On Your Arse! - Carling Cup Final 2011

The first winner of domestic silverware this season was decided on Sunday as a Birmingham City side consisting of Stephen Carr and Liam Ridgewell somehow managed to overcome second in the Premier League and recent victors against the best club side in world football Arsenal in a 2-1 win at Wembley Stadium.

Goals from Nicola Zigic and Obafemi Martins secured the Blues' first trophy of significance since the free love and copious drug-taking days of the swinging sixties. No stranger to winning paper cups or whatever it is they award for success north of the border, Alex McLeish won the biggest prize of his career on Sunday – disrespect very much intended to the SPL.

The ginger Scot's is first bit of bling in England came in unexpected circumstances and he deserves full credit for motivating his team of relegation battling underdogs to the point where for much of the game they matched their more illustrious opponents. Europe beckons.

The Blues started on the front foot and could have had an early penalty had Lee Bowyer not been wrongly flagged for offside before being upended by Wojciech Szczesny. Had the decision been given and the red card brandished, this should have been the young pole's last involvement in the game. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't...

Nicola Zigic gave Brum the lead with a header from a corner. The most likely goal his team were going to score and the most likely that Arsenal would concede. Robin van Persie restored parity before the break but unsurprisingly tore all his ligaments and broke every bone in his body while doing so. He was substituted in the second half and probably won't play again this decade.

The second half saw Arsenal attempt to take control and forced Ben Foster into a number of decent saves – well, saves you would expect any keeper that doesn't play for The Gunners to make. Birmingham's winner came courtesy of a comical mix-up in the Arsenal defence between Laurent Koscielny and Szczesny who mis-kicked and fumbled their way to presenting the "26" year old Martins with the easiest goal a player could ask for.



To cap it off, this moment of self destruction from the oft unreliable Arsenal backline came in the 89th minute. Being Oscar weekend and all, if you were to write a script it would rank up there as one of the most dramatic ends to a cup final in many a year. For Arsenal fans the situation played out like a horror movie.

For the neutrals however, it was more like a Leslie Nelson (RIP) Naked Gun style comedy as Arsenal continued to perform more like a 'spoof' of a good football team. For all their talent, Arsenal are something of a joke. You can almost always count on them to look good for long periods but with all the predictability of the Sun rising in the morning, never quite having the stones to finish the job. When things do go wrong, more often than not it is self-inflicted; the Szczesny–Koscielny cock-up being a prime example. You wonder why so many opposition fans hate Arsenal given the team's unrivalled tendency to provide such great moments of joy.

Of the 90 thousand odd people packed into Wembley, I very much doubt there was one single person who genuinely believed that the result was going any way other than in favour of The Gunners baring a major calamity. Like I say however, at Arsenal, these calamities are the norm and if trophies were awarded for the ability to snatch unlikely defeat from the jaws of victory then the North Londoners would be the most decorated club in the country by a good distance.

Forgetting the mistake at the end that ultimately cost them the match, the team Arsene Wenger put should have the beating of Birmingham 99% of the time despite missing injured captain Cesc Fabregas. Fortunately for the Blues, Arsenal were never really at the races and didn't perform anywhere near what would have expected for a side so desperate to win a trophy. The likes of Nasri, Arshavin and even goal scorer van Persie didn't justify the plaudits they generally receive and ought to take a good long hard look at themselves having been bested by footballing nonentities like Lee Bowyer.

The Arsenal have failed to fulfil their much [over]hyped "potential" for far too long now and in some ways, this result wasn't actually a surprise at all. It's not a question of ability but rather a glaring mental weakness that you would be pretty daft to try and deny no matter how much of a die-hard goon you happen to be.



The reason Birmingham players were doing a merry jig with that odd three-handled trophy was because they quite simple showed up and wanted it more than the Gunners. This kind of failure in big, important games has happened far too often in recent years and shows little sign of abating. If you can't get up for beating Birmingham in a cup final, what chance would you have against better sides? This is exactly the reason so much attention is drawn to their trophy drought. People make a big deal of 4... 5... 6 years without a trophy because Wenger's team clearly are good enough but always bottle it when the time comes to deliver. Over the last 11 seasons Arsenal have actually lost in finals of the FA, UEFA, Champions League and Carling (2) cups. Off the top of my head, I can't think of another team of such prolific failures. If the club was a woman, you'd have her uterus examined after so many miscarriages...

