December 27: Arsenal finally break the big-game hoodoo
Chelsea’s run of league games without a win stretches to six as they are battered 3-1 by an inspired Arsenal side, who win their first game against Chelsea since 2008. Arsenal’s dominance is rewarded by goals from Alex Song, Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott, while Chelsea’s dire display heaps pressure on Carlo Ancelotti, who had secured the domestic double just seven months earlier. This defeat sees Chelsea drop to six points behind Manchester United, having played a game more.
January 1: Gary Neville’s lucky escape
With the scores locked at 1-1 in a game dominated by the hosts West Bromwich Albion, Manchester United’s Gary Neville stops Graham Dorrans’s progress toward goal with a clumsy challenge which fails to connect with the ball. The referee, Chris Foy, waved play on, and although West Brom went on to miss a penalty in the second half, they could have done with playing most of the game against ten men. United won 2-1; Javier Hernandez scored the winner. One month later, Neville retired from football, the inevitable conclusion of the effects of injury and age.
January 5: Time up for Hodgson
Roy Hodgson’s dismal reign as Liverpool boss is brought to a close by an abject display at lively Blackburn Rovers. The 3-1 scoreline doesn’t flatter the home side, for whom Benjani Mwaruwari netted a brace. Liverpool’s miserable day is complete when Steven Gerrard smashes a penalty over the bar in the 84th minute to extinguish their hopes of a comeback. Hodgson is sacked the next day, and club legend Kenny Dalglish is appointed in what appears a forlorn attempt to save Liverpool’s season.
January 15: West Ham bosses bungle season
Ahead of West Ham United’s clash with Arsenal in mid-January, it is an open secret that Avram Grant is about to be sacked and that Martin O’Neill is due to be appointed to rescue the Hammers from relegation. An insipid surrender, a 0-3 scoreline and an emotional throwing into the crowd of the Israeli’s lucky scarf make it seem an inevitability, but O’Neill’s appointment is not forthcoming. Reportedly upset with the arrangement going public before Grant has been sacked, O’Neill decides not to take up the position after all. West Ham are left with a manager who the players know isn’t wanted at the club, and their season lurches toward disaster.
January 17: Villa splash out on Bent
Toiling in the lower half of the table, Aston Villa take desperate measures and splash out a fee of around £18m for Sunderland striker Darren Bent. The signing pays immediate dividends as Villa secure a 1-0 win on January 22nd against Manchester City courtesy of a debut goal from Bent, while City’s own big-money striker, Edin Dzeko, fails to make an impression on his debut.
January 25: Fergie subs Rooney in masterstroke
2-0 down to newly promoted Blackpool with just 24 minutes remaining, Sir Alex Ferguson takes the bold choice of removing Wayne Rooney from the fray in favour of Javier Hernandez. The Mexican joins Dimitar Berbatov up front and the pair manage three goals between them to complete an amazing comeback. Blackpool are deflated, but United are now five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
January 31: Deadline day spectacular
An amazing day of transfer dealing sees David Luiz and Fernando Torres join Chelsea for a combined £72m, Andy Carroll join Liverpool for an unbelievable £35m, and Kenny Dalglish’s side also finally complete the protracted transfer of Luis Suarez. Torres’s form under Roy Hodgson was much criticised, with the striker’s work rate and desire questioned by fans, but the Spaniard’s fortunes don’t immediately seem to improve; his first game, on February 6th, is a 0-1 defeat at home to his former team.
February 5: Goal crazy
An astonishing, record-breaking day of Premier League football sees Wigan beat Blackburn 4-3, Everton beat Blackpool 5-3 and Stoke win 3-2 against Sunderland. The two main stories, though, come from St. James’s Park and Molineux. In the 3pm kick-off at Newcastle, Arsenal roar into a 4-0 half-time lead and look set to close the gap on Manchester United. At the start of the second half, however, they lose Johan Djourou to injury and Abou Diaby to a red card. An incredible Joey Barton-inspired comeback from the home side results in a 4-4 draw, the first time a four-goal deficit has ever been recovered in the Premier League. Later, Wolves defeat Manchester United 2-1 to finally inflict a first defeat of the season on Ferguson’s men.
February 6: Di Matteo out, Hodgson in
In another surprising managerial change, West Bromwich Albion sack their manager Roberto Di Matteo and replace him with the deposed Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson. Di Matteo had won praise for getting his side into the Premier League and then for inspiring a superb start to the season, but a slump in form sees them hovering above the relegation places. Hodgson isn’t in charge when the Baggies host West Ham, but he is in the ground to witness them throwing away a 3-0 lead to draw the game.
February 12: Rooney special wins the derby
Manchester City’s title hopes were already looking forlorn, but their ambitions are halted for good by Manchester United after a tight derby at Old Trafford. With the scores locked at 1-1 and the momentum seemingly with City, Wayne Rooney meets a deflected cross with a spectacular overhead kick to seal the points. Rooney’s strike was one of the goals of the season and one of the defining moments in the title race.
March 1: Luiz the hero as Chelsea get back in it
A quiet but steady run of results has dragged Chelsea just about back into the title race, but they need to beat Manchester United at Stamford Bridge if they’re to begin to dream of an unlikely turnaround. 0-1 down thanks to Wayne Rooney’s goal, their new central defender David Luiz volleys home a superb equaliser, before a late Frank Lampard penalty seals the win.
March 15: Stricken Arsenal re-sign Lehmann
With Wojciech Szczesny suffering a broken finger, Lukasz Fabianski a damaged shoulder and Vito Mannone a thigh injury, Arsenal are left without three of their four senior goalkeepers. A defensive injury crisis the previous season had resulted in the surprise move to offer Sol Campbell a short-term contract; this season’s solution is even more surprising. 41-year-old Jens Lehmann, retired from the game the previous summer, is signed as backup to the Spaniard Manuel Almunia. When, inevitably, Almunia himself suffers an injury, Lehmann steps in for a farewell appearance and does not disgrace himself in a 3-1 win at Blackpool.
