I’m nearing the end of looking through my box of English football collectibles that I found in my garage. I have one or two more items I’ll be sharing with you in the next 48 hours, but in the meantime, I wanted to share with you something different that I found. It’s a collection of beautifully photographed cards from a series called Football Stars, which was made by Fax-Pax and released in 1986.

The box (pictured top right) describes it as “a set of 36 informative picture cards featuring Britain’s football stars of today. Each card includes a full colour picture with career details on the reserve.”

As you can see from the above photo (click on it for a larger view), the series includes stars such as Steve Archibald (Blackburn), Terry Butcher (England), Peter Shilton (England), a young looking Tony Adams (Arsenal), Glenn Hoddle (England), Mark Hughes (Manchester United) and a very old looking Peter Reid (Everton).

What a difference a week makes. Since Christmas Day, the teams at the bottom and in the middle of the Premier League have performed spectacularly, picking up much-needed points. Consider that Blackburn beat Manchester United at Old Trafford and tied Liverpool at Anfield. West Brom grabbed a draw against Manchester City. Aston Villa beat Chelsea, Swansea held Tottenham to one point, while Fulham drew Chelsea, Wolves tied Arsenal and, last but not least, Sunderland beat Manchester City.

It’s been a fabulous week for “The Other 14″ in the Premier League. The best of the season for the struggling teams.

Despite strong performances from the mid- and lower-table Premier League sides, you can expect the pundits and columnists to start writing about how Manchester United and Chelsea are falling apart instead of giving credit to the teams that beat them. This is a time to give the other Premier League clubs some well-deserved respect. These weren’t lucky wins. Many of the matches featured end-to-end action with the underdog, especially, fighting as hard as they could to salvage a point or more against the Goliaths of the Premier League.

Some of the players who deserve individual praise include:

• Lee Cattermole of Sunderland, who — despite his off-the-pitch issues of smashing up cars in Newcastle — was the key to the midfield for the Black Cats on Sunday, acting as both creator and destroyer in midfield,
• Wigan’s Ben Watson who ran on the pitch as a substitute and smashed home an equalizing penalty with his first touch of the ball against Stoke City,
• Swansea City’s Ashley Williams put in a valiant performance as center-half against Tottenham Hotspur, managing to keep the Lilywhites to just the one goal. The Welsh defender also was dangerous on the attack when he made his runs into Tottenham first third of the pitch, and
• Yakubu of Blackburn was again in fine form as they smashed in two of the three goals to help Rovers beat Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Who are some of the players you feel should be singled out for superb performances during the past week? Share your opinions in the comments section below.

General First Half Formations

In their second surprise result of the campaign, Blackburn Rovers proved opportunistic, spoiling Sir Alex Ferguson’s 70th birthday at Old Trafford with a 3-2 shocker over second place Manchester United.

The home side started the match with a weakened lineup, not uncommon with the congested holiday fixture list and an opponent as downtrodden as Blackburn. Ferguson started in a skewed 4-3-3. He rested Wayne Rooney, not even entering him in the lineup. Javier Hernandez was an advanced forward, with Danny Welbeck and Dimitar Berbatov playing deeper roles. Welbeck dropped into a left wing role when organized defensively, delivering two banks of four when the Rovers decided to attack. Rafael da Silva received his first start this season, but not as a fullback, rather in a less-familiar central midfield role. Nani played primarily on the right as a deep winger, but was given freedom to switch sides. Ji Sung Park was a deep playmaking midfielder.

Steve Kean also started a weakened side, but he stuck with a similar 4-1-4-1 formation that drew at Anfield on Boxing Day. Yakubu was the only dedicated attacker. There were a couple of personnel changes. Due to an injury to Junior Hoilett, Morton Gamst Pedersen was pushed to the left. Ruben Rochina and Radosav Petrovic played centrally in front of holding midfielder Steven N’Zonzi.

Blackburn's adjustment to account for Park

As could be expected at home, Manchester United dominated the match in terms of possession and chances. The focal point of the Red Devil attack was Park playing as a deep playmaker. Early on Blackburn recognized this. As shown to the left, after only five minutes, they tweaked their formation to push Petrovic ahead of the midfield slightly. This allowed them to put pressure on Park. Spatially, Mauro Formica was asked to play narrower on the right, which then opened up space for Patrice Evra to work that side of the pitch. Evra had the second-most passes for United in the match, next to Antonio Valencia.

