It has been a mad few weeks indeed. Not only have Christmas and New Year kept everyone on their toes and (hopefully) jolly, but the football grounds and pitches have certainly not gathered much dust. Quite the opposite. They have seen everything! From shocks and horrors, to delight and despair, to complete and utter ecstasy and/or ugliness. Well, to make up for my gap in blogging, here are the key facts and stats and my picks of the last five match weeks = 50 games from the 17th December 2011 to 4th January 2012, before the international break:
Top Facts:
- 125 goals scored = average of 2.5 goals per game.
- 136 bookings made = avergage of 2.72 yellow cards per game.
- 7 red cards shown = average of 0.14 sendings off per game or one player sent off every 7.143 games.
- 16 different score lines on the board, top 5 of those were 1:1 (11 times), 1:2 (8 times) and 1:0 (6 times), 0:2 (5 times) and 0:0 (4 times).
- There have only been three games without any bookings, all three of them ending 1:1: Wigan v Chelsea (18.12), Bolton v Wolves and Norwich v Fulham (both 31/12). Faire play and result or coincidence?
Top 5 games: I like surprises, so the most shocking results no one would have predicted made it on this list for me (listed chronologically):
- Wigan's 1:1 v Chelsea and 0:0 v Liverpool: Having struggled in the bottom three since October, the Latics kicked off the Christmas period with two hard-fought and well-deserved draws against two top Premier League sides. Jordi Gomez's late equaliser denied Chelsea a win and Ali Al-Habsi penalty save against Charlie Adam and overall top performance denied Liverpool a win at the DW stadium. You would have thought these two results should have served to up Wigan's confidence and fight to get out of the relegation zone, but things went downhill from there. Shame. 
- Man Utd 2:3 Blackburn: After winning eight of their last nine matches since their 6-1 thrashing home defeat against local rivals City and scoring 25 and conceding only 3 in the process, Sir Alex Ferguson could not have asked for a better 70th birthday present than welcoming bottom-of-the-table Blackburn to Old Trafford, expecting an easy win. In the end, under-fire Steve Kean could not have asked for a better New Year's present, because United's back line were terrible, the third goal killing off the home resistance and any chances of a comeback.
- Chelsea 1:3 Aston Villa: Both sides were going through a slump, the Blues having drawn the last three whilst Villa suffered defeats against Arsenal and Liverpool and could only save one point at Stoke. The visitors outplayed the hosts tactically and passionately, Villa just seemed to WANT the win and points that much more. Didier Drogba scored his 150th goal with a penalty whilst Fernando Torres rattled the crossbar, the goal still deluding him. Apart from that, Stephen Ireland and Villa worked hard and bossed the match, ironing out a hard earned, well deserved win.
- Sunderland 1:0 Man City: It was Martin O'Neill's fifth match as Sunderland manager and the total post-Steve-Bruce revamp continued. The game started slow but the second half produced some pulsating end-to-end stuff and ended with a breathless counter-attack. Nicklas Bendtner and Stephane Sessegnon were denied a goal either side of the break, with Edin Dzeko and Micah Richards both hitting the woodwork. But with the last kick of the game, Ji Dong-Won latched on to Sessegnon's pass well and rounded Joe Hart to win it. Late slump for City, brilliant stuff for the neutral eye.
- Newcastle 3:0 Man Utd: Even Fergie had to credit this one! This was arguably his side's worst performance, no discredit to the Toons' top performance though! The Red Devils' back line failed to cope with all the pressure, Rio Ferdinand and Phil Jones failing miserably against Demba Ba and Shola Ameobi. Yohan Cabaye's wonderful free kick put the sweet icing on the wonderful cake for Newcastle, who had not won in their previous 18 league meetings since a 4-3 success in September 2001, while the result emulated the 3-0 victory of February 2000.* The only other Premier League win for Newcastle over Manchester United, home or away, was the famous 5-0 in October 1996.* Phillipe Albert scored a memorable fifth in that game and he was on the gantry for Belgian TV on Wednesday night.*Top 5 teams:
- Top scorers: Man Utd with 14 goals, although ten of them came from two games, both 5-0 thrashings at Fulham and against Wigan at home. Tottenham and Newcastle follow them on the top scorers' list with eight goals in the last five games, then City with seven.
- Top form: Tottenham are the only side who remained undefeated in the last five games (WDWDW = 11 points out of a possible 15). W13 D3 L3 - Tottenham have only once had a better league record after 19 games in the top flight - that was 1960-61 (W17 D1 L1).* In the last five games, formwise, Spurs are followed by: City (WWDLW) and Sunderland (LWDWW), who won 10 out of 15 points suffering only one defeat. 
- Top defence: City also make the top defence, having only conceded one goal in all five games. That goal came from Sunderland in their home win against the top dogs. Man City have won their last 14 PL home games, their second best run in the top-flight after 16 in a row in 1921.* Tottenham have only conceded two goals. The Swans are the next best defenders with only three goals given away, their lack of attack though, with just four goals, leading them to only one win (DLDDW = 6 out of 15 points). The Welsh side have also committed fewer fouls than any other team in the Premier League.* Clean and robust but not productive.
- Top players: Arsenal's Robin van Persie still tops the Premier League score list with 17 goals but Toon Ba has impressed me most with his 15 goals in 15 League appearances. City's Sergio Aguero (14) and Blackburn's Ayegbeni Yakubu (12) are serving their sides well through some difficult times whilst the likes of Dzeko (10) and Mario Balotelli (8) who have shown plenty of quality in the past, have gone more quiet, behind the shadows a bit lately. The return of Thierry Henry has made me a very happy woman! And I know it was not in the Premier League, but his winning return-goal against Leeds in the FA Cup third round could not have made a tastier appetiser for seeing him back in the Premier League! J'aime Thierry!
