For American fans of the English Premier League, there will be several quality matches televised, thanks in part to ESPN2's coverage this season.

Saturday, October 17

7:45am - Aston Villa v Chelsea (ESPN2)
10:00am - Sunderland v Liverpool (FSC)

Sunday, October 18

11:00am - Wigan v Manchester City (FSC)

These games will be shown live. Times listed are Eastern time. And the early starting times won't interfere with any College or NFL football plans for the American audience. So wake up early, and enjoy a full day of football, both American football and soccer.

Who would you select as the best starting 11 from all the Premier League clubs? Here's my list, with the stipulation that I can only select one player from a single team (that makes it much harder given that the top clubs have multiple players that I would select otherwise):

GK - Shay Given (Man City)
D - John Painstil (Fulham)
D - Gary Cahill (Bolton)
D - Ryan Shawcross (Stoke City)
D - Leighton Baines (Everton)
M - Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
M - Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
M - Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
M - Ashley Young (Aston Villa)
F - Wayne Rooney (Man United)
F - Jermaine Defoe (Spurs)

Here's a second team:

GK - Robert Green (West Ham)
D - Glen Johnson (Liverpool)
D - Michael Turner (Sunderland)
D - Brede Hangeland (Fulham)
D - Nemanja Vidic (Man United)
M - Aaron Lennon (Spurs)
M - Tim Cahill (Everton)
M - Shawn Wright-Phillips (Man City)
M - Matt Taylor (Bolton)
F - Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
F - Robin van Persie (Arsenal)

And a third:

GK - Brian Jenson (Burnley)
D - Sebastian Bassong (Spurs)
D - Rio Ferdinand (Man United)
D - Gael Givet (Blackburn)
D - Ashley Cole (Chelsea)
M - Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal)
M - Jordi Gomez (Wigan)
M - Lee Cattermole (Sunderland)
M - Stephen Hunt (Hull City)
F - Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
F - Emanuel Adebayor (Man City)

The one player per team rule really made this a difficult task. Give it a try and post your starting XI in the comments section.

Of the 20 clubs in the English Premier League, only 8 have English managers. Four clubs have Scottish managers, and there are two each from Spain, Italy, and Wales. Here is the complete list of Premier League managers by nationality:

8 - England: Sam Allardyce (Bolton), Gary Megson (Bolton), Roy Hodgson (Fulham), Phil Brown (Hull City), Paul Hart (Portsmouth), Steve Bruce (Sunderland), Harry Redknapp (Spurs), Mick McCarthy* (Wolverhampton)

4 - Scotland: Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United), Alex McLeish (Birmingham), Owen Coyne (Burnley), David Moyes (Everton)

2 - Italy: Carlo Ancelotti (Chelsea), Gianfranco Zola (West Ham)

2 - Spain: Rafael Benitez (Liverpool), Roberto Martinez (Wigan)

2 - Wales: Mark Hughes (Manchester City), Tony Pulis (Stoke City)

1 - France: Arsene Wenger (Arsenal)

1 - Northern Ireland: Martin O'Neill (Aston Villa)

*Mick McCarthy was born in England, but played internationally for the Republic of Ireland. His father was Irish.

The BBC has a very interesting piece about where the crop of 2009-10 Premier League footballers are from compared to where the 1989-90 class of players were born. What is particularly telling is the percentage of players from outside the UK in today's game. The BBC has a high quality interactive map to illustrate the increasingly global influence on the Premier League. Click here for the interactive map. You can see how the makeup of individual clubs has changed over the last 20 years, and the Premier League as a whole.

The map indicates the birth location for every player in the Premier League today, and the birth locations of the players on those same teams 20 years ago. Today, the average team has 13 foreign born (non-UK) players, far more than 10 or 20 years ago. Note that the article focuses on the place of birth, not nationality. For instance, although Florent Malouda plays for France, he is listed as being from French Guiana on the map.

The current club with the most players born abroad? Not surprisingly, it's Arsenal with 23. Liverpool is not far behind with 20 foreign born players. The newly promoted clubs tend to have the fewest foreign players: Burnley have 7 and Wolves have 6.

BBC Interactive Map

For the club, of course, what is most important is not the country of origin but the quality of the player. Some would argue that the influx of non-UK talent hinders the development of UK players and thus has a negative affect on the national team. There may be something to that theory, but I don't recall England winning the World Cup in the 70s or 80s when the English Football League was still fairly provincial. Any thoughts? Anyone?

% Players born in the UK*
71% - Wolverhampton
69% - Burnley
67% - Birmingham City
67% - Stoke City
60% - Aston Villa
57% - West Ham
56% - Hull City
55% - Everton
54% - Sunderland
52% - Bolton
52% - Tottenham
39% - Wigan
39% - Manchester United
38% - Portsmouth
33% - Fulham
30% - Manchester City
28% - Blackburn
26% - Chelsea
17% - Liverpool
15% - Arsenal

*based on statistics reported by the BBC on 12 August 2009.

Premier League Predictions 2009-10
1. Chelsea
2. Arsenal
3. Liverpool
4. Manchester United
5. Manchester City
6. Everton
7. Aston Villa
8. Spurs
9. Sunderland
10. Fulham
11. West Ham
12. Stoke City
13. Bolton
14. Blackburn
15. Birmingham
16. Wigan
17. Burnley
18. Wolverhampton
19. Portsmouth
20. Hull City

FA Cup Final: Chelsea 2 - 1 Everton
Chelsea rebounded from the disappointment of their Champions League semi-final loss to Barcelona to lift the FA Cup in manager Guus Hiddink's last match in charge. It was a fitting end to the brief Hiddink era at Stamford Bridge, as the Dutch manager turned around an under-achieving team under former manager Scolari. Hiddink now returns to coach Russia full time as they attempt to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

But it didn't start out well for Chelsea. Like their semi-final win against Arsenal in the FA Cup, Chelsea fell behind early. This time, they fell behind extremely early as Everton's Luis Saha scored the fastest goal in FA Cup final history. From the opening kick, Everton worked the ball into the left corner of the pitch where Steven Pienaar crossed the ball into the box. Jon Mikel partially cleared the ball away with a header, but Marouane Fellaini headed it down into the path of Louis Saha. And Saha fired a low shot past Chelsea keeper Petr Cech to give Everton the lead after only 25 seconds.

But after the initial goal, Chelsea began to dominate possession and put Everton on the defensive. The Blues were particularly successful attacking down their left flank with Ashley Cole getting forward in support of Florent Malouda. Everton right back Tony Hibbert could not match their pace and struggled to contain the threat. It was from the left wing that Chelsea found the tying goal. In the 21st minute, Frank Lampard picked out Malouda on the left wing. And with Hibbert playing well off Malouda, the French winger had plenty of space and time to play a perfect cross into the box. There were five Everton defenders in the box, but Didier Drogba drove forward and out-jumped Jolean Lescott to head the ball into the corner of the net.

The score remained 1-1 at the half, but Everton boss David Moyes made a change to start the second half, brining on Lars Jocabsen for the ineffective Hibbert. Despite the change, Everton still struggled to maintain possession, and Chelsea looked more likely to score. Saha and Tim Cahill both had half-chances on goal, but their shots were off target.

With just less than 20 minutes remaining, Chelsea broke the deadline, and it was Frank Lampard - who else? - to the rescue. Lampard received the ball just outside the box, and it looked like he was teeing up a right footed shot. Instead, he pulled the ball back to his left foot to avoid a challenge from Phil Neville, slipping in the process. But he got to his feet quickly and fired a superb left foot shot that swerved into the top left of the goal off the fingertips of Tim Howard. Lampard ran to the corner flag and danced around it in celebration, just as his father, Frank Lampard Sr., had done when scoring a winner against Everton for West Ham in the FA Cup semi-final.

Moments later, Chelsea should have gone up 3-1 when Florent Malouda fired a long-range pile-driver of a shot off the underside of the crossbar and just over the line. The pace and back-spin of the shot caused the ball to spin back out of the goal so quickly that neither the referee nor the linesman could be sure it had crossed the line. So the score remained 2-1 for Chelsea.

Nicolas Anelka also could have increased the lead on two occasions. Twice he was played in behind the defenders, but on both occasions his chip attempt past the charging Tim Howard sailed high and wide of the goal.
In the end it didn't matter. After four minutes of stoppage time, referee Howard Webb blew the final whistle and Chelsea were FA Cup winners. The players took the long walk up the Wembley steps to receive their winners medals, and captain John Terry, along with goal scoring hero Frank Lampard, lifted the FA Cup for Chelsea. It was second FA Cup in three years for the Blues, both at the new Wembley. Congratulations Chelsea, and congratulations Guus Hiddink. What a way to go out!

Champions League Final: Barcelona 2 - 0 Manchester Untied
I wasn't able to watch the Champions League final live, but I have since seen the reply twice, and it was truly a remarkable performance by Barcelona. Manchester United started well, with Cristiano Ronaldo getting a couple early shots at goal, but after the first eight minutes, it was all Barcelona. Andres Iniesta and Xavi dominated the midfield, controlling possession and playing accurate passes to their attacking teammates: Thiery Henry, Lionel Messi, and Samuel Eto'o. And their play paid off with a goal in the 10th minute. Samuel Eto'o took a pass on the right wing, cut inside, and dribbled around Nemanja Vidic before stabbing the ball past United keeper Edwin van der Sar at the near post. The goal was against the run of play at the time, but after Barcelona were up 1-0, they took control of the game completely.

Sir Alex Ferguson's tactics looked wrong as well. Rooney was playing on his own up front, with Ryan Giggs in the middle of the pitch with Ronaldo and Park in the wide positions. Rooney struggled to get a touch on the ball all game, and Giggs was largely ineffectual. After the half time break, Ferguson put Carlos Tevez into the game in place of Anderson, but it did little to help.

In fact, United's tactics may have been irrelevant as Barcelona looked far and away the better team in terms of technical ability, passing, and attacking runs. Even had Ferguson opted for two strikers from the beginning with Giggs in a more accustomed role, it likely would have made no difference.

In addition to the superb midfield play of Iniesta and Xavi, Carlos Puyol was brilliant for Barcelona at right back. He usually plays in the center of midfield, but was forced wide because of injuries to other defenders. And Puyol thrived in that role. Near the 70th minute mark, Puyol intercepted a long pass from van der Sar, and then another clearing attempt, to set up Xavi on the right. The quick counter attack caught United off guard, as Xavi played a perfect cross over Rio Ferdinand to a wide open Messi in front of goal. The cross was slightly behind him, but somehow the 5'7" Messi soared in the air, leaning back as he defied gravity, and headed the ball over van der Sar and into the net. It's not the type of goal that Messi usually scores, but it will go down as one of the most memorable goals in Champions League final history.

Up 2-0 with twenty minutes to go, Barcelona looked certain to win. And you got the sense that the United players were resigned to that fact too. Dimitar Berbatov and Paul Scholes came on as substitutes, but they did little to improve United's chances. Berbatov headed well over the goal, and Scholes' impact was limited to a typical, clumsy tackle that earned him a yellow card.

At the end, Barcelona fully deserved the 2-0 victory, a win that gave the Catalan club a unique treble: Spanish League title, Copa del Rey, and Champions League. And all this in manager Pep Guardiola's first year in charge. It was also the first Champions League medal for Thierry Henry, Man United's nemesis for so many years at Arsenal. Also worth mentioning was the play of former United defender Gerard Pique, who was excellent at left back, blocking cross after cross from the right wing.

Congratulations to Barcelona! They completely outplayed Manchester United. In fact, Chelsea's semi-final performance, holding Barca scoreless for 180 minutes, now looks like an even more impressive feat, even if it ended in defeat.

Newcastle and Middlesbrough are relegated from the Premier League.

