The general consensus throughout the sports world is that 2012 was the best sporting year for Britain ever. A tough act to follow no doubt, but the Premier League got to work early in trying to make sure that 2013 was just as spectacular as a barrage of goal-ridden fixtures kicked off the new year.
Good Week For:- Fulham and Aston Villa (Good results away from home can hopefully kick-start their season), QPR (Grabbed a deserved late win away at Chelsea)
Bad Week For:- Norwich City (Defeat at West Ham means they’ve now lost four games in a row), Reading (Couldn’t capitalise on an early goal at White Hart Lane which ultimately led to defeat), Sunderland (Continue to struggle as they were taken apart by Liverpool at Anfield)
One of the best parts of the Premier League in 2012 was the rivalry between the two Manchester clubs at the top of the table and this year kicked off in similar vein as United and City both grabbed big victories away at Wigan and at home to Stoke respectively. Both Manchester clubs had less than convincing victories over the weekend but these fixtures were a different story as City won by three and United won by four. United still hold a seven point lead over their City rivals but City’s apparent upturn in form couldn’t have come at a better time for them as it helps compensate for the loss of Yaya Toure to the African Cup of Nations.
Another African who’ll be sorely missed by his team is Newcastle United’s Demba Ba. The striker has had his release clause triggered by Chelsea and now it appears only a matter of time before he leaves yet Newcastle coped quite well without him against Everton. Although the Toon Army came away from their match with a loss, it wasn’t for the want of trying as Newcastle really troubled Everton. However, led by a magnificent performance from Leighton Baines, Everton were able to hold onto a one-goal lead and condemn Newcastle to their ninth defeat in eleven games.
So whilst Newcastle at least bettered their form from the weekend, Arsenal could not pull off the same trick as they struggled in their away fixture at Southampton. The Saints summer signing, Gaston Ramirez opened the scoring midway through the first half and posed a real threat to the Arsenal defence throughout the game. Arsenal did manage to equalise before the end of the first half thanks to a Southampton own goal but Arsene Wenger will surely be disappointed with the result as his side never really got going at St. Mary’s.
Aston Villa also earned a hard-fought draw away at Swansea, stopping their recent run of losses dead in it’s tracks. Villa did take a long time to get into the game though and still conceded two goals therefore it isn’t beyond the realms of possibility that Villa will try and bring in a few new faces to steady the ship during the transfer window.
Also at the foot of the table, Reading – fresh from their second victory of the season – got off to a dream start in their away fixture at Tottenham. Pavel Pogrebnyak scored within four minutes for the Royals as Reading fans must have begun to feel that the new year would bring them a new batch of success. However this was not the case as Tottenham, who look to be improving week on week, came back to win 3-1 as Aaron Lennon dictated the play from the wing in the absence of Gareth Bale.
A Reading loss allowed QPR a chance to close the gap to them at the foot of the table however that would be far from easy as Harry Redknapp’s side faced a trip to Chelsea. Redknapp, though, showed why he is exceptionally good at dealing with difficult situations as his side grabbed a rather surprising but thoroughly deserved 1-0 win away at Chelsea. The Blues really lacked firepower in this game therefore the news of the imminent signing of Demba Ba will come as welcome news for Blues fans.
Liverpool have also added some firepower already this transfer window thanks to the twelve-million pound acquisition of Daniel Sturridge. However, given the current form of Luis Suarez and Sturridge’s desire for a central role up front, it looks like the new signing will struggle for a place in the team as Suarez led his side to a comfortable victory over Martin O’Neill’s Sunderland. Sterling, Gerrard and Suarez were instrumental for Brendan Rodgers’ side as they started the new year in the best possible way but rumours continue to circulate that Liverpool will be doing more work in the transfer market.
Fulham on the other hand seem to have more of a problem keeping their players fit rather than needing new ones. Despite the injury concerns however, the Cottagers managed to pull out a 2-1 win away at West Brom thanks in no small part to Dimitar Berbatov. The Bulgarian has been a revelation since joining Martin Jol at Fulham and the striker will be absolutely crucial if Fulham are to rediscover their better form.
Similarly, Norwich’s Grant Holt will be essential to the canaries’ ambitions in the league this season and their fixture against West Ham proved that point as they looked very ordinary without their star striker and slumped to yet another defeat at the hands of the Hammers. The next few weeks will be very telling for each team in the league and define whether or not they fulfil their ambitions this season or fall short and are left to pay the price.
Happy new year from all of us here at Fortitude and be sure to check back here soon as we’ll be announcing the winners of our very own Fortitude Football awards!
Results:-
West Bromwich Albion 1 – 2 Fulham
Manchester City 3 – 0 Stoke City
Swansea 2 – 2 Aston Villa
Tottenham Hotspur 3 – 1 Reading
West Bromwich Albion 1 – 2 Fulham
West Ham United 2 – 1 Norwich City
Wigan Athletic 0 – 4 Manchester United
Southampton 1 – 1 Arsenal
Chelsea 0 – 1 Queens Park Rangers
Liverpool 3 – 0 Sunderland
Newcastle 1 – 2 Everton