Gareth Wheeler of TSN Radio 1050 Toronto offers his Midweek Musings for Match-day 24 in the Barclays Premier League. Dawuane Smoot Jersey . - Chelseas 1-0 win at the Etihad, spoiling Manchester Citys perfect home record continues to be the talking point of the week. Chelseas prudent defensive record and approach under Jose Mourinho always makes them a contender in all competitions. Tactically, the Portuguese is among the finest managers in the game. His public demeanour remains all over the place, providing fodder for argument. Despite sitting only two points back of Arsenal atop the table and having an easier schedule the rest of the way, Mourinho continues to downplay Chelseas title chances. Assessing the title race, Mourinho explains, "Two horses (Arsenal, Man City) and a little horse (Chelsea) that still needs milk and to learn how to jump. A horse that next season can race." Not sure if were getting the straight goods, straight from the horses mouth. Yes, Chelsea is a team in transformation as Mourinho finds players to ideally play his way. Add a striker and another centre-back for next season, and add the injured Marco van Ginkel into the fray, Chelsea promises to be scary good next season. That being said, Mourinho suggesting Chelsea is on the outside looking in is a fallacy. Mourinho cant believe it to be true. A trip to Anfield is as difficult as it gets away from Stamford Bridge. And his team is undefeated in their last 10. In this analysts eye, Chelsea are favourite to win the league. Downplaying Chelseas chances is an alternative type of psychological warfare. Sir Alex Fergusons Manchester United, who dominated the Premier League for the better part of the last two decades, were always full of belief, publicly and privately stating their intent in the title race. Its shocking Mourinho is using this tact when he has a team of millionaire superstars at his disposal. No matter what he says, Mourinho isnt fooling anyone. At the very least, it keeps things interesting. - City was down two key players in Mondays loss. Centre-midfielder Fernandhino and top striker Sergio Aguero missed the all-important occasion through injury. While Fernandhinos steady approach was missed, it paled in comparison to the void left by Aguero. While Citys other forwards are of high quality, they lack the same game-breaking ability of Aguero. 15 league goals in 15 games is an astounding record. A constant danger inside the box and lethal on his right foot, City lacked the Argentines cutting edge against a team difficult to penetrate. Its no coincidence David Silva is at his best with Aguero on the field. The movement off the ball makes the duo as difficult a combination to play against as any in world football. Matches against Chelsea in the FA Cup and Barcelona in the Champions League in the next two weeks, potentially without Aguero, raises true questions of whether City can truly compete in all four competitions. Aguero is that important. - As Mourinho continues to make a near seamless transition back into English football, David Moyes struggles at Manchester United remain. A 2-1 loss against lowly Stoke City, a team having picked up just one point in their previous six, compounds his problems. Moyes has made 83 changes to his starting XI in league games, 11 more than any other manager in the Premier League. Injuries have been an issue here, but no excuse for such poor form. The lack of involvement and interplay between attacking players was ultimately most disturbing at the Britannia. Michael Carrick being forced to centre-back is one thing, but the attacking players going MIA speaks to Moyes team approach lacking inspiration. Where are the fresh ideas? What is his teams identity? These questions cant be answered. And that is a failure. United are playing an unimaginative, passive, unaware brand of football. One has to wonder if a manager of alternate stature would be faring better at present time with this team. What if Mourinho was at Manchester United? Its difficult to think this same team would be in seventh place under the Portuguese leadership. Its a valid question to ask, as it seemed all along Mourinho wanted the Old Trafford job. And in his autobiography, Sir Alex Ferguson was full of praise of Mourinho and his managerial ability. Ferguson may have seen some of himself in Moyes. But did United need another Ferguson? Better question: can another Ferguson be cultivated in the present day climate? Moyes isnt going anywhere, for now. But its legitimate to question whether Ferguson picked the right successor for a new Manchester United. - Arsenal may be the most under-respected among title contenders. There has been a remarkable consistency in the side. The attacking flair and superior passing remains, even without Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey. The development of the centre-back partnership between Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker has been essential to the exceptional form. The spine of the team is arguably the strongest in the league, led by the duo. Arsenal remain undefeated since January 2012, a stretch of 31 games with Koscielny and Mertesacker both in the starting XI. The next two games are massive for Arsenal and potential title hopes. Back-to-back games at Liverpool and home to Manchester United are true tests. Full points would be a giant step towards ending their 10-year title drought. It would also silence the critics wondering where the January striker signing ended up. - The true importance of a manager will be tested now that Michael Laudrup has been sacked by Swansea City. Laudrup helped build on the accomplishments of Brendan Rodgers at the Welsh club, leading Swansea to their first major silverware in the clubs history and venturing into the previous unchartered territory of the Europa League. Injuries have decimated the team, with last years star player Michu a long-term absentee. The midfield has been torn apart, and the failure to bring back Ki-Sung Yueng off loan from Sunderland raised eyebrows. A vacation to Paris, dressing room turmoil, an uncertain future, and six points from their last 10 matches all contributed to his sacking. Fact remains Swansea have completed almost 600 more passes than any team in the league and still have the top pass accuracy. The stylish football is no fluke. Its progressive and refreshing. Credit Laudrup. With the short-term hiring of Garry Monk, the club is apparently choosing stability over