All of the clubs facing relegation lost today. That means Sunderland and Hull City stay up, Newcastle and Middlesbrough go down. Here is the bottom of the table:

Final Standings
16: 36 pts - Sunderland
17: 35 pts - Hull City
18: 34 pts - Newcastle
19: 32 pts - Middlesbrough
20: 32 pts - West Brom

Full Time Scores
Sunderland 2 - 3 Chelsea
Hull 0 - 1 Man United
Aston Villa 1 - 0 Newcastle
West Ham 2 - 1 Middlesbrough

17:56: Full Time all around. Well, none of the clubs facing relegation really made a strong case to stay in the Premiership. I guess Sunderland were the least poor on the day. At least they scored twice. Middlesbrough didn't really have a reasonable shot at survival, but Newcastle were very disappointing. No goals, not many chances. Nicky Butt had a particularly bad day. But it was a very, very bad day indeed for the northeast, except for Sunderland that is. They stay up, while their neighbors Newcastle and Middlesbrough go down.

17:55: Sent Off: David Edgar (Newcastle), second yellow card.

17:54: Full Time: Sunderland 2 - 3 Chelsea.

17:51: Into stoppage time at Aston Villa. Newcastle have an added 4 minutes to save themselves. Four minutes left at Hull too.

17:49: Goal, Kenwyne Jones (Sunderland); Sunderland 2 - 3 Chelsea. Not so fast. Sunderland are just down by a single goal now.

17:45: Goal, Ashley Cole (Chelsea); Sunerland 1 - 3 Chelsea. Looks like Sunderland are going to lose, but thankfully for them, the other three clubs in the relegation race are all losing too. The Black Cats should be safe despite the loss.

17:42: Less than ten minutes remaining. As it stands, Newcastle and Middlesbrough are going down along with West Brom. A late goal from Newcastle could still save them, but I'm afraid there's no chance for Middlesbrough.

17:34: Goal, Salomon Kalou (Chelsea); Sunderland 1 - 2 Chelsea. Sunderland are behind again, but that won't matter unless Both Hull and Newcastle come back and win.

17:31: Aston Villa nearly scored a second goal. Nicky Butt's poor back pass was intercepted by Gareth Barry, but Barry shoots wide. Reprieve for Newcastle.

1727: Michael Owen enters the game for Newcastle as a substitute for Kevin Nolan. Alan Shearer's taking a chance on Owen, who is probably not 100% fit. But Newcastle need a goal to have a shot at staying up. Can Owen provide it? We'll see.

17:19: Goal, Junior Stanislas (West Ham); West Ham 2 - 1 Middlesbrough. That might be end of the road for Middlesbrough. They're down 1-2 and they need a big win to survive.

17:11: Goal, Kieran Richardson (Sunderland); Sunderland 1 - 1 Chelsea. Chelsea's lead didn't last long. The goals are flying in now, and Sunderland are back on level terms after Richardson's goal.

17:10: Goal, Gary O'Neil (Middlesbrough); West Ham 1 - 1 Middlesbrough. Some hope for Boro, but they need a couple more goals at least.

17:06: Goal, Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea); Sunderland 0 - 1 Chelsea. That's a blow for Sunderland. They are still safe for now, but a Newcastle comeback could send them down. All four teams facing relegation today are losing 0-1. For Anelka, that goal means he will be the leading scorer in the Premier League this season as Ronaldo is not playing for Man United.

16:49: It's half time, and we are right back to where we started. Hull safe in 17th; Newcastle and Middlesbrough are going down unless they can turn it around in the second half. It looks very bleak for Boro, but one goal from Newcastle might be enough. Sunderland look to be in a good position. They stay up even if Newcastle come back and earn a draw.

16:40: Goal, Damien Duff (own goal - Aston Villa); Aston Villa 1 - 0 Newcastle. Gareth Barry's long range shot is deflected into the Newcastle goal by Damien Duff. That should go down as an own goal. And with that goal, Hull City are back out of the drop zone. Hull, Newcastle, and Middlesbrough are all losing 0-1.

16:36: Goal, Carlton Cole (West Ham); West Ham 1 - 0 Middlesbrough. It's not looking good for Boro.

16:26: Goal, Darron Gibson (Man Utd); Hull 0 - 1 Man United. What a goal, a screamer from 35 yards out for Gibson! That goal means that Newcastle would be safe on goal difference, and Hull would go down if things stay as they are now. Sunderland would be safe too.

16:16: No goals yet. The updated standings above reflect the 0-0 scores in the games so far - each team getting a point for a draw. The points will be updated as results change.

16:00: All games have kicked off.

Socceword is bringing you up to the minute updates on the relegation race in the Premier League. Live scores and the table as it stands now appear above. At the end of the day, the teams in 18th and 19th place will be relegated, joining West Brom who are already down. 16th and 17th place teams will be back for another season in the Premier League. All times listed are GMT.

Going into the final day of the Premier League season, there is not much drama at the top of the table. Manchester United will be the league champions, Liverpool and Chelsea will finish second and third, and Arsenal has the fourth spot locked up. But the battle to avoid relegation promises to be most dramatic. Only West Brom are certain to be relegated. The other two clubs in the bottom three - Newcastle and Middlesbrough - can still avoid the drop, but they need help. Sunderland and Hull City can ensure another season in the top flight with wins, but they face Chelsea and Man United respectively, so a win is not at all certain, or even likely. If they stumble, then Newcastle and even Middlesbrough could overtake them.

Current Standings
16: 36 - Sunderland
17: 35 - Hull City
18: 34 - Newcastle
19: 32 - Middlesbrough

Last Day Fixtures
Sunderland v Chelsea
Hull v Man United
Aston Villa v Newcastle
West Ham v Middlesbrough

Looking at the fixtures, the clubs that are currently safe, Sunderland in 16th and Hull in 17th, have a distinct advantage. One, they currently have more points, and two, they are at home for their final match. Hull also have the edge in that Manchester United will be resting some of their first team players in advance of the Champions League final in mid-week. So here's what it would take for each of the teams in question to avoid relegation:

Sunderland
1. Win against Chelsea.
2. Draw or lose against Chelsea AND either Hull or Newcastle loses or draws.

For Sunderland to go down, Hull and Newcastle would have to win.

Hull City
Because of their inferior goal difference, Hull has to at least match Newcastle's performance to avoid relegation. A win and they are safe regardless of what Newcastle does. If Newcastle get a draw, then Hull has to draw. If Newcastle wins, then Hull has to win too. If Newcastle loses, then Hull could still remain safe, unless they lose and Middlesbrough win by enough goals to overturn the goal difference tie breaker. Hull currently has a +4 advantage over Middlesbrough on goal difference. So if Hull loses by 2 and Middlesbrough wins by 3, then Boro would go above Hull in the standings.

Newcastle
Newcastle's best chance at survival is to better Hull's result on Sunday. If Newcastle wins and Hull draws or loses, then Newcastle will be safe. Likewise, if Newcastle gets a draw and Hull loses, then Newcastle will be safe. Newcastle will also avoid the drop if they win and Sunderland loses. A loss, and Newcastle are relegated. Bottom line, they need to get a result and hope for help.

Middlesbrough
Boro cannot catch Sunderland, so their survival hopes rest on negative results for Newcastle and Hull. Number 1, Hull and Newcastle have to lose or Middlesbrough has no hope. A draw for Hull would put them at 36 points, beyond the reach of Boro. If Newcastle draw, then they are at 35 points with a much better goal difference than Boro. So for Boro to have any chance, they must hope that both Hull and Newcastle lose. Secondly, Middlesbrough has to win and win by enough goals to beat Hull in the goal difference tie breaker. Hull are currently +4 in goal difference compared to Boro, so Boro need a net +5 advantage on the final day to go above Hull. That being a combination of a loss by Hull and a win by Middlesbrough equaling 5 goals. Boro win by 3, Hull lose by 2. Or Boro win by 1, Hull lose by 4. It's very unlikely, but not impossible.

Based on a review of the possible scenarios, the most likely result is that Sunderland will be safe, Boro will go down, and the drama will come down to Hull or Newcastle. The wild card is the team Manchester United will field against Hull. With nothing to play for, if the United reserves fail to challenge Hull, then Hull may run out winners and survive for another year. But if Hull can't cope with United and lose, then I think it's very possible that Newcastle can get at least a draw at Aston Villa.

For some reason, I think Mark Viduka may score the all important goal for Newcastle. He was on the wrong end when Leeds were relegated from the Premiership, so he knows first hand what the consequences will be. And with Hull City's shockingly bad form over the second half of the season, I'm not at all confident in them, even against United's reserves. If I had to predict the outcome, I would say Newcastle and Sunderland survive, Hull and Middlesbrough go down. Tune in tomorrow to find out. We will have live updates here on soccerword.com.

Soccerword's Premier League Awards for 2008-09

Player of the Year: Nemanja Vidic, Manchester United

Manager of the Year: Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United

Premiership Player of the Year
2008-09: Nemanja Vidic, Manchester United
2007-08: Rio Ferdinand, Manchester United
2006-07: Didier Drogba, Chelsea
2005-06: Frank Lampard, Chelsea
2004-05: John Terry, Chelsea

Premiership Manager of the Year
2008-09: Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United
2007-08: Roy Hodgson, Fulham
2006-07: Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United
2005-06: Alan Pardew, West Ham
2004-05: Jose Mourinho, Chelsea

By now, I'm sure you're well aware of what happened during the second leg of Chelsea's Champions League semi-final against Barcelona. After drawing 0-0 in the first leg at Barcelona, Chelsea led 1-0 in the second leg until Iniesta scored in stoppage time to give Barcelona a 1-1 draw, which meant Barca advanced to the final on the away goals tie breaker. For Americans and others unfamiliar with the away goals rule, it is one of those quirks of European football, designed as an apparently preferable alternative to penalty kicks as a tie breaker. I'm not sure I agree that it's a better solution, but that is the rule. If both clubs are tied on aggregate after the second leg, then the team that scored more goals in their away leg advances. Thus Barcelona's goal at Chelsea gave them a 1-0 advantage in terms of away goals. Why this is better than Chelsea's 1-0 advantage in terms of home goals I don't know.

But the away goal rule was not the center of controversy in the game at Stamford Bridge. It is totally accepted as a legitimate tie breaking rule in Europe. What caused the controversy was the fact that the referee in the match, Norwegian Tom Henning Ovrebo, failed to give Chelsea a penalty kick on four separate occasions. Any one of the penalty claims would have given Chelsea the opportunity to go up 2-0 and virtually ensure their place in the final.

So here's my verdict on the penalty claims. Two were 100% no doubt penalties.

1. Florent Malouda was hauled down inside the Barcelona penalty area. Referee Ovrebo spotted the foul, but inexplicably awarded Chelsea a free kick just outside the area rather than a penalty kick. Verdict: horrible call, definitely a penalty.

2. In the second half, Nicolas Anelka kicked the ball into the penalty area where it hit Pique's raised arm. Overbo waved play on. Verdict: Another clear penalty. It was a handball in plain view that the referee could not have missed.

There other two claims were less obvious, but nonetheless, they are given at least 50% of the time.

3. Didier Drogba went to ground after contact from Abidal. This one could go either way. There was contact, Drogba went down, so it could have been called a penalty. However, the contact was minimal and Drogba has a reputation for going down rather easily. Drogba's reputation probably caught up to him this time. Verdict: I'll give Tom Henning Ovrebo the benefit of the doubt on this one.

4. After Barcelona tied the match, Chelsea played a corner kick into the box. It was played out to Ballack, who fired a shot on goal. It hit a Samuel Eto'o near the shoulder. Ballack screamed for a penalty, chasing the referee as he waved play on. Again, this was a close call. The ball appeared to hit the shoulder or chest as much as it hit the arm. In any event, the player's arm was held against his body, not extended up like Pique's handball. Verdict: Overbo could have given a penalty as a "make-up call" for missing the other three. But it was not a 100% penalty claim, more of a 50-50.

As it turned out, Chelsea should have been awarded at least 2 penalties, but Tom Henning Ovrebo blew it big time and Chelsea miss out on the final as a result. The Chelsea players, particularly Drogba and Ballack, understandably felt robbed and voiced their anger at Ovrebo after the final whistle. Their expression of anger was well over the top and will certainly draw punishment from UEFA. But UEFA should also review the performance of Ovrebo. In addition to the two (or four) missed penalties, he also incorrectly sent off Abidal of Barcelona, proving that he was an equal opportunity blunderer.

