Barclay's Premier League Best XI and Review 2014

Man City lifted the trophy for the second time in three seasons.

It may be hard to believe, but another season of the Barclay's Premier League has come and gone.  There was no shortage of story lines this season between manager antics, the resurgence of a traditional power, and the title race again coming down to the last day.    If those stories don't suit you, how about the fall of a league giant or perhaps one the greatest relegation escapes in recent memory?  It was all there this year.

First off, congratulations are in order for Manchester City, who clinched their second title in three years by virtue of a 2-0 win over West Ham at the Etihad yesterday.  No disrespect to Liverpool, but City was the class of the league this season.  The biggest reason for this is defense.  City only yielded 37 goals this season, while Liverpool gave up 50.  Crystal Palace gave up 2 fewer goals than the Reds, and Hull City only gave up three more.  You can't say enough for Manuel Pellegrini and the job he did for City this season.

Of course the best defense in the league this year went to Chelsea.  They only gave up 27, ten fewer than City, who were in second place.  Unfortunately for Jose Mourinho's squad, they once again lacked the fire power to score with the likes of City and Liverpool.  Samuel Eto'o and Fernando Torres both scored some big goals along the way for the Blues, but neither proved able to score consistently and make themselves a constant threat up top.  Still, 3rd place and a run to the Champion's League semifinal is a decent year for Chelsea, and they'll certainly be looking to spend big this summer, with both Diego Costa and Edinson Cavani's names being bantered around the rumor mill.  It will also be interesting to see if Mourinho brings Romelu Lukaku into the fold after he had another great year on loan.

Back to Liverpool though.  What a tremendous season they had.  If not for a stinging home defeat to Chelsea and last week's huge stumble at Crystal Palace, they might have really pushed City to the limits.  However, the defense issue reared it's head at Selhurst Park, as Palace scored three goals in the last 11 minutes to tie Liverpool and all but end their title hopes.  Brendan Rodgers has brought Liverpool back into the Champions League and back into title relevance, but look for them to try to fix some of their issues at the back this summer.

But now, let's get to some awards, highs, and lows.   Let's start with a refresher on the Champions League Spots and teams that were relegated.

BPL Champions League Qualification Spots--
Manchester City
Liverpool
Chelsea
Arsenal.  (Playoff Qualification Round).

Teams Relegated From the BPL--
Cardiff City
Fulham
Norwich

As for the relegated folks, I seriously feel for Cardiff supporters.  I loved watching their matches and the passion they bring, despite having some flake of an owner try to alter their club identity to fit his National promotion agenda.  To that I say good riddance, Vincent Tan.  Fulham was just bad this year, and they were all over the place both in the transfer market and in the manager scene.  Hopefully they can find some stability in the Championship and bounce back up next year.  Norwich?  Meh.  They had a good run, but just couldn't sustain it.  Even the firing of Chris Hughton late in the season couldn't help them as they became the victim in Sunderland's great escape.

Surprise Team of the Year: CRYSTAL PALACE
Palace looked to be in serious trouble at midseason, bleeding goals and scoring none themselves.  They were mired in the bottom three and looked to be a good bet for relegation.  Then they did something incredibly smart, they hired Tony Pulis.  Pulis had been instrumental in Stoke's BPL rise, but was let go after last season as the Potters wanted to go in a different direction from Pulis's defensive style.  As it turns out, that defensive style was just what the doctor ordered for Palace.  They found themselves not only propelled out of the bottom three, but all the way to an 11th place finish.  I'll be looking forward to seeing them in the league again next season.

Disappointment of the Year: MANCHESTER UNITED
Is there any way that this can go to any other club?  The appointment of David Moyes turned out to be a complete disaster as United fell from champions to seventh, behind Moyes' old club Everton.  The defense was a complete screw up for most of the season and United suffered with injuries in the attack with Wayne Rooney and RvP missing significant time.  Moyes bought Juan Mata in January, but that seemed nothing more than a booby prize in the end as the former Chelsea man failed to be a game changer in the midfield and was often a defensive liability.  In the end, Moyes was sacked and Ryan Giggs guided United to an unremarkable finish, but at least he wasn't Moyes.  That brings us to our....

Story of the Year: David Moyes, damaged goods.
Moyes was the hand picked successor to Sir Alex, and hey, he won the Community Shield, but it was all down hill from there for United.  A decent run in the Champions League wasn't enough to save Moyes, as he often looked like he was in way over his head with the pressure on, something he didn't have to deal with much at Everton.  Is he really damaged goods now?  It will be interesting to see where he ends up.  Somebody will give him a shot.

And now finally here is the Puddle's Best XI for the Barclay's Premier League, 2014.  I'm sure all the players mentioned will value this extremely high honor.....ahem.

GK--David De Gea: Manchester United

Defenders--Branislav Ivanovic: Chelsea.  Gary Cahill: Chelsea.   Vincent Kompany: Manchester City. Leighton Baines: Everton.

Midfielders--Adam Lallana: Southampton.  Steven Gerrard: Liverpool.  Yaya Toure: Manchester City.  Eden Hazard: Chelsea.

Forwards--Luis Suarez: Liverpool.  Daniel Sturridge--Liverpool.

Player of the Year--Luis Suarez: Liverpool

Manger of the Year--Brendan Rodgers: Liverpool.

One last note, I want to thank NBC Sports for the tremendous job they did in their first year with the BPL broadcast rights.  It was so awesome to be able to watch any match I wanted to, live or on demand.  Now we just need to get Rebecca Lowe on twitter.

I hope you all enjoyed the BPL season as much as I did.  With the World Cup and the summer transfer window coming up, there will be plenty to talk about this summer, but I can't wait for August.

Moyes Gets the Axe. What's Next For Him and United?

Presented without comment, Lord David Moyes

 

The long nightmare for the Red half of Manchester is over.  One year to the day after United won their last title, David Moyes, the former "chosen one" has been sacked by Manchester United.  The last straw for Sir Alex's hand-picked successor was a disappointing 2-0 loss to his former club Everton on Easter Weekend.  This morning United released a very short statement on their website that simply read: "Manchester United has announced that David Moyes has left the club.  The club would like to place on record its thanks for the hard work, honesty and integrity he brought to the role.”