Top goal: There are sooooo many to choose from, so I'm going for the freakiest again: Everton's Tim Howard is the fourth goalkeeper in Premier League history to score a goal, after Peter Schmeichel, Brad Friedel and Paul Robinson. Howard scored from inside his own box when his kick bounced 30 yards from Bolton's goal and, with the help of the wind and weather, the ball flew over visiting keeper Adam Bogdan. It didn't help his side in the match as they still fell to a 2:1 home defeat against Bolton, but believe me, he could not have done more!Top news: Plenty of action, drama, thrills, spills, shocks, horrors and controversy in the FA Cup third round and Carling Cup semi finals and the ins and outs of the January transfer window.
Flop games: No such thing in the Premier League! Not that it's worth or that I can recount anyway!
Flop teams:
- Flop scorers: Quite a few teams have been low scores with only four or five goals in the last five games. Here is the list, with only four goals: Wigan, QPR, Aston Villa and Swansea; and only five goals in the last five games: Bolton, West Brom, Everton, Arsenal (! - well, thank god Thierry's back, ey! ;-))
- Flop form: QPR (LLDLL) and Wolves (LDDDL) are the only two sides to have seen no wins over the last five games in the Christmas and New Year period. Worrying.
- Flop defence: Norwich and Blackburn have both failed to keep clean sheets in the opening 20 games of the season, equaling Bolton's record (2009-10 season).* Wigan have conceded the most in the last five games by far with 12 goals. Blackburn and QPR follow next on the worst defense list with nine goals conceded.
Flop players: Luis Suarez and Balotelli have without a doubt caught as much attention on the pitch as they have off it, filling the news with both good and bad headlines. Andy Carroll and Fernando Torres have definitely shared more misses than cheers with their fans and team mates. None of Carroll's last 26 headed shots in the Premier League have resulted in goals and he has had more headed shots off target (13) than any other player in the Premier League this season.* Torres has scored more Premier League goals for Liverpool in 2011 than he has for Chelsea (3) and had just 1 more shot on target in 2011 for Chelsea than for Liverpool (11) this calendar year.* Just like with Michael Owen, I knew, the day he left Liverpool, he waved goodbye to becoming a legend.
Flop news: First sacking of the year is already out of the way with Neil Warnock sent packing by QPR after a bad run of eight Premier League games without a win. Former Wales/Blackburn/City/Fulham boss Mark Hughes has taken over... Good luck on that one, Mark!
*Thanks to Opta Sports for some interesting stats and facts. The rest I've all noted, scribbled and calculated myself with some peeking on the BBC and SkySports websites and match reports.
My predictions - Useless! - Actual results:
Week 16:
Blackburn 2:0 West Brom - 1:2
Everton 3:1 Norwich - 1:1
Fulham 2:1 Bolton - 2:0
Newcastle 3:1 Swansea - 0:0
Wolves 2:1 Stoke - 1:2
Wigan 0:4 Chelsea - 1:1
QPR 0:1 Man Utd - 0:2
Aston Villa 1:2 Liverpool - 0:2
Tottenham 3:0 Sunderland - 1:0
Man City 3:1 Arsenal - 1:0
Week 17:
Wolves 2:1 Norwich - 2:2
Blackburn 3:2 Bolton - 1:2
Aston Villa 2:3 Arsenal - 1:2
Man City 2:0 Stoke - 3:0
Newcastle 2:2 West Brom - 2:3
Everton 3:1 Swansea - 1:0
Fulham 2:2 Man Utd - 0:5
QPR 1:1 Sunderland - 2:3
Wigan 0:1 Liverpool - 0:0
Tottenham 2:1 Chelsea - 1:1
Week 18:
Chelsea 2:1 Fulham - 1:1
Bolton 3:2 Newcastle - 0:2
Liverpool 3:1 Blackburn - 1:1
Man Utd 4:1 Wigan - 5:0
Sunderland 2:2 Everton - 1:1
West Brom 1:3 Man City - 0:0
Stoke 3:2 Aston Villa - 0:0
Arsenal 2:0 Wolves - 1:1
Swansea 0:0 QPR - 1:1
Nowich 1:3 Tottenham - 0:2
Week 19:
Liverpool 3:0 Newcastle - 3:1
Man Utd 2:1 Blackburn - 2:3
Arsenal 2:1 QPR - 1:0
Bolton 2:1 Wolves - 1:1
Chelsea 2:1 Aston Villa - 1:3
Norwich 2:1 Fulham - 1:1
Stoke 2:1 Wigan - 2:2
Swansea 2:1 Tottenham - 1:1
West Brom 2:1 Everton - 0:1
Sunderland 2:1 Man City - 1:0
Week 20:
Aston Villa 2:1 Swansea - 0:2
Blackburn 2:1 Stoke - 1:2
QPR 2:1 Norwich - 1:2
Wolves 2:1 Chelsea - 1:2
Fulham 2:1 Arsenal - 2:1
Tottenham 2:0 West Brom - 1:0
Wigan 1:1 Sunderland - 1:4
Man City 3:2 Liverpool - 3:0
Everton 2:1 Bolton - 1:2
Newcastle 1:4 Man Utd - 3:0
In case you are wondering about the chain of 2:1 predictions I made, that was when I was at my parents' and forgot to predict, hence the auto-predictor put all predictions 2:1. Told ye USELESS! ;-P
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