Another referee is off Fergie’s Christmas card list and Spurs continue to defy their reputation, but the death of Gary Speed puts it all in perspective.
By Sean Nolan
Steve Bruce is in deep trouble
Things turned very nasty for Steve Bruce this weekend but that will happen when you concede an injury time winner, at home, to the bottom club. The Black Cats fans turned on the much travelled manager like a pack of dogs and the abuse rained down on Bruce from the Stadium of Light stands.
Sunderland sit just two points and two places above the relegation zone and they have managed just two wins all season. More worrying for Bruce, the normally silent club owner Ellis Short wrote a piece for the matchday programme saying he was unhappy with the performances this season and the league position.
Bruce says he has no intention of walking away but he is now the leading candidate to be the first Premier League dugout dweller to get the boot this season.
Are Spurs really title contenders?
Based on their recent run you have to think yes. Lining up at West Brom this weekend without their creative fulcrum of Rafael van der Vaart and Luka Modric, we thought that they might struggle against Roy Hodgson’s well-drilled Baggies.
They did, to a point, but the addition of Emmanuel Adebayor gives them a muscularity that Peter Crouch or dear old Robbie never could. The big Togolese striker nabbed two, one a penalty, but he offers teams so much when he plays to his best.
Scott Parker is playing so well Alex Ferguson must be choking on his chewing gum that he didn’t buy him to shore up United’s ropey midsection, while Gareth Bale is still not as good as everyone says he is but he is getting closer.
It’s still early doors, and he would probably tell you to talk to the chairman as he handles all that, but Harry’s game is working a treat right now.
Why always me?
Mario Baloteli is still a work in progress
We imagine Roberto Mancini treats Mario Balotelli rather like you would treat a neighbour’s dog. Most of the time he is friendly and playful and you can walk up to the door without any fear. But once in a while, and more often than you like, he will bite you.
Mario bit Roberto on Sunday at Anfield, earning a phenomenally stupid red card before allegedly thrashing the away dressing room. A win over Liverpool would have put Manchester City seven points clear of their closest and most bitter rivals Manchester United. Not insurmountable, but very comfortable all the same.
Mario’s madness scuppered those hopes. He has won Mancini more games than he has cost them this season but the craziness is never too far away. Exciting for us but just be glad you don’t have to live with him.
United get screwed by a referee
Michael Jones was drafted in late to referee Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Newcastle and his performance will live long in the memory of everyone who saw it. He awarded a very dubious penalty against United that cost them the points and then an injury time winner by Chicharito, exactly the type of goal that has won United numerous trophies in the past, was ruled out for the tightest of tight offsides. For once, United had no luck.
But the wastefulness in front of goal, and the outstanding show by Newcastle’s Tim Krul, is what really hurt them. Luckily for the Red Devils, City slipped too. But there is not quite the same aura around Fergie’s team this season, at least not yet anyway.
Football doesn’t really matter
Everything that happened this weekend is irrelevant compared to the tragedy of Gary Speed’s death. At 42, he had a bright future in the game and his initial work with Wales was so promising.
News of his death completely overshadowed the Swansea/Aston Villa game, making it one of the saddest 90 minutes I have ever witnessed. The game should have been cancelled, Shay Given and the rest should have been allowed grieve in private.
From Stan Collymore’s public discussion of his illness this week to the events in Germany with referee Rabak Rafati, football must do more to help those in its family, whatever their maladies. Sepp Blatter could earn himself some much-needed respect by speaking out and using his platform for something worthwhile for a change.
Probably hoping for a little too much there aren’t I?
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