 

In the space of a year, United has gone from Premier League champions under Sir Alex to 7th place in the league, and eliminated from Champions League Qualification  for next season.  This in itself is going to cost the club big time for it's war chest.  With Moyes' transfer policy showing itself as an abject failure, United will be happy to place it's cash in someone else's perhaps more capable hands over the summer.  As far as Moyes' mark on the club, Fellaini has been a huge bust, and Juan Mata, who couldn't even play for United in the Champions League due to being cup tied to Chelsea, faliled to really lift the team.   To be fair to Moyes, many of United's vets are long past their prime, think Rio and Giggs, and both Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie have missed significant time with injuries.  However, in the end, Moyes was never able to really push United into great form no matter who was on the pitch.

According to the club Ryan Giggs, who had been occupying a player/coach role, will take over as manager for the remainder of the season.  I actually like this move for United.  Giggs has perhaps the deepest ties of anyone to the club and can probably connect to the fans more than Moyes ever could.  He should also benefit from the pressure being totally off, as it appears that United aren't at all interested in giving him the role permanently.

Most of the early speculation is focusing on managers who have experience in big matches, which Moyes certainly lacked.  A lot of the current talk centers on Dutch national team manager Louis van Gaal, who is leaving the Netherlands after the World Cup this summer.  Van Gaal had been previously tapped to join Spurs , but ESPNFC is reporting the his talks with United are pretty serious in nature.  Another name that seems to be popping up is Borussia Dortmund's Jurgen Klopp, but the German side have said that he will not be leaving.  Whichever way they go, it has to get better than it was Moyes, especially in the transfer market.

It will be interesting to see where Moyes himself ends up.  He has proven that he can be a successful manager, but perhaps the big club, pressure-packed role was too much for him.  It's more than likely that Spurs will be in for a new boss, but I can't imagine any of my Spurs friends being really excited if that move were to happen.  Norwich could be an interesting situation for him, whether or not they manage to stay in the Premier League.  Aston Villa might undergo a change in ownership, which could spell the end of Paul Lambert there.  A manager who has proven himself at a medium sized club in the Premier League might be right up their alley.

At any rate, most United fans that I've heard from are more than happy to see Moyes go on his way.  It'll be interesting to see what changes await the club in the offseason.  It should be one of the story lines of the summer.

AVB Sacked.......Again.

Another London club has proved too much for AVB. (telegraph.co.uk)

It's tempting to just write up a generic "AVB got sacked" entry and just cut and paste in the details.  Ok, I'm kidding, actually I'm not really.  Spurs have finally had enough of the AVB fad, sacking him just one day after Spurs were humiliated by Liverpool 0-5 at White Hart Lane.  Couple that with a 6-0 beating by City a few weeks ago, and it spelled the end for a man who has now been canned by two big London clubs.

Honestly though, I think AVB was a better fit for Spurs than he was at Chelsea.  I also thought he seemed to have learned from his time at the Bridge as well.  Let's not forget that Spurs had a pretty solid season under him last year, and seemed to be rounding more into form in the Premier League this year as well, at least until the Liverpool thrashing.  Spurs had also won their Europa League group.

Now it seems rather odd that a Chelsea supporter would be coming to the defense of AVB at all, but this just seems like a reactionary move from Spurs.  It's been an odd season in the EPL, just look at the table.  Sure, Spurs are 7th, but they're ahead of Man United.  Also, let's not forget that this team lost Gareth Bale, who is a pretty good player or something.  Villas-Boas and Spurs ownership turned that money right around and invested it in bringing in some pretty nice talent, but they don't seem to have quite gelled all the way.  The question that Spurs fans have to be thinking this morning is: did they have enough time to gel completely?

The other question I have as far as the situation goes is, "Who are you going to get for an upgrade at this point in the season?"  Sky Sports names Russia boss Fabio Capello as the favorite, though if I'm a Spurs fan I'm not sure I'd be all that excited about that either.  USA head man Jurgen Klinsmann has been mentioned, but as he has just signed a new contract, it's unlikely that he'll be seriously in the running.  Klinsmann was a striker for Spurs back in his playing days.

It's pretty rough for AVB though.  Even Harry Redknapp, who knows a thing or two about being sacked by Spurs, had said that he thinks that Villas-Boas should have gotten more time.  In the end, I guess somebody's head had to roll after the Liverpool match, but I wonder if more change for Spurs is really the best thing for them at this time.

Where Have You Gone Paulo Di Canio?

Celebrations like this were few at Di Canio's Sunderland (BBC Sports)

Breaking news from the world of the obvious.  After less than six months at the helm of Sunderland, lightning rod Paulo Di Canio has been dismissed.  Sunderland slumped out of the gate to just 1 point in it's opening five matches.  This is all in spite of Di Canio's summer renovations bringing 14 new players to the club including American international Jozy Altidore.

Di Canio has always had his critics at Sunderland, partly from his lack of coaching experience.  His big post prior to the Black Cats was managing lower league Swindon Town.  Couple this lack of experience with his previous fascist leanings and you get what was a very controversial appointment in the first place.  Di Canio has renounced these political persuasions, but it all ended up in a perfect storm that made sure that Di Canio could not overcome his poor start in the Barclay's Premier League.

Early money in the betting markets has dabbed former Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo has Di Canio's successor, while LA Galaxy boss Bruce Arena has been named as a rumor mill possibility as well.  American fans will have a keen interest in the goings on at the Stadium of Light, as a new manager's style could help make or break Altidore's playing time going into next year's World Cup.  The move to Sunderland was always considered a risk for Jozy, and right now seems even more precarious in Di Canio's wake.

Gunners Stumble As New Season Opens

It was a bad day for Mr. Wenger and his fans (Mirror.co.uk)

I'm not sure how Arsene Wenger imagined his club's opening fixture would go, but I'm sure this wasn't in the script.  The day's controversial calls favored visiting Aston Villa, and the Villains rode them to 1-3 win at the Emirates to give themselves a dream start for their EPL campaign.  American fans will be pleased to note that Brad Guzan had a stellar outing in the win.

It actually started brightly enough for the Gunners though, as for the first six minutes it looked like things were going to go swimmingly despite zero additions to the team. specifically their attack.  They did their usual pretty passing and possession game.  In the sixth minute Villa defender Ron Vlaar got himself out of position and made a horrible challenge up near midfield, he whiffed and took himself out of the play.  Meanwhile, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain streaked into the space, ran forward and sent a pinpoint center pass to the six, where Olivier Giroud  tapped it home to make 1-0 to the Gunners.  That was about the end of the good things for Arsenal.

In the 22nd minute Gunner 'keeper Wojciech Szczesny took out Villa's Christian Benteke as he strode 1v1 in the box and conceded a PK.  I thought he should have seen red, but referee Anthony Taylor showed him  the yellow card instead.  Szczesny then saved Benteke's rather pedestrian PK, but gave up a fat rebound right back into the center of the box, which Benteke headed into the empty net for the equalizer.