But in that September match against Arsenal, Blackburn showed that they can play the counterattack efficiently. In that match against the Gunners they were outshot 23-10 and outpossessed 69%-31%. In Saturday’s victory, the numbers were comparable: 27-11 for shots, and 63%-37% for possession. Of course against Arsenal the Rovers benefited from two own goals. This game they received a fortuitous penalty in the 16th minute, as Berbatov yanked down Christopher Samba off a free kick. Yakubu converted for the opening goal.

That lead played into Blackburn’s tactical bent. With Blackburn clogging the central areas with Petrovic, Rochina, and Nzonzi, Manchester United needed to rely on the play of Nani and Evra to provide width. But Nani wasn’t quite as sharp as he usually can be with his crosses, and given the disadvantage the Red Devils had in the size department, the first half was disappointing for Manchester United in the final third. Only three out of twenty crosses attempted by the Red Devils were successfully completed in the first half.

There was another element that was at play in this match: overconfidence. The fact Ferguson selected a weak side was only one part of this. Ferguson’s midweek call to Kean wishing him well seems a little disingenuous (perhaps buttering the bread before devouring it). There was the birthday tribute. And two guys who always seemed to be instrumental in forging a United comeback, Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs, weren’t even on the bench. Ferguson’s bench read like a group who he expected to ride out a crooked-numbered lead.

I wouldn’t say that United lolled through this match, though. They played well for much of contest. Were they razor-sharp? No, but the halftime sub of Anderson for Hernandez (allowing for the less-inventive 4-4-2 shown at right) was certainly a signal that their Gaffer wasn’t amused and meant “business.” But luck fell Yakubu’s way in the 51st minute. Michael Carrick’s clearance from the 18 struck Yakubu perfectly, and after evading Phil Jones the Nigerian forward struck a mean blast through David de Gea to double the lead.

At that point, Kean wanted to adjust even more defensive by removing Barcelona product Rochina (not known for his defending). But Manchester pulled one back before the next stoppage, and fittingly it was Rochina that lost Rafael long enough for the Brazilian right fullback to get the ball to Berbatov for a slick finish. At that point Rochina made way for Josh Morris who played the left while Pederson drifted central.

In the long run, the pressure applied by the Red Devils became too much for Blackburn to resist, and a failed clearance by Pedersen yielded Berbatov’s second goal. Valencia made a run past 17-year-old Adam Henley and his cross set up the equalizer for the Bulgarian forward. Berbatov has had a renaissance over the holiday stretch, notching six goals in three games started.

The comeback completed with thirty minutes remaining, it seemed United would find at least one more goal to extend Blackburn’s misery (or at least preserve the draw). But the Rovers’ wildcard is always their aerial attack on the set piece, and that was the dagger in the 80th minute of this match. Halfback Grant Hanley overpowered de Gea in the area off a corner kick and headed home the deflection from the initial contact to earn Blackburn their first away win of the campaign. The Spanish goalkeeper’s decision to attack was suspect, with Blackburn’s obvious size advantage. The frantic attempts by United to equalize a second time were unsuccessful, and Blackburn earned a crucial three points in the race to avoid relegation.

Of course last year Manchester United was first beaten by Wolves, so it’s not uncommon for the Red Devils to drop a match to a relegation candidate. The distinction was that this was on home turf. They have now lost two home matches in this campaign, which is two more than in their title run last year.

Here is what the Premier League clubs are wishing for in 2012:

Arsenal: Gunner fans are wishing that scoring machine Robin van Persie continues his torrid streak.

Aston Villa: That Alex McLeish has a method to his “managerial tactic” madness.

Blackburn: Steve Kean is renting and not buying.

Bolton: Club officials are wishing the F.A. will bring in two more clubs into the Premier League in hopes that Bolton won’t be relegated.

Chelsea: Andre Villas-Boas decides on the correct starting eleven for his club so that they can make another run at the title.

Everton: That Landon Donovan can breathe some fresh air into the Toffees offensive attack.

Fulham: Hopefully Martin Jol can unite his squad to make another run at a Europa spot next season.

