As the New Year approaches this seasons title race is one of the most open in the history of the Premier League. No one is showing form that suggests they will run away with it and five teams will seriously still believe that could become Champions come the end of the season. Let’s take a look at the contenders.

Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson and his side currently lead the way and that will certainly make them favourites with the bookies and perhaps rightly so. United will enter 2011 undefeated and have yet to consistently produce the form that they are capable of. If Wayne Rooney can find his scoring boots in the New Year then the race for the title could be over before it begins. One thing that will concern the United manager and fans alike is their away form. With just one away win all season United have drawn far too many games on the road. With Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea all still to face away from Old Trafford United will need to pick up more points on the road if they are to regain the title.

Manchester City
Currently second in the table are United’s noisy neighbours Manchester City, who arguably have the best squad in the league with an array of internationals throughout the side. With the transfer window opening City also have funds at their disposal. They look to set to be spending again with a deal to bring Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko to Eastlands from Wolfsburg already close. The problem that Roberto Mancini faces is keeping the squad a happy one. Everyone will want to play in the run in and with so many top players some are bound to be unhappy. The depth and cover they have though is enough to deal with all but the biggest injury crisis and that could be key come May.

Arsenal
After an emphatic win against Chelsea confidence was high in North London but the Gunners did what they have continued to do in recent years and that is drop points against the lesser sides in the league. A 2-2 draw away at Wigan has certainly dampened the euphoria around the Emirates Stadium and raised the ongoing questions about their need for a leader in the side. As Wenger’s men proved against Chelsea they are capable of blowing anyone in the league away on their day but that day doesn’t seem to come round enough for them to win the Premier League. Defensive and goalkeeping concerns still need to be addressed too.

Chelsea
Chelsea have been on terrible run of form of late which they finally ended with a narrow win against Bolton last night and many pundits and fans have already begun to dismiss the Blues hopes of retaining the title. This is far too premature. Chelsea have been without John Terry and Frank Lampard for large parts of the season and that is the focal point of their team. With both of these players now back along with Drogba and Essien Chelsea are more than capable of stringing a significant run of results together. Like Manchester United they have a squad full of players who know how to deal with the pressure in the final stages of a title run in and that could prove vital. Talk of them missing out on the top four altogether is nonsense.

Tottenham
Harry Redknapp and his Spurs side have been a revelation this season playing some mouth-watering football. Tottenham now have a very strong squad that are capable of competing with anyone across Europe as there results in the Champions League have proven and there is no getting away from the fact that they are in the title race. One problem that could hurt them is there goal difference which is poor in comparison to the other contenders .Whether they are capable of staying in the race right down to the wire remains to be seen but I wouldn’t bet against them being there.

With the race as open as it is you could make a good claim for anyone of the above sides winning the league but I see the title going to either the red side of Manchester or staying at Stamford Bridge. Experience is key in at the back end of the seasons when surprise results always occur and these two teams have it in abundance. Where do you see the league ending up?

Full disclosure: I’m a Spurs fan.  Have been for round about six years, which just so happens to be just before the last time Mark Clattenburg took charge of a Manchester United v Spurs fixture at Old Trafford.  For any who needed their memory jogged (or who weren’t fans at the time):

Look, Tottenham didn’t deserve to win on Saturday.  They were undone by the same problems that have plagued the entire season to date.  Falling behind early, a few naive moments in defense, poor set piece defending.  While they generally pass the ball well through the midfield, striker play has been awful, for the most part.

That said, Spurs shouldn’t be forced to beat the referee as well.  Old Trafford is tough enough to begin with.  Some might remember Spurs going into halftime with a 2-0 lead at this fixture two seasons ago, before Howard Webb called an incorrect penalty on Gomes, after which point the floodgates opened and United won 5-2.  Getting back to Clattenburg, I also remember him taking charge of a Spurs-United match at White Hart Lane two or three years ago, and it sticks in my mind because Paul Scholes got away with three bad and cynical fouls without being shown any card at all.

