Being unbeaten at home for one of the smaller Premiership sides is something that should always be celebrated but at Birmingham City, things are never that simple. They have now equaled the clubs longest unbeaten home record of 18 games, it hides another story entirely. Now, 6 games in, the club have 7 points and sit mid-table but once again, the crowd was just over 2/3rds of the capacity.Fingers could be pointed towards the Wigan fans, not known for their travelling exploits yet that doesn’t cover it every other week.

City have had something of a stand off with the previous owners, when prices were kept at Premiership prices following relegation. A perceived lack of entertainment added to the fans frustration and despite a return to the top tier and the club being sold to Carson Yeung, attendances still leave the ground looking bare in certain areas. Despite the 18 game unbeaten home run, Birmingham have only won 2 of their last 12 Premiership matches.

Fans frustration can often be judged on what we call the George Graham formula. An often repeated mantra by fans who stop going is the lack of real football being played. This attitude is then criticised by others, who will often use George Graham’s period at Arsenal as proof of success over entertainment. The feeling is that if you win matches, then fans will come to see the team but as Birmingham City’s fans have proved over the last few seasons, it’s not necessarily true.

Of course, playing wide open attacking football gets the fans off their feet but it does leave you open to counter attacks. Against the better Premiership sides, this is akin to soccer suicide, offering the opportunity for the Chelsea’s and Manchester United’s to run riot. Crucially for promoted sides, keeping it tight, especially away from home can be all the difference. Yet, as Derby County showed under both Billy Davies and Paul Jewell, using those tactics doesn’t necessarily negate better sides.

After Liverpool had dismantled a Derby County side 6-0 who were playing what seemed to be a 5-5-0 formation, rather than the 4-5-1 it was supposed to be, fans were harsh towards the tactics. The feeling that by playing for a draw, they’d invited defeat left a bitter taste in the mouth. They were getting hammered and Davies kept to a tactical plan that clearly wasn’t working.

Birmingham yesterday entertained Wigan Athletic and played Cameron Jerome up front as a lone striker for an hour. I appreciate that using Hleb and Bowyer to bomb on as support helps but everyone seems to be playing 4-3-3 with just one striker and no wingers. Safety first at home against Wigan Athletic? Come on Alex Mcleish, show the fans some credit.

Birmingham City fans would be right in feeling that playing at home against anyone apart from the top 6, the side should at least show a little more attacking invention. No-one is expecting a side to go gung ho, but really, games like this are what keeps sides up in the Premiership, not what they achieve against the big clubs. The fans, as they did yesterday at St. Andrews, have a right to make their frustrations known.

If the fans begin to chant a formation or simply don’t bother turning up should tell you all you need to know. Alex Mcleish has been around football long enough to appreciate the fans concerns but yesteray had 3 strikers on the bench. For me, Birmingham’s best results in the last couple of seasons have been when they’ve gone with at least two strikers up front, rather than looking to negate the opposition.

The World Cup was full of sides playing a 4-3-3 system that employed wingers and strikers that could drop back when defending. Unfortunately, the new season has seen plenty of sides simply revert to a 4-5-1 and no option for width and balance. By replacing the attacking options with the safety first choice, the fans vote with their feet and their voices and no amount of unbeaten games will change that.

The frustration is born from playing so negatively against sides they consider at best, equals that they stop attending. When you’re only charging a top price of £34 for an adult ticket, cheap by comparison to some in the Premiership, you’d look to be selling out every home game. With almost 8,000 empty seats, that clearly isn’t the case. It may be value for money, but for some it certainly doesn’t represent entertainment value for the Birmingham fans.

For Scotland fans, there is one goal above all others than stands alone as a probably the best goal they’ve ever scored in a World Cup. In fact, lets be honest, it’s one of the best goals scored by any team at a World Cup. It’s certainly one of my favourite goals in the tournaments history. Argentina 1978 had been something of a disaster for the Scottish side, who had gone to the finals in Argentina with high hopes.

During English football’s dark days of failure, Scotland carried British hopes in both the 1974 and 1978 and on both occasions failed to progress from the group stages due to goal difference. Yet despite the disappointment, Gemmill’s goal stands out as a moment of pure football genius on every level.

