Given going nowhere

After that embarrasing 5-1 loss to Liverpool Shay Given has been linked strongly with North London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal. He was the star player for the lacklustre Newcastle side and there has been lots speculation about if he will leave in January. But manager Joe Kinnear has come out and ruled out the possibility of his top class keeper leaving the Jordies and said 'He [Given] is happy here - he won't be leaving.' If that is true that will boost the morale of this underachieving side and hopefully for Kinnear his team will click in 2009.

Kinnear has been made to deal with a few transfer rumours and Owen is one of them. The former Liverpool front man has made it clear he won't leave in January and will make his decision at the end of the season. Now, where Newcastle come will probably influence Owen's decision and getting relegated will not improve the chances of Michael to sign a new contract. I don't think they will get relegated but it is a possibility that Newcastle will want to wave away with some good wins and performances in the future.

Berba sinks Boro

League holders Manchester United continued their title challenge with a very comfortable victory over under achieving Middlesbrough. They dominated posssesion and had 25 attempts on goal but could only bear fruit on one occasion. It came in the 69th minute, when Carrick swung in a cross from the left wing they failed to deal with it and Berbatov turned in a very important goal. This win leaves United in a good position coming into the new year, seven points behind leaders Liverpool with two games in hand. Middlesbrough however are only outside the drop zone because of goal difference and manager Southgate will be looking for more from his players in 2009.

Stevie G behind bars

In the early hours of Monday morning Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was arrested after being involved in an incident in a bar which left a 34 year old man in hospital with facial injuries. This comes after Liverpool's thumping win over Newcastle in which Gerrard scored two goals. We are waiting to see what will become of this arrest and whether the Liverpudlian will be charged. If he is that will be a major blow to Liverpool as they press on to challenge for the title that has eluded their grasp for 18 years. We wish that injured man a speedy recovery and hopefully he will not be too affected by this event.

Premier League roundup

Yesterday eight intensive premier league matches took place as the teams endured the exhausting feat of playing 180 minutes in the space of three hard days. There were some surprises as Chelsea could only manage a point against London rivals Fulham, and bottom placed West Brom battled out a brave win against newly rivived Tottenham Hotspur with a 2-0 victory.

But lets start with league leaders Liverpool who went into the match at ST James' Park knowing that three points would assure them top spot for the start of the new year. But they didn't just get the three points, they did it in scintilating style, scoring a massive five goals to one and producing a very good performance in the process. Steven Gerrard scored a brace as Babel, Alonso and Sami Hyppia all got in on the act. This efficient performance has left any doubters of their title challenge ( including me) changing their way of thinking as the win has boosted their assault on the title they haven't won for 18 years. This loss leaves the Jordies in a big mess as 2009 approaches and the Magpies will be hoping for a much better second half to the season. They are currently 14th and only two points from safety!

While Liverpool were firmly putting the doubters away Chelsea were making doubters of their own as they failed to win against rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage. The Blues found themselves behind as Dempsey opened the scoring on the tenth minute mark, but equalized through a lampard tap in. And the second placed team got their noses infront after 70 minutes when Lampard bent a super free-kick round the wall and past Shwauzer from 30 yards. Surely they were going to win now! and it certainly looked like it, the game dragged ever nearer to the ninety minute mark but in the 89th minute Fulham got their first corner. This would be their last chance and boy did they take it. The ball was swung in by Davies and Dempsey rose over all to power his second of the game in from 12 yards. Chelsea were heart broken.

Elsewhere Pompey suffered another dissapointing defeat, this time to Arsenal as Defoe left the match in a huff. William Gallas with a late goal to get the win. Final score 1-0 to Arsenal.
Bolton got beaten by in-form Wigan at home, Zaki bagging the goal from a spot kick. This game ended 1-0 as well. Everton beat Sunderland convincingly, as new manager Sbargia doesn't get the success he had when caretaker manager. A Mikel Arteta brace and a late goal by Gosling giving Everton a deserved three points.
West Ham got an important win over struggling Stoke City, coming from behind to win 2-1 with Tristan getting the winner late on with Cole getting the equalizer just after half time. And Mark Hughes' return to Ewood park wasn't crowned with a win, as his City charges came back from behing to draw 2-2 with Blackburn. Sturridge and Robinho getting two ridiculously late goals to deny Blackburn an important home win as they remain in the relegation zone.

There is only one match tomorrow, with Manchester United entertaining Middlesbrough at home. Follow that match at skysports match tracker and get all the latest sports news at skysports.com which is my main sports website!

Boxing day build-up

Tomorrow, all 20 Premier League sides will get ready to enter the ring for the first of the hectic Christmas schedule where most teams will play 3 times in 7 days. It is an exciting prospect for every football fan and you can follow it all at the sky sports score centre.

The day will kick-off at the Brittania Stadium, where Stoke City will entertain world champions Manchester United. Most will think United will steamroll past the Premier league newcomers and it seems a formality as the Red Devils thrashed Stoke 5-0 earlier in the season, but is it? Stoke are strong at home and have great fans who will make themselves heard. If Delap can exercise his arms well enough the City fans may go home happy. But what worries me is that there is no other real attacking option. Ricardo Fuller is very talented but is too inconsistent and there is no light spark in midfield who can change a game. I expect it too be a relatively comfortable win if United can score an early goal which they have failed to do in the past couple of games and then there may be some more goals. I think it will end 3-0 to Manchester United.

Then 15 minutes later the referee will start the game at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea hosting bottom placed West Brom in a key match for both sides. The Blues will be looking to shake off the poor home form with a good win over West Brom while their opponents need somwthing to kick start their dissapointing season. I think Chelsea have to be the favourites for this match as they have too much quality, but if West Brom suddenly click then they could get something to go home with. 3-1 Chelsea.

I don't have time to go through all of the 10 matches, but you can find previews and stats at skysports.com. Enjoy.

Arsenal kneed in the Cap

Yesterday Arsene Wenger revealed that wonderkid and captain Cesc Fabregas will be sidelined for around four months with a rupture of a medial knee cruciate ligament. Fabregas suffered the injury in the Sunday match against league leaders Liverpool which ended 1-1. He and Xabi Alonso went into the tackle and Fabregas came out worst than his fellow countrymen and Alonso has since wished him well.

This leaves Arsene Wenger an uphill task of both getting the team's morale up and finding a captain. Will Gallas take over as skipper or will someone else take the armband? But that draw with Liverpool has surely put Arsenal out of the title race and now you could call it a three horse race, with Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United still in with a good chance of winning. But one thing we know for sure is that Wenger won't let his team give up, and they will still think they can win it.

Our best wishes go to Fabregas and we wish him a speedy recovery from a horrible injury.

On top of the world

Yesterday morning the red side of Manchester were celebrating a win against Liga de Quito which lifted them up from celebrated European champions to unstoppable World Champs. A 1-0 victory with ten men wasn't the perfect way to become kings of the world but they did it in the end due to a Wayne Rooney strike.

The Red Devils have now got two trophies to their name already this season and will be looking to add some more over the course of the season. The League Cup provides a great opportunity to give them a third title and a platform for the more illustrious trophies. But the players and fans alike know that it is going to be a long hard second half of the season and one thing we can be sure of is that league holders won't be underestimating the task ahead.