The first half then proceeded to play itself out in a bloody manner, with Arsenal's Kieran Gibbs leaving the match with a massive bloody wound to his head.  The ref handed out a few more cards, but seemed to lose the match. Despite that the half cruised to a 1-1 end.

It went from bad to worse for Arsenal in the second half as Oxlade-Chamberlain went out early on with a knock to the knee.  Then in the 60th minute Villa took the lead for good off of another penalty  Laurent Koscielny took down Agbonlahor in the box, but it looked fairly soft.  Still, Benteke iced the PK this time to make it 1-2.  The referee further drew the fans' ire when he sent Koscielny off in the 67th minute with his second yellow card.

Soon enough the fans' wrath turned to Wenger though.  With the Gunners offense sputtering in search of an equalizer, they gave up a counter attack where Antonio Luna slotted home the final goal of the match to make it 1-3.  The Gunners fans unfurled banners lambasting Wenger for not spending as the club was booed off the pitch.  It really was quite the sight.

Interestingly enough, the Hawkeye Goal line technology system was first used in this game.  In the 52nd minute Villa's Fabian Delph hit the bottom of the cross bar, and the system correctly showed that the ball did not cross the line.  It was indeed a successful test.

It doesn't get any easier for Arsenal though, as they face a tough Champion's League Qualification test midweek, and they now have even more injuries.

Puddle's Barclay's Premier League Preview 2013-2014

This man represents my biggest question going into the EPL season. (Manchester United Press)

The new Barlcay's Premier League season gets underway this weekend, and there's a lot of new aspects to be digested, especially for us fans here in United States.  This season the coverage shifts from Fox Soccer to the NBC Sports Network, which should mean more viewers for the league here in the states.  Plus NBC will be offering all matches on TV via their "Premier League Extra Time" and online via their streaming service.  It's quite exciting!

Of course there's plenty of new in the league itself, and none of the stories are bigger than the new managers at three of the league's top four clubs.  With Sir Alex retiring, Manchester United handed the reigns to Everton boss David Moyes.  Chelsea washed their hands of Rafa Benitez and brought Jose Mourinho back to Stamford Bridge for another go 'round.  Meanwhile, another Champions League failure and the loss of the EPL title cost Roberto Mancini his job at City, where he was replaced by Manuel Pellegrini, lately of Malaga fame.  In my opinion, these three men will largely shape the title race, and here's how I think it will shake out:

UEFA Champions League Places:

1. Chelsea FC--Last year I bet against Manchester United in the title race, and I got shown up.  Alas, I'm going to do it again.  I think having Mourinho back in the fold is going to make a huge difference for the Blues, and they've all seemed pretty positive.    The Blues have also gotten quite a bit younger, and I think they have a good mix of old guard and new.  The preseason buzz has largely surrounded the Blues pursuit of Wayne Rooney.  Ultimately, I don't see United selling him to a title rival, but we'll see.  Samuel Eto'o has also emerged as a dark horse possibility.  However, I'm looking for this guy to have a BIG impact this year:

When the Blues first signed Romelu Lukaku, he was hailed as "the next Drogba."  To my mind, he hasn't done anything to lose that reputation as he torched the league on loan with West Brom last year.  He should do even better under the Special One.

2. Manchester City--Pellegrini is a solid manager with tried and true experience in Europe.  Honestly, I look for City to have an improved Champions League campaign this year and to push Chelsea for the title all season long.  Edin Dzeko could be key for city, with Tevez and Balotelli both finally out of the way.  He's certainly a shoe-in for my fantasy squad.  Hopefully a lot of City's off the pitch issues exited with Tevez, Balotelli, and Mancini, giving Pellegrini a clean and quiet slate to work with.  Expectations will be high though, and he best meet some of them.

3. Manchester United--Do not adjust your screens.  I'm putting United in third.  Now, to give a little perspective, the title could come down to just a few points.  I expect United to contend all season long.  As for Moyes, it's time to see what happens.  For years people have been wondering what he could do if he had a big payroll and a big budget.  That day is here.  Unfortunately, Cesc Fabregas is not here, and as of yet United haven't seemed to be able to bolster that midfield.  Last year Van Persie was the man for United, and it's safe to say that he will be again, but does Moyes have the Sir Alex gusto that will take to push through to the title?  We'll see.

4. Arsenal.--It seems like fourth place has been a trophy in and of itself for Arsenal lately, and honestly, I don't see them getting much higher this year.  The summer transfer window has once again been devoid of significant action while Chelsea, City, and United have been more active.  If they can add another piece or two, they'll be outside contenders for the title, but I look for them to have another solid season and hit the Champions League spots for next year.  The question is, when is that going to stop being good enough?

THE BEST OF THE REST

5. Swansea City--The scary thing is, not only did Swans hold on to what was theirs in the off season.  They got better.  Micheal Laudrup not only has Michu at his disposal, but also newly acquired Ivory Coast International Wilfried Bony, who scored 32 goals last year in the Dutch league.  Swans will be a threat for the domestic cups, and if somebody in the top 4 slips up, they could have an outside chance for a Champions League spot.

6. Everton--No Moyes?  No problem.  That's been the attitude for Everton so far in the preseason, where they have looked really fresh and up for the competition.  New manager Roberto Martinez has the Toffees playing really attractive football, and they've just gotten deeper during the summer. (I'm looking at you Gerard Deulofeu.)  It could be an exciting year for the Toffees, with Europe not out of the question.

Now to finish out the top 10:

7--Tottenham
8--Liverpool
9--West Ham
10--West Brom

Who is going to relegated?  Sorry for fans of:

Southampton
Hull "Tigers"
Crystal Palace (I wish it were going to be otherwise.)

So there's my take on the EPL this season.  Good luck to everyone, the first fixtures are almost here!

Gone Are the Tablecloths: New Manchester United Kits for '13-'14

Wayne Rooney in a promo photo for United's new kit. (Nike)

United fans and kit nerds rejoice!  The tablecloth/tea towel kits of yesteryear are now officially history!  Nike has unveiled the new kit for the Barclay's Premier League Champions, and the picnic checkerboard is nowhere to be found.  Of course, United won the title last year, so talk smack about the kit all you want, I guess.  They got the last laugh.  Here's the new offering:

I like it, personally.  It's more of a classy look.  I'm also a fan of collars on kits, though the collar on this one is of the small variety.  It also features the buttons in front, which I like as well.  Nike will also continue it's commitment to using environmentally friendly kits with this shirt, as it will again be made from recycled polyester and plastic bottle material.  According to Nike, the kit is also 23% lighter than previous editions.