The Scottish manager at the time, Ally MacLeod had fuelled the hopes of the Tartan Army by insisting his side could come home with a medal but as soon as they arrived in Argentina things began to unravel. The side were on a positive wave, created by beating England at Wembley in 1977, snapped crossbars and pitch invasions et al as they won the British Home Championships.

The first group game saw them face Peru and come unstuck when faced with the majestic talent of Cubillas. Despite taking the lead, Peru pegged them back and then Don Masson saw a penalty saved before Cubillas hit two goals to help the Peruvians to a 3-1 win. After the game Willie Johnston tested positive for a banned substances. Despite the fact is was a simple hay fever remedy, it was enough to engulf the team in a doping scandal. No bitterness from the English press there then eh!

Johnston was sent home in disgrace and the team lurched into the next game, against Iran. Once again, Scotland took the lead but couldn’t hold on and Iran levelled, if anything unfortunate to not win the match. The pictures of MacLeod slumped in his dug out, head in hands summed up the mood of the nation. How could it all go so wrong? Simply, they underestimated the opposition and paid the price.

The final group game saw the Scots face the dynamic Dutch and needed to win by 3 clear goals to have any chance of qualifying for the next round. After the two previous games, they were expected to be lambs to the slaughter. An early goal for the Netherlands, through Resenbrink seemed to be an opening of the flood gates, but Scotland rallied. Kenny Dalglish equalised to go into half time level.

Gemmill then got his first goal of the game, replacing Masson as the penalty taker and slotted one home to put them 2-1 up. Yet, it was his second goal and Scotland’s third that will live long in the memory. The Scottish newspaper, The Scotsman described it thus: “In 68 minutes, however, Scotland went 3–1 up when Archie Gemmill scored one of the great goals of this World Cup so far. The little midfield player homed in on goal, played a magnificent one-two with Dalglish then sprinted into the box and thumped a glorious goal past Jongbloed to revive all the hopes which had died the death this past fortnight. It was an extraordinary goal and an extraordinary moment. Suddenly Scotland were dreaming of glory again”

Of course, it was not to be, Rep scored a screamer to make it 3-2 and whilst the Scots held on for a famous victory, they went out once again on goal difference. A tournament that promised so much, finished with disappointment again. So near, yet so far and Scotland would have to move onwards and upward. The goal became a central point in Trainspottingwhich saw it moved from being the sole love of Scotland fans, to a worthy mention as one of the best goals in the competitions history.

Gemmill’s career saw him play for Derby County, Nottingham Forest and Birmingham City amongst others as well as playing in the USA for the Jacksonville Team Men in 1982. A delightful passer of the ball, he was a tricky midfield play-maker who got his fair share of goals. Currently the manager of the Scottish Under 19′s team, he is a popular speaker on the after dinner circuit, as anyone who spent so long working under Brian Clough could never be short of an anecdote or too. So all hail, Archie Gemmill, scorer of one the greatest World Cup goals ever and certainly Scotlands best.

Please leave  me your comments below and you can follow me at http://twitter.com/paulbestall

The English First Division came into being in 1888 and within 4 years, a young man named Steve Bloomer signed for Derby County from local league side Tutbury Hawthorn. Whilst he may have been highly thought of in the local area, such was the turnover of young men trying their hand at football; Bloomer could have easily been another statistic of those days of the Football League’s infancy. To say Bloomer had an extraordinary life would be something of an understatement and he would write his name in footballing history.

He made his Derby County debut at the beginning of the 1892-93 season and scored his first goal for County on September 24th in a 3-1 win against West Bromwich Albion. That season saw Bloomer finish with very respectable figures of 11 goals in 28 games and the slightly framed, pale skinned young man quickly established himself as a crowd favourite at the Baseball Ground. Possessing great pace, a thundering shot with either foot and a range of passing rarely seen in a forward, his performances quickly saw him chosen to represent England in 1895.

