Bradford City have made the quarter finals of the FA Cup for the first time since the 70's as they knocked out another Premier League team in Sunderland after previously taking Chelsea's scalp the round before. Some would say Bradford rode their luck. However, you could not fault their effort and they were rewarded with a 2nd half winner after Stead scored to ensure they go through to the final 8 of the Cup.
Other 5th round ties saw Aston Villa win 2-1 at home to Leicester after a turbulent week at Villa Park: new management was appointed after Lambert parted company with the Villains. Arsenal were too strong at home to Middlesbrough winning 2-0 and keeping their hopes of retaining the cup alive.
The Premier League had a weekend off due to the FA Cup this week however the midweek fixtures saw a host of quality football. Tuesday night saw Arsenal keep their fantastic form going at home, as they beat an unlucky Leicester City 2-1. Hull City played host to Aston Villa in a 6 point relegation battle and came out on top, winning 2-0 which ultimately cost Paul Lambert his job at Villa and left Villa in the bottom 3 for the first time in 18 months. QPR also won a 6 point relegation battle, winning away from home 2-0 at Sunderland. Whilst Liverpool played host to Spurs and won a thrilling encounter 3-2 to ensure they kept their Champions League dreams alive.
Wednesday night was also just as busy as all the top teams took points in what is a vital time to perform. Chelsea beat Everton 1-0 at Stamford Bridge to maintain their 7 point gap over Manchester City, Whilst United jumped over Southampton with a 3-1 win at home to Burnley and maintain their impressive form. Southampton had a disappointing 0-0 draw with West Ham at home to dent their Champions League aspirations whilst Manchester City were way to strong away at Stoke City, with a 4-1 away win to keep the pressure on Chelsea. Meanwhile in London, Crystal Palace hosted Newcastle in a 1-1 draw as Pardew faced his former employees, and in the midlands, West Brom had an important 2-0 win over Swansea to take them a little away from the relegation zone.
| Chelsea | 25 | 59 |
| Man City | 25 | 52 |
| Man Utd | 25 | 47 |
| Southampton | 25 | 46 |
| Arsenal | 25 | 45 |
| Tottenham | 25 | 43 |
| Liverpool | 25 | 42 |
| West Ham | 25 | 38 |
| Swansea | 25 | 34 |
| Stoke | 25 | 33 |
| Newcastle | 25 | 32 |
| Everton | 25 | 27 |
| Crystal Palace | 25 | 27 |
| West Brom | 25 | 26 |
| Sunderland | 25 | 24 |
| Hull | 25 | 23 |
| QPR | 25 | 22 |
| Aston Villa | 25 | 22 |
| Burnley | 25 | 21 |
| Leicester | 25 | 17 |
Wesley Tronson is a bank manager on the Gold Coast and lived in England for seven years to 2010 in banking and soccer.
Wesley Tronson's previous articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/wesley-tronson.html