I'm not buying the conspiracy theories that UEFA didn't want two English clubs in the final and instructed Ovrebo to make sure Barca won at all costs. I think incompetence is more likely than conspiracy. To be fair to Ovrebo, he had previously worked over 20 Champions League matches, but he did come under criticism for his handling of the Italy-Romania match at Euro 2008 for a late penalty he awarded to Romania. Ovrebo admitted the mistake after the match and was not selected for any other games at Euro '08.

One final point about the Chelsea game. Yes, the Blues were denied at least two solid penalty claims, but they also have themselves to blame for not extending their lead. Up 1-0 in the second half, Chelsea had several goal scoring chances that would have wrapped up the win, but they failed to convert. The best chance was when Didier Drogba was played into the box with one defender to beat. He pulled the ball back past the defender but fired his shot right at keeper Victor Valdes. Chelsea could have made the penalty controversy moot, but they failed to kill the game off with a second goal. As a result, Ovrebo's incorrect penalty decisions loomed large. Condolences to Chelsea, but a word of advice. Screaming at the referee after the match rarely gets you anything except maybe a fine or suspension.

Thanks to embarrassing lobbying from manager Sir Alex Ferguson and the triumph of sentimentality over objective analysis, Ryan Giggs has been named the PFA Player of the Year. No doubt, Giggs is one of the best players ever in the Premier League and his career performance is worthy of praise. But there is no way he has been the best player over the past year. In fact, he hasn't even been a regular starter for Manchester United. He's played in 24 of United's 32 league games, scoring only a single goal. When you compare the performances of Ryan Giggs and Chelsea's Frank Lampard, there is no possible way to conclude that Giggs has been the better player this year. Consider the following stats:

Goals
12 - Lampard
1 - Giggs

Assists
9 - Lampard
7 - Giggs

Shots on Target
54 - Lampard
8 - Giggs

Corners Won
40 - Lampard
12 - Giggs

Fouls Won
36 - Lampard
13 - Giggs

Tackles Won
40 - Lampard
22 - Giggs

Passes Intercepted
30 - Lampard
22 - Giggs

Shots Blocked
9 - Lampard
0 - Giggs

In every statistical category, Lampard leads Giggs, and by a considerable margin in most categories. Furthermore, Lampard has played in virtually all of Chelsea's games and has been their most important player. You could argue that Giggs isn't even the most valuable player on his own team. Cristiano Ronaldo, Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, and Wayne Rooney have all contributed more to United's success than Giggs.

Another indicator of a player's overall performance from a statistical point of view is the Actim Index Score. This stat provides the most complete statistical rating of a player. Frank Lampard leads all Premier League footballers with a score of 622. That's # 1 in the league. Ryan Giggs isn't even in the top 100. Giggs currently has fewer points than the 279 recorded by Jason Roberts, who is # 100 on the list. All of the other Manchester United players nominated for the award came in higher than Giggs.

Actim Index Score
622 - Lampard
452 - Gerrard
447 - Ronaldo
423 - Vidic
399 - van der Sar
330 - Rio Ferdinand

If you don't trust the Actim Index, then how about the point system my fantasy football league uses. Let's look at the points for each of the players:

467.00 - Lampard
144.50 - Giggs

What is truly unbelievable is that Frank Lampard not only did not win the PFA Player of the Year award, he didn't even make the Premier League team of the year:

Edwin Van der Sar (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Ryan Giggs (Manchester United), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea), Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

Look how many United players made the list. Yet they are only six points ahead of Chelsea in the league. And with so many players making the list, no one player has had to carry the load for them. For Chelsea however, Didier Drogba was nearly non-existent during the first half of the season when Scolari was manager; Joe Cole is out injured for the season, and Michael Essien is just now back from injury, meaning Chelsea has had to depend even more on Lampard throughout the year. And he has delivered big time, scoring crucial goals with regularity and contributing pin point passes, even long-range efforts, to set up his teammates.

For me, there is no doubt that Frank Lampard has been the player of the year. You could make an argument for Ronaldo or Gerrard or Vidic or Ferdinand, but there is absolutely no rational argument to be made in favor of Ryan Giggs. Yes, it's great that he's having a solid season late in his career, and yes he has played at a high level for more years than most. But the PFA award is not a lifetime achievement award. It's the award for the best player of the year. For me, that's Frank Lampard. Ryan Giggs should not even be in the conversation.

Giggs winning the award is like Paul Newman winning an Academy Award for Color of Money or Jack Palace winning for City Slickers. It's a sympathy vote. Yes, Giggs probably should have won the award at some time in his career, just like Palace and Newman probably should have won an Oscar at some time. But not this year. His performance simply does not rate as the best player of the year. It's not justice.

The following players have had years similar to if not better than Giggs, and no one would even consider giving them the award this year:

Danny Murphy, Fulham
Dirk Kuyt, Liverpool
Jolean Lescott, Everton
Phil Jagielka, Everton
Kevin Davies, Bolton
John Pantsil, Fulham
Marouane Fellaini, Everton
Gabriel Agbonlahor, Aston Villa
Stephen Ireland, Man City
Tim Cahill, Everton
Matthew Taylor, Bolton
Glen Johnson, Portsmouth
Rory Delap, Stoke
Salomon Kalou, Chelsea
Emile Heskey, Wigan/Aston Villa
Ashley Young, Aston Villa
Chris Brunt, West Brom
Aaron Lennon, Spurs
Nicolas Anelka, Chelsea

And that's just to name a few. The PFA should be ashamed that they gave the award to Giggs. You could even argue that Titus Bramble has had a better season than Ryan Giggs. That says it all.

Let's look at that comparison a bit more:

Goals
1 - Bramble
1 - Giggs

Assists
7 - Giggs
1 - Bramble

Shots on Target
8 - Giggs
4 - Bramble

Corners Won
12 - Giggs
7 - Bramble

Fouls Won
18 - Bramble
13 - Giggs

Tackles Won
47 - Bramble
22 - Giggs

Passes Intercepted
59 - Bramble
22 - Giggs

Shots Blocked
25 - Bramble
0 - Giggs

Actim Score (rank)
300 - Bramble (85)
???? - Giggs (outside top 100)

Fantasy Points
165.0 - Bramble
144.5 - Giggs

So there you have it. Titus Bramble is more deserving of the PFA Player of the Year than Ryan Giggs. Anyone besides Sir Alex still willing to argue for Giggs?

Here is the list of the top goal scorers in the English Premier League from the 2004-05 season to the present:

G - Player
77 - Cristiano Ronaldo
62 - Frank Lampard
62 - Wayne Rooney
62 - Thierry Henry
61 - Robbie Keane
57 - Aiyegbeni Yakubu
54 - Didier Drogba
53 - Jermain Defoe
48 - Steven Gerrard
47 - Darren Bent
46 - Emmanuel Adebayor
44 - Nicolas Anelka
44 - Peter Crouch
38 - Kevin Davies
37 - Tim Cahill
37 - Robin van Persie

Statistics through 15 April 2009.

The shortlist for the PFA Player of the Year award was announced today, and somehow Frank Lampard was left off the list. Those in the running for the award are: Steven Gerrard of Liverpool, and Nemanja Vidic, Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand, Cristiano Ronaldo and Edwin van der Sar, all of Manchester United. All of these players have had good seasons, but surely Lampard's season has been just as good, if not better.

It's hard to compare Lampard to defenders Vidic and Ferdinand or goalkeeper van der Sar, but let's see how Lampard compares to the other nominees. Lampard has 12 Premier League goals, comparable to Gerrard's 13 and Ronaldo's 15, and well ahead of Giggs' single goal. Lampard is also second in the Premier League with 9 assists, more than any of the other nominees (Gerrard-7, Giggs-7, Ronaldo-5).

Furthermore, Lampard has the highest Actim Index Score (a statistic used to measure a player's all around performance) of any player in the Premier League. Here is a list of the Actim Index scores of the nominees:

622 - Lampard
452 - Gerrard
447 - Ronaldo
423 - Vidic
399 - van der Sar
330 - Rio Ferdinand

Actually, I can't report Giggs' score because he isn't even in the top 100. Ryan Shawcross, Ryan Nelson, and Titus Bramble are ahead of Giggs. I'm sure Ryan Giggs is a sentimental choice because he has been at Manchester United so long, but come on, there is no way that he has been a better player than Frank Lampard this year.

If you don't trust the Actim Index, then how about the point system my fantasy football league uses. Let's look at the points for each of the players:

448.50 - Lampard
388.00 - Ronaldo
322.50 - Gerrard
246.50 - van der Sar
244.00 - Vidic
157.00 - Ferdinand
132.00 - Giggs

From a statistical standpoint, then, Frank Lampard should not only be among the six nominees, he should be the front-runner for the award. Lampard has scored key goals for Chelsea, as evidenced by his two second-half goals in the Champions League against Liverpool. And unlike Ronaldo, Lampard accumulates more of his points from defending rather than drawing fouls. Here's a breakdown of various statistics for the midfielders in contention plus Lampard:

Goals
15 - Ronaldo
13 - Gerrard
12 - Lampard

Assists
9 - Lampard
7 - Gerrard
7 - Giggs
5 - Ronaldo

Shots on Target
54 - Lampard
48 - Ronaldo
33 - Gerrard
8 - Giggs

Corners Won
57 - Ronaldo
40 - Lampard
33 - Gerrard
12 - Giggs

Fouls Won
69 - Ronaldo (i.e., diving)
36 - Lampard
25 - Gerrard
13 - Giggs

Tackles Won
40 - Lampard
34 - Gerrard
22 - Giggs
11 - Ronaldo

Passes Intercepted
30 - Lampard
26 - Gerrard
22 - Giggs
15 - Ronaldo

Shots Blocked
9 - Lampard
1 - Gerrard
1 - Ronaldo
0 - Giggs

Based on the stats, it's hard to argue that Lampard does not deserve to be included at least in the consideration for the PFA Player of the Year Award. I understand that the team that the award usually goes to the team that wins the title, but Manchester United aren't that far ahead of Liverpool or Chelsea. At least Liverpool got one player on the short list. But Ryan Giggs on the list over Frank Lampard is just a joke.

A couple weeks ago I heard Sir Alex Ferguson saying Giggs should be the player of the year. so I guess if Sir Alex says it, it has to be so, even if none of the facts would support it. But don't worry, Soccerword hands out a player of the year award every season, and I don't limit the nominees to a short list while the season is still going on. After the last game is played, soccerword will reveal our player of the year, based on an objective analysis of all the data at hand.

Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal are into the Champions League Semi-Finals

Three English clubs - Chelsea, Manchester United, and Arsenal - made it into the semi-finals of the Champions League this week. Manchester United looked vulnerable after drawing the first leg of their quarter-final tie with Porto at Old Trafford. But they squeaked by with a 1-0 win at Porto in the second leg today, thanks largely to a superb, long-range strike from Cristiano Ronaldo. Arsenal were also tied 1-1 after their first leg match with Villareal, but they cruised to a 3-0 win today in the second leg. Congratulations to the Gunners and the Red Devils.

But the match of the week, indeed the match of the year, was Tuesday's game between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea were the favorites to advance, having convincingly beaten Liverpool 3-1 at Anfield in the first leg. The Blues chances looked even better when Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was ruled out due to injury. But Liverpool stormed back in the second leg, thanks in part to a jittery performance from Chelsea keeper Petr Cech. In the 19th minute, Petr Cech assumed Fabio Aurelio's free kick from distance would be a cross to the far post. Cech took a step to his right before realizing that Auerlio was shooting at the near post. It was too late, as a diving Cech could not scramble back across goal, and the ball smashed into the back of the net.

Within ten minutes, Liverpool had a penalty kick after Branislav Ivanovic, Chelsea's hero from the first leg, pulled down Xabi Alonso in the box. Alonso converted the spot kick, and suddenly Liverpool were level 3-3 on aggregate. But they needed one more goal to advance as Chelsea had the away goals advantage, 3-2 at that time.