Scoring 2 goals on his debut for England in a 9-0 romp against Ireland, Bloomer seemed to have the football world at his feet but the first of the tragedies that befell him occurred when his brother, Philip, also briefly a Derby County player died in 1896 of peritonitis. Bloomer continued to build his reputation the following season scoring 35 goals in 36 games which included 5 hat tricks and hit a run of hitting 21 goals in 20 games.

A strange side note to this part of his career is that he actually led Derby County to the British Baseball Championship in 1895, 1897 and the final season of 1898, which is why Derby County’s old ground was known as the Baseball Ground.  As the baseball team folded, Bloomer’s football moved in to a different level scoring goals for fun for both club and country. He became the first player to score 5 goals for his country against Wales and then followed it up 5 years later with another 4 goal haul again in a match against Wales, thus also making him the first England player to score two hat tricks.

In his first spell at Derby, Bloomer was the leading goal scorer in the First Division on 5 separate occasions and twice in all European Leagues. He hit 6 goals in one match against Sheffield Wednesday in 1899 and also scored the first goal at West Bromwich Albion’s Hawthorns Ground in 1900. This man set records for fun and couldn’t stop throughout his career and it was interesting to note how his fortune continued to rise as he left Derby County to join Middlesbrough in March 1906 for the princely sum of £750.  Shorn of Bloomer’s skills, Derby County were relegated the following season but Bloomer continued to find the back of the net for his new employers.

In his first two full seasons at Boro, he unsurprisingly finished as their leading scorer and played his final match for England in 1907. By 1910, Bloomer was coming up to his 36th birthday, but as Stanley Matthews had returned back to his first love, in 1910, Bloomer returned to a hero’s welcome at Derby County, who were still languishing in the Second Division. Bloomers return almost had an instant impact with another 24 goals but Derby’s promotion charge faltered and they finished 6th.

Bloomer was not being denied the season after and Derby won promotion as Champions in 1911-1912 and he hit another 19 goals for the Rams.  Bloomer managed to have another 2 seasons in the First Division, but at 40 years old he finally retired as a player. For most players, that would be the end for their careers in football, but Steve Bloomer’s life then took another amazing turn.  In July 1914, he decided to take up the offer to become the manager of the German side Britannia Berlin 92.

3 weeks later, World War I broke out and Bloomer, as a British citizen was interred in a prisoner of war camp in Berlin, Ruhleben. Amazingly, a football season of sorts was organised between the prisoners and Bloomer once again found himself playing regular football, albeit in a prisoner of war league. He also played Cricket in a prison league that was set up to run through the summer months in the camp, and unsurprisingly Bloomer excelled at that game as well.

During his internment, tragedy once again visited Bloomer and he lost two daughters to illness to compound the earlier loss of his brother. Once again, his success was tarred by personal loss. Released in 1918 at the end of the war, Bloomer had a short spell coaching in Holland but by 1922 he had drifted away from football. On the horizon though was one last amazing hurrah.

In 1923, he made a return to management, taking the reins at Spanish side Real Union. Guiding Union to the regional championship, he found his side in the Copa Del Rey. In those days, the cup was used to decide the Spanish Champions and amazingly, Union had got to the semi-final after beating Seville 3-1. Their opponents were the giants of Barcelona and it seemed that their amazing cup run would come to an end. Bloomer had other ideas and Union blew Barcelona away 6-1, an amazing result for a regional team such as Union.

The Copa Del Rey final would surely be one game too many for Bloomers plucky side as who else but Real Madrid were waiting for them, but once again Bloomer’s side turned the form book on its head to snatch the title with a 1-0 win and become Spanish Champions. It was beyond belief for most people but simply another amazing achievement in the life of Steve Bloomer.

Bloomer eventually returned to Derby and passed away in April 1938, aged 64. In January 2009, Derby County erected a bust of him inside Pride Park facing the pitch, placed next to the home dug out. English football’s first superstar will never be forgotten.

• 684 games for Derby County and Middlesbrough, scoring 430 goals
• 28 goals in 23 games for England
• Won the European Golden boot twice & First Division leading scorer in 5 seasons
• Derby’s leading goalscorer in a season an incredible 14 seasons in a row
• 3rd highest goalscorer in First Division/Premiership history with 314 goals.

