How Wayne Bridge is smoothing things over for John Terry, Pienaar's Unchristian tackle and is Steven Gerrard made out of paper? Ten things we learned from the weekend's football

By Dan Silver in Football Banter

Published 09:41 08/02/10

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It was another action-packed Premier League weekend that served up almost as much intrigue on the pitch as off it .

We’ve already picked the bones out of Chelsea's victory over Arsenal , but what did we learn from the other fixtures, asks Dan Silver?

1) The skipper is dead, long live the skipper

It was a great weekend for Rio Ferdinand, what with him being handed the national captaincy and his club side winning 5-0. And how did the new squeaky clean England skipper celebrate? From the stands because – oh yes – he's currently serving a four-match ban for violent conduct, extended from the original three because of a frivolous appeal intended to finagle his participation in an important semi-final. Still, at least he went home to his own bed afterwards. We hope.

2) The maxim 'Never write Manchester United off'' exists for a reason

Since suffering those damaging defeats to Aston Villa, Fulham and Leeds and labouring to a draw against Birmingham, Manchester United have won four straight League games, scoring 15 goals and conceding just the one – that consolation effort at the Emirates. It's all looking familiarly ominous, isn't it?

3) God loves a leg-breaking tackle.

How else to explain the lack of red card for the shocking assault perpetrated on Javier Mascherano by card-carrying Christian Steven 'God is Great' Pienaar? On a similar tip, the big man in the sky clearly also has a liking for big-haired Belgians, if the random acts of thuggery that Marouane Fellaini was allowed to get away with are anything to go by. Or could it just be that referee Martin Atkinson had such a bad game that even Portsmouth would think twice about signing him?

4) Steven Gerrard is made out of paper

Steven Pienaar's eventual dismissal came from a challenge so innocuous as to be almost imaginary, and while Steven Gerrard would no doubt claim he was merely an agent of natural justice for his part in it, the Liverpool skipper should be shame-faced about the manner in which he went about it. Stevie G went down so readily that John Terry apparently asked him out on a date after the final whistle.

5) England might as well not bother taking a goalkeeper to the World Cup finals

Robert Green will be relieved Ray Clemence was watching David James' Old Trafford horror show rather than his own at Turf Moor. Now he just has to hope that the England goalkeeping coach doesn't have Sky+. Or an internet connection. Or reads the papers. Or any friends. Or… oh, you get the idea.

6) Wayne Bridge is the ultimate team player

How selfless of the cuckolded left-back to put his country's needs before his own and provide Fabio Capello with a solution to his dressing room problems. Because-if Team Bridge carries on playing like he did against Hull City for the remainder of the season then he's got no chance of going to the World Cup with John Terry and England.

7) Martin O'Neill is determined to prove Wenger's 'long ball team' accusation wrong

Another goalless draw – this time at Tottenham – means Villa have now scored just two league goals in their last six games (both coming in last week's victory at Fulham). If they were a long-ball team , then surely you'd expect Villa to get the ball in the opposition net a little more often?

8) The Premier League is no place to learn your managerial chops

What with injuries, retirements, off-field turmoil and the phases of the moon, Gianfranco Zola can point to a list of excusesfor West Ham's position that's longer than he is. But the Italian's West Ham side have won just four league games all season and, following their clumsy capitulation to Burnley, a defeat at home to Birmingham on Wednesday is now unthinkable. Perhaps Zola should have followed the lead of his old team-mate Roberto Di Matteo and learned his club management trade nearer the bottom of the league pyramid than the top.

9) You can always bet on Matthew Etherington to bounce back from adversity

Given Matthew Etherington's much publicised off-field problems this week , it was great to see him respond so well on the pitch against Blackburn. And how happy did the Stoke winger look after scoring his side's third? You don't suppose he'd lumped on himself to be last goal scorer, do you?

10) Steve Bruce has a very short memory

"The one thing I am not going to do is give it up," vowed Steve Bruce on Saturday after his Sunderland side drew with Wigan to make it just one win form the last 15. "I have never given anything up in my life" . A fine sentiment, but one that will doubtless come as a shock to fans of Sheffield United, Wigan (twice), Crystal Palace and Birmingham, all of whom have seen the manager give up on their clubs over the course of his managerial career.

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