United Head Summit- Premier League Round Up

Manchester United sit top of the league this evening after Dimitar Bebatov's late winner against Bolton. The reds still have one game in hand over their title rivals. They head Liverpool by one point, who face a tough Mersyside derby on Monday, and the pressure will be on them to win after their slip up against Stoke last week.

Chelsea laboured to victory after going behind at home against Stoke. It looked as though they would loose their third home game this season after Rory Delap put Stoke ahead. But late goals from Belletti and Lampard ensured Chelsea stay in touch with United & Liverpool. Villa kept up their good form by coming from behind and a being a man down to defeat Sunderland, and Arsenal got revenge on to Hull by beating them at the KC Stadium, 3-1.

Man City defeated Wigan (1-0), and Middlesborough continued their ascendancy by loosing to West Brom (3-0), the defeated lifted Tony Mowbrays team of the bottom of the league. Sam Allardyce's Blackburn gave his old team something to think about by beating Newcastle (3-0)

Let The Mind Games Begin

The race for the Premier League turned up a notch last Friday after Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez held his pre-match press conference. He sensationally went on a verbal attack of his title rival, Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, by insisting that the United boss is immune from being punished by the Football Association after criticising referees. He also claims that Ferguson puts pressure on referees during the half time interval to swing decisions in United's favour during games. Benitez claimed that his outburst was in defence of his team, after Alex Ferguson poked a jibe at Liverpool, claiming that they would fade away in the title race.

The outburst has been well received by the press, who have done their best to amplify the comments and some have likened the rant to the infamous Kevin Keegan 'I would love it' outburst. But did Benitez' comments come at the wrong time?

Liverpool failed to capitalise on the fact that they played their game a day before their direct rivals, by drawing with Stoke. Many believe that the pre match comments from Benitez has put more pressure on his team to perform and on Saturday evening they seemed to stutter. On the other hand, Fergusons men put on a colossal display by comprehensively beating Chelsea and closing the gap at the top to 5 points with two games in hand. With United playing two games in a week they could go top of the league before Liverpool play their next game, seemingly giving United the advantage.

Ferguson is no stranger to mind games, and with Benitez new to the role of title rival, he may be playing into the United Bosses' hands. Arsene Wenger, Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalgliesh, Jose Mourinho are some who have sparred with Ferguson, and while all have tasted title sucess (except for Keegan), but none have dethroned Ferguson as the leagues most successful manager.

Ronaldo Scoops Ultimate Prize

Cristiano Ronaldo won the Fifa World player of the Year Award last night beating off competition from Lionel Messi and Liverpools Fernando Torres. The vote which is cast by managers and players was a landslide victory for the Portuguese winger, who has that remarkable season scoring 42 goals in all competitions.

The award was handed to Ronaldo by football legend Pele, and the United player was clearly overwhelmed, reserving special praise for his manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ronaldo becomes the first player in the Premier League to win the coveted accolade.

Transfer Updates

The transfer window has been opened for 6 days and already there have been a few movers and shakers. Manchester United acted quickly on day one snapping up Zoran Tosic the highly rated winger. Chelsea sold left-back Wayne Bridge to Manchester City. Yesterday, Jermain Defoe moved back to Tottenham. The rest of the rumours and speculation remian rife, as all eyes wait to see if the following deals actually transpire.

Arsenal are hot on the heels of Andrei Arshavin, but a price for Zenith St Petersburgh forward has yet to be agreed. Tottenham remain persistent in their persue of Middlesborough winger Stewart Downing, and Manchester City are linked with numerous players on a daily basis, but the latest to be added to this wish list is Blackburn forward Roque Santa Cruz.

Any latest developments will be noted.

(Source: Sky Sports)

Ex-players Becoming Premier League Managers

After two ex Manchester United players, Paul Ince and Roy Keane lost their jobs to Premier League clubs Blackburn and Sunderland respectively; a debate has started to form about whether ex-players can make the quick transition into club management.

Both managers had had experience in the lower leagues of football, both winning silverware, with Keane winning the championship, and Ince taking MK Dons to Wembley and winning the FA Trophy. Keane also had a years experience in the Premiership, keeping Sunderland up last year, but this season, when experiencing his first bout of serious pressure, it seems to have been too much for the fiery character.

Ince though, had no prior experience in the Premier League, and was given the task of managing a club who had developed into a top ten side under Mark Hughes. Perhaps making his tenure a hard act to follow, as he had to keep the momentum established by Hughes going, which he didn’t. After poor run of results, Ince had left the board with no choice but to severe ties with him.

Keane on the other hand, should have stayed, but due to his persona, he does not seem like the type of individual who would withstand abuse from his own supporters, and after leaked rumours talking of loss of communication in the dressing room, it shows that maybe Keane needs some more time to find his feet in football management.

The majority of pundits and managers seem to believe that managers, most particularly Ince, should have been given more time to turn things around at Blackburn. But in this day and age in football, everything is based on results, and although it may seem unfair, these results need to be established quickly. Poor runs of form which result in a club been sucked into the relegation zone will always cause a knee jerk reaction, as the thought of loosing out on lucrative money from being a to flight team will strike fear into club chairmen.

Other ex players who are managing include Mark Hughes (as mentioned previously, Steve Bruce, Gareth Southgate, and Tony Adams. All of which have had their fair share of pressure, but only time will tell who will survive in this cutthroat business that is the premier league.

Ronaldo- Ballon D'or Winner

As if we didn’t know already, Cristiano Ronaldo won the Ballon D’or as expected last week gaining world recognition he earned with his outstanding displays last season. He scored 42 goals in all competitions helping Manchester United to both the Premier League and the Champions League. This completes a clean sweep in personal accolades for the Portuguese winger.

Robinho- Diplomatic Immunity?

A few weeks ago British record signing Robinho was quoted as saying that Manchester City had the mentality of a small club. This later prompted Mark Hughes to diffuse the comments, saying that his Brazilian starlet meant the comments in a positive nature. This seems to exhibit double standards within the City camp, as a few weeks ago Elano was reprimanded for his public outburst at Hughes. Hughes obviously has a special place for Robinho.