Well this may come as some surprise, but a film about a manager that only had one season in the Premiership may not garner the most interest outside of the United Kingdom but Brian Clough is a legend in European football. Today sees the film version of David Peace’s tome have its World Premier in London and let’s hope it’s a better attempt than the tissue of lies his book is.

I read the book when it came out and found it to be quite a dishonest work of fiction masquerading as a work of truth. Fundamentally, its the fact that it uses peoples reputations and names and fictionalises the 44 day period that Brian Clough spent as manager of Leeds United in 1974. It’s allowed itself to be pushed as a work of fact when the author had no connection with any of the major characters portrayed in the book and they were all dead at the time of the books release with one major exception, Irish midfielder Johnny Giles, who successfully sued the publishers for libel. Norman Hunter hardly says anything, but he’s still alive so escapes Peace’s hatchet job. If you don’t know anything about football, I suppose you may enjoy it but then again, if you do, what’s the point?

Do not be fooled by this film being advertised as a factual representation, the caricature of Brian Clough is as far removed from reality as is possible, factually incorrect and tries to garner controversy in how Clough behaved and acted during his duration as manager of Leeds United. I’m deeply concerned that anyone who sees this film or reads the book will think the events actually happened as they appear in the book and is an honest representation of Brian Clough. David Peace has since claimed that he wished he never written the book and having had the misfortune of reading it, I have to agree with him.It gets fact after fact wrong but claims them as truthful, disgracefully so.

It’s a disgusting, libellous portrait of one of the greatest managers in modern English history and has allowed an author to claim fame using a man who the author isn’t fit to lick the boots of. He has tried to justify his untrue account as a novel, yet has used real people and real events and distorted, lied and besmirched people’s reputations and feels any criticism is unfair. How would David Peace feel if someone took his life story and wrote a completely untrue version of it just because they fancied they wanted to do so. He claims he never wanted to upset Brian Clough’s family yet writes about him as a drunken, chain smoking buffoon who hides away in his office, safe in the knowledge that Clough can’t sue him from beyond the grave.

Whilst Clough’s battle with alcoholism is well documented, it didn’t appear until the late 80′s and certainly never drank in front of his players at any time during his career as a manager at Hartlepools, Derby County, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest. Peace has taken a legend of football and danced on his grave for his own self publicity from his ivory tower in Tokyo, knowing that this dreadful novel will certainly not be the talk of the sushi and karaoke bars.

People will defend it, but the majority of the book is a lie. Clough was a flawed man and of course he made mistakes, but to make up the majority of the incidents is just plainly wrong. It also paints an inaccurate depiction of Billy Bremner, claims Dave Mackay was at Derby when he’d been gone two years, falsehood after falsehood.

If The Damned United encourages you to do anything, buy both of the brilliant Brian Clough autobiographies, or try and search for some of his wonderful interviews on YouTube. It’s a tragedy that Clough didn’t have more time in the Premiership or get to manage England as he should have done. Just don’t give David Peace a penny of your hard earned cash.

Brian Clough, Legend

Congrats to Derby County. On a day where Cricket was the headline in England throughout (thanks ECB), Derby County came up with another dozy…technically being 180 minutes away from European competition.

However that’s where the hyperbole stops for me. Sir Alex Ferguson obviously had a plan in mind for tonight’s game, damage control. While yes the 1-0 scoreline could be considered flattering for the number of chances Derby County had, Derby were unable to really punish Manchester United and the lighthearted nature they took this first leg. When the ninety was up, the scoreline should have read at least 2-0.

But let’s be honest about this game. Manchester United have a big tie Sunday against Chelsea at Old Trafford and they host the return leg to this tie in two weeks time. Sir Alex killed one bird when tonight’s game ended 1-0. He was able to rest key players and with the damage held to a minimal, should be able to turn over a Derby County side that will have the post manager change glow wearing off in a fort night. So let us all not over blow this result. While yes it’s a bit of a shock, let’s put this into perspective first. If Derby manage to hold on at Old Tafford for the Wembley final, then we can wonder about the what ifs of this night.