Despite still competing on three fronts, this uncanny ability to buckle at the crucial moment could see the famous drought continue not just this season but for a number of years to come. Just ask Birmingham City fans who will tell you about their 48 year wait which has only just come to an end.

Man of the Match: Ben Foster

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Weekend Observations 27th-28th February 2010 pt.2

Part One here.

Common sense? Come on!

This weekend saw the Carling Cup final between Premier League Champions Manchester United and fellow decorated stalwarts of English football Aston Villa. People like to dismiss the competition and show it little respect but the fact that two big sides are contesting the final yet again makes me think the people such as Arsene Wenger (Last trophy? Last cup final?) are wrong to disrespect and dismiss it as a nothing trophy.



Mind you, the credibility of the competition is dented when THREE Premier league games are taking place on the same day. No domestic football should be played on the day of a cup final. I'd even go one further and say no football during the entire weekend. These things need to be kept sacred. Who will respect the Carling Cup when people are more concerned about the battle for fourth place on the other channel?

Anyway, following that faux pas by the authorities, the man appointed to enforce the rules got his first major decision wrong. Forget all that happened afterwards, Vidic should have seen red when he gave away the penalty in the third minute. Of course, United kept their full 11, came back from 1 goal down and won the trophy once again. Boring!

The non-sending off is still a major talking point. We'll never know how the game would have panned out if Vidic had walked. Owen may never have got the equaliser or got injured allowing Rooney to come on and win the game.



Dowd is one of the few referees I actually have any time for in the premier league but he got this one glaringly wrong. The BBC were quick to suggest that previous comments of Taggart may have swayed him but I'm prepared to give the official more credit than that. The only reason I can think of for Dowd not issuing a card is that he didn't want to be accused of 'ruining' a cup final so early on. If the incident had happened up the other end, his decision would have been the same.

Some have suggested that he applied 'common sense'. I hate this idea that upsetting the status quo rather than applying the rules as they should be is somehow sensible. Had the incident taken place in the 75th minute, he would not have hesitated to send Vidic off. I don't see where common sense comes into play when you are supposed to be enforcing rules.

Dowd went on to have a poor game which begs the question as to whether he was prepared to handle the pressure of a cup final which contrary to belief is not like every other game. As a ref especially, your decisions face far more scrutiny than if you are taking charge of a midtable scrap between Sunderland v Stoke (disrespect very much intended).

A couple of other lines from the game and repercussions for England. I doubt many people who hadn't taken much notice of Steven Warnock prior to the Ashley Cole/Wayne Bridge/left back problem, but anyone who saw Antonio Valencia make mincemeat out of him will not be too optimistic of his chances against the world's best if he does make the England line-up.

Never mind just being in the squad, James Milner could start for England on current form.

And finally, while I don't want to indulge in the vomit-inducing sycophancy directed at Wayne Rooney (there's plenty more than enough of that elsewhere) this new found heading ability (8 in his last 9 games?) bodes well for the World Cup.


Bad weekend for the villains

Not only did a first Wembley final in ten years go sour but in the race for fourth Villa's chances took a significant hit thanks to wins for the abovementioned Man City, Liverpool and Tottenham this weekend.

I only saw the highlights of the Liverpool game which looked attritional (editorial licence. I know it isn't a word but you know what I'm getting at...) at best. Liverpool haven't played a match worth watching in months and it is unfair to put Sam Allardyce and football in the same sentence.

Spurs on the other hand were brilliant for 45 minutes on Sunday and 2-0 at half time didn't do justice to their dominance. We all know and are bored silly of Pompey's problems but allowing a player as good as Niko Kranjcar go for just £2million is criminal. Every time I've seen him this season he has looked brilliant and while his Croatian counterpart Modric (rightly) gets all the plaudits, Kranjcar's contribution to Spurs' lofty position cannot be underestimated.



The most interesting subplot at White Hart Lane however is the Pavlyuchenko situation. Seemingly loved by fans and in brilliant form. Harry Redknapp's snide 'when he wants to' comments and failure to celebrate when the Russian scores do not go unnoticed but he has had to swallow his pride and accept the importance of Pavlyuchenko in his team. Of course, Good ol' 'Arry would have you believe that it is he and his managerial genius that is somehow responsible for the player's rich vein of form.