Liverpool: Luis Suarez starts to be known for his play and not for his antics.

Manchester City: That the club continues their blistering pace.

Manchester United: Alex Ferguson uses his genius to figure out the midfield problems.

Newcastle: Demba Ba decides to stay with the club through the January transfer window.

Norwich City: That the club can continue their steady pace and enjoy a second season in the first division.

QPR: The Rangers magically figure out how to score more goals at Loftus Road.

Stoke City: To make sure that an away trip to Britannia Stadium remains a difficult test for opposing clubs.

Sunderland:  That the likes of Sebastian Larsson and Nicklas Bendtner give the Black Cats an offensive identity.

Swansea City: The Super Swans wish that Michel Vorm continues his ridiculous form at goalie.

Tottenham: That the Spurs finish in the top four and qualify for next year’s Champions League.

West Brom: The Baggies wish that Shane Long and Chris Brunt can continue to inspire their teammates in hopes of finishing in the top half of the table.

Wigan: That Victor Moses keeps playing with flair and goalie Ali Al Habsi remains one of the best keepers in the league.

Wolverhampton: Wolves wish that Bolton, Blackburn, and Wigan remain below them in the Premier League table.

Note: Readers can follow Matt on Twitter @thehackreport

Before The Venky’s bought Blackburn, the word relegation was hardly a topic that entered the minds of soccer fans when discussing Rovers. Just in the last several years, the club had reached the semi-finals of the League Cup and FA Cup, finished as high as sixth in the league, and had qualified for Europe three times in the space of five years.

Then, just a few weeks after The Venky’s took charge of Blackburn, they sacked manager Sam Allardyce even though the team was in thirteenth place in the league. One year later, the club is bottom of the league and in complete disarray.

Watching Bolton’s victory on Blackburn’s home turf Tuesday night, I felt sorry for Blackburn manager Steve Kean. It’s easy for pundits and soccer fans who haven’t watched Blackburn much this season to criticize them as a poor team. But the fact of the matter is that they’ve played far better than their position in the table hints at. Unfortunately, when Kean needed his Blackburn side to play at a level that they’re completely capable of, they failed to turn up, giving their worst performance of the season against their Lancashire neighbors. Bolton played like the home side Tuesday night and completely deserved the win. Blackburn played better in the second half, but Kean left his substitutions too little too late to have an impact on this game. Having said that, Christopher Samba almost nabbed an equalizer in injury time, but when it sailed past the post, the miss seemed deserved based on Blackburn’s lack of fight during the entire 90 minutes.

The reason why I feel sorry for Kean is that he’s doing the best he can with the resources he has at his disposal. If anyone is to blame, it’s Blackburn’s owners. But since they’re so removed from the club, Steve Kean is the easy target. He’s no hero and isn’t the best man for the job, but the shortsighted decision to sack Allardyce and put Kean in charge wasn’t Kean’s decision. The Venky’s were the ones who decided to pull the trigger. And, as a result, it should be the Indian owners who are to blame.

Blackburn’s Ewood Park was not a place for the faint-hearted on Tuesday. Immediately after the final whistle blew, throngs of Blackburn supporters showed their outrage as they tried to run up to manager Steve Kean. Security was able to keep the supporters at a safe distance from Kean, but the negative atmosphere hung over Ewood Park like a dark cloud. After all, this is the same club who won the Premier League title in 1994-95. And it was this small town in Europe who played in the Champions League.

Sacking Steve Kean seems inevitable, but whoever replaces the Scotsman will find it tough to keep Blackburn up this season. The two men who could do the job are Mark Hughes and Allardyce. Big Sam, I’m sure, wouldn’t touch Blackburn with a ten foot pole while The Venky’s are still in charge, and I don’t think Hughes would be interested in taking a step backwards to manage Blackburn once again especially after the way he left Fulham. If neither of those managers take the job at Ewood Park, is there anyone out there who could save Blackburn this season?

‘WHO ARE YA?’ is a new weekly feature on EPL Talk that profiles players who have been capped for England and fallen from grace and players who never really reached their full potential, with the help of some anecdotes .Feel free to give some feedback on the article and your memories of the player.  If you’ve got any ideas for players for me to do in the future just mention them in the comments box.