Before half time, Chelsea manager Gus Hiddink replaced Salomon Kalou with Nicolas Anelka in an effort to reverse the momentum. After a half time team talk that Hiddink described as "angry," Chelsea responded in the second half. Anelka played the ball into the box with a low cross near the touch line. It should have been easy enough for Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina to handle, but a diving Didier Drogba got a slight touch on the ball, which deflected off Reina and over the line. Five minutes later, Chelsea were given a free kick about ten yards outside the penalty area, and Alex scored with a swerving pile-driver of a kick. And just like that, the Stamford Bridge crowd seemed much more at ease.

In the 76th minute, Didier Drogba played the ball to Frank Lampard, who scored from close range, the ball deflecting off Reina and into the net. Now leading 3-2 in the second leg and 6-3 on aggregate, Chelsea were surely through to the semi-finals, weren't they? So it seemed until a deflected shot from Lucas went into the Chelsea goal in the 82nd minute, followed by a headed goal from Dirk Kuyt a minute later. Suddenly, Liverpool led 4-3 and trailed only 5-6 on aggregate. Another late goal would send the Reds through.

The Stamford Bridge crowd became nervous once again, especially after Petr Cech looked less and less confident. With Liverpool pressing forward, Chelsea were able to counter-attack, and Lampard once again proved the hero. He took a passjust inside the box and curled a shot off the left post, across the goal, and then off the right post and over the line to seal a spot in the semis. There was still time for Cech to make another error as he was caught out of goal. But Michael Essien was on the line to head away a last minute shot from David N'Gog.

Final score: 4-4 (Chelsea advanced 7-5 on aggregate). It wasn't the best played game from a technical standpoint, but defensive errors led to a dramatic game filled with goals. Much different than what we have come to expect from Chelsea and Liverpool in the Champions League. Chelsea's reward - facing Barcelona in the semi-finals. And they will be without left back Ashely Cole who picked up a yellow card against Liverpool. Who will Chelsea select to defend against Lionel Messi? In previous years, they had England's second best left back, Wayne Bridge, to fill in, but Bridge is now at Manchester City. That means that former Barcelona player Juliano Belletti will probably get the call. Ironic, as Belletti scored the goal that won the Champions League final for Barcelona against Arsenal.

Note: on a more serious note, today marks the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster that claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool fans. Our thoughts are with their families and friends today. You'll never walk alone!

The BBC has full coverage of the memorial service held today at Anfield:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/7999279.stm

Lower GBS% is Better

It won't come as a big surprise that the teams near the top of the Premier League table score more goals than the clubs in the bottom half, but a closer look at the statistics may reveal why. The clubs that are at or near the top of the league rely less on strikers for their goals than the clubs near the bottom. The table below shows the number of league goals each team has scored, followed by the number of Goals Scored by Strikers (GBS), and then the Percentage of the club's Goals Scored by Strikers (GBS%).

Team - G - GBS (GBS%)
1. Man United 49 - 20 (41%)
2. Liverpool 54 - 23 (43%)
3. Chelsea 49 - 21 (43%)
4. Arsenal 48 - 24 (50%)
5. Aston Villa 43 - 19 (44%)
6. Everton 40 - 12 (30%)
7. Wigan 30 - 16 (53%)
8. West Ham 35 - 20 (57%)
9. Fulham 30 - 17 (57%)
10. Man City 46 - 20 (43%)
11. Spurs 36 - 18 (50%)
12. Bolton 32 - 16 (50%)
13. Hull 35 - 20 (57%)
14. Sunderland 29 - 19 (66%)
15. Pompey 32 - 21 (66%)
16. Stoke 29 - 15 (52%)
17. Blackburn 33 - 20 (61%)
18. Newcastle 36 - 23 (64%)
19. Middlesboro 21 - 16 (76%)
20. West Brom 26 - 11 (42%)

The relationship between league rank and % of goals scored by strikers (GBS%) is stark. None of the top six clubs rely on strikers for more than 50% of their goals. They are getting significant goal scoring contribution from their midfielders and even defenders. By contrast, at least 50% of the goals scored by clubs in the bottom half were scored by strikers. And with the exception of West Brom, the percentage gets higher as you go further down the table. West Brom is an exception for two reasons. One, they just haven't scored that many goals, and two, they more than any other club, lack a proven goal-scorer up front. Everton is also a bit of an aberration because of the number of games missed by injured strikers. Thus their GBS% (30%) is unusually low.

What this suggests is that having more attacking options, beyond the one or two strikers up front, is key to success. The correlation between the percentage of goals scored by non-strikers and league table position is 0.62, a very strong positive relationship, nearly as strong as the correlation between total goals scored and league position (0.81).

And it gets more interesting when you look at the leading goal scorer by a non-striker for each club. The table below shows the number of goals scored by the leading midfielder/defender for each club.

1. Man United - Ronaldo 13
2. Liverpool - Gerrard 13
3. Chelsea - Lampard 10
4. Arsenal - Nasri 6
5. Aston Villa - Young 5
6. Everton - Cahill 7
7. Wigan - Valencia 3
8. West Ham - Collison/Noble 3
9. Fulham - Murphy 4
10. Man City - Ireland 7
11. Spurs - Lennon 5
12. Bolton - Taylor 8
13. Hull - Turner 4
14. Sunderland - Richardson 3
15. Pompey - Johnson 3
16. Stoke - Shawcross 3
17. Blackburn - Warnock 3
18. Newcastle - Taylor/Duff 3
19. Middlesboro - O'Neil 2
20. West Brom - Brunt 4

Again, the relationship is clear. Clubs near the top have a midfielder or defender who pitches in with goals; clubs near the bottom do not. Only three clubs have a midfielder who has scored in the double digits in league play, and it's the top three: Ronaldo with 13 for Man United, Gerrard with 13 for Liverpool, and Lampard with 10 for Chelsea.

The average number of goals scored by the top non-striker for the top six clubs is 9. For the bottom 14, the average is 3.9 and for the bottom seven it's 3.0. In fact, the correlation between number of goals from leading non-striker goal scorer and league position is 0.73, again a strong positive relationship.

It's obvious that scoring more goals should lead to greater league success, but these statistics show that the way to score more goals is to have a well rounded attack with legitimate goal-scoring options from the midfield. An over-reliance on goals from strikers may allow the opposing team to clamp down on the strikers and thus remove the main or only goal-scoring option.

It should be noted that strong correlations do not prove causation. The role of the striker is certainly important. The striker goal percentages of the best clubs are in the 40% range compared to the 60-70% range for the bottom clubs, so it's not like the top clubs don't get goals from strikers. Also, there aren't that many Lampards, Gerrards, or Ronaldos out there. But if your club has a chance to get a goal-scoring midfielder, snap him up ASAP. The importance of such a player is illustrated by the absence of the injured Cesc Fabregas for Arsenal this season. If he had been healthy, Arsenal's GBS% would surely be lower than 50%.

The bottom line: Lower GBS% = Higher League Position.

Note: statistics are based on Premier League games during the 2008-09 season as of 1 April 2009.

What a couple of weeks for Liverpool! On March 10, the Reds thrashed Real Madrid 4-0 in the Champions League to advance to the quarter-finals. Liverpool followed up that triumph with a stunning 4-1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, and suddenly the Premier League title race was on. This past weekend, Man United continued their meltdown with a 0-2 loss at Fulham in which Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney were sent off. Cristiano Ronaldo was lucky not to join them as the petulant winger was warned several times for dissent. Liverpool took advantage of United's sudden frailty by overwhelming Aston Villa 5-0 on Sunday, thanks in part to Steven Gerrard's first Premier League hat-trick. What was a ten point lead for United is now a single point edge over Liverpool for first place in the Premier League.

On top of the success on the pitch, Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez signed a five year contract extension. And Chelsea's 0-1 loss at Spurs means that the Blues are still four points behind United, three behind Liverpool. You couldn't envision a better two weeks for the Reds. Manchester United still have a game in hand and remain a point ahead in the title race. But what was not too recently ago thought of as an inevitable title for United is shaping up to be a thrilling finish to the Premiership season.

Chelsea aren't out of it, but they are clearly third favorites behind United and the resurgent Liverpool. If United win, it will be their third consecutive title. While Liverpool are looking for their first ever Premier League championship. As a Chelsea fan, neither prospect is that inviting, but at least the Liverpool players have carried themselves with a certain level of class, at least relative to the behavior of Manchester United. United's players tend to throw tantrums when things don't go their way. Ronaldo's theatrical diving and Rooney's angry hurl of the ball towards the referee are the prime examples. The United players give the impression that they are entitled to victory, even when they don't deserve it. So if Chelsea aren't going to win, I'm officially stating a preference for Liverpool over Man United. At the very least, having a new club win the Premiership is good for the league as a whole. It gets boring seeing the same team win year after year. Unless, of course, that team is Chelsea.

Scolari is out at Chelsea, and Hiddink is in, at least for the remainder of the season. Roman Abramovich used his influence with Russian Football to persuade them to let Hiddink serve as coach of both Chelsea and Russia on a temporary basis. Hiddink insists that at season's end, he's back to Russia full time to lead their World Cup qualifying campaign. So where does that leave the once mighty Blues?

It seems a long time since the glory of the Jose Mourinho era at Stamford Bridge. At the end of the 2006-07 season, Chelsea were basking in the glow of six titles in three years under the special one's managerial reign. Two Premier League Titles, two League Cups, an FA Cup, and the Community Shield. Not sure the Community Shield counts as a major title, but Jose certainly counted it.

Now, less than two years later, the club is on their third post-Mourinho manager. Avram Grant took over last season after Jose's sudden departure (still not sure if he quit or was forced out), and guided the club to three runners-up finishes: second in the league, and losers in the League Cup and Champions League finals. In fact, Grant was a John Terry slip away from being hailed as a European Champion. But Captain Terry spot kick sailed wide and United went on the lift the cup.

Second place was not good enough for Abramovich, so Grant's understated style was replaced with the larger than life character that is Luiz Filipe Scolari. Or perhaps I should say "was" Luiz Filipe Scolari. After scintillating performances to start the season, Chelsea looked like they had finally added entertaining, stylish football to their repertoire. The results and the flash were on display. But then a funny thing happened on the way to the title. Every time Liverpool slipped up and were held to a draw or a win, Chelsea responded in kind, unable to pick up vital wins to catch the Reds at the top of the table. And then Man United went on a sensational surge, including a record run of clean sheets (that's shutouts to those of us in America).

Suddenly, Chelsea found themselves in fourth place, behind the enigmatic Liverpool, the suddenly invincible United, and the upstart Aston Villa. If second place wasn't good enough for Grant, fourth place with Scolari could not be tolerated. So the former World Cup winning coach was shown the door. John Terry defended Scolari, claiming that one or two other players were also behind him. Only one or two? Not the most glowing endorsement. Likewise, Scolari claimed that Chelsea did not have any player who could single-handedly make a difference in a game. Not exactly an amicable split. I'm sure Lampard or Cole or Drogba might disagree.

So where did it all go wrong with Chelsea? Admittedly, most clubs would not consider fourth in the Premier League as "going wrong," but such is the cruel reality of high expectations. Some have claimed the club is aging, with Lampard, Drogba, Carvalho, and others the wrong side of 30. But perhaps a bigger problem is the lack of stability in the manager's role.

If you look at the history of the Premier League, Manchester United and Arsenal are clearly the most successful. And it's no coincidence that Sir Alex and Arsene Wenger are the two longest serving managers in the league. Both managers had spells of two or three years without winning the league, but both kept their jobs and bounced back with titles. Besides those two clubs and Chelsea, the next most successful club over the past five years has been Liverpool. No Premier League title, but impressive cup wins, and a title challenge this season - all under the management of Rafa Benitez. He's had his critics to be sure, but he has been given time to build the squad and demonstrate what he can do over multiple seasons. Grant and Scolari were not afforded that time.

Already this season, eight Premier League managers are no longer with the clubs they started the season with: Scolari, Ramos, Keane, Adams, Ince, Curbishley, Keegan, and Redknapp. More often than not, a managerial carousel results in a downward spiral rather than immediate success. But the financial penalty for relegation had made owners increasingly impatient for instant gratification.