Needless to say, when I saw who the referee was for this match, I went in expecting an uphill battle.  Nani’s goal has been discussed ad nauseum on here, on pundit shows, and everywhere else so I’ll be brief when I get to it.  I’m more concerned about the other incidents in what was a very clean match with few other talking points at all.  But close examination does provide some enlightening details, in my opinion.  Here’s a short rundown – by minute – of all the other incidents in the match (I’ve tried to put away my lilywhite colored specs to do this, please cut me a little slack!):

1′st minute – Nani goes up for a 50/50 ball with Benoit Assou-Ekotto, clean play but Nani decides to roll around on the pitch for a few seconds and make an appeal to Clattenburg.  A pretty tame moment, but bares mentioning for all that happened later…

2′ – …including because of what happens in the next minute.  Nani, now popping up on the opposite side, attacks Alan Hutton.  There might’ve been minor (incidental) contact with Hutton, but not even close to being a foul.  Nani then loses control of the ball as it goes out for a goal kick, takes 3 more steps and dives with no one around him.  He then puts out his arms to appeal for God-knows-what.   At this point Clattenburg should’ve at least given Nani a telling-off to stop all the complaining and play-acting (a yellow card for this sort of crap should be the way forward IMO), yet does nothing.

17′ – William Gallas receives the first yellow of the match for a foul on Javier Hernandez.  The foul occurs near midfield, was not malicious but a fraction late, and was Gallas’ first foul of the match.  Extremely harsh on Gallas, and of course now he has to be careful for the rest of the match.

21′ - The linesman makes a mistake in Spurs’ favor, as the ball goes over the touch line before Bale crosses to win a corner.  Although the cynical side of me thinks that the only refereeing  mistakes likely to go in Spurs’ favor in a match like this are the objective ones (was the ball out of play, who was last to touch it, etc), rather than the subjective ones.

30′ - Younes Kaboul makes a silly rash challenge on Hernandez which earns United a dangerous free kick and himself a yellow card.  Which then led to Vidic’s goal.  No complaints here, Kaboul’s defending in this instance was poor.

40′ - Park Ji-Sung fouls Aaron Lennon in Spurs’ half of the pitch; a slide tackle from behind while Lennon was away on a counter.  Considering Lennon’s pace, the space in front of him, and the lack of United defenders back, it’s obvious Park knew what he was doing.  Clattenburg doesn’t think this warrants a yellow however.

45′ - Michael Carrick fouls Assou-Ekotto from behind while he’s attacking in United’s half.  Not a dangerous foul though, and didn’t deserve a card in my opinion.  However, after Clattenburg whistles for the foul, Rio Ferdinand kicks the ball 50 yards up the field in frustration.  I was under the impression this constitutes an automatic yellow, just like taking your shirt off after a goal.  Guess not.

84′ - The Nani “goal”.  For video, analysis, and discussion of the incident here’s the Gaffer’s post on the subject.  I found an article in the Wall Street Journal of all places which pretty much sums up my viewpoint on the incident.

What I do feel the need to mention is why on earth Rio Ferdinand was allowed to take part in the discussion between Clattenburg and the linesman (Simon Beck) after Beck raised his flag when the goal was scored.  And yes,  I realize that it isn’t that dissimilar to the protests Tom Huddlestone made to the referee after his goal was originally disallowed two weeks ago at Fulham.  But surely players shouldn’t be allowed to take part in decisions which are supposed to be made by the officials alone.  It hurts the ability of the referees to do their job, and the integrity of the game, so that people like me can watch on TV and make an argument that something sinister is going on.  Since there’s no culpability of the officials after the fact, one never truly knows how a decision is reached.

Finally, after the goal was given, and all the Spurs players protested for the better part of a minute, Luka Modric was given a yellow card after Clattenburg had had enough.  I thought that as captain, Modric was entitled to an explanation of his decision to award the goal (especially as Ferdinand – the opposite captain – was allowed to confer before it was given) ?

All in all, an appalling display by the referee.  3 yellow cards to Spurs, 1 of which was deserved (Kaboul) ; none to United, who deserved 3 (Park, Ferdinand, and Nani for persistent play acting).