Busy day at St. James Park. First we find out Shola Ameobi signed a new 3 year deal. Let’s hope he gets healthy to play a large part of those 3 years. Secondly we find out that Obafemi Martins is off to see the hernia guy in Germany. See ya in six weeks. However if I was Martins, I’d tell his agent to shut up about blasting the club and the medical staff saying ‘The Newcastle medical staff is woeful’. Why state the obvious when at any time you can look at their injury list and go ‘is this West Ham from last season’? And finally we find out that Alan Smith looks to be sold from the club. For some odd reason that will probably come to me later, that surprises me.

Other Stories
Mark Hughes believes in an open door policy. I guess his players just don’t want to take him up on that offer. If players are taking up their grievances in player only meetings and with chairmen, then in my mind the players have either revolted or no longer care about you as a person.

We have a new leader in the club house in the Richest Club Owner Invitational, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Manchester City. That’s what happens when you have more money than everyone else. Roman Abramovich falls to third.

Tell me if I’ve got this nightly Jermain Defoe update correct. 1) The story comes out that Defoe made his own deal. 2) Bitter ex agent who is suing Defoe over breech of contract makes claim that Defoe’s mother helped broker the deal. So would that make 3) Bitter ex agent is trying to get both Defoe and Tottenham in trouble? Now I just want this story to end!

So John Terry is disappointed to see Wayne Bridge go. I guess they must have become great friends on the Chelsea medical tables.

Major League Soccer bust Denilson is on trail with Bolton. Hey Gary, you can’t be that desperate for players.

Here’s our daily warning from Middlesbrough saying Stewart Downing isn’t for sale.

On Monday, expect several of the talking heads on English football podcasts and radio to whinge and joke about the FA Cup. How the top football clubs don’t treat it seriously anymore. How the FA Cup has lost its glamor. And how there are literally very few upsets compared to how many there used to be (cue memories of Hereford beating Newcastle in 1972).

While the respect and interest in the FA Cup is mostly lost on those in England, the tournament still has a lot of appeal elsewhere in the world especially in the United States where the FA Cup is seen as a novelty item. Outside of the U.S. Open Cup, the concept of having an amateur side compete against a professional club is completely unheard of in the States especially to non-soccer sports fans.

Despite the charm of watching amateurs battle it out against professionals, the experience of watching FA Cup on television feels like a time warp back to the late 1970s and early 1980s. For example, watching Forest Green Rovers against Derby County and Everton versus Macclesfield, it seemed so unlike the Premier League. Both grounds, understandly so, featured ramshackle stadiums. Watching the Forest Green Rovers match on TV, large shadows cast over the pitch making it difficult to watch periods of the game (this began from the opening kickoff when the Derby County defender fluffed the ball and the Forest Green Rovers striker shot at goal into what seemed like darkness).

And lastly, there was the football. While the Forest Green Rovers match was entertaining, thanks to some shoddy defending, that match and the one at Macclesfield featured the classic up and under English football of yesteryear where the ball is up in the air more than it is being played on the ground. The Everton against Macclesfield match was dire with the Toffeemen looking very ordinary against a weak but determined Macclesfield side.

So while those of us outside England warm to the charm of the FA Cup, I believe we also warm to how different the FA Cup feels. The primitive and antiquated stadiums. The route one football that gives mediocre clubs a chance to beat the Premier League opposition. The different football commentators we hear that we don’t often get when watching Premier League matches, and the sometimes different camera angles that seem so un-ordinary after watching globs of Premier League football. Plus, of course, the novelty of seeing football fans standing on the terraces.

To me, the FA Cup is the perfect diversion from the Premier League that we all love. For a few weekends through the year, it gives us a chance to experience our football in a different way. To learn about lower league and non-league clubs from the far corners of England. To watch dried up footballers play out their dying moments in their twilight of their career. And lastly, since the other 16 clubs in the Premier League seem incapable of doing so, to root and hope for the Big Four to lose against the underdogs. That’s why I love the FA Cup. Long let it continue.

Personally, I think the weekend of the FA Cup Third Round is the most exciting weekend of the English Football campaign. The one weekend where all sixty-four teams are equal and the weekend where it doesn’t matter how strong your squad it, it’s a matter of wanting it more than your opposition…regardless of the gulf in class.