Which brings me to my second explanation for Chelsea's current predicament. I call it the Real Madrid syndrome: buying star players for inflated salaries at the expense of squad unity and role players. After Chelsea won their second straight Premier League title, the Blues looked like an unbeatable squad. The only problem, no Champions League title. Rather than letting the same, impressive group of players give it another go the following year, with another year of experience playing together, Abramovich paid the big bucks to sign Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack. Eidur Gudjohnsen and Damien Duff left the club, with Arjen Robben to follow a year later.

Shevchenko was a major bust, and eventually left the club. Ballack has had his moments, but they have been few and far between. This season, he had been arguably Chelsea's worst player, giving the ball away cheaply and basically getting in the way of his teammates.

In the end, I'm afraid I'm not unhappy to see Scolari leave Chelsea. I found many of his decisions baffling, particularly continuing to play Ballack and Malouda. I know Cole and Essien are injured, but how many sub-par performances does it take to convince Scolari? In a supreme irony, it was reported that Ballack claimed Scolari was Chelsea's "weakest link." If that is true, I maintain that the reason Scolari was the weakest link was because he continued to name Ballack in the starting eleven. I think that might make Ballack the weakest link, especially now that Scolari is gone.

Good luck to Guus Hiddink, but if he really is the manager for just a few months, then the managerial merry-go-round will continue at Stamford Bridge. Hiddink insists Chelsea have not given up on the Premier League title. But United are 7 points ahead with a game in hand. Chelsea may be better off focusing on the Champions League (game coming up against former Blues boss Ranieri) and the FA Cup (game coming up against former Blues reserve team coach), with an eye on holding off Arsenal (or Aston Villa) for fourth place.

It's just slightly past the half way mark of the Premier League season, and with the transfer window opening in January 2009, this is the perfect time to grade each team's first half performance.

1. Liverpool (13-6-1): A
The Reds are looking like legitimate title contenders. They haven't been able to pull away from Chelsea or Man United just yet, but a 3 point lead at the top of the table gives Liverpool the front runner status, at least for now.

2. Chelsea (12-6-3): B-
New manager Scolari has the Blues scoring more goals and they easily lead the league in goal difference. But Chelsea has squandered several chances to catch Liverpool, and their home form has been poor: only 4 wins in 10 games and two losses at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea never lost a league match at home under Mourinho.

3. Man United (11-5-2): B+
As reigning Champions League winners, Man United has played two fewer games due to cup obligations. What should worry Liverpool and Chelsea is that United are still just 7 points behind the leaders and they haven't been at their best yet. With two games in hand, United should make a late season charge.

4. Aston Villa (11-5-4): A
This could be a break through year for Martin O'Neil's club if they can hang on to fourth place. Coming from two goals down to earn a draw against Arsenal kept Villa in the top four to start the new year. Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young have been fantastic!

5. Arsenal (10-5-5): C+
Arsenal are having a very inconsistent seasons. In some games, they look like the best passing team in the world. Then, they go out and lose to Hull City and Stoke. And then there's the turmoil surrounding William Gallas and the captaincy.

6. Everton (9-5-6): B
I think if Everton finish the season in 6th place, manager David Moyes would be very pleased. The club has a real shortage at the striker position and their usually solid home form has been poor (2-4-4). But they have been great on the road and somehow find themselves in 6th.

7. Wigan (8-4-7): B
Steve Bruce has done a great job at Wigan. They were in relegation danger last season, but are now fighting for a place in Europe. Or are they? Wigan in 7th place are only 8 points ahead of Stoke in 18th. So any of the clubs outside the top six are just a losing streak away from danger.

8. Hull City (7-6-7): B+
Hull were the surprise team of the first half after reaching the Premier League for the first time. A fine start to the season, including a win against Arsenal, had Hull in the top four for a while. But they may have fallen back to earth a bit, evidenced by their 5-1 thrashing at Man City and manager Phil Brown's half time tirade on the pitch. Still, they have far exceeded my expectations so far.

9. Fulham (6-8-5): B+
Roy Hodgson's side has overachieved so far this season. After last season's near relegation, Fulham were one of the leading candidates this season too. But here they are in 9th place with a game in hand. They even earned a draw against their neighbors Chelsea. Hopefully, they will be able to hang on to Jimmy Bullard in the transfer window.

10. West Ham (7-4-9): C
Another inconsistent team, but it's still too early to judge the Gianfranco Zola era at Upton Park. The Hammers recorded a draw against Chelsea, and have won their last two matches. West Ham may be on the upswing, but their early season inconsistencies earn them a C at the half way point.

11. Bolton (7-2-11): C
This is about where you would expect Gary Megson's squad. Obviously, they weren't going to contend for the top four. 11th place might sound like mid-table safety, but they're only 3 points ahead of 18th place Stoke. Not out of the woods yet.

12. Portsmouth (6-5-9): C-
I'm very worried for Pompey. After Harry Redknapp left for Spurs, Pompey have been in a free fall down the table. Plus, Jermain Defoe may be on his way out in the January transfer window. I think Tony Adams may be out of his depth here.

13. Manchester City (6-4-10): C-
With the talent on this club (Robinho, Ireland, Wright-Phillips, etc.), they should be doing a lot better than 13th place. Expect lots of funds available for Sparky Hughes this January. City demolished Hull and then staged a late comeback to earn a draw at Blackburn, so they may be headed in the right direction.

14. Newcastle (5-7-8): D+
What a mess at Newcastle. Kevin Keegan left the club, the owner may or may not be ready to sell the club, and their defending has once again been the Achilles Heel of the club. Shay Given has been great in goal and surprise choice for manager Joe Kinnear has improved their standing in the table somewhat. Still, they were thrashed by Liverpool in their last match and look like the usual under-achievers we have come to expect.

15. Sunderland (6-4-10): C
Another difficult club to figure out. Manager Roy Keane spent plenty of money before the season increasing the size of the squad. Some were big names like Djibril Cisse who have performed well. Others just made the squad way too big. Then Keane quits the club out of the blue and Ricky Sbragia is named caretaker manager. Then Sunderland goes on a rampage, scoring four goals in back to back games and Sbragia is named permanent manager. Then they manage only a draw and a loss over the holidays. One of about a dozen clubs trying to distance themselves from the bottom 3.

16. Tottenham (5-5-10): F/B
For Spurs I have to give two grades. When Juande Ramos was in charge, they get an F. How in the world can a club with this much talent be at the bottom of the table. Maybe by selling your three best strikers (Berbatov, Keane, and Defoe) and not replacing them. Ramos' punishment for such a poor start? Axed by Spurs, signed by Real Madrid as their new manager. Since Harry Redknapp took over, I give Spurs a B. Harry is doing a revival of his Houdini act it appears. Spurs are out of the relegation zone, but they really need to sign a striker or two in January.

17. Middlesbrough (5-5-10): D
I'm still not convinced that Gareth Southgate is Premier League quality as a manager. After a decent start, Boro have now gone 8 games without a win.

18. Stoke City (5-5-10): C
Tony Pulis' club have pulled off a few upsets and certainly have a chance to avoid relegation. That's usually considered a success for a promoted team. But Stoke have relied on long throw-ins from Rory Delap for many of their goals and he now has a shoulder injury. Stoke's home form has been good, and if they can keep that up, they just might avoid the drop.

19. Blackburn (4-6-10): F
Under Mark Hughes, Blackburn was a difficult club to play against, and they usually were in contention for a European place. Not so for the failed Paul Ince reign in charge. Sam Alardyce has been brought in as manager and results improved immediately. They squandered a two goal lead in the dying minutes against Man City, but Big Sam should get better results that Ince.

20. West Brom (5-3-12): C
For much of the first half, West Brom were adrift at the bottom of the table. But after wins in two of their last three matches, Tony Mowbray's club are now just two points behind 17th place Middlesbrough. The club in last place at Christmas has only once avoided relegation, but that club was West Brom. Still some hope left for Baggies fans.

Soccerword's Premiership Team of the Week - 16

We're going with a 4-4-2 formation for this week's team:

Goalkeeper: Brad Friedel (Aston Villa)

Defenders: Ricardo Gardner (Bolton), Jolean Lescott (Everton), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Tony Hibbert (Everton)

Midfielders: Steed Malbranque (Sunderland), Matthew Taylor (Bolton), Jimmy Bullard (Fulham), Damien Duff (Newcastle)

Forwards: Benni McCarthy (Blackburn), Jason Roberts (Blackburn)

Final 16 Match-ups
The three Italian clubs were all paired against English competition. Jose Mourinho will renew his rivalry with Sir Alex Ferguson as Inter Milan were drawn against the reigning champions Man United. It will also be a homecoming for Claudio Ranieri. The former Chelsea manager will return to Stamford Bridge with his Juventus side. And Roma will face off against Arsenal. The other English club, Liverpool, will face Real Madrid in a homecoming of sorts for Liverpool's Spanish manager Rafa Benitez. Here is the complete draw:

CHELSEA v Juventus
Villarreal v Panathinaikos
Sporting Lisbon v Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid v Porto
Lyon v Barcelona
Real Madrid v LIVERPOOL
ARSENAL v Roma
Inter Milan v MANCHESTER UNITED

All of the "big four" clubs were held to a draw this weekend (Chelsea 1 - 1 West Ham, Liverpool 2 - 2 Hull City, Spurs 0 - 0 Man United, Middlesbrough 1 - 1 Arsenal). As a result, Liverpool are still top of the table, and Aston Villa are in 4th place ahead of the Gunners. Here is our team of the week:

Soccerword's Premiership Team of the Week - 15

We're going with a 3-5-2 formation for this week's team:

Goalkeeper: Martin Fulop (Sunderland)

Defenders: Jose Enriqu (Newcastle), Jolean Lescott (Everton), Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle)

Midfielders: Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Andy Reid (Sunderland), Luis Valencia (Wigan), Danny Guthrie (Newcastle)

Forwards: Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Kenwyne Jones (Sunderland)

PSV Eindhoven 1 - 3 Liverpool
Liverpool had already clinched a spot in the final 16 of the Champions League, but their 3-1 win at Eindhoven. Germain ensured the Reds finished in first place in their group. After falling behind 0-1, Liverpool responded with three goals despite resting many of their top players. Ryan Babel scored just before half time, and Riera and Ngog added second half goals.

Chelsea 2 - 1 Cluj
It was a bit more difficult for Chelsea, however. The Blues needed a win at home against Romanian club Cluj to ensure they advanced. Saloman Kalou put the Blues in front late in the first half, but Cluj fought back to tie the game at 1-1 early in the second half. Striker Didier Drogba, who has missed many games to due injury and suspension, came off the bench to rescue Chelsea with the winning goal in the 71st minute. As it turned out, Chelsea would have advanced even with a draw because group leaders Roma defeated Bordeaux. Even with their win, Chelsea could not catch Roma, so they advance as the second place team in the group. That means the Blues will face a group winner in the round of 16.

