Twelve Days of Football - The Reckoning

So let's see how the teams survived four matches in 12 or fewer days - sort of like asking "How was your Christmas?" We'll use the handy table below to rate holiday performance.
	From Paul McCartney - "Simply having a wonderful Christmastime"
	Santa obviously read your list very carefully
	Nice enough but you didn't get the Red Ryder carbine-action, two hundred shot Range Model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time you really wanted
	Ties are a nice gift but how many do you really need?
	You may have been naughtier than you realized

Newcastle -
Some may feel this is generous but six points is decent. A draw against Arsenal was within reach but it was by no means a sure thing and the West Brom match was somewhat of a trap, at least to me. Debuchy's red card in the 62nd minute made it even more difficult. The bad news is that Europe is not in the cards off of performances like the last two.

Aston Villa -
Given their holiday schedule (Stoke, Crystal Palace, Swansea and Sunderland), the Villans might have expected more points. Somehow they managed to get four points on just three goals and now have a little breathing room. New Year's Day win at Sunderland makes up a little for the home loss to Crystal Palace. Agbonlahor is on a goal scoring streak

Tottenham -

Talk about surprises under the tree - the Spurs looked solid in the 2-1 win at Old Trafford on New Year's Day. They posted 10 points in the four matches, with the home draw versus West Brom the only match they didn't win. The team looks more cohesive and Adebayor is scoring goals. The bad news - Adebayor was carried off on a stretcher in the second half; haven't seen any injury reports yet. Watched the match with Michael B - yeah he sweated the last 20 minutes out. Ecstasy to neurosis is how the announcer described it after Man Utd scored to close the gap to a goal; I can report that's what I saw from Michael.

Arsenal -
The Gunners pretty much got what they wanted/needed - wins over Newcastle, West Ham, and Cardiff City to go with a home draw versus Chelsea. Sure they would have wanted the win against The Blues but Chelsea's negative approach pretty much guaranteed a draw. They end the stretch at the top of the table.

Manchester United -
The Red Devils had only one match that looked tough (Tottenham at home) and they did not win it. To their credit, they got all nine points from the other matches (West Ham, Hull, and Norwich) and were on a roll. We'll have to see how they bounce back from the loss to the Spurs. Van Persie is still out and Rooney is not 100% so the team is missing some of its scoring punch.

Manchester City -
Their best Christmas present probably came from the scheduler. Aside from Liverpool, which was an important win, their holiday fixtures were on the easy side - Fulham, Crystal Palace, and Swansea. They looked good for at least 10 points going in and ended up taking all 12 points, putting them in second, just one point behind Arsenal.

Chelsea -
Three wins against decent competition (Liverpool, Southampton, and Swansea) and a draw against Arsenal. Uh-oh, they are starting to get goals from the strikers; this may not be a good thing for the rest of the league. They finish the holiday stretch in third, just two points back of Arsenal.

Liverpool -
Got six points where they should have (Cardiff and Hull) but nothing from the Man City and Chelsea matches. They sat at the top of the table briefly but now sit in 4th, six points behind Arsenal and Everton is breathing down their neck for the last Champions League spot. Suarez netted his 20th for this week's YouTubeable Moment. (New link - Suarez goal at 1:17)

Everton -
Could have found themselves in the top four if not for a stunning loss to Sunderland at home. Today's draw at Stoke City probably wasn't on the Toffees Christmas list either. Life is tough at the top - seven points in four matches and they fall to fifth. That Leighton Baines is back from injury should help.
Others of note...
Sunderland -
See if I have this right. With a reasonable chance that the only thing Sunderland was going to get for Christmas this year was a lump of coal in their collective stocking, the Black Cats steal a win from Everton on the road, tie Cardiff City on the road with a goal in the 95th minute and tie Norwich at home to take away five points. And even with this bounteous holiday haul, Sunderland will wake up on January 2nd in...last place. They probably wish they could play Newcastle all the time. Or Man City. Or Everton. Those are the three teams Sunderland has beaten this year.
Cardiff City -
Owner Ebenezer Scrooge Vincent Tan fired his manager a few days after Christmas and has made it clear they will not be big spenders in the January transfer window (actually he said "not a single penny" would be made available). The Bluebirds were beaten by Southampton, Arsenal and Liverpool and they had a draw snatched from the jaws of victory by Sunderland in the 95th minute. One point for the holidays and they now sit one point above the relegation zone. Could be a long winter and spring in Wales.
And now for something completely different...
And the Chester Blues had a good week on the cyber pitch.  We won comfortably (4-1) over Peterborough to move into sole possession of first place in the Championship Division.  More importantly, we are 12 points up on 3rd place; the top two finishers are automatically promoted to the Premiership.  We are still facing three matches in the next eight days, then will play second place Blackburn.  At that point there will be just 11 matches left.
No league games this week as teams will play third round matches in the FA Cup. Look for a post on Friday explaining this fascinating tournament.