Landon DOH!-novan

As good as Spurs played in the first half at White Hart Lane, the second half saw them allow Everton back into it and there is no question the toffees should have got an Equaliser when on-loan Landon Donovan cemented his appearance on every football blooper DVD for the rest of time with one of the worst misses you are ever likely to see. From about half a yard he somehow managed to hit the side netting with the goal gaping when it would have been easier to score.

As an afterthought, If Liverpool miss out on fourth by a couple of points to Spurs, how fitting would it be that an Everton player's miss could be a major factor?


And finally...

Jinxes and such.

Back in January, I wrote about how brilliant The Mighty Nottingham Forest had been this season and how they were enjoying a fantastic unbeaten run.

Their league form since then:
P 7 W 3 L 4

Prior to that, I cheekily suggested that Valencia might be in the title race in Spain.

Their league form since then:
P 6 W 2 D 2 L 2

This weekend Forest were hammered 3-0 by Leicester and Valencia 4-1 by Atletico Madrid.

You'd be wise to no longer read what I write because it's clear I have no clue what I am talking about.

Carling Cup Final Review

On cup final day, the result is more important than the performance. Tottenham Hotspur provided both as they deservedly won their first trophy this century after outplaying CSKA Fulham at Wembley today.

While the game wasn’t the most exciting as a spectacle (when are cup finals ever?), a heroic Spurs fightback saw them peg back the holders after going 1-0 down to a Didier Drogba free-kick in the first half.

CSKA have not had their full compliment of players for some time. Today saw the return of ‘Fwank’ Lampard (Lumpo’lard?) and John Terry. Add that to the fact the club’s African contingent were all back gave Avram Grant with one of those selection headaches that managers up and down the country would love.

The CSKA bench consisted of Joe Cole, Michael Ballack and Alex. The term ‘embarrassment of riches’ has never been so apt.

Spurs started like a house of fire (if a house on fire is considered a good thing...) with Keane almost opening the scoring after just 25 seconds. Only a typical John ‘No regard for my own well-being as long as we don’t concede’ Terry block prevented the Lilywhites taking the lead while the national anthem was still ringing in everyone’s ears.

The first half continued in this vein. Tottenham were dictating the play as CSKA struggled to find their feet. I say this in the most literal sense as players falling over almost habitually. The over-zealous groundsman at Wembley had clearly over-watered the pitch beforehand. Of course, some players don’t need any such invitation to hit the deck. Didier Drogba was a frequent victim of the sniper in the crowd and I’m also sure I saw Jermaine Jenas rolling around clutching his face after bumping into Ricardo Carvalho. I was later assured that I was wrong as English players don’t dive apparently.

The Drog’s inability to stay vertical won his side a dangerous free kick on the edge of the Tottenham penalty area following a reckless challenge by his fellow countryman Didier Zokora. CSKA had missed 2 free kicks just minutes earlier so you’d think Zakora would have known not to make a silly challenge.

Then again, this was Didier Zokora!

The good Didier made him pay as he curled his shot around the wall into the bottom corner of Paul ‘Not as fat but equally not good’ Robinson in the Spurs goal. ‘Robbo’ was one of the few Spurs players not to come out with much glory. Having flapped at many a corner I’m going to quite harshly suggest he could have at least attempted to save the free-kick. He was on that side of the goal and shuffled across leaving the area exposed for Drogba. Not taking anything away from the free kick mind.

There wasn’t much to write home about either side of half time as CSKA reverted to the containment strategy that has become the norm at The Kremlin (Stamford Bridge) in recent years.

Tottenham were in control but struggling to find the breakthrough. Ramos tried to change this up by introducing Tom ‘Slim’ Huddlestone to add something extra to his attack. This proved to be a success but before that, a word on the substituted Pascal Chimbonda. There’s disappointment and there is being a twat. Chimbonda skulked off down the tunnel without so much of a glance at the bench. Lo and behold, when his side won, who was there in the middle of all the celebrations? You guessed it. Far be it from me to reinforce negative borderline racist stereotypes but what is it with the French moaning and sulking this weekend???

