London clubs, Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal are flying high while Liverpool and Everton are sinking in the Premier League.

By Eugene YS Han

HEROES

LONDON DERBY KINGS
- TOTTENHAM
Forget about Manchester City, Tottenham are the team, outside the top four, to watch this season. The victory at London rivals West Ham maintained their 100% record and it represented their best start to a top-flight campaign since 1960. Back then, Spurs won their first 11 league games and they went on to claim the Double. Although Spurs are a couple of players short of being treated as serious contenders, manager Harry Redknapp is confident his squad will try their best to finish as high as possible. Said Redknapp: "I'm not saying we'll finish in the top four, but we have good quality and we'll give it a go."

- CHELSEA
Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka have proved they can play together and how. Every team needs an established striking partnership (see Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney; Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard; Jermain Defoe and Robbie Keane) to be depended on for goals. Both players combined to perfection to tore apart Fulham's defence in Chelsea's routine 2-0 win.

ARSENAL
Another big victory, another three points and another morale-boosting display. While the Arsenal players are still adapting to the new 4-3-3 formation, their quality was still a notch or two above a hardworking but limited Portsmouth side. Denilson, bouyed by his goal against Everton last Saturday, anchored the midfield well while goal-machine Abou Diaby also put in a good shift and got onto the score-sheet twice. Cesc Fabregas' injury will be a slight worry though for Arsenal. He was taken off at half-time to keep him fit for the Gunners' crucial Champions League qualifier on Wednesday (LIVE on ESPN, if you cannot watch, logon to espnstar.com for LIVE updates and scores).

MANCHESTER UNITED
The 5-0 scoreline flattered Manchester United a little but it was a deserved and much-needed win nonetheless. Sir Alex Ferguson will be glad that it was a total team performance. Wayne Rooney got the monkey off his back by clinching his 100th and 101st goals for United while Nani and Antonio Valencia were devastating on the wings for United. Even Michael Owen had a good shift, scoring his first competitive goal for the Red Devils. The real hero though was the much-maligned Dimitar Berbatov who proved to be the brains behind most of United's attack. United had one lucky break though, Paul Scholes was a luck boy when he wasn't punished for handling the ball while on a yellow card in the first-half when the score was 0-0.

SHAY GIVEN
Big-spenders Manchester City had poured most of their resources investing in their attack but they had their goalkeeper Shay Given to thank for yet again for another clean sheet. Man City were tipped to score a big win over Wolves but the newly-promoted side took the game to CIty and nearly snatched a draw. Goalkeepers usually dominate headlines for their gaffes and not for their game-winning saves. But Given deserves credit for his game-winning save from Matthew Jarvis in the first-half and had that goal gone in, it would have revitalised Wolves. It's still a joke that Given cost City just £5.9 million.

BURNLEY
Another famous scalp, another famous win and more importantly - three points in the bag. Burnley are turning from hot favourites to be relegated to hot favourites to stay up. Owen Coyle's side must now focus on their away form - if they can produce the same display away from Turf Moor, they could be safe - by Christmas.

HULL
Phil Brown has done a Phil Brown again. After Hull were demolished 5-1 by Tottenham, Brown attempted to boost his players' morale with an unusual plan. Just before Hull's clash against Bolton, Brown took the players on a tour of Boothferry Park - the Tigers' former home during their financially-troubled years. Just a decade ago, the Tigers were locked out of the ground as financial problems threatened to close the club.
And Brown wanted his present team to recognise just how far the club has come. And it had the desired effect as Hull produced a 1-0 win over Bolton at the KC to notch their first win of the season.

THOMAS SORENSEN
After conceding four at Anfield on Wednesday, Stoke goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen atoned for the display by producing a fantastic save from Birmingham's Garry O'Connor. The wonder save earned the Potters a valuable point at St Andrew's.

ZEROES

WOE ON MERSEYSIDE
- LIVERPOOL
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose ... a lot. The malaise that dogged Liverpool during pre-season has continued to haunt the Reds at the start of the season. Who would have thought that Aston Villa, booed off by their fans last Saturday, could conjure up an Anfield shock that has cast serious doubt over Liverpool's ability to stay in the title race, let alone win the title after two league defeats. Pressure and expectations, it seems, are getting to Liverpool even without mind games from opposing managers. Liverpool were easily subdued by Villa and they seemed to have lost their will to fight their way back into the game once they conceded the first goal. Not only that, Liverpool have no ideas whatsoever in the middle of the field. Xabi Alonso's loss continues to haunt Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez as Lucas continues to show he's not the long-term solution to the team's lack of creativity. Is he really Brazilian? And Alberto Aquilani, when he's fit, is not the answer as well as the Italian will take some time to acclimatise to the hustle and bustle of the Premier League. To address the problem, Benitez might have to consider moving Steven Gerrard deeper into midfield and move Dirk Kuyt or Yossi Benayoun up-front. Liverpool will face bogey team Bolton next and another loss could heap even more pressure on the Reds.

- EVERTON
Like it or not, Everton have been affected adversely by the Joleon Lescott tansfer saga. David Moyes has been too tied up with negotiating with Manchester City manager Mark Hughes through the press, all the while trying to negotiate for a higher price they know City can and will pay. When City turned their attentions to Lescott after their failing to tempt John Terry, the writing was on the wall for cash-strapped Everton. The saga has clearly affected morale and with the dressing room in disarray, Everton fell to a shock 1-0 loss at Burnley - with Louis Saha becoming the second player to miss a penalty against Burnley. Everton may have profited more from the sale of Lescott to City by stalling, but at what cost?

WIGAN
Wigan, on paper, looked like a better team than giant-killers Burnley and were tipped to give United a tough game. But instead they were mauled by the defending champions. Wigan had looked promising after a 2-0 win at Aston Villa. But after two straight defeats, it's now back to the drawing board for the Lactics, led by the league's youngest manager in Roberto Martinez.

CARLTON COLE
From scoring the goal-of-the-season to making the worst pass of the season, Carlton Cole turned from Hero to Zero. Let's hope Fabio Capello is not watching from the stands. Oh no ...

And our thoughts go to
CALUM DAVENPORT
He was a victim of a senseless assault (by his sister's boyfriend) that could leave the West Ham defender paralysed or worse losing his limbs.

DEAN ASHTON
The West Ham striker has not played since last September after breaking down in training. The 25-year-old has been sufferinhg from a recurring ankle injury and has now been told he will end up in a wheelchair if he continues to play football, according to the Sunday Mirror. It is a cruel turn of events for the former Crewe striker who was on the cusp of becoming one of England's top strikers.

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