BPL Heroes and Zeroes 11

BPL Heroes and Zeroes 11

Chelsea and Arsenal top the charts from the last round of league games while Liverpool are at their lowest ebb this season.

By Eugene YS Han

HEROES

CHELSEA
Sir Alex Ferguson was saying the obvious when he claimed Chelsea are Manchester United biggest threat. Chelsea are in irresistible form at the moment - walloping Bolton 4-0 over the weekend. Frank Lampard continued his rich vein of goal-scoring form albeit scoring from a penalty. Didier Drogba is proving again to be the most unplayable striker in Europe. And what about Deco? The Portuguese could be the hidden ace in Carlo Ancelotti's pack. Deco flattered to deceive last season but he seems to be revitalised under Ancelotti. Watch out for him.

ARSENAL
You can win with kids - maybe not the league title yet - but Arsenal again showed their superiority over Tottenham with a handsome win at the Emirates. Even Manuel Almunia had a good shift on his return to first-team action. Cesc Fabregas was tremendous on his derby debut as Arsenal captain. And Arsene Wenger got the clean sheet he wanted. This victory not only continued their unbeaten run at home against Tottenham for ten seasons, they also dismissed suggestions that Tottenham are on par with them. Looking at Arsenal's form, they shouldn't be too worried about losing a Champions League spot to Spurs or Manchester City, Liverpool are the ones who should be.

PORTSMOUTH
Buoyed by their League Cup win over Stoke, Portsmouth preceded to dispatch Wigan by the same score-line 4-0 to suggest they have righted the ship. Pompey were listing badly after a series of defeats and uncertainty in the boardroom didn't help. Aruna Dindane, on loan from Lens, scored a magnificent hat-trick - the fifth treble in the Premier League this season. Pompey fans will be hoping the momentum gained by this win will carry them out of the bottom three. Blackburn away is their next game.

GRAHAM ALEXANDER
Graham Alexander marked his 100th appearance for Burnley and 900th career club outing with not one but two goals.

WAYNE ROONEY
Wayne Rooney has become a father for the first time - his son has been named Kai Wayne Rooney. Hope that fatherhood can help mature his game even more.

ZEROES


LIVERPOOL
Liverpool should forget about building a new stadium. They should consider building a theme park instead such is their roller-coaster form. One week they look like world beaters, the next they look like they can't even beat an egg. The Fulham defeat revealed the ugly truths about Liverpool - the lack of depth in the squad, lack of consistency and a lack of cocky confidence that comes out from natural-born winners. No wonder Steven Gerrard is still moaning about Xabi Alonso's departure.

RAFAEL BENITEZ
Disbelief greeted Fernando Torres' substitution at Fulham and then it turned to pure shock as Yossi Benayoun was taken off. We are always told to judge people not on what they say but by what they do. Benitez's bewildering substitutions shocked even the substituted players themselves. Just what kind of message was Benitez sending when he took off two of his most potent goal-scoring threats? It was as if Benitez had given the match to prepare for the Lyon game instead.

TOTTENHAM
All the talk was on how Tottenham have bridged the gap between them and Arsenal. Harry Redknapp was ambitious, Robbie Keane was bullish and the squad was buzzing in anticipation before their derby match against their most hated rivals. Alas in one crazy minute, Spurs threw the game away when they conceded two quick goals. They are missing the creative talents of Luka Modric in midfield as well as the dynamism of Jermaine Defoe in attack. At least, they can't be faulted for not trying but their much vaulted strength in depth let them down when it mattered most.

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