10 things we learned from watching football this weekend

By Mirror Football in

Published 11:19 08/03/10

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Before you catch your breath from another busy few days of football, take five minutes to take stock, and see what we learned from watching the beautiful game this weekend.

1) Conceding twice may be Villa's only chance
Just a couple of hours after a thrilling comeback against Reading to seal their FA Cup semi-final place, Aston Villa learned they must now overcome Chelsea if they are too make it to a second Wembley final this season. After their classic game of two halves against the Royals yesterday, perhaps their best chance against Chelsea is if Carlo Ancelotti's men race into a two-goal lead early on.

2) Moyes is destined to be the next Man Utd boss
Over the last few seasons Everton fans have lamented the fact that their team cannot start seasons as well it finishes them. Indeed, this campaign kicked off with a 6-1 defeat at home to Arsenal, yet now the Toffees are on a fantastic run and have seen off United and Chelsea in recent weeks, and cruched Hullk 5-1 yesterday. Perhaps this is the most compelling evidence yet that David Moyes is destined to one day take over from Fergie - the Old Trafford boss's teams were notoriously slow starters until Jose Mourinho arrived and raised the bar.

3) Arsenal - will they? Won't they? Will we all get bored to tears?
It seems like every weekend this season has seen Arsenal either ruled in or out of the title race. This weekend saw them back in it, according to the pundits. Of course a slip up away to Hull next week will see them ruled out once again. Please make it stop!

4) Avram Grant has found himself at Pompey
The Israeli coach always cut a somewhat unconvincing figure at Chelsea as he stood there on the touchline giving off the impression of a man who knew that Lamps, JT and the rest were probably ignoring every word he said anyway, while every man and his dog was linked with his job. He was never a good fit at Stamford Bridge but he seems to have grown into the job at Pompey: refusing to walk away despite the utter shambles he finds himself trying to work in, managing to get some good results along the way, and showing the emotion every fan loves to see by celebrating wildly the wins at Southampton and against Birmingham. Avram Grant: Renaissance man.

5) Warnock's Got Talent
In contrast to Grant, Neil Warnock has jumped from Crystal Palace's sinking ship as soon as QPR threw him a life hoop. Simon Jordan certainly feels betrayed , but then he would do, wouldn't he? Meanwhile, Warnock oversaw a 3-1 win in his first game in charge at Loftus Road proving that although he may have a big mouth he's still a pretty effective manager, and exactly what QPR need.

6) A run-in of two halves for West Ham
The Hammers' survival hopes took a massive blow on Saturday. Losing at home to fellow relegation candidates Bolton was a terrible result and Gianfranco Zola is going to have to sort out the home form shapish if they are to stay up, as their away fixtures until the end of the season look extremely daunting. Away they face Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool and Fulham. At home, they'll take on Wolves, Stoke, Sunderland, Wigan and Manchester City. If they survive, they'll have to do it at the Boleyn Ground.

7) Newcastle will struggle next season
The Magpies look like cruising to the Championship title, especially if they dish out any more spankings like Saturday's 6-1 rout of Barnsley. Sadly, such is the vast chasm between the top and second flight, even this Toon side storming towards the Premier League will struggle badly when they get there. Will Ashley spend the cash needed to keep them up?

8) There's something in the water in Wolverhampton
The evidence? The lady who rang Six-O-Six on Saturday night to insist the Wanderers would stay up. When Alan Green said he worried for them based on their lack of goals - a league-worst 21 scored - she replied: "We'll be OK - we've got Sam Vokes." Blind optimism doesn't come any more partially-sighted after the youngster's horrendous miss against Manchester United in a game they should have taken at least a point from.

9) Paul Scholes STILL scores goals
United's ginger veteran showed Vokes how to do it with his 100th league goal. But will he be scoring them next season? Fergie wants Scholes to sign another one-year contract but the Oldham lad is stalling. Yet unlike another Mancunian midfielder, don't expect his dad to ring TalkSport accusing the club of "mugging my boy off". Scholes, who earns around £1m less per season that Shaun Wright-Phillips, is perfectly happy with his lot financially but simply reckons his body is telling him its nearly time to go. Time for a couple of seasons at his beloved Oldham, perhaps?

10) Clattenburg Clatterered
There's little more satisfying in football than when a player knocks the ref off his feet. So well done to Spurs' Nico Kranjcar for accidentally, but highly comically, taking Mark Clattenburg to the floor. Oddly, Clattenburg didn't seem to have a hair out of place after the collision. Funny, that.

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