style. A risk, not worth taking. It will be determined in short order the importance of style vs. stability. Id choose Laudrup. Now a relegation fight beckons under the veil of the great unknown. Good luck with that. - The Sunderland climb off the bottom continued with an emphatic 3-0 away derby win over Newcastle. Gus Poyets side is flying, with true competition for places in the side, and a good combination of strength and skill. As for Newcastle, its all gone pear-shaped. The loss of Yohan Cabaye was the first blow. Being without top goal scorer Loic Remy, suspended for three was the clincher. An in-form Remy and consistency from Hatem Ben Arfa will be essential to staying in the top half of the table. Some good news for Newcastle, the teams latest embarrassment, director of football Joe Kinnear has mercifully stepped aside, putting an end to experiment gone wrong from the get-go. Kinnear said hed be judged in the transfer window; he didnt sign one player last summer or in January. He did however state potential transfer interest in a player already at the club during a radio interview. An absolute nightmare. Alan Pardew now solely has to deal with the bad dreams. His team is a mess, again. - West Hams co-owner David Gold is threatening legal action over Andy Carrolls red against Swansea City. Carroll swung recklessly, albeit not making much contact, after challenging for an aerial ball with Chico Flores. Its difficult to judge intent, and if there was, it should always be an automatic sending off. Carroll now faces a three-match ban. Most troubling, West Ham believes Carrolls suspension could make-or-break the Hammers in their relegation fight. Scary thought. Carroll was involved in both West Ham goals last week, but has been an absolute nightmare in front of goal. His performances have been abysmal. And the player often looks lost. If West Ham is relying upon Carroll as saviour, they may as well already punch their ticket to the League Championship. Not good enough. Jermey Parnell Jersey . PAUL, Minn. DJ Chark Jersey . The mood in Seattle was electrified as the parade featuring the NFL champions began near the Space Needle and made its way to CenturyLink Field, the home of the team. At a ceremony inside the stadium, the team thanked its loyal followers -- the 12th Man -- capping a day of boisterous celebration that drew an estimated 700,000 revelers to Seattle. http://www.thejaguarsfansshop.com/Jaguars-Carson-Tinker-Draft-Jersey/ .Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have been neck and neck all season, with 17 points separating the rivals and double points on offer for the race.Tensions between them have spilled over during the campaign and the pairs fragile relationship was evident during Thursdays pre-race news conference, when Rosberg goaded Hamilton by advising him to race cleanly.SEATTLE -- Marco Pappa, Chad Barrett and Obafemi Martins each scored second-half goals and the Seattle Sounders ended Real Salt Lakes season-opening unbeaten streak at 12 with a 4-0 victory Saturday in a game between the two top teams in Major League Soccer. Gonzalo Pineda also scored on a first-half penalty kick for the Sounders (9-3-2). Pappas goal was his first of the season. Barrett scored for the second straight game, giving him three goals for the year. Martins tallied his sixth. While Seattle won its MLS-high fifth straight home match, Salt Lake (6-1-6) fell for the first time, missing a chance to set an MLS record for longest unbeaten streak to start the year. Los Angeles (12-0 in 1996 and 10-0-2 in 2010) and Kansas City (10-0-2 in 2000) previously had 12-game season-opening undefeated streaks. Salt Lake also had an overall 16-game regular-season unbeaten streak (8-0-8) end. RSL hadnt lost since last Sept. 21 at home against San Jose, 2-1. "We talked about it before the game that we wanted to break the streak and keep the record for a couple of people," Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid said. "But mainly, we talked about us being No. 1 going against No. 2, and we have to show what were made of. "As a group, were maturing, and to be able to step into a game between first place and second place and win and have a convincing result speaks volumes for our character." Pinedas penalty kick was set up when a loose ball in the RSL box was sent toward the left post. Lamar Neagle of the Sounders chased after it, and was pushed to the ground by Aaron Maund, Pineda then beat goalkeeper Jeff Attinella to the back left side midway tthrough the 42nd minute. Keelan Cole Jersey. Pappas goal late in the 55th minute came off of a direct free kick, launched over a six-man wall from 23 yards away on the right side. Barrett made it 3-0 early in the 62nd minute with a 12-yard shot that went high into the net. Martins notched the final goal late in the 90th minute on a give-and-go with Kenny Cooper. With the upcoming World Cup shaking up MLS rosters, both teams were without key players. Among the Sounders missing was leading goal scorer Clint Dempsey (eight goals). That created an opportunity for Barrett, who started and scored for the second week in a row. "I talked to Sigi, and he said since Dempsey was going to be gone for World Cup, there were going to be opportunities to step in," Barrett said. "In the practice weeks leading up to it, I was going to make sure that my fitness was where it needed to be. Coming in here, once you get one, the goal just seems to get a little bit bigger every time." Real Salt Lake is the second-highest scoring team in MLS behind Seattle. But of those 23 goals, 14 were missing due to World Cup (two for Kyle Beckerman) or injury (six each for Alvaro Saborio and Joao Plata). "Its a tough place to play, and we dont have a full arsenal," coach Jeff Cassar said. "But I thought the guys out there did a very good job. I just told the guys to discount the third and fourth goals, because we were pushing and we knew we were going to be exposed at the back. "It was a fantastic run that we went on, but Im trying to make sure the team will react the same way I do: We have work to do, and its on to the next game." Cheap Cowboys Jerseys Cheap Giants Jerseys Cheap Eagles Jerseys Cheap Redskins Jerseys Cheap Falcons Jerseys Cheap Panthers Jerseys Cheap Saints Jerseys Cheap Buccaneers Jerseys Cheap Cardinals Jerseys Cheap 49ers Jerseys Cheap Seahawks Jerseys Cheap Rams Jerseys Cheap Bears Jerseys Cheap Lions Jerseys Cheap Packers Jerseys Cheap Vikings Jerseys ' ' '