This player scored in his one and only England game and is the joint top England U21 goal scorer along with Alan Shearer.

So this week we take a lot at Francis Jeffers, the ‘fox in the box’.

Background: Jeffers commenced his career at Everton and made his debut at only 16 years and 335 days old on Boxing Day 1997. It looked like Jeffers had a lot of potential at an early age and understandably he was tipped as England’s next big striker. He had a record of a goal every 3 games for Everton but sullied his reputation very early on his career with a row with then Toffees manager Walter Smith about a pay rise.

However this did not deter Arsene Wenger from signing him for Arsenal in 2001 for £8 million. No wonder Arsene is reluctant to splash the cash these days.  In his time at the Gunners he only played 22 times scoring 4 goals, with 2 coming in one FA Cup game against non-league Farnborough in 2003. Of course he faced stiff competition to the world class Thierry Henry and also Sylvain Wiltord not to forget Dennis Bergkamp but Jeffers could just not cut it at Arsenal.

Being at Arsenal did give him his one and only England cap though. His only appearance and goal came against Australia at Upton Park in 2003 when he scored a consolation goal in a 3-1 loss after a great move by England’s young hopes at the time; Wayne Rooney, Jermaine Jenas and himself.

Where it all went wrong: After an unsuccessful couple of years at Arsenal Jeffers was sent back to Everton on loan in 2003 making 22 appearances for the side but being sent back quickly due to another dispute with a manager, this time David Moyes. He then went to Charlton in the summer of 2004 for a still very high £2.6 million. That season he scored just 5 times and was then sent to Rangers in the August of 2005 on loan but again failed to stamp his mark on the team and a regular place which then led to Charlton boss Alan Curbishley choosing to release Jeffers in May 2006.

Somehow Jeffers got another chances when Blackburn signed him in June 2006, a season in which Rovers were playing in the UEFA Cup. Yet again though the move with unsuccessful and he scored only once for Blackburn. He played 9 games on loan at Ipswich in 2007 and scored 4 times but could not get a permanent deal there as Blackburn rejected two bids from the Tractor Boys for the striker and then personal terms were not agreed when a bid was finally accepted.

Strangely Sheffield Wednesday decided to pay £700,000 for the services of Francis Jeffers but his time at Hillsborough was blighted by injuries and he scored only 5 goals for the team. He was released in May 2010 and could not gain a move back to the Premier League when his trial at newly promoted Blackpool did not go right for him.

Newcastle was the next stop for Jeffers; well Newcastle United Jets of the Australian League, where he signed on a ten game guest contract. Jeffers did manage one goal in his time down under but he joined SPL side Motherwell in February of this year. He scored only once and has now returned to Newcastle United Jets on a 1 and a half year contract.

The ‘fox in the box’ was once billed as the next big thing for England and even scored on his England debut but disputes with managers, injuries and ultimately a lack of skill lead to Francis Jeffers falling to obscurity and out of the spotlight.

‘WHO ARE YA?’ is a new weekly feature on EPL Talk that profiles players who have been capped for England and fallen from grace and players who never really reached their full potential, with the help of some anecdotes. Feel free to give some feedback on the article and your memories of the player. If you’ve got any ideas for players for me to do in the future just mention them in the comments box.

This player has played for 3 different clubs in the Premier League alone and has played 11 times for England U21.

This week we have a look at Jon Stead.

Background:

Stead started his career at Huddersfield Town, his local team, who currently reside in League One. He was a steady performer in his first two seasons for the Terriers after making his debut for the Yorkshire side in August 2002. The 2003/2004 season was a real breakthrough season for this striker when he was signed by Blackburn Rovers in the January transfer window after scoring 18 goals for Huddersfield in just the first half of the 2003/2004 season. Rovers shelled out just over £1 million for the forward. In the remainder of that season he scored 6 times to help keep Blackburn up.

In February 2004 Stead earned an England under-21 call up for the game against the Netherland at the KC Stadium. Being at the game I remember vividly the big screen showed a shot of Stead’s shirt hanging up in the dressing room. At the time much was expected of this young player and you could sense the excitement in the crowd when he came on.

