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Alan Curbishley reviews defeats for West Ham, Sunderland and Cardiff

Image: Solskjaer: Former Man Utd striker seems set for Cardiff role

Swansea and Manchester City kicked off the New Year - and an intriguing day of Premier League football - with a five-goal thriller at the Liberty Stadium.

Fulham 2-1 West Ham

We'd talked for the last couple of days about set-plays and West Ham, who have been very good from set-plays this season, so we were disappointed to concede a really soft one. It was a long kick from Jussi Jaaskelainen, it bounced around in our box and we didn't deal with it. But then we went and scored from a set-play ourselves. It was a great corner from Damien Duff and Steve Sidwell headed it down to give Jaaskelainen no chance. We were back in the game then but in fairness we were playing really well and didn't deserve to be one down. It was nice to get that goal just before half-time. Kevin Nolan was then sent off before the break and it was ridiculous from him; he got blocked off by Fernando Amorebieta and he just swipes out at him. There was no reason for it and when Mark Clattenburg gives him the red card he realises what he's done. We then got on top against ten men and Dimitar Berbatov put away the winner. We got a bit nervy towards the end but we survived it and got the three points. West Ham's injury situation, though, is well documented; they were missing their centre-backs and Andy Carroll up top as well, so they're really struggling in terms of the depth of their squad and we took advantage of it. It was a massive game for us because West Ham were second from bottom and we were third from bottom and we knew if we won we could jump out of the bottom three.

Crystal Palace 1-1 Norwich

Bradley Johnson put Norwich ahead and then Marouane Chamakh was very, very lucky to stay on the pitch for Crystal Palace. Wes Hoolahan went in with the tackle and Chamakh was a bit disappointed with it. Hoolahan squared up to him and Chamakh pushes him over. The directive is if you raise your hands to an opponent it's a red card. Chamakh got a yellow card, so the referee has seen it, but he was very lucky. Palace were then level a few minutes later but the penalty incident was another moment of madness; there's a clear push from Leroy Fer on Mile Jedinak. Jason Puncheon took the penalty to get Palace back in the game but they are now back into bottom three with that draw.

West Brom 1-0 Newcastle

Since Steve Clarke left the club the caretakers in charge have picked up some decent results with a draw away to Spurs and a draw at West Ham. But this was a big win for West Brom - their first in nine games - against a Newcastle side that's been playing really well. They were helped by Mathieu Debuchy's sending off on 62 minutes - and Newcastle can have no complaints about that decision. He leaves the ground, lunges and does all the things you can't do; he gives the referee no other option but to send him off. I can't quite see why he was complaining and Alan Pardew, after he's seen those pictures, can't think of the referee giving any decision other than a red card. The winner came from the penalty spot after Tim Krul brought down Matej Vydra. It was a definite penalty and Saido Berahino took it cooly for a young player. It was a big three points for West Brom because they've been drifting down the bottom, and that was one of the reasons why Steve Clarke left the club. They've picked up over the Christmas period, though, and perhaps, because of the results they've been getting, feel as though they have a bit more time to find the man they want.

Sunderland 0-1 Aston Villa

Sunderland were playing an Aston Villa side who are lacking confidence at home and they gave away a really soft goal. The two centre-backs were split and it went into Lee Cattermole, who miss-controlled it and suddenly Gabby Agbonlahor was away, took it around the keeper and finished it off. We see this a lot in the Premier League at the moment, with the two centre-backs splitting and a midfield player dropping off to receive the ball. But the mistake cost Sunderland - it was the only goal of the game and earned Villa a vital three points but means that's another result that's gone against Sunderland and keeps them bottom.

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