Back to the game and it was ‘The Hud’ who was directly involved in the Spurs equaliser. Having controlled a cross into the box, the bouncing ball struck Wayne Bridge on the arm. The linesman frantically waved his flag signalling the offence and Mark Halsey pointed to the spot. It may have been slightly harsh on Bridge but after his theatrics (2:12 – looks for the linesman before falling over) in last year’s final which resulted in Arsenal’s Emanuel Adebayor being wrongly sent off after a case of mistaken identity, you have to feel it was a form of poetic justice for the England man.

Berbatov rolled the ball into the net from the spot and the Tottenham half of Wembley stadium was rocking. 1-all and the north Londoners were in the ascendancy. They were unfortunate not to get a winner in normal time thanks to the ineptitude of, shock, horror, Didier Zokora. The Ivorian found himself bearing down on goal with just minutes to go. His touch let him down and he struck a weak shot straight at Cech. However good fortune saw the rebound fall back at his feet but with the goal at his mercy, he struck high and wide. Didier Zokora has never scored for Tottenham and if he can miss chances like that, he probably never will.

So to extra time. Within four minutes, Jermaine Jenas floated a free-kick into the box where a poor Pter Cech punch rebounded off the head of Jonathan Woodgate and bounced oh so slowly into the goal to give Tottenham a deserved lead. The marking by CSKA was amateur. I’m still not prepared to buy into the recent hype around Jermaine Jenas but I had to admit he did make ‘Fwank’ look quite average in the middle of the park during the course of the game.

Even the introduction of Ballack and Joe Cole wasn’t enough to inspire a fightback. CSKA dominated as they tried to find an equaliser but couldn’t penetrate the Spurs defence. The final whistle eventually came and Junde Ramos reinforced his reputation as a cup specialist.

People will cynically tell you that the Carling Cup doesn’t matter. That Tottenham’s jubilation at the end of the game was unwarranted.

This is slightly unfair as the win (despite Zokora) means Tottenham are guaranteed a place in Europe once again next season – something they can’t be sure of obtaining via their league position. Also, for a club so starved of silverwear every trophy is important. Beating CSKA and making John Terry cry must have also been quite enjoyable.

In Attendance: Carling Cup Semi-Final 1st Leg, Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur @ The Emirates Stadium, January 9th 2008

North London's great footballing divide was once again brought to the fore on wednesday evening. Historically, Arsenal and Tottenham are two of the biggest names in the country and have a fierce rivalry which is, in my opinion, one of the most bitter any football fan will encounter.

Tottenham were the original kings of North London until a bunch of interlopers from south of the river came and invaded their turf. Not only that, these unwanted guests went on to become far more successful than thier rivals and currently, Arsenal enjoy the kind of superiority over Spurs that has most gooners considering Spurs to be more of an irritant than a real threat.

But recent years have given an indication that the tide may be turning somewhat. In recent years, Arsenal have faded from the title picture and had it not been for a last day tragedy of Shakespearean proportions 2 years ago, Tottenham would have finished above Arsenal and clinched the much sought after champions league place and then who knows how different the fortunes of the two clubs would have been?

This season however, all indications seem to suggest that, for Arsenal fans at least, normal service has been resumed. Flying high, playing fantastic football, and a realistic shot at thier first league title since 2004. Meanwhile at White Hart Lane, there has been both managerial and boardroom unrest, player disatisfaction and poor results on the pitch. Arsenal have already done the double over Spurs and in doing so extended an unbeaten run in North London derby matches stretching back to 1999. When the Carling Cup semi final draw was made, Spurs would hardly be relishing the prospect of 2 more clashes with their illustrious rivals.

Incidently, Tottenham's last trophy, also in 1999, was in this same competition and suprisingly, was masterminded by George Graham an Arsenal legend both as player and manager. The team would also be galvanised for this game by the battling performance they gave at the Emirates a little over 3 weeks ago when they were unlucky to come away empty handed.

Arsenal on the other hand, despite their frequent presence in the latter rounds of this competition, clearly consider it to be bottom of their list of priorities in a season and generally choose to play 'the kids' instead of the first team. This second team however, is not to be underestimated as Tottenham themselves found to their cost last season. This time around, they knew there was no way they could make the same mistake...

As I stood on the platform at Euston waiting for the Victoria Line train to Finsbury park, I was wondering how the game would pan out. Spurs' new manager Juande Ramos is still very much an unknown proposition in this league. Would he go for the win or try and play out a draw or even be prepared to sacrifice a 1 goal defeat before going back to the lane?