When he had signed for Blackburn their then manager Graeme Souness said “He has natural enthusiasm and ability. We believe he will prove to be a valuable asset,” and he did turn out to be valuable when he was sold to Sunderland in a deal worth £1.8 million in 2005 after failing to impress next Blackburn manager Mark Hughes, who eventually led the side to UEFA Cup football.

Where it all went wrong:

At Sunderland, Stead only scored 2 goals in 35 matches despite Mick McCarthy saying this when he signed “He has scored goals in the Premier League, so he’s a great signing for us,”  and was sent on loan to Derby County for 17 games in the 2006/2007 season when he only scored an underwhelming 3 goals. In January 2007 he had another shot at the big time with Sheffield United buying the player for a fee of £750,000. Jon fired in 5 times in the remainder of that season but could not prevent the Blades slipping down into the Championship after West Ham’s win over Manchester United on the final day of the season. The next season wasn’t good for Stead as Billy Sharp and last week’s feature of ‘Who Are Ya?’ James Beattie began to lead the line but he did manage to score six goals that term.

Jon Stead left the Blades in 2008 to join Ipswich still in the Championship. Stead did slightly better for the Tractor Boys mustering 18 goals in 63 appearances with a loan spell at Coventry for 10 games in 2010 included. Stead though turned down a move to Blackpool despite Ipswich accepting a bid of just 1p from the Tangerines. He certainly won no fans by turning down the move, a chance in the top flight, as Blackpool couldn’t meet his then current wages of £12,000 a week.

Last season he did eventually move to Bristol City and he averages just under a goal every 4 games for the Robins. Unfortunately for him he has never lived up to his early potential that led to an England under-21 call up and numerous Premier League moves and now he is third in the pecking list of strikers at Bristol City behind the physical Albert Adomah and the ever impressive Nicky Maynard.

‘

WHO ARE YA?’ is a new weekly feature on EPL Talk that profiles players who have been capped for England and fallen from grace and players who never really reached their full potential. If you’ve got any ideas for players for me to do in the future just mention them in the comments.

His career transfer fees amount to £14.5 million and he has been the player that has broken two teams transfer fees but WHO ARE YA?

Well it is James Beattie.

His scoring record speaks for itself but James Beattie never really reached his full potential at the highest level even after being capped for England 5 times.

Background: Starting his career at Blackburn Rovers in 1995 he moved to Southampton in July 1998. In the 2000/2001 he had a run of scoring 10 goals in 10 games and then he scored 14 goals the next season, admittedly one in which he was injured for two months. Beattie finished 3rd in the Premier League scoring charts in 2003 but was also the top English goal scorer in the Premier League that season. Southampton were beaten in the FA Cup final of 2003 after a narrow 1-0 loss to Arsenal when Robert Pires scored the only goal of the game at the Millennium Stadium.

In that same year of 2003 Beattie earned his first of five England caps under the ever experimental Sven Goran-Eriksson  in the 3-1 loss to Australia at Upton Park, which incidentally was the same game that Wayne Rooney made his debut. Unfortunately for Beattie though his career did not follow a similar path to Rooney’s.

Where it all went wrong:  He played his last ever game for England in November 2003 and was not selected for the Euro 2004 squad. At the time I liked Beattie and the way he mixed his physical strength with the way he could finish chances and was actually a little surprised with him not being included as a different option for the Euro 2004 squad. Beattie was obviously disappointed with not being included for the Euros and I even heard a story that at a summer football camp the then Southampton striker was a special guest but the children were not allowed to ask him about why he wasn’t playing for England at the Euro Championships.

2005 saw a move that you would have expected to help Beattie’s footballing career when he moved to Everton for their then club record fee of £6.5 million. At the time David Moyes said that “His record stands up with all the striker in the Premiership,” and former Everton striker Graeme Sharp even said that “He’s a real signing for the future of Everton.” Clearly he was very highly thought of at the time and he was starting to reach his potential top years as a player being 26 when he was signed by Everton. However as you can probably tell he never made the desired impact at Everton despite everyone’s high hopes and never really recovered. He scored 13 goals in 76 games but fell out of favour with Moyes and scored only twice in his third and final season at Everton. With a mix of injuries and poor performances Beattie just couldn’t settle in at Everton and just never reached the potential that Moyes and Everton saw in him when they signed him.

