Thirteenth Week Conclusions in the Premiership

Arsenal are out of the title race. The visit of Chelsea to the Emirates was supposed to see Arsenal confirmed as genuine title contenders. Instead, their 3-0 thrashing at the hands of their London rivals sees them anchored in 4th place, 11 points behind the first-place Blues. Although Arsene Wenger can be proud of his side who performed admirably in the pouring rain, he’ll be concerned at the ease in which  a powerful and clinical Chelsea outfit steamrolled his younglings for the second season on the trot.

Jimmy Bullard could have been a comic. As Jimmy Bullard wheeled away to celebrate his all-important 82^nd minute penalty equalizer at the Eastlands, you knew something funny was about to happen. With the assistance of half of his Hull teammates, Bullard proceeded to re-enact manager Phil Brown’s controversial half-time, on-field, team-talk from the same fixture a season earlier. Bullard’s topical impersonation jumps straight into the list of the all-time  greatest Premiership goal celebrations.

Avram Grant needs a miracle. Manchester United gave Avram Grant a Premier League welcome back as Portsmouth fell 4-1 thanks to a Wayne Rooney treble. Brought in to stave off relegation, Grant’s Pompey side now sit 7 points adrift of safety. With Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal on the agenda before the New Year, Grant’s going to have to start performing miracles if he’s got any intention of staying in the Premiership.

Everton face a relegation dogfight. Last season they finished 5^th from the top. This season they sit 5^th from the bottom. An enormous change in fortunes sees David Moyes feeling the pressure for the first time since he took over Everton in 2002. Prior to the visit of Liverpool, the Toffees had lost 4 out of their last 6 matches and knew a win over their city rivals would be the perfect tonic. Unfortunately things didn’t go to plan as Liverpool snatched all three-points in an easy 2-0 win in front of 40,000 gob smacked Evertonians.

Wigan make inconsistency look easy. How does a team beat an undefeated Chelsea 3-1 and then lose to Hull the following week? How does a team concede 9 at Spurs and then keep a clean sheet against high-flying Sunderland only 7 days later? You never know which Wigan side is going to turn up these days. Roberto Martinez’s outfit may have produced some wonderful performances this season but he’s got to be banging his head against the wall when they’re all followed by lethargic ones.

Everton have been noticeably off the pace all season