The Weekend Round-up

By Danny Wright

Manchester United compounded a sorry week for Newcastle by thumping the Magpies 6-0 at Old Trafford, all the goals coming in the second half. Wing-wizard Ronaldo was the architect to the visitor’s downfall, his hat-trick helping United to establish a lead before Carlos Tevez bagged a brace and Rio Ferdinand (sic) sealed the win. To make things worse for Newcastle, they had Alan Smith sent off for a late bout of much-needed dissent. The thrashing comes as a much needed wake-up call for Toon fans - their lofty ambitions and sky-high expectations proving pivotal in the dismissal of another unfortunate manager.

No wonder Harry Redknapp turned the job down, yet he was still in the North East on Sunday – to see his Portsmouth side succumb to a 2-0 defeat at Sunderland, Kieran Richardson’s brace (sic) sinking hapless Pompey. Elsewhere at the bottom, Wigan defeated bottom club Derby 1-0 at Pride Park, Antoine Sibierski the scorer, meanwhile Roy Hodgson’s Fulham reign went from bad to worse as they were sunk by West Ham, 2-1 the final result. The Cottagers now lie five points behind 17th place Wigan in 19th, with Derby even further behind the Latics with just 7 points amassed from 22 games.

Reading remain in the relegation quagmire, despite lying in 13th, losing 3-1 at Aston Villa. John Carew and Martin Lauren headed home from set-plays to effectively end the contest 55 minutes in, with Carew notching his second late in the day. James Harper responded for the Royals, but it was scant consolation. Middlesborough dropped two points in a 1-1 draw with Liverpool at the Riverside; however it will be the home side who will be happier with the result, ‘under-pressure’ manager Gareth Southgate getting his tactics right to unsettle the Reds and take the lead through George Boateng. Liverpool were able to escape with a point though, Fernando Torres’ great strike almost busting the net as the Reds title hopes faded further still.

Birmingham picked up an unlikely point away at high-flying Arsenal, Gary O’Connor’s deflected header proving decisive in thwarting the potential champions. Arsene Wenger’s men looked like they would win at a canter, but the Blues had other ideas as Maik Taylor twice thwarted the Gunners with good saves. Even a controversial penalty – scored by Emmanuel Adebayor – couldn’t keep Alex McLeish’s men down.

Jason Roberts’ last minute winner cruelly denied struggling Bolton a point against local rivals Blackburn at the Reebok. The Trotters began life without talisman Nikolas Anelka and looked lacklustre in a game of few chances and even less quality, however skipper Kevin Nolan – unbelievably jeered by his own supporters – answered the calls for some class when he volleyed home a superb strike to give his side the lead. Christopher Samba’s header caught Jussi Jaaskelainen in no mans land for the equaliser, with super sup Roberts on hand to fashion a last minute solo effort to earn a 2-1 win.

Anelka’s new club Chelsea had no such trouble dispatching Tottenham at the Bridge, Julio Belletti’s humdinger of a shot finding the top corner of the net, with Shaun Wright-Phillips firing in the winner. ‘Le Sulk’ made a cameo appearance, rattling the bar and forcing Radek Cerny into a smart save.

Everton’s David Moyes marked his tenth anniversary in football management with a 1-0 win over Manchester City, Joleon Lescott making amends for his howler at Chelsea in mid-week with the winner to send the Toffees into fifth. Liverpool will be looking over their shoulder nervously – Everton, Aston Villa and City all on equal points as the ‘lesser’ clubs vie for a Champions League berth.