F365's Premier League Winners & Losers

Winners

Tottenham
A third consecutive Premier League victory moved Spurs into fourth and equal on points with Chelsea.

Jermain Defoe bagged his third and fourth goals of the week to seal the 3-0 win over Fulham and leave Emmanuel Adebayor ruing his red card against Arsenal. With nine league strikes so far, it will be difficult for Andre Villas-Boas to leave Defoe out of the starting line-up as he tries to maintain Tottenham's form.

Three wins in a row is the most Spurs have managed in their 22 competitive matches under Villas-Boas and with Everton next up, they are unlikely to extend the record. But the manager will be hoping for consistency over a favourable December fixture list to secure Spurs' grip on the top four.

With Arsenal and Everton faltering, Tottenham should be looking to build a lead similar to the one they allowed to slip away last season.


Big Sam
It was a mistake not to start Mohamed Diame, but the Hammers boss recognised his error and re-jigged his team's approach against Chelsea in the second half. By tactically out-smarting Rafa Benitez, Allardyce earned not only an impressive result for West Ham - and their first win in five matches - but also bragging rights over an old foe, who was made to look rather witless.


Swansea
I said on Thursday that a victory at the Emirates wasn't beyond the in-form Swans and with Michu continuing his impressive form, Michael Laudrup's team were always going to be a threat.

Swansea have improved markedly since their September slump and after drawing with Liverpool and beating West Brom and Arsenal in the past week, they now sit just three points behind Chelsea. Their chances are nil, but wouldn't it be great to see them challenging for the top four?


Norwich
After a difficult start under Chris Hughton, the Canaries are now on an eight-match unbeaten run - their best form in the top flight since 1989 - and have as many points as they did under Paul Lambert at this stage last season.

Perhaps the most encouraging sign for Hughton is that Norwich have maintained a consistently impressive performance level in each match, rather than only raising their game for the bigger fixtures. It bodes well for the next three matches against Swansea, Wigan and West Brom.


Manchester United
Now I see what Sir Alex is doing.

After Manchester City won the title in the most dramatic fashion last year, Ferguson knows the only way United can beat that achievement is to pack every game with goals and win by coming from behind. Whether the plan will hold up over the course of a full season is yet to be seen, but the Reds have won 21 points from losing positions so far and have a three-point cushion over City, who they meet on Sunday.

Only twice have United conceded more than 21 goals after 15 matches in the Premier League - in 1996/97 (22 goals) and in 2001/02 (27), when they eventually finished third - and Ferguson will hope for a much-improved defensive display at the Etihad after watching his team concede three times in the first 24 minutes against Reading.

"It was the worst defending of this season," said an embarrassed Ferguson on Saturday. "We need to do something about it. Reading's delivery was great but we weren't even competing against it."

The imminent return of Nemanja Vidic should provide more defensive resolve, but the captain faces a tough test to halt the team's worrying habit of going behind. Considering City have conceded just three goals in their last nine Premier League fixtures, United will need to avoid allowing their opponents to score first on Sunday. The manager's team selection will be crucial.


Stoke
It seems wrong to see Stoke above Arsenal, but after winning four of their last five matches Tony Pulis' team can start thinking about a first top-ten finish.


Lucas Leiva
No-one made more tackles than Lucas in the Premier League at the weekend and the midfielder's return is a huge boost for Liverpool as they close in on moving into the top half for the first time this season.


Liverpool
All things considered, it was a good weekend for Liverpool as they closed the gap to third to just seven points and stepped the same mark away from the relegation zone.

Similar to the 1-0 win over Reading, the victory over Southampton doesn't offer much to brag about, but the Reds will be relieved at picking up only their fifth Premier League win at Anfield in 2012. After six draws and six defeats at home in the league this year, Liverpool fans will be hoping for significant improvement in 2013.

Brendan Rodgers has clearly recognised that Stewart Downing is no better at left-back than he is on the left wing, with Jose Enrique reverting to the role on Saturday. Jonjo Shelvey performed well on his return to the starting line-up in front of Enrique and the midfielder provided much-needed energy to a side that has often lacked drive this season.

In that respect, Luis Suarez will be a huge loss at West Ham on Sunday - who will be buoyed by their victory over Chelsea. But following that fixture, Liverpool have four games in December in which they should be able to climb the table. It's time for Rodgers' methods to start bringing results.


Everton
Another result against Man City and another match in which Marouane Fellaini provided a crucial contribution. If only they can turn some of these draws into victories.


Losers


West Brom
One clean sheet in ten matches is not the form of a top-four team, which is presumably why they're fifth.


Sexy Fulham
No longer that sexy. A bit like...actually, I'll stop there.


Manchester City
A winning run is preferable to an unbeaten run, and after six draws in 15 matches, City sit three points behind United at the top.

The 1-1 draw against Everton saw the champions equal their rivals' record of remaining unbeaten for 37 top-flight home games and provides another meaningless sub-plot to Sunday.

The real aim for Roberto Mancini's team is to inflict a fourth Premier League defeat of the season on United to jump into first and head into a series of goal-difference boosting victories against three sides who are struggling desperately at the bottom end of the table.

A third top-flight win in a row against United would also give City a swagger to accompany claims that the tables are turning in Manchester.


The Premier League
The weekend results ensured another two-horse race. Let's hope United and City at least keep it as entertaining as last year. That means plenty of cock-ups, please.