This is all an account of what my eyes have seen in one match, and isn’t meant to project what happens in all matches of this sort.  But for marquee matches between two top teams, there’s only a pool of four or five generally recognized “elite referees” which do most of the big matches (of which Clattenburg and Webb are two), and at least with recent United-Spurs matches, they consistently get big decisions wrong, and in favor of the so-called “bigger club”.

So what do you think?  Am I just a whining Spurs fan?  Is there a shred of truth there?  Are there other good examples in recent history of major decisions going in favor of the Uniteds and the Chelsea’s when they shouldn’t have?  Are there major changes needed in the way matches are officiated, and the officials assigned to them?  Please share in the comments.

Bebé in action for United

The decision made by Sir Alex Ferguson to bring the previously unknown Tiago Manuel Dias Correia, commonly known by his nickname Bebé, to Manchester United has come under a lot of scrutiny by the press, but has Fergie unearthed another gem?

The Bebé transfer was an interesting and peculiar one right from the start. He began his career with amateur side Loures before signing for Portuguese second division side Estrela da Amadora in the summer of 2009. Estrela struggled to pay his wages and looked to unload him to dutch giants PSV in May 2010, however Bebé’s former agent Goncalo Reis revealed that PSV had turned down the offer as ”they did not know him”. He was then snapped up by Vitória de Guimarães in the summer of 2010 on a free transfer. He signed a five-year contract with Vitória witha £7.4 million release clause, but didn’t play a single competitive match for the Portuguese side before United pounced.

After recommendations from former assistant at Old Trafford, Carlos Queiroz, and after an impressive pre-season with Vitória, where he scored five goals in six games, Sir Alex Ferguson began to show interest in the 20-year-old, and on the 11th of August 2010 Manchester United signed Bebé for an undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of £7.4 million. When the press got word of this deal a media circus ensued. Surely Fergie wouldn’t pay over the odds for a player he has never seen play before, a player recommended to him just one day before the deal went through by a former member of staff, a player who spent most of his childhood in a homeless shelter and whose only previous notable footballing experience before 2009 was appearing for amateur club Loures on occasion and the CAIS team in the European Street Football Festival in the Bosnian town of Foca. Or did the United boss know something we didn’t? The rumour mill went into overdrive and stories began to leak. A former coach at Bebé’s old club Estrela, Jorge Paxaio, revealed that in January this year Bebé was in the shop window for as little as £125,000 in attempt to save the club from going into liquidation.  He explained:

”Last season we had no money at all. We were trying to transfer Bebé to other clubs. We had to raise money desperately. We told everyone in England and in Europe: “For 150,000 Euros you can have him”. We couldn’t get anybody interested. Nobody trusted him. None of the clubs were interested because he had never played at a high level. I was surprised with the sudden way it happened with United. I was hoping he would move to a bigger club in Portugal or to a medium-sized club in Europe. I didn’t expect Manchester United.”

Bebé’s former agent Goncalo Reis was, like most in the footballing world, equally shocked at how the deal progressed. He went on to say:

”A scout from United could have contacted me or the club last season. There was no secret. But I understand that the United scout just saw certain games in Portugal and only realised Bebé was a great player when he saw some pre-season games involving Guimaraes.”

Bebé in his Guimaraes Vitória days

It looked to everyone that United had paid over the odds for the attacker. Everyone was asking themselves why Ferguson had dished out such a large sum of money for such an unknown, inexperienced youngster. Although the majority in the media allowed themselves to be drawn to the idea that another overpriced flop was on his way to Old Trafford, some were less scrutinous. It is now widely believed that although Ferguson would have preferred Bebé to stay at Vitória and gain a little more experience, as well as giving him a chance to scout the player more extensively, the United boss was pressured into triggering the £7.4 million release clause in his contract amid speculation that some of Europe’s top clubs, including Real Madrid and Benfica, were courting the Portuguese prospect. If the youngster possesses the skills required to interest some of Europe’s top clubs, along with a number of world class coaches, you begin to think that £7.4 million isn’t a whole lot of money for an apparently promising talent, by the standards set in today’s footballing market.