So what do you guys think?  I like it.  Of course, they'll have the EPL champion patches on the sleeves. As I said, I like the more classic kit look with collar, so it's a plus for me.  If you really dig it, you can order up at World Soccer Shop.

Roberto Martinez Signs On at Everton

Former Wigan boss Roberto Martinez will be the new manager at Everton (telegraph.co.uk)

Next season's EPL coaching picture is starting to be come clearer now as Everton have named Roberto Martinez as manager to replace David Moyes, who left the club to take over at Manchester United.  It will mean a return to the Premier League for Martinez, whose Wigan side fell to relegation in the last weeks of the season despite winning the FA Cup.

Martinez, known for employing an attractive style at Wigan, has big plans for Everton.  At his presser today he said he wants to get the Toffees into the Champions League.  That's not going to be an easy task, with the top 4 or 5 clubs in England having more resources on hand.  Martinez did caution that it was going to be a process and wouldn't happen overnight.  That's probably a good thing, as David Moyes himself only managed to position the Toffees in Europe's elite competition once.

It should be an interesting ride for Everton supporters.  On the bright side, Martinez has been through the battles in the Premier League, and won a lot of them.  He kept a vastly underfunded Wigan side afloat for years, before finally falling this year.  He's proved that he can cut it in the domestic cups, and you know Everton would be thrilled to gain one of those trophies as well.

The questions will linger over the summer though.  Moyes was almost a security blanket for them.  They were almost certain of a top 6-7 finish every year, and have been on top of Merseyside rivals Liverpool the last couple of years.  Now they're changing things up a little bit to try and make that next step, which will be difficult financially.  Can Martinez hold on to what the Toffees already have as well position them for a climb higher?  Only time will tell, and the answers will start to come in August.

Mourinho Returns to Chelsea as Rafa Heads to Napoli--I'll Take It!

"The Special One" has returned to manage to Chelsea for a second time.

Today it became official, something that Chelsea fans have been waiting to hear confirmed for weeks--Jose Mourinho will return to Stamford Bridge to manage the Blues on a four year contract.  Financial terms were not disclosed, and Mourinho will be introduced at a Stamford Bridge news conference next Monday.

Mourinho first managed Chelsea from 2004-2007.  He had won the Champions League with Porto prior to that, and brought Chelsea their first league title in 50 years at the end of his first season.  During his tenure he won every available domestic honor: The Premier League, the League Cup, the FA Cup, and the Community Shield.  He left after 2007 failing to achieve the Champions League success that Roman Abramovich so craved.  From there he went to Inter Milan, where he won the Serie A and the Champions League, before starting his stint at Real Madrid.

Expectations will be high for Mourinho again at Chelsea.  The fact that the Blues won the Champions League in 2012 has not reduced Roman's desire, as Roberto Di Matteo found out the hard way.  Morale will be high, especially with the fans, who were never on board with the Benitez appointment.  Still, Mourinho has spoken fondly of Chelsea and it's fans, and for the moment anyway, it seems like a match made in heaven, again.

Former Blues "interim manager" Rafa Benitez has taken leave of the club to go manage Napoli in Serie A.  Napoli's previous boss, Walter Mazzarri, left the club to take over  Inter Milan, leading Napoli's owner to compare him to a "cheating spouse."  Rafa will have some big shoes to fill there, but the "Days of Our Lives" type coaching carousel will continue.

In the end, what do we make out of Rafa's stint at Chelsea?  Certainly it could have been worse, as he won the Europa League and secured Chelsea's place in next year's Champions League.  He also accomplished this under a TON of adversity.  Still, in my mind, that was pretty much the bare minimum.  With Chelsea's payroll and talent, they should expect to be in the Champion's League.  What irks me the most was the loss of the Club World Cup.  It might be a bit before we get another crack at that. 

In the end however, I wish Rafa well.  I still disagree with his appointment, but he helped bring the club European silverware, not an easy task, even if it was the Europa League.  When you consider how many fixtures Chelsea took part in this last season, he deserves some credit, in my humble opinion.

Now it's time to look toward the future, which I think will be bright for the Blues.  United will have a new look next year with Moyes, and City look to be going with a manager untried in the Premier League.  Depending on what happens with Bale, Tottenham could be right back in the mix, and Arsenal aren't going to go away.  Still, I think Chelsea and Mourinho are well positioned to compete with these guys. No doubt the Blues will make other moves during the summer window as well.

I, for one, can't wait!  Welcome back Jose Mourinho!

Tony Pulis Out at Stoke City

Manager Tony Pulis has left Stoke City (bbc.co.uk)

The EPL "silly season" is about to hit high gear now that the season is officially over.  Manchester City didn't wait for the season to be over to sack Roberto Mancini, and Stoke City's Tony Pulis is now the next man booted off of the managerial carousel.  The club announced on Monday that Pulis and Stoke were parting ways by mutual consent.

There's good and bad with Tony Pulis.  First off, he's never been relegated as a manager.  In his years at Stoke, he brought them up to the Premier League and kept them there for the last five.  Plus, you usually didn't see Stoke down fighting the relegation battles near the bottom three either, though it was close this year.  An away trip to Stoke was always a tough three points, even for the Premier League's big clubs.  A draw was considered fairly standard.

His club's style has been the sticking point.  Offensively, Stoke have been known to get their midfield to just lob balls over the top to their strikers, with little or no variation to this "direct approach."  Defensively, they've been hard nosed and relatively tough to score against, but their offensive approach yielded little in the way of goals, creating many draws.  Pulis only won 29% of his matches at Stoke.

Stoke have been a pretty solid mid-table bet, but they've shown little progress, either in moving up the table or changing their style of play to facilitate that move.  Of interest to American fans, Pulis brought two MLS men to Stoke: Houston's Geoff Cameron and Brek Shea of FC Dallas.  Cameron has gotten some time, enough to be in the US National Team mix.  Shea has had a tougher go of it, failing to crack the 18 most weekends.

No word yet on where Pulis will end up. It's hard to see him being considered for one of the bigger EPL openings, say Everton or City.  I could see him ending up in a Harry Redknapp type situation, where a club struggling in the bottom three in the middle of the season tries to bring him in to help them avoid relegation, we'll see.

