TOUR EVENT
The Football Inconsistency itself gave on Saturday a day session of simultaneous play. At the beginning of the second half in Liverpool at Goodison Park, the Everton set on fire by Manchester United almost hopelessly burned 0: 2, and in London at Stamford Bridge Chelsea outwardly confidently squeezed the lame Bolton. It seemed another 40 minutes - and the champion race would begin anew. In fact, everything turned out exactly the opposite: the gap between the leaders widened to five points . “Manchester United” once again this season was honored with an impressive spurt, half an hour turning 0: 2 into 4: 2. Sir Alex Ferguson dancing at the edge celebrated the victory and at the same time worked as a live scoreboard, depicting the final score of a parallel meeting on his fingers - 2: 2. It was in the capital that Bolton tried, having played the match without half the basics, amid poor shape and rumors about the departure of Sam Allardyce. However, in the ingenious game of Football Inconsistency, all this did not matter. Now Manchester United is almost a champion . In the remaining three matches, formally, the Mankunians need to score five points, in fact four will be enough, and almost everything can be decided in the next round if United won in Manchester derby and Chelsea did not win at Arsenal in London.
HERO TOUR
West Ham pardoned the Premier League and Carlos Tevez with the enthusiasm of the recovered terminally ill again rush into the struggle for survival. It was the Argentinean, whose contract served as the reason for the gigantic fine, but not for scoring, a few months ago led the operation to save the “hammers”. And it was he who became the brightest figure of the Saturday defeat by Londoners of the direct competitor Wigan. An amazing thing: Tevez did not score and did not make a single assist, but was unanimously recognized as the hero of the match. His energy and Argentinean passion woke up partners - even such as Yossi Benayoun and Marlon Harwood. West Ham beat Charlton and caught up with the defeated Wigan on points, for the first time in a long time, just a step away from salvation. Basement intrigue is not a match for the champion - everything will be decided here not earlier than the final whistle of the final round.
TOUR FAILURE
Saturday Football Inconsistency chose young Turner goalkeeper Ian Turner as the main focus of his attention. Until the 60th minute, the Scot, on the eve of the match with Manchester United, returned by the butterscotch from the lease, played confidently and reliably. On the 61st - he dropped the ball out of his hands and gave the goal to John O'Shea, an avid for such things. The Mankunians started a breakthrough, which neither the goalkeeper nor the rest of Everton could stop. The guests won, most likely, a title victory, and Turner received a lesson about the need to maintain concentration throughout the match.
TOUR SENSATION
Sam Allardyce left Bolton immediately after the match with Chelsea. For almost eight years he led the team, which during this time broke into the elite of English football and became an example for poor clubs who want to succeed with limited resources. For most of this season, Bolton was “the best among others,” second only to the Giants of the “Big Four”. Allardyce made this team, returned to the big football many already written-off players, and at the moment it may well be considered the best English coach. Rumor is stubbornly wooing Big Sam in Manchester City, which Ray Ranson is supposed to buy. But it will be later. And now Allardyce is leaving Bolton and doing it beautifully - stopping Chelsea and actually deciding the outcome of the championship race. It was the last smirk of Saturday afternoon Football Inconsistency.
TREND
More than three-month observation of the main symptoms of a patient’s illness named “Manchester City” allows us to make a definite diagnosis - the team has an atypical split of personality. It is safe to say that City at home and City at a party are two different teams . At the Stadium of Manchester, the townspeople have not scored seven games in a row (two draws, five defeats), while on the road they regularly hit the opponents' goal (six matches, nine goals, three victories, two defeats and a draw). Sometimes the disease takes on sharp forms. So, on Saturday, Joey Barton, who recently announced that in the place of fans he would stop going to his team’s games, could not score even from the penalty spot. It is easy to guess who personally at that moment the Barton fan would not like to see on the field. The final verdict of Manchester City next weekend will make the luminary of local medicine - Sir Alex Ferguson. Well, the treatment, it is quite possible, from the next season will Sam Allardyce.
CM. ALSO
Rafael Benitez, having released Sami Hyuyapa on the field on Saturday, allowed the Finn to play the 400th match for Liverpool, and the Portsmouth defenders went even further - did not interfere with their colleague celebrating the anniversary with a goal.
TOUR DIGIT
The end of the season is the right time to implement a variety of mottos and slogans. It is strange, however, that the most dubious of them in the last round were armed at once with 4 players of the Premier League and on the principle of "no need, no need - I myself" hit their own gates. Own goals on the account of Phil Neville (here, perhaps, it was just a memory failure), Jussi Jaaskelainen, Hermann Hreidarsson and Chris Powell.
Dmitry LONGICH