The Bebé transfer came under even more scrutiny recently when Manchester United revealed that Jorge Mendes, and not Goncalo Reis, was the agent involved in the deal that took him to Old Trafford. Mendes, who is the agent of former United assistant manager Carlos Queiroz and was also involved in the deal that took Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford, was involved in accusations made by Reis that he had ”poached” the players contract. Reis insisted that at the time of the transfer he had a written contract, between himself and Bebé, to act as his agent. It is reported that Bebé had written to Reis to terminate their relationship, although Reis has claimed that he didn’t receive the letter until The 13th of August, two days after the player had signed for the Red Devils. FIFA regulations forbid an angent from contacting a player while he has ”an exclusive representation contract” with another agent, and Reis may present his case for further investigation.

Bebé gets a run out for the reserves

Amid all the stories and controversy involved in the deal, it would be understandable for Bebé to feel apprehensive and overwhelmed by his new surroundings, but he seems to have taken to life at Old Trafford quite comfortably. The Portugal under-21 international made his debut for the United first team against Scunthorpe on Wednesday the 22nd of September and has already began to impress the backroom staff and his new teammates. United assistant Mike Phelan believes Bebé showed plenty of promise on his debut in the League Cup clash.

“The scoreline gave us the opportunity to give Bebé a little look at what Manchester United is all about. I thought he responded very well. There were fleeting moments of pace and power, and he got a little bit excited now and again. But it’s important that players like him get these opportunities.”

Teammate Chris Smalling was also impressed by Bebé’s bit-part display.

”Since he’s come in, he’s become sharper every day. He’s really improving and working on his fitness. Tonight he really caused their full-back problems, coming in from the wing. Hopefully we’ll see him produce that kind of form in many games to come.”

Bebé was surprised to make United’s 25-man Champions League squad, but is keen to impress.

”I’m surprised by my inclusion in the Champions League squad, it’s a dream for me. I never thought I would have made it, but now I am a very happy man. I only hope that my confidence returns when I start playing some games and scoring goals, like I know how. At the moment I am working very hard each day in training. I intend to make the most of my chance and hopefully profit from the opportunity given to me.” He told reporters in Portugal:

”I am working hard, everyone has helped me a lot, I have adapted well, given the short time I have been there. The older ones help me a lot.”

Following a slightly more personal question from one particular journalist, Bebé smiled and added:  ”Did Ferguson make me cut my hair? More or less…”

Before even kicking a ball for Manchester United, he was criticised, scrutinised and deemed unworthy by many. Will he join the list of expensive flops that have come and gone at Old Trafford, or will he prove his worth and repay the faith shown in him? With the media spotlight shining directly on Bebé’s rise from the streets to stardom, will he shine back?

Leave a comment and have your say.

For some players, it can often take a season to settle in to a new club, especially when you arrive with a £30 million price tag around your neck. Sometimes, other aspects can slow the adaption to new surroundings. For Dimitar Berbatov, in his 3rd season at Manchester United, it seems he has finally begun to show Manchester United fans exactly what type of player he is.

Berbatov has had more than his fair share of critics for the first two seasons in Manchester, with accusations on his fitness, work-rate, finishing and waistline all being thrown at him. Despite Berbatov’s fine period at White Hart Lane, he seemed a little within himself whilst starting his Manchester United’s career. 46 goals in 102 games for Tottenham was a phenomenal return for a player experiencing English football for the first time.

It would always be difficult for Berbatov to hit the ground running at Old Trafford. He had moved from a club where he was the fulcrum of the side, the architect. Everything went through Berbatov and it allowed him a freedom of expression that would be difficult to replicate at Manchester United. There he became one of a number of star players, one of the cogs, rather than the engine room. Even the most technical players find that change difficult.

His technical abilities are in no doubt, but it always takes time to adapt to a new system, a new team and a new surrounding. For some people, these things should not be an issue when you cost so much money but as with anything in life, change always takes time to sink in. For Berbatov, it took longer than it perhaps should have for some people.

The new season though has seen Berbatov start with a bang with 3 goals in Manchester United’s first four matches, two of which have been stunning efforts. The deftly crafted lob with defenders baring down on him in the Community Shield clash against Chelsea was a phenomenal finish under pressure. The goal against West Ham United was an astounding scissor kick from a delightful chip from Nani.