There hasn't been much speculation as of yet about Stoke's vacancy.  The AP is suggesting Everton's Phil Neville, who is retiring, or Brighton's Gus Poyet.  Sky Sports has been focusing largely on former QPR boss Mark Hughes and Roberto Di Matteo, who guided Chelsea to UEFA Champion's League title as interim boss last season.

EPL Final Sunday 2013: Chelsea, Arsenal Clinch UCL spots.

Demba Ba and Chelsea clinched 3rd place with a win over Everton (Getty Images)

Today was the last day of the 2012-2013 EPL season.  It's always sad to see the league wrap up another campaign, and it's bittersweet for some people this year as retirements and changes in TV contract rights will really change how we, here in the US, see the league next year.  More on that later, let's talk about today's pertinent action.

Often the final Sunday is called "Survival Sunday" as teams scrap to escape relegation.  That wasn't the case this year.  QPR and Reading have been relegated for a few weeks now, and Wigan joined them with a loss to Arsenal last Tuesday.  Last year we fans were spoiled as the EPL title came down to pretty much the last kick of the season as Manchester City came from behind to steal the title from United.  This year, the Red Devils put that to rest weeks ago. 

That doesn't mean that there wasn't anything to play for today though.  There was a lot of pride and a lot of MONEY on the line as three teams, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Tottenham battled for the final two UEFA Champions League places.  Chelsea were pretty much through, but Spurs needed a win and some help from the Gunners to climb into fourth.  The Gunners had qualified for the Champions League every year under Arsene Wenger, and were keen to keep that streak alive.  There was also the possibility of Chelsea and Arsenal having a one game playoff to decide 3rd place, as they were so close on both points and goal difference.  In the end, that wasn't needed.

All Chelsea needed to do to avoid that fate was win.  That wasn't going to be an easy task as they hosted Everton, who were playing their last match with David Moyes in charge.  Juan Mata gave the Blues the lead on 7 minutes, but Everton bounced back later with a goal from Steven Naismith in minute 14.  The game remained deadlocked late, with the specter of the playoff hanging over Stamford Bridge.  Then Fernando Torres punched in a goal in minute 76 to cement the newly minted Europa League Winners in third place.

Third place is important because the winner goes straight to the Champions League group stage, and Arsenal were shooting for that as well as just trying to hold off a late charge from Tottenham into fourth.  The Gunners visited Sports Direct Arena to face a lowly Newcastle squad who had every reason to already be on the golf course.  Newcastle did put up a fight though, and played better than they have of late.  It wasn't enough though as Laurent Koscielny scored in the 55th minute to give the Gunners the only goal they would need on the day.

All of Sunday's matches ran concurrently though, so with the matches being close, tension was still high.  Spurs needed the three points against Sunderland to even have a prayer at joining the Champions League, plus they needed Arsenal to lose or draw.  Spurs left it late as Gareth Bale hit a wonder strike to give them a 1-0 win at White Heart Lane, however with Arsenal's win, the Spurs face another season in the the gauntlet that is the Europa League.

So here's how things shape up now that all is said and done:

Champions League Group Stage--
Manchester United (Champions)
Manchester City
Chelsea

Champions League Playoff Qualification--
Arsenal

Europa League--
Swansea City (League Cup Champions)
Wigan (FA Cup Champions)
Tottenham Hotspur (5th Place Finish in the Premier League)

Relegation:
Wigan
Reading (promoted this year)
Queens Park Rangers (QPR finish in last place).

Promoted to EPL:
Cardiff City (Championship winners)
Hull City (Championship Runner-up)
Watford OR Crystal Palace (TBD by playoff at Wembley on 27 May).

So there it is folks.  Congrats again to United and Sir Alex on a great career.

Next year fans in the USA will being seeing the league covered by a different network for the first time in a long time.  NBC Sports was awarded the broadcast rights earlier this year in a move that was a big blow to the current holders: Fox Soccer and ESPN.  I'll miss Ian Darke's call on ESPN, but I'm very glad Gus Johnson won't be torturing any more Premier League matches on Fox.

Check back later this week for the Puddle's season review, and don't forget, only 90 days til next year!

QPR Man Arrested, Suspected of Rape

QPR Striker Loic Remy has been arrested on suspicion of rape in London.

This is some more of that kind of off-the-pitch news that football fans, and really human beings in general hate to see, yet here it is.  QPR striker Loic Remy has been arrested in London and is being held on charges of rape according to reports from various sources including Sky Sports News. 

If these allegations are true, they'll turn out to be particularly heinous.  The alleged victim, 34, claims she visited Remy at his apartment in Fulham on May 6.  Remy, his cousin, and a friend were said to be present.  The woman claims that she was given a drink and then passed out, only to awaken hours later and find that she had been raped by all three men. 

Pretty horrendous allegations.

A spokesman for the London Metropolitan Police confirmed that three men aged 26, 23, and 22 were arrested in connection with the allegations at a Fulham residence and are still being detained at a West London Police Station.  Sapphire, the MPS unit in charge of sexual assualt cases is investigating the case.

For their part, QPR released a statement saying they were aware of the allegations concerning Remy, but would not comment at this time due to the active police investigation.  Remy is a French international who joined QPR in the last transfer window.  Despite his personal success, Rangers were not able to hold off relegation from the Premier League.  Several clubs were reportedly interested in obtaining his services.

What does one say about this kind of thing?  For one, you don't want to throw Remy to the wolves without a fair trial.  He's not automatically guilty because he's a pro footballer.  On the other hand, the allegations need to be taken seriously and investigated fully.  He shouldn't be able to dodge it just because he's a pro footballer either.  In the end, you just hope the truth comes out, and if he is guilty, he should face the maximum sentence and his career should be over.  We'll have to wait and see, but for sure it's one headache QPR didn't need.

Also check out the EPL Talk article about the incident here.

49 Trophies, 1 Icon: Sir Alex Ferguson

Guardian.co.uk

This is not really news at this point.  If you're a football fan and you haven't known that Sir Alex is retiring for some hours, you've probably been comfortably living under a rock.  Rumors started to circulate overnight in the UK, and Manchester United confirmed it on the club's website this morning.  For the first time since 1986, the Red Devils will be looking for a new manager.

The internet, blogs, and social media have experienced an outpouring of gratitude for Ferguson from United fans and non United fans.  I am of the latter group, but honestly, there's not much more to be said that hasn't been said in the 47575858437854836758474 articles and blog entries that have hit in the last few hours.

