Man U Grabs Top Spot in English Premier League - 01-25-10

January 25 - Unless you've had your head stuck in the sand for the last couple of days, you'll no doubt have heard about how talented Manchester United striker, Wayne Rooney, scored not one but all four of his team's goal against an 'out-of-their-depth' Hull City on Saturday in a fine display of skill.

The victory rocketed the Red Devils to the top of the English Premier League standings with 50 points, 2 points clear of joint second-place teams, Arsenal and former League leaders Chelsea. And what's more, Rooney's fantastic quartet gave Manchester United's mountains of fans their smiles back.

The reason is that Manchester United has had a rough time of it of late, and thus by extension so have their legions of loyal fans. For not only did the Red Devils lose recently to arch rivals, Manchester City, leaving a sour taste, but there have been rumours that Old Trafford may go under the hammer.

But on Saturday, at least for a couple of hours, Manchester United fans could celebrate Rooney's exemplary play which left both defenders and strikers on Hull City looking shell-shocked to say the least, never mind the team's goalkeeper, Boaz Myhill, who was relegated to grasping handfuls of air.

Arsenal, meanwhile, beat the Bolton Wanderers 4-2, a team lying second from the bottom of the English Premier League. The question the Gunners' frown-friendly manager, Arsene Wenger, will have asked his team after the match on Wednesday is how the heck such a sucky team scored two goals?

Good question Arsene, how indeed? I could offer up an explanation, but what's the point? In football it's the results that speak for themselves. And while the win foisted Arsenal to the top of the English Premier League, Manchester United’s dazzling victory over Hull on the weekend put paid to that.

Another match played on Wednesday last week was between Liverpool and Tottenham, which the former team won 2-0. It was certainly not the most exhilarating game seen in recent weeks, but at least Liverpool could celebrate in the fact they beat a team that is sitting just above them in the League.