The teams in Groups E, F, G, and H still have one game remaining, but the top two clubs in each of those groups have mathematically advanced. Here are 16 clubs in the knockout stage of the Champions League:

Group A: Roma, Chelsea
Group B: Panathinaikos, Inter Milan
Group C: Barcelona, Sporting Lisbon
Group D: Liverpool, Atletico Madrid
Group E: Man United, Villarreal
Group F: Lyon, Bayern Munich
Group G: Arsenal, FC Porto
Group H: Juventus, Real Madrid

All four of the English and Spanish clubs have advanced. Here is a country by country breakdown of the final 16:

England: 4 clubs
Spain: 4
Italy: 3
Portugal: 2
Germany: 1
France: 1
Greece: 1

Soccerword's Premiership Team of the Week - 14

We're going with a 3-5-2 formation for this week's team:

Goalkeeper: Petr Cech (Chelsea)

Defenders: Ledley King (Spurs), Nemanja Vidic (Man United), Jose Bosingwa (Chelsea)

Midfielders: Deco (Chelsea), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Steve Sidwell (Aston Villa), Xabi Alonso (Liverpool), Jimmy Bullard (Fulham)

Forwards: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea), Michael Owen (Newcastle)

Soccerword's Premiership Team of the Week - 13

We're going with a 4-3-3 formation for this week's team:

Goalkeeper: Tim Howard (Everton)

Defenders: Gary Cahill (Bolton), Patrice Evra (Man United), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Emmerson Boyce (Wigan)

Midfielders: Steven Pienaar (Everton), Matthew Taylor (Bolton), Sean Davis (Portsmouth)

Forwards: Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Wayne Rooney (Man United), Johan Elmander (Bolton)

Soccerword's Premiership Team of the Week - 12

We're going with a 4-3-3 formation for this week's team:

Goalkeeper: Jussi Jaaskelainen (Bolton)

Defenders: Jose Bosingwa (Chelsea), Rafael (Man United), Jolean Lescott (Everton), Alvaro Arbeloa (Liverpool)

Midfielders: Samir Nasri (Arsenal), Matthew Taylor (Bolton), Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

Forwards: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea), Robbie Keane (Spurs), Louis Saha (Everton)

Soccerword's Premiership Team of the Week - 10

We're going with a 3-4-3 formation for this week's team:

Goalkeeper: Jussi Jaaskelainen (Bolton)

Defenders: Alex (Chelsea), John Terry (Chelsea), Ricardo Gardner (Bolton)

Midfielders: Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Cristiano Ronaldo (Man United), Rory Delap (Stoke City), Florent Malouda (Chelsea)

Forwards: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea), Obafemi Martins (Newcastle), Louis Saha (Everton)

Soccerword's Premiership Team of the Week - 09

We're going with a 3-4-3 formation for this week's team:

Goalkeeper: Boaz Myhill (Hull City)

Defenders: Michael Turner (Hull City), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Martin Laursen (Aston Villa)

Midfielders: Xavi Alonso (Liverpool), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Man City), Kieran Richardson (Sunderland), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa)

Forwards: Robinho (Man City), Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Vilal), Marlon King (Hull City)

West Brom 0 - 3 Hull City
Hull City continued their improbable start to their first Premier League season with a convincing three-goal win at West Brom. Kamil Zayatte put Hull in front just after half time with a precise volley from a corner kick. Later in the second half, Marlon King lobbed a brilliant pass into the path of Geovanni, who delivered a diving header to extend the lead. And it was Marlon King who controlled a long pass, skipped past a defender, and slotted the ball home for a three-goal victory. Promoted via the playoffs last season, many pundits had predicted relegation or a last place finish for the Tigers. But they have surprised everyone with their confident play and are currently in third place, level on points with second place Chelsea.

Chelsea 0 - 1 Liverpool
Liverpool won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, ending Chelsea's 86 game home unbeaten streak in the Premier League. Xavi Alonso gave the Reds an early lead when his shot deflected off Jose Bosingwa and found the back of the net. And Liverpool made sure the one goal advantage was enough, with Jamie Carragher particularly impressive in defense. The win puts Liverpool into first place, three points ahead of Chelsea, and solidifies their status as serious title contenders. The Reds have had cup success under manager Rafael Benetiz but are still looking for their first Premier League title. This season could very well be the break through Liverpool fans have been waiting for. At the very least, the Reds look like they will push Chelsea all the way to season's end.

Soccerword's Premiership Team of the Week - 08

We're going with a 3-4-3 formation for this week's team:

Goalkeeper: Craig Gordon (Sunderland)

Defenders: Michael Turner (Hull), Juliano Belletti (Chelsea), Paul McShane (Hull)

Midfielders: Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Cristiano Ronaldo (Man United), Rory Delap (Stoke), Florent Malouda (Chelsea)

Forwards: Wayne Rooney (Man United), Amr Zaki (Wigan), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool)

Stoke City 2 - 1 Tottenham
The most exciting and dramatic game of the weekend featured two teams at the bottom of the Premier League table, and the result was another bad one for Spurs. With manage Juande Ramos' job on the line, it went from bad to worse for Tottenham. Two red cards, two penalties conceded, a severe injury to Vedran Corluka, and another dismal result.

Stoke City took the lead after Gareth Bale brought down Tom Soares in the penalty box. Bale was shown a red card for the foul, and then Danny Higginbotham put away the spot kick for a 1-0 Stoke lead. Despite being down to 10 men, Spurs were able to pull level thanks to a favorable decision from the referee. It looked like Darren Bent was offside when he tapped in the tying goal, but the referee allowed the goal to stand.

In the second half, Stoke took the lead again. After a few clever passes in midfield, Mamady Sidibe played in a perfect cross from the left wing, and Rory Delap was on hand at the far post to slot the ball home. Delap's long throws into the box and Stoke's set pieces increasingly caused problems for Spurs keeper Gomes, who appeared to suffer a slight leg injury. But the injury problems for both clubs would get much worse than that.

First, Stoke keeper Sorenson had to leave the game after a sliding save in which he collided with Alan Hutton before being kneed in the head by one of his defenders. Sorenson walked unsteadily off the pitch, bleeding from a head wound. But worse was to come. Spurs defender Vedran Corluka injured his ribs during a goal mouth scramble and had to go to the sideline for treatment. It looked like he may not return to the match as the rib injury was obviously painful, and after what happened next, I'm sure Corluka wishes he had been taken off. On virtually the next play of the game, another long ball into the box, Gomes jumped to collect the ball and struck Corluka in the chin with his knee. The impact knocked Corluka unconscious. After a lengthy spell of treatment on the pitch, Corluka was stretchered off to an awaiting ambulance.

Because of the multiple injuries, 11 minutes of stoppage time were added, and the drama continued. Tom Soares earned another penalty for Stoke when he was brought down in the box by Jonathan Woodgate. Ricardo Fuller's spot kick deflected off the right post, rolled across the face of the goal, and then came off the left post, right into the path of Rory Delap, who fired a shot off the crossbar. Later, with time winding down, Fuller had a shot rebound off the crossbar too. Finally, after 11 extra minutes, the final whistle blew to signal a dramatic, vital win for Stoke and another disappointing result for Tottenham. Chants of "you're getting sacked in the morning" were heard during the match, directed at Spurs boss Ramos. We'll have to wait to see if that happens.

Here are the top 25 performers in the English Premier League this season, according to the Actim Index:

1 Gabriel Agbonlahor - Aston Villa - 136
2 Frank Lampard - Chelsea - 135
3 John Carew - Aston Villa - 126
4 Neves Denilson - Arsenal - 124
5 Jermain Defoe - Portsmouth - 119
6 Shaun Wright-Phillips - Man City - 112
7 Deco - Chelsea - 109
8 Lucas Neill - West Ham - 108
9 Ashley Young - Aston Villa - 106
10 Dirk Kuyt - Liverpool - 105
11 Kevin Davies - Bolton - 102
12 Matthew Etherington - West Ham - 101
13 Amr Zaki - Wigan - 99
14 Gareth Barry - Aston Villa - 98
15 Emmanuel Adebayor - Arsenal - 95
16 Peter Crouch - Portsmouth - 95
17 Scott Parker - West Ham - 93
18 Jose Reina - Liverpool - 92
19 Nigel Reo-Coker - Aston Villa - 92
20 Jose Bosingwa - Chelsea - 90
21 Petr Cech - Chelsea - 90
22 Valon Behrami - West Ham - 89
23 Ayegbeni Yakubu - Everton - 89
24 Martin Laursen - Aston Villa - 87
25 Alvaro Arbeloa - Liverpool - 86

According to the Premier League website, "Actim Stats are a collection of team, player and match statistics. They are derived from all the actions that take place during a match, including goals, shots on target, corners, assists, clean sheets, fouls, off-sides, passes, tackles, blocks and clearances. The raw data can be used to generate a wide range of tables and statistics such as player profiles, team and player head to heads and form guides."

http://www.premierleague.com

Actim Stats are produced by PA Sport, a division of the PA Group, on behalf of Football DataCo.

Manchester City 2 - 3 Liverpool
Much like their match against Chelsea, Man City came out swinging and took an early lead against Liverpool. Steven Ireland capitalized when Liverpool defenders could not clear the box, slamming the ball into the back of the net. In the 41st minute, Javier Garrido curled a perfect free kick into the top corner of the goal to give the home side a 2-0 half-time lead. But Liverpool responded like champions in the second half, and Fernando Torres scored twice. Steven Gerrard played a pass through the legs of a defender to Alvaro Arbeloa, and Arbeloa's cross was steered into the net by a sliding Torres. Later, Gerrard's corner kick was headed into the goal by Torres at the near post. City were reduced to ten men when Pablo Zabaleta was sent off for a tackle on Xabi Alonso, but the Reds were down a man as well when Martin Skrtel had to be stretchered off with a leg injury after Liverpool had already made all three of their substitutions. Because of the extensive treatment Skrtel required on the pitch, six minutes of injury time were announced. In injury time, Torres' shot deflected off a defender and fell to Dirk Kuyt in front of goal. Kuyt slammed the shot home to give Liverpool a dramatic win. The Reds remained tied on points with Chelsea at the top of the table, but in second place on goal difference.

Chelsea 2 - 0 Aston Villa
Some had suggested that Villa may end Chelsea's home unbeaten streak in the league, but the Blues dominated this game from start to finish. Joe Cole ran onto a pass from Frank Lampard and fired the home side into the lead in the 21st minute. Nicolas Anelka grabbed the second goal after Villa keeper Brad Friedel had stopped shots from Anelka and Michael Ballack. Chelsea could have easily scored more goals but several shots were either saved by Friedel or hit the woodwork. The win keeps Chelsea in first place in the Premiership.

Tottenham 0 - 1 Hull City
Hull City have been the surprise club of the season, and after today's win their fans will be hoping they can play in north London every week. Geovanni scored a brilliant long-range shot last win in Hull's victory at Arsenal, and he did it again this weekend at White Hart Lane. The free-kick goal came in the 9th minute and it was all the visitors needed and they held off Spurs with fine defending, especially from Michael Turner (formerly of Brentford). The win takes the Tigers to third place in the Premier League, one point ahead of Arsenal. Let me repeat that: Hull City are in third place in the Premiership! Spurs are still winless, in last place, and Juande Ramos' job must be in serious jeopardy.

Soccerword's Premiership Team of the Week - 07

We're going with a 3-4-3 formation for this week's team:

Goalkeeper: Boaz Myhill (Hull City)

Defenders: Jose Bosingwa (Chelsea), Wes Brown (Man United), Michael Turner (Hull City)

Midfielders: Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Joe Cole (Chelsea)

Forwards: Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth), Geovanni (Man City)

Stoke 0 - 2 Chelsea
Chelsea are back on top of the Premier League after a solid 2-0 victory over Stoke. Jose Bosingwa joined the attack on many occasions from his right back position, and he was rewarded with a goal in the 36th minute. Bosingwa got behind the defense, running on to a nice lobbed pass from Frank Lampard, and lashed the ball just inside the far post. Stoke defender Andy Griffin got a touch on the ball, but not enough to keep it out of the goal. In the second half, Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack missed goal scoring opportunities, but the win was finally sealed with a goal from Nicolas Anelka.

Arsenal 1 - 2 Hull City
The biggest surprise of the weekend was Hull City's win at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal controlled most of the match and were up 1-0 when Theo Walcott's cross tricked over the line after deflecting off Emmanuel Adebayor and then Paul McShane for an own goal. The Gunners failed to take advantage of several scoring chances, opting for one pass too many instead of shooting, and they were made to pay. Geovanni curled in a brilliant long range shot in the 62nd minute, and Daniel Cousin headed in the winner moments later to give Hull an historic win.

Man United 2 - 0 Bolton
Arsenal lost their first home match of the season, while Man United won for the first time at Old Trafford. A dubious penalty decision gave United the lead. Jlloyd Samuel executed a perfect tackle to take the ball away from Cristiano Ronaldo in the box, but referee Rob Styles whistled for a penalty. Ronaldo converted the spot kick, but his complete lack of celebration afterwards indicated he knew the penalty was undeserved. United's second goal, however, was well deserved. Ronaldo cleverly played a back heel pass to Rooney, and Rooney stepped past a defender a curled a low shot just inside the far post. The win takes Man United up to 11th in the table.

Everton 0 - 2 Liverpool
The Red half of Liverpool celebrated another win in the Merseyside Derby. Fernando Torres scored both goals to keep Liverpool level on points with Chelsea. The Reds are in second place on goal difference.