Let me approach it this way.  Sir Alex Ferguson took over Manchester United when I was 8 years old.  My knowledge of English football was confined to the stories that my grandfather would tell of Chelsea and the London clubs from his days in Europe after the war.  Since I have been aware of professional football, Sir Alex HAS BEEN Manchester United.  There aren't too many managers in pro football that can say that their identity is so wrapped up in their club.  Perhaps Arsene Wenger is halfway there at Arsenal.  Stateside, Jason Kreis MIGHT BE in the infancy of such a time at RSL, but I don't think there will ever be another manager/club relationship like Sir Alex and Manchester United.

If I took the space to list all of Ferguson's accomplishments, we'd be here all day.  Suffice it say between 1976 and 2013 Sir Alex has won 49 trophies between St. Mirren, Aberdeen, and Manchester United.  These titles include the Scottish Premier Division, the Scottish Cup, The Scottish League Cup, The Barclay's Premier League, The FA Cup, the League Cup. The UEFA Champions League, and the FIFA Club World Cup.

His awards as manager as numerous, including a couple of different "Manager of the Decade" awards.  He received the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1983.  In 1995 he was named Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).  He was also made Knight Bachelor in 1999.

Sir Alex will give way at the end of the season, his last match in charge being against West Brom.  He will stay on at United, stepping into the board room where he hopes to still shape the future of the club.  Speculation on his replacement is revolving around David Moyes, who is out of contract at Everton, and Jose Mourinho, who is leaving Real Madrid this summer.

The Puddle congratulates Sir Alex on a wonderful career and sends best wishes for his future endeavors.

Reading and QPR Relegated, Redknapp to Stay On.

It's been a pretty dismal few months for Harry Redknapp and QPR (Telegraph UK)

This weekend's match between Reading and QPR pretty much summed up the futility behind the two sides' Barclay's Premier League campaign this season.  A win for either side would have held off relegation for at least another week, while a draw would doom them both to the Championship.  What happened?  It ended up being a snoozer of a nil-nil draw.  Way to go guys.

One takes a look at Reading, and their story isn't all that different from other clubs' journeys to short term top flight tenures.  Reading was a good team in the Championship and earned promotion.  However, despite the heart which they displayed often throughout the year, the lack of money and elite talent were too much for them in the end.  Think Blackpool from a couple of years back.  Reading will go down, they'll retool a little bit, and they'll probably still be a decent Championship side, with a chance to spring back up into the Premier League at some point.

QPR is, however, another story entirely.  They emerged from the second division two years ago with more lofty ambitions, and their owner wasn't shy about it.  When the first half of last year's EPL season didn't work out, they fired manager Neil Warnock, who had brought them up, hired former Fulham and Man City boss Mark Hughes, and splashed a lot of cash around bringing in players.  However at the end of last season, the R's barely escaped relegation.  This last summer, they threw around more cash and brought in more players.  When the results failed to improve, they brought in Harry Redknapp and put out even more cash.  In the end it wasn't enough though, and they end up with Reading, except that they've spent a lot more money and are probably going to be stuck with many of their failed players, and we've seen that they have little or no chemistry.

For their part, the club are staying with Harry.  What a year it's been for him.  Last year his Spurs side had a run in the Champions League, and just about a year ago he was rumored for the England job.  Then the England job fell through and he was sacked at Spurs after failing to secure another Champions League spot when Chelsea took Tottenham's place by winning the final at Bayern.  That's pretty tough luck, especially considering that he'll now be in the second division.

There is still one team to be relegated this year after this weekend's results confirmed QPR and Reading's exit.  Wigan look to be in the most trouble after failing to secure all three points vs Spurs on the weekend.  Aston Villa did themselves a huge favor by pummeling a hapless Sunderland side 6-1 on Monday, actually climbing above another hapless side, Newcastle, on goal difference.  Villa, Newcastle, and Sunderland sit on 37 points, 5 ahead of Wigan.  However, Wigan have a game in hand.  Things could be decided on the final Sunday when Wigan play Villa.

Opinion: Bitey Suarez Isn't a Victim; 10 Match Ban Just Fine

Maybe somebody should actually FEED Luis Suarez (thesun.co.uk)

If you're not a regular reader here or a twitter follower, let me state one thing just right up front.  I'm a Chelsea fan, so I'm not pretending that my thoughts here are unbiased.  In fact, they're heavily biased, that's why I put the word "opinion" in the title.  Also, I'm not sure anybody questions the ability that Luis Suarez has to do some amazing things on the pitch.  He's a great goal scorer and can dish out the assists as well.  Unfortunately, it could be that his other antics have finally gone too far this time.

The FA has hit Suarez with a violent conduct charge and a ten game ban after Suarez bit Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic during their 2-2 draw at Anfield last weekend.  Suarez was not punished during the match and was still on the pitch to score a last minute equalizer when, had the referee gotten a good look at the incident, one would think he would have been red carded.  For his part, Suarez accepted the violent conduct charge, but disputed that the usual three game ban was not enough.  His pleas fell on deaf ears at the FA, which they rightly should have.  More on that in a minute.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, after condemning Suarez's act, has now come out and said that Suarez has been victimized by the FA, calling the ban overly harsh.  It's easy to see why Rodgers would do this.  Even with the acquisition of Daniel Sturridge, Liverpool has been pretty much a one man band up front with Suarez cranking out the hits, and dives, and yellows, and handballs, and now the bites.

Suarez is not a victim here.  Yes, it's true that Ivanovic was not injured on the play.  Still, Suarez made a choice to engage in an action that no sane footballer, let alone a sane human being, would undertake in the middle of a sporting match.  Suarez knew that he has a long prior disciplinary record with the FA, and had to imagine that the act would bring about a lengthy ban.  The FA had to put their foot down.  He made a deliberate choice to do what he did, knowing the punishment could be harsh, and did it anyway.  For Rodgers to portray him as a victim is idiotic, and goes far beyond a manager sticking up for his player.  Some things are indefensible.

So why is the ten match ban for Suarez just about right?  I'll give three reasons.

First, as mentioned earlier, Suarez has a long disciplinary history with the FA in his short time in England.  To put it more simply, his reputation now precedes him.  Of course the biggest issue prior to this was was the eight match ban he earned for racially abusing United's Patrice Evra.  I'm not buying his explanation that "that's how we say stuff back at home."  Evra's race didn't need to come into at all, period, and Bitey learned that lesson the hard way.  He's had violent conduct bans before as well, plus he is a known cheater.  He's one of the biggest divers in the Premier League and has shown his willingness to risk a handball when he thinks he can get away with it.