My thoughts were interupted by the announcement that trains had been suspended due to 'problems' at Finsbury Park. Fighting at football? Never!

I wont bore you with tales of my journey but I eventually arrived at the magnificent Emirates Stadium with just minutes to spare. Or so I thought. The 'problems' had meant kick off was delayed by 15 minutes to allow people to get to the stadium.

I met up with a friend and his Dad and went into the stadium. Much is said about how the soul of the club is lost slightly when they decide to up sticks and move ground. The Emirates, as beautiful as it is, cannot really feel like home to fans that packed themselves into Highbury all those years. The history of the North Bank, Clock End and Art deco East Stand cannot be replaced. Esspecially not when sections of the ground are quite lazily named after colours.

We had back row seats in the lower tier of the BLUE quadrant and awaited the teams. As soon as the away fans' "COME ON YOU SPURS" chant was greeted by "F*** OFF YOU SPURS" from the home fans, you know the banter was going to be in great supply. Spurs had suprisingly dropped Paul Robinson in favour of Radek Cerny which natuarally has sparked rumours of a rift between player and manager. Arsenal, as expected, put out a second string team.

As the match kicked off, Arsenal started the brighter. For about 20 minutes, they stroked the ball around in the way we've all become accustomed to over the years. Retaining possesion well and not allowing their opponents a momments rest. Denilson put in a cross that presented Bendtner with a chance to open the scoring but his header lacked power.

The home supporters began to get a little arrogant and even "OLE"'d a lot of the passes. At least until Gilberto insisted on giving the ball away. Little details change the complexion of football matches. Young Polish keeper Lucaz Fabianski in the Arsenal goal often chose to distribute the ball short to his full-backs. On one occassion, Justin Hoyte on the right squared it back to Johan Djourou, where the young Swiss defender struggled under pressure from Robbie Keane and the unspeakably good Dimitar Berbatov and ultimately give the ball away.

From then on, it was all Tottenham. Berbatov was giving Djourou the runaround. Whenever Arsenal had the ball, possession was often squandered. The atrotious Gilberto was the main culprit. A quick word on the Brazilian: Gilberto's all round play last night truely exposed him for what he is, a fraud. For years, he's gotten away with the fact he's been alongside world class midfielders in Patrick Vieira and Cesc Fabregas. Up against the raw Jamie O'Hara and the shocking Jermaine Jenas, Gilberto looked out of his depth,; something Arsene Wenger should be very concerned about.

Everytime Spurs had the ball you felt they could open Arsenal up. They should have taken the lead when Malbranque, who spent the game charging around like a headless chicken, put the ball wide with the goal at his mercy. And just to confirm the first miss was no fluke, he planted a free header wide of the mark after great work by Keane.

It was only a matter of time before Tottenham opened the scoring and after Berbatov toyed with Djourou, his pass found Keane who squared to Jenas (dear God) who scored! The first thing that dawned on me is that the two times I've seen Jenas in the flesh this season have resulted in 3 goals for the "England International". If you think that would change my opinion on his complete and utter uselessness, you'd be very wrong!

Keeping with mediocre players who are just not good enough, When I saw Philip Senderos was Arsenal captain, I thought that this was a game that Arsenal might not win. As the goal went in, and I saw this so-called captain hunched over with his hands on his hips staring at the floor, I knew that this was a game Arsenal WOULD NOT win. The Swiss' body language was a disgrace. His duty in situations like that should be to lift the team. If any Arsenal players were paying attention to what was essentially a surrender from Big Phil, then what motivation would they even have to try and get back in the game? Just goes to show that these days the captains armband is just a bit of fabric and means nothing save for the fact you get to walk out of the tunnel first and observe a coin toss.

Spurs were flying and didn't want half time to come such was their dominance. Arsene Wenger hauled off the useless Djourou and the ineffective van Persie and introduced Bacary Sagna and the in-form Eduardo.

This changed very little as Spurs continued to pile on the pressure. "JUST LIKE THE LIBRARY" and "SHALL WE SING A SONG FOR YOU" were belted out of the away end making reference to both the percieved lack of atmosphere at Arsenal home matches and the fact Spurs were leaving the gooners stunned silent.

Moments of sublime skill from Berbatov as he would frequently control balls out of the air like he had glue on his boots were alone worth the admission. Arsenal mistakenly gave the Bulgarian far, far too much space and on another day he may have punished them more.

