This is without a doubt one of the most unpredictable Premier League seasons of all time.
You don’t know if Chelsea are going to behave as has become standard and lose at home, or pull a shock draw out of the bag.
Arsenal and Liverpool et al are as predictable as Mario Balotelli on a night out – no one has a f*cking clue what will have occurred come the 90th minute, or if you’re playing Chelsea, the 98th.
This weekend’s action featured 28 goals as the lead at the top of the Premier League table changed no less than three times.
With that in mind, we’ve taken a look at five talking points from the fixtures.
Sky SportsThere’s Life Left In Wayne Rooney
Having come in for some warranted criticism this season for being as effective as a chocolate fireguard in front of goal, Wayne Rooney scored for the fourth straight game to down Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool at Anfield.
The 30-year-old England striker followed up his brace against Newcastle by being the fastest player to react to Marouane Fellaini’s header and get Manchester United’s stuttering title challenge back on track.
Despite Louis van Gaal’s dull-as-dishwater style of football, Rooney seems to have taken it upon himself to fire the Red Devils back into contention.
The 20-time champions are seven points off joint league leaders Arsenal and Leicester City going into the final 16 games.
ZimbioSwansea’s Italian Job Is Off To A Good Start
It’s been a strange old season for Swansea.
The appointment of Italian Francesco Guidolin to work alongside Alan Curtis was an odd one, but it certainly got off to a good start on Monday night.
Despite flogging main playmaker Jonjo Shelvey to relegation rivals Newcastle, skipper Ashley Williams popped up with the winner against Watford.
The three points managed to move the South Wales outfit back out of the bottom three and give his joint-managers the perfect start.
It’s hard to think of any successful joint-managers (actually, it’s a task to think of any at all) since Swedish pair Tommy Soderberg and Lars Lagerback, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Swans can build on their good start.
Shelvey Fancies The Finals
It came as a bit of a surprise when Newcastle announced the signing of Jonjo Shelvey from Swansea last week, and it even prompted Steve McClaren to declare his disbelief that their fellow strugglers had let him depart.
The 23-year-old has his sights on England’s Euro 2016 squad and with performances like the one he turned in against West Ham, he looks a good bet for a place in Roy Hodgson’s squad.
His inch-perfect 65-yard pass for Newcastle’s second goal was worthy of the international stage, and if he continues to perform at a similar level, the Magpies will escape relegation comfortably.
Southampton’s Transfer Policy Is As Impressive As Their Academy
We all know about the famed academy down on the South coast.
They’ve produced the likes of Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain but after signing Charlie Austin, the Saints proved their transfer committee knows a bargain too.
The capture of Austin for just £4m could go down as one of the Premier League’s biggest bargains, after the 26-year-old netted 18 goals in QPR’s relegation season last year.
Playing in a better side that will create more chances and certainly bring goals for the former Swindon Town striker, who will have his eye on a place in England’s Euro 2016 squad.
Add to this signing the fact that Southampton have previously picked up bargains like Dusan Tadic, Sadio Mane and Fraser Forster, and it’s clear to see the youth coaches aren’t the only ones earning their pay cheques (which are a fraction of Austin’s reported £100k-a-week) at St Marys.
John Terry Can’t Stop Making Headlines
Where do we start with John Terry?
When he’s not banging everything in sight or being a full kit wanker, the 78-cap England man still finds a way to grab headlines.
The Chelsea captain is one of those players you can only love if he’s playing for your own team, especially when he’s netting blatantly offside goals in the 98th minute to draw with Everton, and leaping into the Matthew Harding stand like he’s found the cure for cancer.
Fair enough, it’s not his fault that the goal wasn’t disallowed and Everton didn’t get the win they deserved, but the fact that it’s John Terry means it’s perfectly acceptable to hate him.