Second, Suarez has bitten people during matches before.  A little over two years ago Bitey sank his teeth into PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal, as seen in this pic from thetimes.co.uk:

Yum yum, right Bitey?

For that infraction, Suarez was handed a seven match ban by the Dutch FA.  Taking that into account, the English FA would have looked silly by going any less than seven, and being that it was a second incident, really had to make it more.  Something has to get installed in Bitey's brain that this behavior is unacceptable and is going to hurt both him and his club.  Period.

Finally, Liverpool have to be given a reason to either regulate Suarez's behavior on their own, or send him packing.  For two years now Liverpool managers, first King Kenny and now Rodgers, have looked the other way and winked at Bitey while he cheats and perpetrates his antics on the pitch.  "Just keep scoring the goals, Bitey, and we'll brush everything else under the rug."  Hell, they even wore tshirts supporting him during the racism row, yet I'm sure Liverpool fans would feel pretty hard done by if someone directed that word at one of their black players, and rightly so.  Liverpool continue to take the results and the goals and are given little if any incentive to crack down on their player.  I can totally see the thought process going like this Sunday afternoon: "He'll get a three game ban, which is fine, because we're out of the running for this year anyway.  Then we can start again next year."  Well oops, Bitey will miss the first, what, six matches of the 2013-2014 campaign?  Now we're getting somewhere.  Give Rodgers a reason to control him, or sell him somewhere else where he can disgrace another league.

Liverpool is a proud football club with a glorious history that their supporters, players, staff, and owners should quite rightly be very proud of.  Their crest and banner inspire more passionate support and tradition than almost any other football club or sports team in the world, and again, rightly so.  One would think that the supporters, players, staff, and owners would be tired of this joker tarnishing their image.  I really hope Liverpool dumps him and gets a standup player worthy of the Premier League and the Liverpool crest.  Then maybe the headlines coming out of Anfield can get back to football instead of sounding like they're previews for the new season of The Walking Dead.

Congratulations to Manchester United, 2013 Premier League Champions

Manchester United clinched it's 20th top flight title yesterday with a win over Aston Villa

Last summer I made a critical error when I penned my EPL season preview, I didn't really want to do it, but hey, I thought I was a pretty smart guy here on the blog.  What was that error?  I counted out Manchester United.  I don't usually do that, and well, we now see what happens when the Red Devils are counted out.

Yesterday United claimed their record 20th title in the English top flight by virtue of a 3-0 mauling of Aston Villa.  Robin Van Persie scored a hat trick on the day, putting all three in the back of the net in the first 35 minutes as United destroyed Villa's poor excuse for a defense and pretty much started the festivities early at Old Trafford.  One can imagine that it was pretty special for Van Persie, who suffered through his years at Arsenal without a title, landing his first at United in his very first season.  I don't think that it's an exaggeration to say that that was THE transfer of the year last year.

So even as a Chelsea fan I pass on my congratulations to United.  They've put together a truly dominant campaign this year, and just might finish with a league record point share at the end.  Right now, it's tough to see who is going to catch them next year, though one is almost certain that Chelsea and Manchester City will be doing some spending during the summer to try.

So congrats to United and their fans.  Enjoy what's left of the season as United will truly have some time to play some "champagne football."

Cardiff City Wins Promotion to Barclay's Premier League

Craig Bellamy and Cardiff City have clinched promotion to the EPL (BBC.co.uk)

It's been a long time coming, but Cardiff City have finally secured promotion to the Barclay's Premier League, where they'll play next year.  As it turns out, they'll be bringing at least one familiar face with them, Craig Bellamy, lately of Liverpool fame.  The Blue Birds clinched a spot in next year's top flight by securing a point in a 0-0 draw with Charlton yesterday.

Cardiff have lead the nPower Championship for the last 21 weeks, and the promotion caps a tumultuous year for the club.  Last summer the club's new Malaysian owner forced a change of kit color from Cardiff's iconic blue to red.  Earlier this season he also began to talk about changing the club's name to the Cardiff Dragons, which not everyone has been thrilled over.  However, for now, both owner and supporter alike will rejoice the club's promotion to England's top flight.  Now the question remains as to whether their owner will spend the money it takes to keep them there.  However, money is not always the key to staying in the EPL, just ask QPR.

Cardiff, who lost last year's League Cup final to Bellamy's Liverpool, will be the second Welsh club to feature in the Barlcay's Premier League.  They'll join this year's League Cup winners Swansea City.  This also means that the heated South Wales derby will return and take place at the Premier League level for the first time.  That should be really great for everyone involved.

There are still two promotion places left in the Championship.  Cardiff top the table with 84 points.  Hull City look to be in a good position to sew up the second automatic spot in second place with 77 points.  The next four teams in the standings, Watford (77 pts), Brighton (66 points), Crystal Palace (66 points), and Leicester (64 points) will participate in a playoff for the final spot if the table holds.  Last year's relegates Bolton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest sit right on the outside looking in with 63 points.   In case you're wondering about the other two sides to be relegated from the Premier League last year, both Wolverhampton and Blackburn sit just barely above the bottom three, which would drop them into League 1, the the third division of English football.

But for now, congratulations to Cardiff, and welcome to the Barclay's Premier League.

Mario Balotelli Heading to AC Milan

City's Mario Balotelli is headed to Milan to seal a transfer move (Bleacherreport.com)

So it looks like one of the more controversial, and shall we say "interesting" Premier League tenures is about to come to an end.  The rumor that Man City striker Mario Balotelli would head back home to Italy and sign for AC Milan has been circulating throughout the transfer window, and now it seems to be all but a done deal.

According to AC Milan's Umberto Gandini, Milan have agreed to terms and signed a transfer agreement with City.  All that is left to do is for Balotelli to pass a medical and sign on to personal terms, rumored to be a 4 and a half year deal with the Rossoneri.  Hopefully the move back to his home country will be a good thing for the firebrand striker, possibly reigniting the form he flashed at Euro 2012.

Balotelli's time with City was always highly watchable, if a bit unpredictable.  He made many off the field headlines in England including car accidents, strip club sightings, and outrageous hairdos to name a few.  On the pitch he was involved in several training dustups, including a recent confrontation with City manager Roberto Mancini that was caught on camera.  Memorably, he lifted his jersey after scoring a derby goal against United last year to reveal a shirt underneath that asked "Why Always Me?"  However his form has left much to be desired this year.  After crapping out against United in December, he found himself completely relegated to the bench, only making two substitute appearances in the last two months.