Perhaps it’s removing the weight of his international career over the summer that has seen him return refreshed and firing on all cylinders. Berbatov has suffered continual criticism of his international career, but he’s still managed to become the Bulgarian sides all time top scorer in a  side that perhaps isn’t as strong as some of its predecessors.  For some people, constant criticism whilst you are breaking records would seem beyond churlish but that’s football. Some people are never satisfied.

For Berbatov, this season is crucial for both himself and Sir Alex Ferguson. Whilst many dare not criticise Ferguson, Berbatov is a transfer that he cannot hide from the critics. The fee, the players prior success before joining United and the ever constant eye of press coverage make it impossible to sweep under the carpet. This was no Ralph Milne from Bristol City dark days transfer but Berbatov could console himself with the fact that Ferguson will protect his players with an iron resolve and continues to do so.

There is no doubt that this is a critical season for Berbatov at Manchester United but already he is showing he is more than ready for the challenge. Have no doubt if he continues in this form, both he and Manchester United will have a very successful season.

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

Manchester United supporters launched a very loud and visible protest against the club’s owners, the Glazers, Sunday during their last match of the season against Stoke City.

At half-time and at full-time, the sound of Man United supporters whistling their disapproval against the Glazer family was deafening. The whistles were met with “We Want Glazers Out” chants. Plus there were large parts of the Old Trafford stadium which had empty seats during the second half.

At the full-time whistle it was pretty surreal to hear Old Trafford whistling their disapproval against the Glazer owners rather than applauding their team for a very good season.

In related news, I was interviewed by The Palm Beach Post regarding the Glazer story and a few of my quotes are featured in the article entitled Man U Fans Are United Against Palm Beach Billionaire Malcolm Glazer. The article mistakenly referred to me as host of the EPL Talk Podcast. That title goes to Richard Farley.

Watching the Manchester derby Wednesday night I was appalled to see Craig Bellamy get hit by an object and to see other objects thrown at him as he went to take a corner for Manchester City.

Bellamy was struck by a coin that knocked him to the ground and saw a beer bottle narrowly miss his head. Having attended Old Trafford before, my recollection is that the beer bottles are plastic. But still, it’s despicable to see any objects thrown at footballers no matter who they are and no matter whether people hate the player or not. Yes, Bellamy is a cheeky footballer and he was mouthing off to Rio Ferdinand all night, but no football player deserves to have objects thrown at him.

I realize this was a heated Manchester derby, but I also found the reaction of the Manchester United supporters near Bellamy despicable. Not the people who threw the objects, who should be banned from Old Trafford from life (and they were even more despicable), but several supporters in that corner were seen laughing at and taunting Bellamy even after he got hit and was visibly shaken.

It’s one thing to get involved in a bit of banter with a player from your hated rival. But when that footballer has been struck by an object, is in pain and has fallen to the ground, football supporters should acknowledge that a line has been crossed and it’s not funny anymore to laugh at Bellamy, make rude gestures at him or scream obscenities.

The other disturbing issue is this. Once order was restored, from the resulting corner, United cleared the ball and, thanks to a world-class pass from Wayne Rooney to Ryan Giggs, went straight down the other end of the pitch and scored through Paul Scholes. You have to consider how much concentration City lost after the despicable corner incident and how that may have led to United being able to open them up at the other end of the pitch.

Up until the corner incident, Manchester City was on par with United and looked to be in its ascendency. As soon as the Bellamy incident happened, City lost its focus and never looked like winning this game especially after United scored the goal that made the aggregate scoreline equal.

Overall, Manchester United were by far the stronger team Wednesday night and deserved the victory. But I believe that Bellamy being struck by a coin had an impact on Manchester United’s first goal. Without the coin incident happening, Manchester City would have been more focused for that corner and probably would have delivered a better ball into the box, and who knows where the game could have gone from there.

Hi Guys, I’m here with my first post. I’m going to be doing a weekly post on the reasons why I love the beautiful game so much. This week I will be starting, ironically, with last gasp goals.