Sheffield United splashed out a record £4.5 million for the centre forward in 2007 and he did have an incredible record of scoring 34 goals in 64 games for the Blades but at Championship level. He was still performing but not at the highest level and definitely not at the level that was expected of him in 2004 and 2005 but he got another chance at the Premier League at Stoke scoring 9 goals from January 2009 to mid-2010 but his appearances were limited because of a dressing room bust-up with Tony Pulis.

He was shipped off to Rangers in the SPL but his time there was again blighted by injuries and just not being able to get a string of games together to get some form before joining Blackpool on loan last season but he again failed to score in the 9 games he played.

This season he trained with Bournemouth just to get his fitness in shape after Rangers cancelled his contract in May this year. He has just been given a lifeline by Sheffield United in League One and will hope to rekindle some of his old form.

So, James Beattie was once thought to be the future of Everton and the next big striker in the Premier League and for England but lack and form and injury problems meant he never lived up to his full potential.

Coming up soon… Jonathan Stead and Francis Jeffers.

It’s so easy to dismiss the Carling Cup as a competition that features just B teams, but anyone who watched Tuesday night’s games may have come away with a renewed sense of optimism. Yes, it’s a cup competition that offers us a chance to watch players we don’t see that often, but it’s still a piece of silverware that all of the participating clubs desperately want to win.

Tuesday night’s games also gave us a chance to reconfirm our doubts, namely:

• Arsenal’s attack is blunt without Robin van Persie,
• Marouane Chamakh is a shadow of the player he once was when he joined Arsenal,
• Andy Carroll doesn’t fit into the style of how Liverpool plays,
• Fernando Torres is going through the worst patch of his career, and
• Saturday’s game against Swansea is a make-or-break game for Blackburn manager Steve Kean.

Of course, we knew that already. But seeing it before our eyes, once again, it reinforced what we know.

For Arsenal, it was a shame that van Persie didn’t play. Manchester City was there for the taking and the Carling Cup (again) offered Arsenal an excellent chance of picking up a piece of silverware. It was a gamble to tell van Persie not to even dress for the game, but if Wenger feels that Arsenal has a better chance to win the Premier League, Champions League or FA Cup, then it’s a risk worth taking. If they end up with nothing at the end of the season, then Wenger’s decision not to play van Persie must be seen as a massive mistake.

As far as positives that can be taken from the game, midfielders Francis Coquelin and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain both had a fantastic performance for the Gunners. It has to be only a matter of time before both of these players are permanent fixtures in an Arsenal side. Hopefully Wenger can find a place for both Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott in the same team?

One piece of brilliance from Edin Dzeko/Adam Johnson/Kun Aguero was enough for Manchester City to unlock Arsenal. While City don’t deserve to be in the semi-final based on the way they were outplayed by Arsenal, it goes to show how important having a clinical goalscorer is to a side.

Liverpool, meanwhile, continue to impress. Despite not winning against Manchester City on Sunday, the Reds have looked marvelous in both of their games against Chelsea. The level of confidence in this team is overpowering, while their passing ability has improved immeasurably. On top of all of that, the team looks incredibly dangerous on the attack and when you see them play, it seems only a matter of time before they’ll score. Bellamy, Leiva and Rodriguez were again impressive. However, there’ll be concerns about the extent of Leiva’s injury after he was stretchered off from Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.

Andy Carroll missing the penalty was the last thing he could possibly need. And what a woeful penalty kick it was. Sadly, for the Liverpool owners, the only two plausible reasons why Carroll should be included in a Liverpool side in the future is if (1) they need a super sub to come on with 10 minutes left in the game to score a winner, or (2) they play an opponent where the only way to beat them is via high balls into the box. Other than those two scenarios, there is no reason to play Carroll in this Liverpool side.

Over at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea is in tatters. The Blues are playing like a lower-table club that is lacking ideas and confidence. For Fernando Torres, meanwhile, he’s a ghost of himself. He’s definitely someone who is not enjoying his job. And he doesn’t seem to have any pride or passion in playing for Chelsea. The best example of this, in my eyes, was the Premier League game against Liverpool on November 20. First, at the start of the second half when Andre Villas-Boas decided to bring Daniel Sturridge on, not Torres, to rescue Chelsea, you could see Torres laughing on the bench. Whether it was about that decision or a joke from one of his teammates, it’s unclear. But it’s definitely not the attitude befitting a professional who is “in the zone.”

