Sunday 1 Arsenal are back on top after a stormy 2-1 win over Man City. Nicolas Anelka scores the latter’s goal in the 90th minute but is sent off before the restart for a bundle in the goalmouth. Surprisingly, his sparring partner Ashley Cole is only booked. Chelsea just about stay in touch, needing a late winner from Glen Johnson to beat Blackburn 3-2. Sir Alex, meanwhile, faces a decision: to climb down in his court case or finally file papers with the judge in Dublin…
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Friday 2 Martin O’Neill denies being approached by Liverpool – “I’m going to try and remain calm and say that story is totally and utterly untrue” – while Lazio coach Roberto Mancini is the latest to be linked with the Spurs job. The transfer window opens with a creak: Leicester sign Nikos Dabizas from Newcastle and turn down a Blackburn bid for Muzzy Izzet; Wolves sign Romania striker Ioan Ganea on a short-term deal; Eyal Berkovic may take a wage cut to leave Man City for Portsmouth.
Saturday 1 Leeds are bottom of the Premiership after a 4-1 home defeat by Arsenal. Mark Viduka is left out of the squad after missing a players’ meeting and arriving late for training. “If I started looking over my shoulder with all this speculation, I wouldn’t be able to look forward,” quips Peter Reid. Chelsea beat Everton 1-0 at Goodison Park, but defeat fails to stop Wayne Rooney dressing up as Oliver Hardy for his 18th birthday party, where guests include Atomic Kitten, Robbie Williams and “more than 200 friends”. Man Utd beat Portsmouth 3-0 at Old Trafford, Cristiano Ronaldo pausing long enough between performances of the hokey-cokey to score his first goal for the club, while at White Hart Lane Jay-Jay Okocha inspires Bolton to a 1-0 win over Spurs. Manchester City beat Southampton 2-0 at St Mary’s amid rumours that Nicolas Anelka’s absence from the City side is a consequence of his failure to attend a clay pigeon-shooting trip. “Mills is just a fucking idiot,” observes the usually unflappable Paul Ince after Danny Mills’s altercation with Lee Naylor creates confusion from which Gaizka Mendieta scores Boro’s first goal in a 2-0 victory over Wolves – a surly afternoon ends with police quelling a full-time mêlée in the tunnel. First Division leaders Wigan beat Crystal Palace 5-0, Andy Liddell’s two goals making him the club’s all-time highest goalscorer. Wimbledon win their first game at Milton Keynes, 2-1 against Bradford, but stay bottom. West Brom’s Darren Williams faces a police investigation for kicking a spare ball off the pitch and injuring a woman in the crowd during the goalless draw with Sunderland. QPR are the only club in the top nine of the Second Division to win, beating Stockport 2-1 at Edgeley Park and moving up to third place. Leaders Plymouth draw 2-2 with Oldham, while Brighton also draw 2-2 against Peterborough in Mark McGhee’s first match in charge. In Division Three, leaders Hull are held 2-2 at home by Macclesfield, allowing Doncaster and Oxford to edge closer as both win.
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WSC speaks to Watford’s Alec Chamberlain about how the game has changed for goalkeepers during his 20 year career
One of the effects of the blanket TV coverage of football is that every player’s mistakes are highlighted. Are keepers given too hard a time generally?
At the risking of sounding paranoid, I definitely think goalkeepers come under the microscope too often, especially in the Premiership and at international level as well. It’s there for all to see, every Saturday night you watch the Premiership and it’s dissected. Outfield players come under criticism, but the commentators hang, draw and quarter you before it even gets to the expert. The advent of super slo-mo hasn’t done us any favours either because when you see things coming in real time I think that’s the only fair way to see whether or not the keeper could have done better. Slow motion makes things looks easier than they were in real time.
Saturday 1 Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink thumps in a header at St James’ Park, but it’s for Newcastle who go on to win 2-1 and move into joint second place. Debutant Jonathan Woodgate chances a prediction: “Yes, I think we can win the title.” Juninho marks his Middlesbrough comeback with the equaliser in a 1-1 draw against Everton, who move up into the fourth Champions League spot, though David Moyes is taking it steady: “Our next target is a top-half finish.” “This match was about the players who spilt blood,” says Glenn Roeder as a Di Canio-less West Ham draw level with Bolton after beating Spurs 2-0. Hope is receding for the other two in the relegation area, though Howard talks of a “near top-drawer performance” as Sunderland slide to a late and unlucky defeat, their sixth in a row in the league, 1-0 at Fulham. West Brom lose by the same score at Southampton. Portsmouth fans, banned from visiting the New Den, miss seeing their team thrash Millwall 5-0 . Wigan go 15 points clear in the Second with 3-1 win over Chesterfield. In the Third, Hartlepool’s stately progress is slowed slightly by a 2-2 draw with local rivals Darlington. At the bottom end, Exeter stem a run of four defeats with a home point against the equally desperate Bristol Rovers.