It doesn’t matter how they are scored, whether it’s a tap in like Aaron Lennon in last seasons dramatic 4-4 in the North London Derby and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer winning the treble at the Camp Nou, or beautifully crafted like Beckham lighting up Old Trafford once again to send England to the 2002 World Cup and Gerrard smashing home against Olympiakos in the 86th minute, giving them the 2-goal lead they needed to progress past the group stage of the 2004 Champion’s League, a competition they would go on to win.

A late goal is what’s beautiful about football, and highlights how quickly a game can change. You just drift away from the real world for that split second and find yourself in a state of ecstacy with no control over your actions. Andy Gray’s commentary during the Gerrard goal illustrates that so beautifully.

There aren’t many moments that give me goosebumps 8 years on after countless times of watching, but Beckham v Greece is one of them. It was almost poetic, and there was only ever one person who was going to carry us through to the World Cup Finals. It was the turning point in his career after the controversy of the 1998 World Cup, and had that goal not gone in, how different could David Beckham’s career have turned out.

So never give up hope, and never leave a game early. No amount of traffic can ruin that perfect moment.

Last gasp goals are why we all love football.

Old Trafford 1993

It seems incredible now when we view some of the impressive grounds that make up the home stadia of the Premiership clubs that in just 17 years how many of them have changed beyond all recognition from those far away days of the Premierships beginning. Looking back, the speed that some of the grounds changed is now, with hindsight, quite amazing. Back in 1992, football was still reeling from the after effects of the Hillsborough disaster and the implementation of the Taylor report.

Contrary to what some people may tell you, the majority of grounds in Britain were dirty,decrepit bowls with dreadful facilities, hard to get to and you were made to feel as if you were an inconvenience to the local constabulary. With the announcement of the Premiership’s formation though, all that changed. Coupled with the Taylor Reports recommendations, all terracing was to be removed and stadia had to become all seater by 1995 in the the top two divisions. English football was about to witness the most dramatic rebuilding process it had seen for over 100 years.

Stretford End in 1992

For the first of my stadium tours, where else can we start than Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United. United were one the clubs hit hardest by the Taylor Report recommendations.  United were planning to rebuild the Stretford End with a new terracing section which had to be completely scrapped, so when the Premiership started, Old Trafford had the incredible capacity of just 44,000!  As you can see from the picture, it seems like a different ground to the one we see week in, week out these days.

What caused a massive boost to the ground though was the decision by UEFA to award England Euro 96. This allowed the participating grounds to begin to undertake major redevelopments to the stadiums to be ready for the Championships and in 1994, United unveiled ambitious plans to increase the capacity by a whopping 11,000. The club decided to completely rebuild the North Stand with an individual capacity of 26,000, with 3 tiers and what was at the time, the largest cantilever roof in Europe.

Old Trafford 1996

Work began in 1995 to be ready for Euro 1996 and I remember going to Old Trafford for the Euro’s. The stand was mesmerising and tickets for it had a vertigo warning printed on the back of them. It seemed gigantic at the time and with United’s continued success in the Premiership and the Champions League, the club soon decided that the capacity needed to be increased further. On every subsequent visit, Old Trafford has always impressed me, it seems something is always being added to the ground.

The next stand to get attention was the East Stand with an additional tier which brought the ground up to 61,000. The stand was opened in September 2000 and was then joined by the increase to the Stretford End in 2001 to make that a two tiered cantilevered stand pushing the capacity up to a whopping 68,217 and had the seal of approval from U.E.F.A when it was awarded the 2003 Champions League final.

The increase in Old Trafford’s capacity also came to the aid of the England national team. Wembley was demolished in 2001, not before time and during 2001 and 2007, England played 23 home games around various grounds but Old Trafford hosted the national side in 12 of those matches and England certainly benefited from the atmosphere and the attendances.

Old Trafford 2002

The next alteration has so far been the last, as the club decided to complete the corners that book ended the North Stand, between both the East and West Stands. These North East and North West Stands had another tier fitted to them, which saw the club open some sections of it to record a new Premiership record high attendance of 69,070 against West Ham United on March the 26th 2006.

Old Trafford 2006

The corners were finally fully completed and used for the first time in a Premiership match in 2007, as United entertained Blackburn Rovers on March 31st, winning 4-1 setting another attendance record of 76,090. That brought the capacity up to it’s current level of 76,212 fans making it easily the largest league ground in Britain but it’s only the 3rd largest stadium overall in the UK behind Twickenham (82,000) and Wembley (90,000).