However, no real chances were created - thanks in part the Aaron Lennon's lack of a left foot and delivery akin to a parapalegic postman - but you felt if anyone would get the game's second goal, it would be Spurs. Kevin-Prince Boateng was brought on for Malbranque to shore up the midfield alongside O'Hara and Jenas. Ramos might have done well to retain the former Fulham man's attacking threat but instead decided to exercise caution.

With little over 10 minutes to go however, I felt as though I had witnessed the kind of daylight robbery not unfamiliar to the infamous Seven Sisters Road that connects the two clubs... Arsenal somehow equalised!

Some nice work from Sanga feed Gilberto who instead of giving the ball away found Eduardo whose played a perfectly timed through ball to the feet of the preciously annonymous Theo Walcott. As the 'Boy Wonder' sped into the box, an attempted tackle by Lee Young Pyo saw the ball skip up and hit Walcott on what from my seat looked like his hand before beating the keeper and slowly, slowy finding its way into the net. The youngster cheekily celebrated if front of the Spurs fans who had been no doubt giving him abuse all game.

The Emirates errupted and the Spurs Faithful were greated with chants of "WHO ARE YA? WHO ARE YA?" which was a tad impolite!

Arsenal finally began to play but Spurs were still the ones who might have snatched the winner as substitue Jermanie Defoe, crap haircut and all decided he would rather rather star on the next football bloopers DVD by missing an open goal from less than 10 yards out.

Arsenal's last minute corner might have had some Tottenham hearts in mouths but it Jenas on the back post was fortunately able to prevent Arsenal winning the game...

Full time. Admitedly with hyperboly, I have to say, never has there been such an unjust result to a game of football. Spurs could rightly feel aggreived having dominated proceedings for so long in the match.

Theoretically, home advantage should see Spurs get that elusive win over Arsenal in the second leg in two weeks but there are no guarentees thanks to this obvious jinx. When the gooners fans sang "YOU'LL NEVER BEAT THE ARSENAL" at the end, a small part of every Tottenham fan actually believes it. To play this well and not win was criminal.

Final Score:
Arsenal 1 (Walcott, 78)
Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Jenas, 37)

Attendance: 53,136

Man of The Match: Dimitar Berbatov - Too good for Arsenal's kids, maybe too good for Spurs. PLEEEEEEEEASE dont go to Man utd!

Carling Cup 3rd Round Review/Round Up.

Last saturday, A toothless Coventry side bent over and took one from a rapant Ipswich Town at Portman Road.

The week before they were hammered at home by Bristol City. Not many would have given them no chance Old Trafford last night regardless of the team Sir Taggart put out but once again football proves itself to be a funny old game.

CSKA Fulham ended a dismal fortnight by slaughtering Hull. Hardly likely to appease fans who continue to mourn the loss of Mourinho but at least they finally got some goals under their belt.

Spurs have traditionally been a 'cup side' for as long as I can remember and maybe the impatient hierarchy should put this into perspective before harbouring quite frankly unrealistic aspirations of playing in the Champions League.

Rowdies aside, shocks were few and far between this round. Liecester's win over Villa or Luton beating Charlton may have raised an eyebrow but with The likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton, City and West Ham all going through in the last 48 hours you sense that the criticism of top sides not taking the competetion seriously can be consigned to the graveyard of other footballing fables such as Curtis Davies being a £10 million defender or that Blackburn Rovers 'bought' the premiership title way back when.

Finally, it's nice to see that I'm not the only one who has a problem with refereeing standards in this country.

Carling Cup 3rd Round Results

Tuesday:
Arsenal 2-0 Newcastle
Blackpool 2-1 Southend (aet)
Burnley 0-1 Portsmouth
Luton 3-1 Charlton (aet)
Man City 1-0 Norwich
Reading 2-4 Liverpool
Sheff Utd 5-0 Morecambe
West Brom 2-4 Cardiff

Wednesday:
Aston Villa 0-1 Leicester
Blackburn 3-0 Birmingham
Fulham 1-2 Bolton
Hull 0-4 Chelsea
Man Utd 0-2 Coventry
Sheff Wed 0-3 Everton
Tottenham 2-0 Middlesbrough
West Ham 1-0 Plymouth