing result for Newcastle as they let in 2 goals against a team who had only scored 1 away goal all season. Newcastle's defence shows no sign of improving and the Magpies already have that mid-table mediocrity look about them.

Dean Whitehead and Sunderland

I know that things can be tough at the bottom but crashing into the home mascot is no way to take out your frustration. However, the Reading lion had the last laugh as the home side snatched a winner in the last minute thanks to a dodgy last minute goal. Roy Keane spent £35m in the summer but is still facing relegation scrap which will prove a huge test of his managerial talents

Goal line technology, the BBC and Sky

After all the fuss around goal line technology, the BBC and Sky's super duper video imaging software could not come to an agreement as to whether the goal line decisions over the weekend had crossed the line or not. If two TV companies with bags of time, money and technology cant figure it out, then what hope for the poor linesman? Whats the point of goal line technology if it doesn't even work?

Sunil