QPR
A wasted opportunity to pick up their first win of the season. The seven-point gap to 17th looks like a chasm at the moment, but the next five matches are all winnable. Well, winnable for most teams.


Rafa Benitez
As I wrote here, Benitez has big problems at Chelsea; none more so than an owner who insists on referring to him as 'interim manager' and is now reportedly ready to appoint Avram Grant in a consultancy role. It seems Rafa chose the wrong club at which to rebuild his reputation.

If Grant does arrive, there is almost no point in Benitez remaining at Chelsea. The fans already don't want him there, the owner doesn't want him - and describes him accordingly - and Grant will only serve to further undermine his position.

After being made to look like a manager who has spent two years out the game by Sam Allardyce on Saturday, Benitez might think it's best to stick to the blog. Is it really worth all the hassle at Chelsea?


Fernando Torres
It's now 12 hours and 19 minutes since Torres last scored. Surely he's running out of time at Chelsea?


Rafael
Rafael has been one of United's most consistent performers this season, but he was given a torrid time by Jobi McAnuff against Reading and Ferguson was forced to substitute him after just 31 minutes. Rafael will be given a chance to make amends on Sunday after Ferguson's swift decision (probably following a helpful hint from Mike Phelan) prevented the right-back from picking up a second yellow card that would have seen him banned for the City clash.


Gareth Bale
The odd thing about Bale's diving is that he usually takes a tumble in areas where Spurs would gain no real advantage from a free-kick. The winger has claimed in the past that he's simply trying to avoid injury and, in his defence, he isn't repeatedly searching for penalties. Nevertheless, Villas-Boas should warn his star player to avoid further embarrassment and a reputation that could ultimately cost Spurs when he is tripped in the box.


Arsenal
Five wins from the first 15 games is worrying; a five-point gap to fourth is not insurmountable. It's time for a reality check at Arsenal.

As I wrote after the north London derby, the thrashing of Spurs only papered over the cracks in the team's performances and that win remains the Gunners' sole victory in their last six Premier League matches. But talk of an era ending following Saturday's 2-0 home defeat to Swansea is both pre- and post-mature; the club are still in three cup competitions this season, while a title tilt has been impossible for a number of years.

Arsene Wenger has made a rod for his own back after claiming Arsenal could win the Premier League in September, but it would have been foolish for anyone to have believed the manager. This is an incredibly tough division - the European Champions only finished sixth last year - and after losing Robin van Persie in the summer, the Gunners were bound to struggle in their fight for fourth.

Chelsea are also finding life difficult at the moment, with one win in their last seven top-flight matches. But the difference between the Blues and Arsenal is that Roman Abramovich will probably spend £46million on Falcao in January to serve as a (relatively) short-term fix. This financial doping maintains a glass ceiling at the top of the table that Arsenal currently have no hope of smashing through.

For a club that has won the Premier League three times in the last 15 years, it's difficult to accept second best but, as much as Arsenal appear to be in a period of decline, their seven-year slump is mainly influenced by the rising power of money. Wenger spoke of the team's psychological issues after Saturday's defeat and these extend to the club as a whole, with Arsenal forced to acknowledge they are now only leaders of the chasing pack.

With the Premier League out of reach for the foreseeable future, Arsenal realistically have only three trophies they can challenge for each season. Of those, the Champions League has been dominated by one of the best teams in history over the last six years (since they narrowly beat the Gunners in the 2006 final), the FA Cup has been won by only six clubs in the last 17 years (four of which have won the Premier League in that time), and the League Cup is seen as a fifth-rate competition (below Champions League qualification), with Liverpool's achievement last season dismissed by their rivals.

Football is largely uncompetitive and after several years at the top it seems Gooners are only just starting to realise there is no god-given right for Arsenal to win any of these competitions. Complaining fans should at least be grateful that their club is in a far healthier position compared to the vast majority of others in the pyramid.

There are, of course, many things Arsenal fans should feel ungrateful about, with ticket prices at the top of that list. It seems inherently wrong for the club to charge the highest prices in a league they can't win, but at the same time they operate on a supply and demand basis - if the stadium wasn't full every week, the board would have to reassess their pricing structure.

One final point is that while it's painful to see the best players leave every year, this is something that almost every club, especially below Arsenal, has to deal with. Even Manchester United were powerless to prevent Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Real Madrid, while as a Blackburn fan I've watched the winners of the club's Player of the Year award depart in a steady stream, often to fail at other teams - such as Roque Santa Cruz and David Bentley - which only makes it worse.

The clubs Arsenal players have left for highlight the Gunners' position under the glass ceiling, with Van Persie departing to have a genuine crack at the Premier League, Samir Nasri, Emmanuel Adebayor and Gael Clichy leaving for Manchester City's money (or success that is based entirely on money) and Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas heading to one of the biggest clubs in the world at a time when they had/have the best team.

It seems absurd to chastise Wenger for allowing top players (who he developed) to depart, when Henry is lauded every time he returns to the Emirates. It's worth remembering that Wenger has also had offers to leave, having been courted by Real Madrid for many years, but has chosen to stick with the club.

Times are hard, yes, but Arsenal also have a lot to be proud and positive about. So quit whining.


Sunderland
No noticeable improvement in 12 months, despite spending £25m on two players in the summer.

Matt Stanger - he's on the Twitter.