Last updated: 26th October 2008
There is a great spine to the team, maybe not 3-0 but a fantastic victory, it was a great game and these two teams have come in and down the Premiership proud.
Phil Thompson
Quotes of the week
Phil Thompson has high praise for Hull as they topped the table with a 3-0 win over West Brom.
The Tigers now find themselves level on points at the top of the table with Liverpool and Chelsea after a fifth away win of the season.
All the goals came in a 20-minute period in the second half. On-loan defender Kamil Zayatte volleyed in Dean Marney's corner to put the away side one-up after 47 minutes before Brazilian Geovanni doubled the advantage 15 minutes later after combining well with Marlon King.
"It was not a 3-0 game but I was still impressed and they probably still deserved to edge the game," said Phil Thompson.
"You look at the fans; they have sold all their tickets. The end behind the goal where they were attacking in the second half was absolutely packed and did they rejoice.
"The difference between the two sides was a cutting edge. Hull had it and West Brom didn't. The boys up front, Cousin, King and Geovanni had a little more cutting edge than the strikers for West Brom had.
Phil also paid credit to manager Phil Brown who seems to be getting the most out of his players.
"You look at signings like Geovanni, who has not done it at Manchester City," added Phil.
"He has gone there and maybe he has a point to prove. You look at George Boateng who everybody thought what sort of finished. So he has made some shrewd signings.
"Phil Brown has his lads organised too. When they are defending, they defend very narrow and they allow the ball to go out wide and they don't back off.
"There is a great spine to the team, maybe not 3-0 but a fantastic victory, it was a great game and these two teams have come in and down the Premiership proud.
"And where do Hull go from here? Twenty points, top of the league with Chelsea and Liverpool. It is absolutely astonishing and it is great."
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Saturday 20th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Aston Villa vs Wolverhampton |
| 15:00 | Everton vs Bolton |
| 15:00 | Portsmouth vs Hull |
| 15:00 | Stoke vs Tottenham |
| 15:00 | Sunderland vs Birmingham |
| 15:00 | Wigan vs Burnley |
| 17:30 | Arsenal vs West Ham |
| Sunday 21st March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 13:30 | Man Utd vs Liverpool |
| 15:00 | Fulham vs Man City |
| 16:00 | Blackburn vs Chelsea |
| Tuesday 23rd March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 20:00 | West Ham vs Wolverhampton |
| Wednesday 24th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Aston Villa vs Sunderland |
| 19:45 | Man City vs Everton |
| 19:45 | Portsmouth vs Chelsea |
| 20:00 | Blackburn vs Birmingham |
| Saturday 27th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Birmingham vs Arsenal |
| 15:00 | Chelsea vs Aston Villa |
| 15:00 | Hull vs Fulham |
| 15:00 | Tottenham vs Portsmouth |
| 15:00 | West Ham vs Stoke |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Tuesday 16th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Wigan 1 - 2 Aston Villa | |
| Monday 15th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Liverpool 4 - 1 Portsmouth | |
| Sunday 14th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man Utd 3 - 0 Fulham | |
| Sunderland 1 - 1 Man City | |
| Saturday 13th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Tottenham 3 - 1 Blackburn | |
| Bolton 4 - 0 Wigan | |
| Birmingham 2 - 2 Everton | |
| Stoke 0 - 0 Aston Villa | |
| Chelsea 4 - 1 West Ham | |
| Burnley 1 - 2 Wolverhampton | |
| Hull 1 - 2 Arsenal | |
| Wednesday 10th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Burnley 1 - 1 Stoke | |
| Tuesday 9th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Sunderland 4 - 0 Bolton | |
| Portsmouth 1 - 2 Birmingham | |
| Monday 8th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Wigan 1 - 0 Liverpool | |
| Sunday 7th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Everton 5 - 1 Hull | |
| Saturday 6th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Arsenal 3 - 1 Burnley | |
| West Ham 1 - 2 Bolton | |
| Wolverhampton 0 - 1 Man Utd | |
| Sunday 28th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Tottenham 2 - 1 Everton | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | 30 | 66 |
| 2 | Chelsea | 29 | 64 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 30 | 64 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 29 | 52 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 30 | 51 |
| 6 | Manchester City | 28 | 50 |
| 7 | Aston Villa | 28 | 49 |
| 8 | Birmingham City | 29 | 44 |
| 9 | Everton | 29 | 42 |
| 10 | Fulham | 29 | 38 |
| 11 | Stoke City | 29 | 36 |
| 12 | Blackburn Rovers | 29 | 34 |
| 13 | Bolton Wanderers | 30 | 32 |
| 14 | Sunderland | 29 | 31 |
| 15 | Wigan Athletic | 30 | 28 |
| 16 | West Ham United | 29 | 27 |
| 17 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 29 | 27 |
| 18 | Burnley | 30 | 24 |
| 19 | Hull City | 29 | 24 |
| 20 | Portsmouth | 29 | 10 |
Gianfranco Zola's team selection at Chelsea left Soccer Saturday's Charlie Nicholas scratching his head.
Phil Thompson fears for Burnley's survival hopes after seeing them lose a 'huge' match to Wolves.
Matthew Le Tissier felt Aston Villa's draw away at Stoke was a point earned rather than two lost.
Jeff Stelling and Sky's cricket team took centre stage at the Sports Journalists' Association's awards.
Phil Thompson was impressed with Arsenal's creative play but says they need a proper striker.