Viewers of Fox Soccer Channel were fortunate to see two entertaining ties live (depending on your defintion of live as the games were on at least a 2-3 minute delay…typical for a FSC broadcast) in Forest Green Rovers/Derby County and Preston North End v Liverpool.

Those at The New Lawn were probably treated to the most entertaining tie of the round. Forest Green threw everything into getting a 2-0 lead that was gone before halftime. They got it back, for it to only be short lived. But the critical moment on the nearly frozen pitch has to be the Forest Green red card and penalty that Derby County put away. Forest Green were caught out going for the winner and Kris Commons ends up on the breakaway one v one with Terry Burton. Commons unsure of taking the shot ends up not having to worry about it as Darren Jones comes barrelling in from behind.

I won’t argue the penalty as Jones made no attempt at playing the ball. However I am unsure if there should have been a red card given. From my vantage point watching the replay, Commons looks to be coming to a stop and is unsure if he should continue on the run to set up another player to score. In my mind, that becomes the moment when ‘denying a goal scoring opportunity’ ceases. The most I think Jones should have received was a yellow card.

Had Jones been allowed to stay on the park, who knows. Maybe Derby County still win 4-3, but I think with the way Forest Green were playing on the day, we may have just seen a replay at Pride Park.

The other critical decision of the day happened at Deepdale. Liverpool had their chances in the first half and in all honesty should have had this tie put to bed before this. However their lack of fire power up front allowed Preston to stay in this match. The circumstances surrounding Preston North End’s disallowed goal are bizarre to say the least. A free kick not cleared and it eventually finds it way to the back of the net, only to have the goal ruled out.

During live play it seemed a perfectly legit goal, that is until you see the love Jon Parkin decides to give Jamie Carragher inside the Liverpool six yard box. At the moment the ball is crossed into Sean St. Ledger, Parkin makes the mistake of holding Jamie Carragher to the ground. The foul has to be given and the goal disallowed. What’s more disheartening if you’re a Preston fan is Parkin didn’t have to hold him down. The ball was crossed in with enough pace that if Parkin had just let him up, I don’t think Carragher could have done anything to stop St. Ledger from equalizing.

Had Preston equalized from this moment, I think the game swings into Preston’s favor and Liverpool are hanging on for an Anfield replay. However, one moment of stupidity cost Preston the game as their push for a goal late gave Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres a training ground run up to goal…an opportunity Fernando Torres isn’t missing. Then possibly we aren’t seeing the celebration above.

The draw for the semi-finals of the 2008/2009 Carling Cup have been announced. Current holders Tottenham Hotspur will take on Burnley, while Manchester United faces Derby County.

The semi-finals will be a two leg affair. The first leg will be played on January 5th and the return leg on the 19th.

So I guess it’ll be an all Championship final then? Just kidding. But it makes you wonder whether Alex Ferguson should gamble and try to play his reserve side and more of his youngsters who get few chances, if any, to play for United. What would you do if you were Fergie? Gamble with the kids or let the pros coast to victory to ensure United gets a decent chance at the first piece of silverware this season?

This weekend we were graced with another very entertaining and competitive Premier League weekend. At this rate, we’re well on course for one of the most exciting Premier League seasons in recent memory. Here are ten reasons why:

1. No more Derby County. The three promoted teams already have equaled or exceeded the number of points that Derby achieved during the entire 07/08 season. Derby won a mere 11 points last season. West Bromwich Albion currently have 11, while newboys Stoke City have 13 and fairytale Hull City has 20.
2. Amr Zaki. The Egyptian striker has been a revelation and an absolute joy to watch. Not only has his exquisite goals been sublime, but the way Zaki reads the game and how strong and confident he has been is a testament to his skills. He also seems very humble, which is a rare attribute for Premier League goalscorers.
3. Hull City. Even in their losses against Manchester United and Chelsea during the past week, Hull have showed a wonderful attitude as well as a lack of fear which is so hard to find in the Premier League. With Hull, unpredictability happens, which is another rarity about the Premiership.
4. Rory Delap. When was the last time you saw one player have such a dramatic impact on a team’s chances of winning by using one of the most unconventional methods? Delap’s throw-ins seem to be practically unstoppable. Both goals by Stoke yesterday against Arsenal were the result of Delap’s throws.
5. Tottenham Hotspur. Love them or hate them, Tottenham Hotspur’s season has been more dramatic than an entire season of Dream Team. Everything that could have gone wrong did. And everything that could have gone right in one week did, too.
6. Liverpool. While I was a big critic of their form earlier in the season where they lucked out on several occasions during the qualifying games in Europe and their first few matches in the Premier League, the club has found its form and look one of the most dangerous sides in the league.
7. Arsenal. Before the season began, who would have predicted that the Gunners would lose against Fulham, Hull City and Stoke City? Arsene Wenger’s side continues to be a mystery wrapped inside an enigma. Some weeks they’re playing blistering football, but other times they’ve been abysmal.
8. Classics. One of the major things we were missing last season were classic games that you’ll remember for years. While last season’s race was close, we’ve already experienced four classic games and we’re only just in November. Classics include Man City 2-3 Liverpool, Arsenal 4-4 Spurs, Liverpool 3-2 Wigan and Spurs 2-1 Liverpool.
9. Big Four. This season, for the first time in ages, we have the best chance of a real Big Four race instead of just the Big Two. Sure, Arsenal has slipped but there’s still plenty of time for the Gunners to regain their winning form.
10. Chelsea reborn. Luis Felipe Scolari has turned Chelsea into a lean fighting machine capable of playing some free-flowing football as well as playing with a confidence that they’ve been lacking for quite some time. The Blues already have a goal difference of +23, while Liverpool have +8 despite having the same number of points as Chelsea, 26.

What highlights and storylines are missing from the above list that have made this season the best yet? Click the comments link below and let us know.

Who would have expected Hull City — tipped by many for relegation, myself included — to go to the Emirates Stadium and pull off one of the shocks of the season against the mighty Arsenal?

Every player on the Hull City side yesterday deserves a massive round of applause for the way they played in their shock 2-1 win over the Gunners.

This was no fluke. Far from it.

Hull defended valiantly, putting so many of their players behind the ball and breaking out on counterattacks whenever the opportunities arose. By flooding so much of their penalty area with defenders, Hull forced Arsenal to play wide. Hull was then easily able to defend the crosses coming in from the left and right wings and then knock the ball to safety.

Sure, this wasn’t a performance from Arsenal that we typically expect to see, but part of that has to be directed at Hull who prevented Wenger’s side from playing the type of game they thrive on. Theo Walcott for Arsenal had a poor game and looked very much like the player of last season instead of this season — spending too much time on the ball and being slow to react.

Going back to Hull, the players that generated such a herculean performance deserve to be mentioned, all 11 of them:

———————Myhill———————-

McShane——Turner—-Zayatte——Dawson

——————-Ashbee———————-

———–Marney———-Boateng———–

King————-Cousin————-Geovanni

The two goals scored by Hull were world-class. Geovanni’s 25 yard shot into the top corner is one of the goals of the season thus far, while Daniel Cousin’s header was wonderfully taken after a great leap.

While Hull’s goals were spectacular, the overall way they played against Arsenal wasn’t pretty by defending deep. But to play against Arsenal, this is exactly the type of performance that’s necessary that prevents the Gunners from playing their beautiful brand of football.

Incredibly, Hull City now sits in sixth place in the league with eleven points, which is exactly the same number of points that Derby County achieved during the entire 2007/2008 season. Hull have already beaten Arsenal, Newcastle and Fulham, and have drawn Everton and Blackburn.

Where Hull goes from here, no one knows. But what we have seen is a wonderful performance that just goes to show that if teams play with heart and confidence that even the lesser sides can overcame the giants. And this is exactly what the Premier League needs. Predictability? The Big Four? You’re having a laugh.

Be sure to read all of the newspaper match reports for the Premier League games throughout the season, as well as chatting live with football fans from around the world during today’s games in the EPL Talk Chat — all courtesy of EPL Talk writer and host Johnathan Starling.