It is worth noting that Balotelli did land a couple of trophies with City, the 2011 FA Cup and the 2012 Premier League title among them.  Personally, I would have loved to have had him back at Inter, but best of luck to him in his return to the San Siro with Milan.  I hope he can straighten out some but still find a way to entertain like few can.

West Ham Struggles Continue Versus Gunners

Olivier Giroud & Lukas Podolski celebrate an Arsenal goal.

Arsenal supporters were very happy at the end of this rearranged Boxing Day match.  The West Ham supporters weren't quite so amused, despite being in rapture earlier in the match when their club took the early lead in this London derby.  However, at the end of the day the Gunners' somewhat maligned strike force showed exactly what they were capable of, using a scintillating second half performance to down the Hammers 5-1 at the Emirates.

One would not have guessed that the full time result would include so many goals judging from the opening minutes of the match, when both sides looked a little lethargic and out of sync.  Chances were non-existent in the first ten minutes, and when the first one finally came, it was hardly noteworthy.  On the tenth minute Ricardo Vaz Te put his head to a cross from Guy Demel, but pushed it well wide of the target.

West Ham did look the slightly more dangerous side though, as they tried to press the Arsenal goal.  Carlton Cole missed the target in the 15th minute, but the Hammers finally took the lead in minute 18.  Arsenal failed to totally clear a corner kick, and the ball fell to Jack Collison sitting outside the penalty area.  Collison unleashed a wicked drive that soared past Wojciech Szczesny and tore into the back of the Arsenal net to make it 0-1.

The strike seemed to finally jolt the Gunners awake though, and they responded almost immediately.  In the 22nd minute Jack Wilshere dropped the ball off to Lukas Podolski who was lurking outside the Hammers' box.  The German smacked a shot of his own into the net with a huge drive that probably exceeded the greatness of Collison's effort four minutes earlier.  The Gunners were back in the match at 1-1.

Arsenal finally started to hit their stride with their passing game and started to mount more attacks on the West Ham goal.  They came close to taking the lead right before halftime, when Jussi Jaaskelainen just managed to parry Santi Cazorla's effort away from the top corner, keeping the sides even going into the break.

There was nothing even about the second half though, as Arsenal opened an all out assault on the Hammers from the opening whistle.  In the 47th minute Olivier Giroud volleyed a home a Theo Walcott corner to give the Gunners their first lead of the evening at 2-1.  They were hardly done though.

In the 53rd minute Cazorla got on the board as he took a pass from Podolski and knocked home a goal from close range to make it 3-1 to the Gunners.  Podolski would play provider again just a minute later, hitting Walcott in the center of the box with a spot-on through ball.  The England international promptly slotted it home to make it 4-1 and the blowout was in full effect.  They would tack one more goal on in the 57th minute when Giroud tapped in from up close to complete his brace and make it 5-1.

The venom went all out of the match in the 72nd minute though, when West Ham's Daniel Potts dropped to the floor after a clash of heads with Arsenal's Bacary Sagna.  He was treated on the pitch for some 18 minutes with an emergency blanket, gas, and a neck brace.  He was eventually stretchered off and West Ham continued with 10 men as they had already used all three substitutions.

The match faded out through the 90 and 12 minutes of stoppage time, with 5-1 being the score at the full time whistle.  The three points were huge for Arsenal after back to back losses to City and Chelsea.  Potts spent Wednesday night in a London hospital and tests showed that he had indeed sustained a concussion.  He returned home on Thursday, thanking well wishers on West Ham's website.  He will be evaluated further before he is allowed any future training.

Sunderland Pummels Flat Looking West Ham

Seb Larsson celebrates his opening goal vs West Ham. (Telegraph.co.uk)

Saturday was a largely forgettable day across the EPL with several 0-0 draws.  For Sunderland supporters, however, it was just what the doctor ordered, in the form of a visit from West Ham.  Though higher in the table, the Hammers have been struggling on the road this year, and they've yet to really get their transfer acquisitions into the mix.

From the opening whistle it appeared that the Black Cats were just going to smother West Ham, who came out awfully dull and flat.  They rarely pushed Sunderland in possession and were beaten to nearly every loose ball by a Sunderland squad who knew they desperately needed the three points to distance themselves from the drop zone.  Throughout the opening ten minutes Sunderland worked methodically to stitch the Hammers closer into their own penalty area, and everyone could feel the pressure build.  The said pressure finally paid off in the 12th minute when Sebastian Larsson collected the ball near the top of the penalty arc and smashed a drive into the back of the Hammers net to make it 1-0.

West Ham started to wake up after conceding the goal, but had a really hard time stringing 3-4 passes together, let alone really threatening up in the offensive third.  Newly acquired Joe Cole could not find hardly any time on the ball, and what service that was sent into Carlton Cole was poor.  Finally Matt Jarvis prodded Simon Mignolet out of his easy chair in the 20th minute, but his low shot went pretty much right to the center of the goal and was easily collected.  It would be West Ham's only real chance of the half. 

Sunderland did get a decent look at doubling their lead in the 26th minute when Stephane Sessegnon collected the ball at the top of his offensive third and gave James Collins the traffic cone treatment before rushing onto goal.  Unfortunately for the Sunderland faithful his shot was rather off balance, sailing well wide of the goal and sealing the 1-0 scoreline going into the interval.

It didn't take long for Sunderland to widen the gap after halftime though.  Sessegnon freed James McClean on goal in a 1v1 situation, but Jussi Jaaskelainen showed fine form to perry the shot toward West Ham defender Daniel Potts.  However, instead of at least clearing the ball out for a corner kick, Potts tried to bundle the ball back to his keeper, and Sunderland pounced.  Steven Fletcher got in the way and took a shot from point blank range that was again well saved by Jaaskelainen, but it didn't go away from danger and effectively took the West Ham shot stopper out of the play.  Adam Johnson was on hand for Sunderland and easily tapped into the gaping net to make it 2-0 on 47 minutes.

Sunderland kept their foot on the gas and iced the points in minute 74.  Sessegnon had a close range shot blocked, but it deflect out to McClean, who threaded the ball into the net from a difficult, but possible, angle to make it 3-0.

As for West ham, they never really got off the ground in the second half either.  They subbed in Arsenal loan man Marouane Chamakh to try to provide some punch, but it didn't really help as he never got the required service either.  His one contribution came in the 64th minute when he headed a ball embarrassingly wide off a corner kick.

In the end, Sunderland easily mopped up the points to move up to 25, just one behind West Ham and six points clear of the relegation zone.  Both teams will face FA Cup replays later this week.