Yet, it may not be third for much longer, the club have mooted further expansion by adding a further 19,000 seats on the South Stand, using the South West and South East corners and adding a second tier along all 3 sections. It seems that United will be continually improving what is one of the best stadiums and one of my favourite away grounds in world football even more in the next few years.

What do Liverpool, Fulham, Aston Villa, FC Porto and Sunderland all have in common? They’ve all scored on Manchester United within the last month.

The champions boasted a staggering number of clean sheets this season, but in recent contests, as the aforementioned sides have proven: if you attack Man U you can break down their defenses and score.

While only Liverpool and Fulham have enjoyed wins, Villa and Sunderland looked perfectly capable of stripping points off United and Porto’s two away goals will give them the confidence to chase victory in the upcoming Champions League match.

The window for taking points from United in the EPL is ever closing with seven matches to play and perhaps the best chance already squandered (Villa’s visit to Old Trafford while Rooney, Scholes and Vidic were all suspended,) but United’s remaining adversaries can take a lesson from the goals conceded: attack, attack, attack.

United have enjoyed many close wins this season, and their 1-0 victories in particular often came from United repeatedly hammering away at a defense-minded side until the deciding goal went in, but since Liverpool scored four goals at Old Trafford on 14 March followed by Fulham’s 2-0 upset the following weekend, Sir Alex Ferguson’s giants have shown they have chinks in their armor.

When Liverpool and Fulham took the game to United and pressed into the attacking third, the champs made mistakes and lost the points. Villa looked the better team by far when they visited Old Trafford on 5 April, but Ronaldo’s second goal gave United a massive lift and they were able to recover and win the match with a stoppage time goal from 17-year old Federico Macheda on his debut. Sunderland also looked perfectly capable with a fantastic equalizer and many brave forays into the attacking third for the rest of the match, but a second United goal was enough to secure the points.

But the clean sheets are gone and opposing sides can see that damage can be done. The question is: is there enough time left to take the points needed for Liverpool or Chelsea to overtake the champs?

Vidic’s suspension and Ferdinand’s injury woes have certainly aided in United conceding goals, but I would argue that United have enjoyed a stigma of being unbeatable for much of the season, encouraging sides to sit back and hope for a point, too often resulting in disappointment. This stigma has since evaporated and Man U’s opponents see the value in chasing the win.

Sunderland looked capable of producing a draw and Villa looked more than capable of a win. While United only needed a small spark to dash the hopes of both clubs, they couldn’t produce this spark against Fulham or Liverpool or prevent Porto from securing two away goals.

While nobody, including myself, will be surprised if United clinch the title once again, I see plenty of room for upset in the remaining matches. Portsmouth, Hull and Boro all have something to fight for. Spurs, City, Arsenal and perhaps even Wigan have shown enough good form feel up to the task.

United are not invincible. Their weaknesses have begun to show. The upcoming fixtures will be telling, but if sides keep attacking, we may continue to enjoy a two- or three-way title race until the very end. We shall see.

So, how many people thought Hull City would be Premiership cannon fodder, this seasons Derby County, bravely battling against the odds in a futile struggle that would ultimately lead to relegation. If so, how many had actually seen Hull City play before they came up? Not many I bet. Fair enough, I’d only seen them half a dozen times last season but there was enough there for me to feel that they’d certainly do a lot better than Derby did last season and I was not surprised when they won the play off final in May.

That’s one of the main problems football coverage has in the UK, it’s so biased toward the Premiership that sometimes the pundits have no idea about any of the sides coming up from the Championship at all unless they’re a former Premiership club or recently relegated and returning straight back. This in turn leads to the standard pre-season prediction of the 3 promoted clubs going straight back down, or depending how well the pundit knows the manager or either they used to play or manage them, the lucky promoted side may be tipped to finish 17th. It’s all rubbish really, a bit of an old boys club, blinkered people unable to objectively look at a side properly without bias coming into play. The plucky little promoted sides then have to run the gauntlet of cliches, ignorance and condescending comments as they battle bravely on until being relegated in April or May.
Yet Hull City, like Reading and Ipswich Town before them have caught a lot of people by surprise, Brown has them playing a fairly expansive 4-1-2-1-2 formation which seems to be working so far, with Geovanni in the hole behind Cousin and King and it allows them push up into a 4-3-3 when attacking with the ball, Boateng moving forward to form a midfield trio. It is so refreshing to see a side who come up, sign footballers and want to play the game the right way.

