I didn’t do too badly with my predictions really. OK, I was wildly out in the big Chelsea and Manchester United game but five correct results out of ten is pretty amazing for me!
Let’s look at the heroes and villains from this weekend’s Premier League games;
Hot team
Not much doubt about this award this week. Manchester City are a club that now have the potential to challenge the very best in Europe. They need to build a team that can do likewise. Judging by the way that they dismantled a reasonable Portsmouth side yesterday, Mark Hughes might not be too far away from building that side.
When they were going forward the sight of Jo, Robinho, Wright-Phillips, Elano and others was pretty spectacular. Whether they will look quite so good in the cold and wet winter months and whether they will be strong enough when they need to battle, I am not so sure, but for the time being, they were very special indeed yesterday.
Not hot team
Obviously this should go to Portsmouth but I don’t want to add to the misery of their weekend. I think that Tottenham’s 0-0 draw at home to Wigan means that they should still qualify as the least hot team in the Premier League. A glance at the league table will confirm the facts.
Why are Tottenham like a cocktail stick? They’ve both got two points!
Hot Goalkeeper
He has had so much stick over the past year or so, most of it being deserved to be fair, but this award should definitely go to Blackburn’s Paul Robinson.
He has a new chance at a new club and judging by the two excellent saves he made to enable Blackburn to keep a clean sheet on Saturday, he looks as though he might make the most of it.
Not hot goalkeeper
This has to go to the man currently in possession of the England number one shirt. He has consistently been England’s best keeper for a couple of years now but every now and then he has an absolute stinker!
David James managed to make just about every mistake in his repertoire in the 6-0 defeat at Manchester City. He reminded us all why we are so nervous every time the ball goes near him, despite the fact that he is basically an exceptional keeper.
Hot defender
For me this award goes to Rio Ferdinand who once again gave a master class in the art of defending in United’s 1-1 draw at Chelsea. There is no aspect of the game that seems to cause Ferdinand any major concerns. He can tackle, head, pass, go forward to good effect and his reading of the game is second to none.
It is time for the inconsistency of his past and his previous misdemeanours to be forgiven and forgotten and for Ferdinand to be properly hailed as the great defender he is.
Not hot defender
It pains me considerably to give this award to one of the best English defenders I’ve ever seen. Sol Campbell was ripped apart by the vibrant Manchester City forward play in a way that the Sol Campbell of three or four years ago would not have been.
It is a shame to see a player who is on the way down. He’s still good, but he ain’t anywhere near as good as he was!
Hot midfielder
I’m not sure that there is any other player in the Premier League who’s absence is felt more than Tim Cahill at Everton. The Everton side with him in it is so much more effective than the one without him. He is a driving force and he pops up with a lot of goals.
Yesterday Everton found themselves 2-0 down at Hull and Cahill it was who grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck, scored the first goal and forced Everton back into it to get a point.
Not hot midfielder
People rave about Stewart Downing at Middlesbrough but I just can’t see it. I’m not having a go at him, he’s a very good left winger. It’s just that some people go on and on about him and I don’t see him as an international class player.
0-0 away at local rivals and you get awarded a penalty. A cool head is required. Up steps Downing and sends the ball into orbit!
Hot striker
He has always had the potential to be one of the best but it has never quite happened for Michael Chopra. He has never established himself as a first team regular anywhere other than his loan spell at Cardiff and his personal problems have been well publicised.
In the last ten minutes on Saturday he was presented with two chances and that was it. 2-0 to Sunderland. It is a real shame that he has never fulfilled the huge potential that he had, but when he performs, it is only fair to recognise it.
Not hot striker
Whilst everyone is going on about Robbie Keane’s failure to score for Liverpool, has anyone else noticed that a certain Fernando Torres is not being exactly prolific? He looks to be well short of the player that started last season for Liverpool.
There is no doubt that he is a great striker and that the goals will come at some stage, but for Torres to draw another blank against a game but limited Stoke defence must be giving Rafa just a little cause for concern.
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