Portsmouth 2 - 0 Tottenham
Spurs remain bottom of the table and without a win after losing 0-2 at Portsmouth. Former Spurs striker Jermain Defoe scored the first goal for Pompey, and Peter Crouch added a second. Juande Ramos now appears in jeopardy of losing his job as manager of Spurs.

Wigan 2 - 1 Manchester City
Wigan and Amr Zaki continued their impressive play. Zaki scored from the penalty spot and Anotnio Valencia unleashed a long-range shot for Wigan's second goal. Referee Steve Bennett's decision to award a penalty was controversial as Wilson Palacios tumbled dramatically after what looked like minimal contact from Javier Garrido. Still, it was no where near as bad of a decision as Rob Style's penalty for United.

In other matches, Aston Villa won 2-1 over Sunderland, West Ham won 2-1 at Fulham, West Brom won 1-0 at Middlesbrough, and Blackburn handed Newcastle another defeat by a score of 2-1.

Premier League Top Five
14 - Chelsea
14 - Liverpool
13 - Aston Villa
12 - Arsenal
12 - West Ham

Soccerword's Premiership Team of the Week - 06

We're going with a 3-4-3 formation for this week's team:

Goalkeeper: Scott Carson (West Brom)

Defenders: Jose Bosingwa (Chelsea), Patrice Evra (Man United), Jonas Olsson (West Brom)

Midfielders: Antonio Valencia (Wigan), Matthew Etherington (West Ham), Cristiano Ronaldo (Man United), Ashley Young (Aston Villa)

Forwards: Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Amr Zaki (Wigan), Geovanni (Man City)

Arsenal are now top of the table thanks to a come from behind win at Bolton and Chelsea's draw at home to Manchester United. The Gunners fell behind when Bolton's Kevin Davies headed the home side into the lead in the 16th minute. But it didn't take long for Arsenal to take control of the match. In a stunning two minute spell, Emmanuel Eboue scored his first Premiership goal, and then Niklas Bendtner steered Denilson's cross into the goal. And that was the match. In the 87th minute, Denilson completed a stylish attack by slotting the ball home from Emmanuel Adebayor's cross. It was a classy display, and Arsenal's reward is a one-point lead over Chelsea and Liverpool in the table.

Chelsea fell a goal down to defensive-minded Manchester United in the 18th minute when Petr Cech failed to hold onto Dimitar Berbatov's shot. Ji-sung Park was first on the scene to tap in the rebound, and Chelsea's 84 match unbeaten streak at Stamford Bridge was in jeopardy. The Blues left it late but finally scored the tying goal in the 80th minute when substitute Salomon Kalou was somehow left unmarked in front of goal. Kalou headed Jon Mikel Obi's free-kick past substitute keeper Tomasz Kuszczak. Edwin van der Sar, United's regular keeper, was forced to leave with an injury in the first half. Chelsea were also hit with the injury bug as Decon pulled a leg muscle in pre-match warm-ups, and Ricardo Carvalho left with a knee injury in the first half. Didier Drogba and Cristiano Ronaldo came on in the second half for their first action of the season, but neither made much impact, except for a couple of dives and a yellow card on Ronaldo's part.

Soccerword's Premiership Team of the Week - 05

We're going with a 3-4-3 formation for this week's team:

Goalkeeper: Craig Gordon (Sunderland)

Defenders: Alex (Chelsea), Richard Dunne (Man City), Pascal Chimbonda (Sunderland)

Midfielders: Ji-Sung Park (Man United), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Man City), Denilson (Arsenal), Stephen Ireland (Man City)

Forwards: David Di Michele (West Ham), Robinho (Man City), Michael Chopra (Sunderland)

Soccerword's Premiership Team of the Week - 04

We're going with a 3-4-3 formation for this week's team:

Goalkeeper: Manuel Almunia (Arsenal)

Defenders: Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Kolo Toure (Arsenal)

Midfielders: Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Mikel Arteta (Everton), Tim Cahill (Everton), Chris Brunt (West Brom)

Forwards: Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal), Marlon King (Hull City), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth)

Liverpool 2 - 1 Man United
The big match of the weekend was undoubtedly Liverpool against Manchester United, and for a change, the Reds had the upper hand. But it didn't look like it would go that way early on. Carlos Tevez put United into the lead in the third minute, sliding the ball home from a nice pull back from the newly signed Dimitar Berbatov. But Liverpool tied the match with a ping pong goal in the 27th minute. Xavi Alonso's shot deflected off Patrice Evra, and then keeper Edwin van der Sar's diving punch deflected off Wes Brown and into the goal. It stayed 1-1 until the 77th minute when Dirk Kuyt picked out an unmarked Ryan Babel with a pass. Babel did not connect squarely with the ball, but his shot bounced into the goal anyway. The win keeps Liverpool even on points with Chelsea, while United find themselves in 14th place, albeit with a game in hand.

Man City 1 - 3 Chelsea
Chelsea also fell behind early in their match with Manchester City. Robinho, who almost signed with Chelsea but instead opted for Man City, but his club into the lead with a brilliant free kick in the 13th minute. Ricardo Carvalho, who had given away the free kick, made amends almost immediately. Frank Lampard's corner kick was headed down by John Terry, and Joe Cole's touch directed the ball into the path of Carvalho, who slammed the ball into the back of the net. Frank Lampard put the Blues into the lead with a clever play in the second half. Lampard cut to his left, and then fired a left-footed shot back across goal and just inside the right post. Nicolas Anelka sealed the victory, running on to a perfect pass from Joe Cole and steering the shot past a diving Joe Hart. Moments later, John Terry grabbed City striker Joe around the waist and pulled him down in the center circle. The referee harshly showed Terry a red card, even though he was not the last defender. Carvalho was covering behind Terry and Belletti was near by as well.

The official ruling was that the card was given for "serious foul play" rather than a "professional foul" which is the usual ruling when a player is sent off for denying a clear goal scoring opportunity. Chelsea appealed the red card against Terry, and their appeal was upheld by the FA, meaning the card was rescinded and Terry can now play against Manchester United this weekend.

There were several other exciting games this past weekend. Everton blew a 2-0 lead at Stoke, only to recover and win the game on a late header from Tim Cahill. Arsenal won convincingly at Blackburn with Emmanuel Adebayor scoring a hat-trick. Newcastle, a team in turmoil after the departure of manager Kevin Keegan, lost at home 1-2 to Hull City. And to make matters worse, Danny Guthrie was sent off for a horrible challenge, a deliberate kick, that broke Craig Fagan's leg. The final match of the weekend was actually on Monday, and it was more bad news for Tottenham. Spurs lost 1-2 to Aston Villa with Nigel Reo-Coker and Ashely Young scoring the goals for Villa. The loss leaves Spurs in last place in the Premiership.

The transfer window has officially closed, and several last minute deals went through involving Premier League Clubs. The most notable transfer involved Dimitar Berbatov finally moving from Tottenham to Manchester United, a deal that was in doubt when Spurs accepted a bid from Manchester City. City lost out on Berbatov, but they signed Robinho from Real Madrid, beating Chelsea to the Brazilian striker's signature. Here are all the deals from the final day of the transfer window:

In: Blackburn (Bunn), Everton (Saha, Nash), Hull (Cousin), Liverpool (Flora, Gulacsi, Riera), Man City (Robinho), Man Utd (Berbatov), Newcastle (Gonzalez, Xisco), Portsmouth (Belhadj), Sunderland (McCartney), Stoke (Higginbotham, Soares), Tottenham (Pavlyuchenko, Corluka, Campbell), West Brom (Donk)

Out: Bolton (Dzemaili), Fulham (Zakuani, John, Smertin), Liverpool (Finnan, Voronin), Man City (Corluka, Vidal), Man Utd (Saha, Campbell), Portsmouth (Cranie, Christophe), Sunderland (Higginbotham), Stoke (Parkin), Tottenham (Berbatov), West Ham (McCartney), Wigan (Bouaouzan, Nash, Sibierski)

Soccerword's Premiership Team of the Week - 03

We're going with a 4-3-3 formation for this week's team:

Goalkeeper: David James (Portsmouth)

Defenders: Callum Davenport (West Ham), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Kolo Toure (Arsenal), Vedran Corluka (Man City)

Midfielders: Shaun Wright-Phillips (Man City), Antonio Valencia (Wigan), Stephen Ireland (Man City)

Forwards: Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth), Amr Zaki (Wigan)

Chelsea 1 - 1 Spurs
After three weeks, there is not a single team that has a 100% record. Chelsea and Liverpool were the only clubs to win their first two matches, but they both were held to draws over the weekend. Chelsea took the lead when Darren Bent's attempted clearance went in the Spurs goal off Juliano Belletti, who was making a rare start. But Bent redeemed himself just before half time when he collected an errant pass from Frank Lampard. The draw gave Spurs their first point of the season.

Aston Villa 0 - 0 Liverpool
Liverpool were held to a goalless draw at Villa Park. Gareth Barry, whose transfer to Liverpool fell through, played for Aston Villa, but neither team found the net. Liverpool's Fernando Torres left the match in the first half with a hamstring injury and looks to miss two or three weeks. Villa's John Carew had the best chance to score, but Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina denied the striker with a fine kick save.

Arsenal 3 - 0 Newcastle
Arsenal pulled to within a point of the leaders with a fine attacking display against Newcastle. Robin van Persie scored two goals, the first coming from the penalty spot, and the second coming in spectacular fashion. Eboue started the move with a pass to Adebayor on the right. Adebayor's return pass found Eboue in the box, and Ebou then backheeled the ball into the path of van Persie, who slammed the ball into the back of the net. The Gunners extended their lead in the second half when Adebayor set up Denilson in the box. His shot took a slight deflection and rolled past Given into the goal. Arsenal could have scored even more, but Shay Given pulled off a few fine saves, and van Persie hit the crossbar from an acute angle.

Sunderland 0 - 3 Manchester City
Shaun Wright-Phillips marked his return to Man City with a pair of second half goals after Stephen Ireland had put City ahead in the first half. The win moves City into third place in the Premiership, and with new owners taking over the club, manager Mark Hughes may be able to bring in reinforcements before the transfer deadline.

Hull City 0 - 5 Wigan
Wigan gave Chelsea a tough fight last week despite losing 0-1 to the Blues, and they looked even better against Hull. Egyptian striker Amr Zaki scored twice, and Antonio Valencia and Emile Heskey each added a single goal. An own goal from Hull's Sam Ricketts started the scoring as Hull were thoroughly outplayed by Wigan. Valencia was the creative force in midfield and Zaki is proving to be a top class finisher.

Man United had the weekend off after losing the Euro Super Cup to Zenit St. Petersburg, and with Liverpool and Chelsea only picking up a point, the chasing pack closed in on the leaders. Currently the top six clubs are within a point of one another: Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City, Arsenal, West Ham, and Middlesbrough.

Middlesbrough kept up their improved form with a 2-1 win against Stoke, with Alves and Sanli scoring the goals. Meanwhile, West Ham scored two very late goals to win 4-1 at Blackburn in a game that was much closer than the score indicated. Down 1-2, Blackburn were denied a perfectly good goal when Matt Derbyshire was incorrectly ruled off side. Davenport, Bellamy, and Carlton Cole scored for the Hammers, while Jason Robers grabbed Blackburn's only goal with a clever turn around Davenport and a cool finish in the box. The other goal came from an own goal from Blackburn's Samba.

In one of the more intriguing contests of the weekend, Arsenal are looking to rebound from a lackluster start to the season. The Gunners struggled to defeat West Brom by a single goal in their opening match and then lost to Fulham at Craven Cottage last week.

Newcastle, meanwhile, are enjoying a fine start to the 2008-09 campaign. A 1-1 draw at Old Trafford followed by a 1-0 win against Bolton, both matches highlighted by superb play from keeper Shay Given. Newcastle's enthusiasm may be somewhat dampened by James Milner's transfer to Aston Villa, but Kevin Keegan's side are off to their best start in recent years. Tomorrow's game against Arsenal, though still very, very early in the season, could be a pivotal match for both clubs.