That’s why they’ve got 21 points after 13 games, because they’ve gone out to try and win games rather go into a match not wanting to lose it. Mentally, it’s a massive difference to your mindset and makes you feel more positive about the task facing you. West Brom are struggling to score goals because the players they have don’t have the top level experience and it shows, Stoke City are doing OK but as soon as people work out how to negate their long ball game, then they too will struggle. Hull on the other hand have more quality in the squad, players who have played in the Premiership, La Liga, Le Championnat and it gives them more weapons at their disposal.

Of course, at the moment everything’s going well but Brown will be the first to admit that he needs a bit more experience and depth adding to his squad in January. The loss of the highly rated Fagan thanks to Danny Guthries obscene challenge hit them hard, but they’ve recovered and carried on picking up points but I saw some comments about  the fact they’d lost 3 games on the spin. Articles entitled ”The Bubbles Burst”, “Toothless Tigers” and “Hull’s Premiership Dream Start Over”, along with some ridiculous comments about Hull having been found out really got my back up.

Anyone who saw their last defeat, against Bolton Wanderers, will know exactly why they lost that game, an absolutely world class performance from the Premierships most underrated goalkeeper, Jussi Jaaskelainen, kept at least 3 or 4 goals out to nick the points for the Trotters. The other two defeats, against Chelsea and Manchester United hardly need defending, but to slate them for losing to those two sides? Absolute nonsense, if you’re lucky enough to support one of the big four, fine but if you don’t, just count up your recent results against them and see how well your side has done. At Old Trafford, they made Sir Alex a very nervous man indeed, pulling it round from 4-1 down to 4-3 and left with their pride intact. I think they were the first side to score 3 in a league match at Old Trafford since Chelsea in Mourinho’s first season, yet still the pundits pointed out the result and not the performance or opposition.

Unfortunately, yesterday Sky Sports fell into this very trap, saying it was a must win game after 3 defeats in a row in the game against Manchester City but then again, I don’t expect anything else from them these days so you learn to tune out the hype and dreadful punditry and focus on the game itself. When the commentating combination isn’t Gray and Tyler, then the same cliched ridden bores continue to offend the ears of all football fans with half a brain. 

The staff and players at Hull deserve a big pat on the back for dealing with the cliches and negativity so well and rubbing a few peoples noses in it. They’ve been a breath of fresh air all season, from their fantastic ground, the way they play football to the eloquent way Phil Brown discusses his side and football in general. Brown has surprised me, with how positive he wants to play the game, it’s fantastic to see a side want to win football matches away from home and do it in the right way. I thought he was taking a massive gamble with the front 3 he signed, but so far all 3 have been on fire, especially Geovanni who needs special attention to get him to kind of form that prompted Barcelona to shell out £10 million for him 7 years ago but Brown has certainly got a knack with him. Whatever he’s doing to get him playing so consistently well is another feather in the cap of the impressive Brown. 

Daniel Cousin and Marlon King are also delivering goals and performances, King showing his Watford form, rather than the performances he put in at Nottingham Forest and Cousin is beginning to show just why Roy Hodgson was so desperate to sign him in January. Add to that, the wily old head of George Boateng and Bernard Mendy adding some further quality and it becomes obvious why they’re doing so well.

They will need to add to the squad in January, especially to give them a bit more depth up front but with only 6 weeks until the transfer window re-opens, no doubt Brown will have his targets already lined up.  Of course, they may get pulled down the table but they’ve still got at least 10 winnable games to come and if they can get those points who knows where they may end up. If they finish top ten, then Brown deserves to be named Manager of the Year. Thank you Hull City, keep rubbing the pundits noses in it and good luck for the rest of the season.