Secondly, after that game ended (where Chelsea lost 2-1 to Liverpool), you would think that Torres — who came on as a late substitute — would be devastated by his team losing a crucial league game. Instead, when the final whistle blew, Torres could be seen beaming and walked over and joked and laugh with his former Liverpool teammates. While I’m sure that some of these players are his friends, it’s not the type of behavior I would like to see on the pitch. Chelsea, his club, is his priority. If he wants to spend time and joke with his friends, this should be done off the pitch in private quarters, not where Chelsea fans can see him.

I didn’t get to see the Cardiff against Blackburn game on television, but from the reports on the radio, Blackburn was awful. Just as Arsene Wenger made a calculated decision to not play van Persie, Blackburn manager Steve Kean did the same Tuesday night by deciding not to start his A team. Kean’s focus is obviously on Premier League survival, which is a shame in a way because a Carling Cup semi-final spot could have prolonged his managerial career at Ewood Park. Blackburn’s 2-0 defeat is key because Kean no longer has the Carling Cup to fall back on as an example of a positive for Rovers. All the club has left is their Premier League record to live and die by.

Blackburn’s game on Saturday at home against Swansea is a must-win for Kean. Normally I would say that Blackburn would have a tough chance of winning on Saturday, but I believe they can get three points. In the somber game between Swansea and Aston Villa on Sunday, the Swans came up against a Villa side that were, at times, vicious in their tackles. If Blackburn can play the same type of ugly, negative and physical football that Villa showed, then Rovers can win this one.

The quarter-finals of the Carling Cup finish tonight after Manchester United play Crystal Palace at Old Trafford (2:45pm ET on FOX Soccer Plus and FOXSoccer.tv). After the game ends, it should be interesting to see what the draw for the Carling Cup semi-final will look like. Despite previous criticisms by many of the Carling Cup, this year’s tournament is building up to be a fascinating competition with a resurgent Liverpool, a powerful Manchester City, the underdog of Cardiff and either a Manchester United or Crystal Palace as the final team.

Wigan against Blackburn on a cold November afternoon. Normally not a game that would catch my imagination and certainly not one that prior to this weekend I imagined myself writing about come the start of the week. But one incident has really got me thinking about the way that we treat footballers and what we expect from them when it comes to sporting behaviour. The corner move between Yakubu and Morten Gamst Pedersen has caused a huge amount of debate across the airwaves and in the press. Was it cheating? Should the officials have spotted it? What should be our response?

Personally, I have found it worrying the amount of times that I have heard people say that it was all part of the game and that the players had no responsibility to help the officials reach the correct conclusion. I can’t disagree more. This was a case of a player, Yakubu, knowing full well that a goal should be ruled out and not saying so. I have had enough of the lack of morals in modern sport but to a point I can deal with it. But this incident is beyond the pale.

At any point from Pedersen taking the corner to the moment the ball hit the back of the net, the Nigerian could have spoken up. There is absolutely no excuse for him. What happened on Saturday was cheating and unfortunately blame appears to be everywhere apart from at the feet of those responsible, the Blackburn players.

Roberto Martinez, in his post-match interview, claimed that the referee and his assistants should have spotted the lack of a touch. Pundits analysed the positioning of the officials and appeared to conclude that they were at fault. Yakubu claimed that Blackburn “had got away with one”. This at least was true – but only because he allowed the desire to win to override his responsibility to play by the rules.

This is the bottom line in this case. Yakubu, as with all players, not only has a duty to try and win the game but also has a responsibility to uphold the laws and spirit of the game. Too often football seems to have completely lost sight of the fact that it is a sport and that can not be a good thing for the future of the game.

We all want to see players doing all they can to get those three points but we also have to bear in mind that there has to be a line somewhere. If we start to accept Yakubu’s attitude as the norm then how long until we accept that diving is a legitimate attempt to gain an advantage and that asking a referee to book an opponent is acceptable behaviour? Football is important to a lot of people but if it becomes more important than upholding the difference between right and wrong then it really is in trouble.