Cesc Fabregas is returning to the squad for Arsenal, while Michael Owen could make his first start this season for Newcastle. And both clubs feature an exciting new player, new at least to the Premiership: Samir Nasri of Arsenal and Jonas Gutierrez of the Magpies. Newcastle will have to overcame a host of injuries - Geremi, Obafemi Martins, Mark Viduka, Damien Duff, Claudio Cacapa and Andy Carroll - and it's never easy playing at Arsenal. Though it should be noted that since the Gunners moved from the picturesque Highbury, that quaint Art Deco shrine, to the vast state-of-the-art Emirates Stadium, they have failed to win a trophy of any kind.

I fully expect Arsenal to win this match, especially given Newcastle's injury problems, but there are many intriguing questions to ponder. Will the return of Fabregas inspire the Gunners to play the entertaining football for which they are so well known? Will Shay Given continue his superhuman feats of goalkeeping? Is Jonas Gutierrez for real? Or Samir Nasri?

In recent years, Newcastle's downfall has been, among other things, their poor defending. So far, the central defensive partnership of Taylor and Coloccini has been solid for Newcastle. Will they get exposed by the Gunners? Or does Arsene Wenger need to sign one more midfielder to replace the likes of Hleb and Flamini?

This early in the season, there are always more questions than answers, but maybe we will find out a little bit about the relative quality of Newcastle and Arsenal on Saturday. Pay particular attention to Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy of Arsenal. They have been superb at right and left back respectively for the Gunners this season.

Champions League Group Stage Draw
Group A: CHELSEA, AS Roma, Bordeaux, Cluj
Group B: Inter, Werder, Panathinaikos, Anorthosis
Group C: Barcelona, Sporting, FC Basel, Shakhtar
Group D: LIVERPOOL, PSV, Marseille, Atletico
Group E: MAN UTD, Villarreal, CELTIC, Aalborg
Group F: Lyon, Bayern, Steaua, Fiorentina
Group G: ARSENAL, FC Porto, Fenerbahce, Dinamo Kiev
Group H: Real Madrid, Juventus, Zenit, Bate

Soccerword's Premiership Team of the Week - 02

Goolkeeper: Shay Given (Newcastle)

Defenders: Brede Hangeland (Fulham), Patrice Evra (Man United), John Pantsil (Fulham), Jose Bosingwa (Chelsea)

Midfielders: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Deco (Chelsea), Elano (Man City), Liam Lawrence (Sunderland)

Forwards: Djibril Cisse (Sunderland), Yakubu (Everton)

After two matches, there are only two clubs in the Premiership with 100% records: Chelsea and Liverpool. Chelsea did not match their dominant display of week 1, a 4-0 thrashing of Portsmouth, but thanks to a brilliant free kick from Deco, the Blues continued their winning ways with a 1-0 win over a scrappy Wigan side.

Liverpool's second consecutive win was even more dramatic. Trailing Middlesbrough 0-1 with less than ten minutes left, the Reds tied the match when Jamie Carragher's shot was deflected into the Boro goal by Emanuel Pogatetz for an own goal. With the score tied deep into added time, Steven Gerrard (who else?) came to the rescue with a screaming shot into the top corner of the goal. Deja vu all over again at Anfield with Gerrard playing the part of hero.

Manchester United recorded their first win of the season, a 1-0 victory at Portsmouth, and it was Darren Fletcher who once again provided the only goal of the game for United. The win lifts United into a third place tie with Blackburn, Hull City, and Newcastle. Shay Given, Newcastle's keeper, was once again the star of the match against Bolton, saving a penalty kick from Kevin Nolan that kept the score 0-0 until Michael Owen headed in the winning goal.

The four clubs at the bottom of the table - Spurs, Wigan, Portsmouth, and West Brom - are still looking for their first point of the season.

Soccerword's Premiership Team of the Week - 01

Goalkeeper: Shay Given, Newcastle

Defenders: Jose Bosingwa (Chelsea), Vedran Corlucka (Man City), Andre Ooijer (Blackburn), David Wheater (Middlesbrough)

Midfielders: Mikel Arteta (Everton), Deco (Chelsea), Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle), Samir Nasri (Arsenal)

Strikers: Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Dean Ashton (West Ham)

Honorable Mention: Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), David Dunn (Blackburn), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Julian Faubert (West Ham), Darren Fletcher (Man United), Obafemi Martins (Newcastle), Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

Premier League football is back, and the goals were flying into the net this opening weekend. Where to start?

Chelsea 4 - 0 Portsmouth
How about with Scolari's Blues as Chelsea thrashed Portsmouth 4-0. Joe Cole, Nicolas Anelka, Frank Lampard, and Deco all scored as Chelsea soared to the top of the table on goal difference. Chelsea new boys Deco and right back Bosingwa both had great debuts, and it looks like manager Scolari is having no trouble bringing an attacking style of play to the English game, even without Didier Drogba in the lineup.

Everton 2 - 3 Blackburn
There were also plenty of goals at Goodison park as Blackburn came from 1-2 down to claim victory in Paul Ince's debut as manager. Everton went a goal down when David Dunn curled in a shot for Blackburn, but Mikel Arteta curled in a free kick of his own from an acute angle just before half time. In the second half, Arteta played a perfect cross for Yakubu to head into the goal to give Everton the lead, but almost immediately, Blackburn responded. Roque Santa Cruz collected a long pass, beat Jolean Lescott, and then beat Everton keeper Tim Howard to make it 2-2. And late in injury time, Ryan Nelson's header hit the right post, but defender Andre Ooijer was first on hand to slam the ball into the open net for the winner.

Aston Villa 4 - 2 Manchester City
Gabriel Agbonlahor scored three goals in a seven minute span to highlight Villa's victory over City in goal fest at Villa Park. Carew opened the scoring for Villa. Elano evened the scoreline for City, but it was to no avail as Agbonlahor's subsequent hat-trick sealed the win. Corlucka scored a late consolation goal for City.

Hull City 2 - 1 Fulham
There was much celebrating as Hull City recorded their first ever Premiership win. Caleb Folan scored the late goal to give the home side the win. Former Man City player Geovanni scored for Hull as they came back from an early 0-1 deficit.

Manchester United 1 - 1 Newcastle
Manchester United were without several key players (Ronaldo, Tevez, Nani, Hargreaves), but they should have taken the lead in the opening 20 minutes. Frazier Campbell was denied a point blank header by Newcastle keeper Shay Given, who saved the shot with his head. Given also recorded a double save later in the first half to deny Rooney and then Scholes from close range. Newcastle took a 1-0 lead on a brilliant header by Obafemi Martins. The diminutive striker was left open in the box, and he out-jumped everyone to head the ball home. United responded right away, though, and Darren Fletcher ran onto Ryan's Gigg's cross to poke the ball past Given. But it was the only shot Given didn't save as his brilliant performance earned a much-improved Newcastle a vital point. Newcastle's newcomers Jonas Gutierrez and Coloccini were particularly impressive.

In other matches, Arsenal and Liverpool both recorded 1-0 wins, over West Brom and Sunderland respectively. The matches lacked the excitement of some of the other goal-filled games, but the wins count just the same. Samir Nasri scored on his debut for Arsenal, while Fernando Torres fired in a low shot just inside the left post for Liverpool's winner. Bolton spoiled Stoke's first taste of Premier action with a resounding 3-1 victory at the Reebok. New signing Johann Elmander scored on his debut. West Ham's Dean Ashton scored twice, before leaving the match injured, to pace the Hammers to a 2-1 win against Wigan. Finally, Middlesbrough won 2-1 at home to Spurs, with former Tottenham player Mido scoring along with defender David Wheater.

All in all, it was a most exciting weekend of action. Let's hope it continues!

Soccerword's Premier League Predictions
1. Manchester United
2. Chelsea
3. Liverpool
4. Arsenal
5. Portsmouth
6. Tottenham
7. Everton
8. Aston Villa
9. Newcastle
10. Manchester City
11. Sunderland
12. Blackburn
13. West Brom
14. Bolton
15. Fulham
16. Wigan
17. West Ham
18. Middlesbrough
19. Stoke City
20. Hull City

For the clubs that weren't quite good enough to get into the Champions League, there is the UEFA Cup, a consolation tournament of sorts that is analagous to the NIT Basketball tournament for American college teams. But for clubs who are not among the elite of European football, the UEFA Cup provides them with a chance to compete for silverware against other second tier clubs. This year, the second qualifying round is divided into three region sections. The complete draw is listed below. For the neutral fan, keeping up with the UEFA cup at this stage can serve as a valuable geography lesson. Do you know where the following clubs are from: Haka Valkeakoski, Vojvodina Novi Sad, or Metalurgs Liepaja? Scroll down for the answer.

NORTHERN SECTION

Djurgarden (Sweden) v Rosenborg Trondheim (Norway)
MANCHESTER CITY v Midtjylland (Denmark)
FC Honka (Finland) v Viking Stavanger (Norway)
QUEEN OF SOUTH v Nordsjaelland (Denmark)
Ghent (Belgium) v Kalmar (Sweden)
ASTON VILLA v FH (Iceland)
Stabaek (Norway) v Stade Rennes (France)
Haka Valkeakoski (Finland) v Brondby (Denmark)
FC Copenhagen (Denmark) v Lillestrom (Norway)
Elfsborg Boras (Sweden) v St. Patrick's Athletic (Ireland)

SOUTHERN SECTION

Siroki Brijeg (Bosnia) v Besiktas (Turkey)
Braga (Portugal) v Zrinjski (Bosnia)
Lokomotiv Sofia (Bulgaria) v Borac Cacak (Serbia)
Aris Salonika (Greece) v Slaven Belupo Koprivnica (Croatia)
Omonia Nicosia (Cyprus) v AEK Athens (Greece)
Vllaznia Shkoder (Albania) v Napoli (Italy)
APOEL Nicosia (Cyprus) v Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
Deportivo Coruna (Spain) v Hajduk Split (Croatia)
Litex Lovech (Bulgaria) v Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona (Israel)
Vojvodina Novi Sad (Serbia) v Hapoel Tel Aviv (Israel)
Maccabi Netanya (Israel) v Cherno More Varna (Bulgaria)

CENTRAL-EAST SECTION

VfB Stuttgart (Germany) v Gyor ETO (Hungary)
FC Zurich (Switzerland) v Sturm Graz (Austria)
Lech Poznan (Poland) v Grasshoppers (Switzerland)
Slovan Liberec (Czech Republic) v Zilina (Slovakia)
Metalurgs Liepaja (Latvia) v Vaslui (Romania)
Young Boys (Switzerland) v Debrecen (Hungary)
WIT Georgia Tbilisi (Georgia) v Austria Vienna (Austria)
Suduva Marijampole (Lithuania) v Salzburg (Austria)
Interblock Ljubljana (Slovenia) v Hertha Berlin (Germany)
Legia Warsaw (Poland) v FC Moscow (Russia)
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine) v AC Bellinzona (Switzerland)

First legs to be played August 14, second legs to be played August 28.

ANSWER: Haka Valkeakoski - Finland; Vojvodina Novi Sad - Serbia; Metalurgs Liepaja - Latvia.

The 2008-09 season is fast approaching. In fact, some teams have already played their first qualifying matches in the UEFA Cup. Today, the 3rd round qualifying matches for the Champions League were announced. Here is the complete draw:

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Third qualifying round draw:

Anorthosis/Rapid Vienna v Olympiakos
Vitoria Guimaraes v IFK Gothenburg/Basel
Shakhtar Donetsk v Domzale/Dinamo Zagreb
Schalke 04 v Atletico Madrid
Aalborg/Modrica v RANGERS/Kaunas
Barcelona v Beitar Jerusalem/Wisla Krakow
Levski Sofia v Anderlecht/BATE
Standard Liege v LIVERPOOL
Inter Baku/Partizan v Fenerbahce/MTK Budapest
FC Twente v ARSENAL
Spartak Moscow v Drogheda/Dinamo Kiev
Juventus v Tampere/Artmedia
SK Brann/Ventspils v Marseille
Fiorentina v Slavia Prague
Galatasaray v Steaua Bucharest
Panathinaikos/Dinamo Tbilisi v Sheriff Tiraspol/Sparta Prague

The winners of these cup ties will enter the group stage of the Champions League.