By Alan Duffy

West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Bolton Wanderers Premier League 19th November 2011

Ireland striker Shane Long made a surprise comeback from injury to net the winning goal in an entertaining game at The Hawthorns.

By Alan Duffy

Arsenal 3-0 West Bromwich Albion Premier League November 5th 2011

After an appalling start to the new campaign, the Gunners now find themselves just four points off fourth place, as the new signings bed in and the likes of Laurent Koscielny and Aaron Ramsey start to look like the real deal.

There are several ways to skin a cat. Here are some of Fulham's finest performances in the last two seasons, and the starting elevens for each:

Man Utd 10/11, 2-2: Stockdale, Paintsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Duff, Etuhu, Murphy, Davies, Dempsey, Zamora

Spurs 10/11, 4-0: Stockdale, Paintsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Salcido, Duff, Sidwell, Murphy, Dempsey, Dembele, Johnson

Juventus 09/10, 4-1: Schwarzer, Kelly, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Duff, Baird, Etuhu, Davies, Gera, Zamora

Basel 09/10, 3-2: Schwarzer, Smalling, Hughes, Kelly, Etuhu, Riise, Murphy, Greening, Gera, Zamora

Liverpool 09/10, 3-1: Schwarzer, Paintsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Dempsey, Greening, Baird, Duff, Zamora, Kamara

Man Utd 09/10, 3-0: Schwarzer, Paintsil, Hangeland, Hughes, Konchesky, Duff, Murphy, Baird, Dempsey, Gera, Zamora

It's a team game, no?

Neil Blackmon continues his EPL Preview marathon. (Too bad he doesn't work for you guys ESPN)

Will The Deuce Abide...and remain at Fulham?

Part III of our Barclay's Premier League preview focuses on five teams that should all contend for the Europa League, which, depending on who you ask, is either great (because some ownership boards are honest enough to admit they aren't going to make the Champions League), or the European soccer equivalent of college basketball's NIT.

The most emotional goal we've ever seen?

Having decided not to renew his contract at Fulham Zoltan has come back to the club where he started his career in England," said Hodgson.

"The last time he played at West Bromwich Albion he was a very popular figure with everyone at the club, not least of all the fans.

And now for the grownup response.

If anything Hughes' resignation makes me more glad I renewed my season ticket. Which sounds odd, but at no point did I especially warm to Mark Hughes. Not that warming to a manager matters a hill of beans in the big scheme of things, but Hughes and Fulham never did feel quite right.

3pm ET, live in the US on espn2
Last four head-to-head:
1-0 Liverpool (h) 01.26.11
0-0 (h) 04.11.10
1-3 Fulham (a) 10.31.09
1-0 Liverpool (a) 04.04.09
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 3-0 Newcastle (h); 5-0 Brum (h); 1-1 Arsenal (a)
Fulham: 3-0 Sunderland (a); 3-0 Bolton (h); 1-1 Wolves (a)
Goalscorers (league):
Liverpool: Kuyt 12; Maxi 7; Meireles 5; Gerrard 4; Suarez 3; Carroll, Cole, Johnson, Kyrgiakos, Ngog, Skrtel 2
Fulham: Dempsey 12; Davies, Duff, Hangeland, Zamora 4; Johnson 3; Baird, Dembele, Etuhu, Kamara 2; Gera, Hughes, Kakuta 1
Referee: Lee Mason
Liverpool's "worst" referee, in only his second LFC match this season.

(Tim's post reminded me to post this. I'd meant to for ages now.)

Next time someone dismisses a goal as "bah, tap in" or somesuch, have a think about what went before that tap in. Zoltan Gera gives a fine example of this:

Corner flies over from the left of the picture (right side of the pitch).

Fernando Torres went some way to laying his many ghosts to rest yesterday as he scored his first Chelsea goal in a 3-0 win over West Ham.It took seven hundred and thirty minutes of club football but, eventually, it came. He was mocked, criticised, pitied, victimised and, in some sections, hated, but yesterday Fernando Torres went some way to putting all of that to rest.

Holland ( Netherlands) vs Hungary 2011 Euro 2012 Qualifying-29/3/11- Amsterdam Arena Final score:- Holland vs Hungary 5-3 ( Van Persie, Sneijder, Van Nistelrooy, Kuyt*2/ Rudolf, Gera*2) Holland come from 2-1 down to beat Hungary 5-3 in an eight goal thriller. The result came days after Holland's emphatic 4-0 win over Hungary and maintained their unbeaten [.

Bah. Never really looked like winning. Never mind parking the bus, Bolton parked an armoured tank in front of their goal and we had no way round, through or over it.

The match's big moment was Ivan Klasnic's goal, a sloppy pass from Gera eventually leading to a sloppy clearance from Baird, and next thing we knew Klasnic had volleyed home (just as he had a couple of years ago) from around the penalty spot.

Is this the Tottenham Hotspur we never beat, the team intending to go deep into the Champions' League, and which contains some of the most irresistible attacking players in the country? It must be.

This team could have lost 7-0 today. Fulham had to make do with four. Spurs made a gift of them all, but Fulham would point to tremendous pressure to force these mistakes, and faultless execution in taking advantage of them.

3pm ET, live in the US on FSC
Last four head-to-head:
0-0 (h) 04.11.10
1-3 Fulham (a) 10.31.09
1-0 Liverpool (a) 04.04.09
0-0 (h) 11.22.08
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 3-0 Wolves (a); 2-2 Everton (h); 1-2 Blackpool (a)
Fulham: 2-0 Stoke (h); 1-1 Wigan (a); 6-2 Peterborough (h)
Goalscorers (league):
Liverpool: Torres 9; Gerrard, Kuyt 4; Maxi 3; Kyrgiakos, Meireles, Ngog 2; Babel, Cole, Johnson, Skrtel 1
Fulham: Dempsey 6; Hangeland 3; Baird, Davies, Dembele, Kamara 2; Etuhu, Gera, Hughes, Johnson, Zamora 1
Referee: Lee Probert
Guess at a line-up:
Reina
Kelly Skrtel Agger Johnson
Meireles Lucas
Kuyt Gerrard Maxi
Torres
This is Liverpool's other game in hand thanks to the winter postponements.

It says here.

Shame. Gera has that lovely ability to find space in the penalty area. His winner against Hamburg in the semi-final was a great example: what looked like a simple tap-in came about because Gera legged it across the six yard box as the corner came over. As the ball dropped there he was to score, but these tap-ins don't fall to everyone, and Gera deserved all the credit for being in the right place.

These two Carlos Tevez goals vs Wolves helped Manchester City beat Mick McCarthy's side 4-3 in the Premiership on January 15, 2011 Man City 4-3 Wolves- January 15, 2011 Both the Tevez goals against Wolves were excellently taken, especially the first goal. In the first Tevez goal, the City skipper made his way past three [.

Great fun at the Cottage today, with Fulham belting six past an impressive but wide open Peterborough side.

Games like these allow all of our players to show off their skills; against weaker opponents they all become supersized versions of themselves. So Danny Murphy was very much the playmaker, firing balls over the top and through the middle like a quarterback; Dickson Etuhu was the overgrown spoiler, too strong for his league 1 challengers; Diomansy Kamara was the thoroughbread raider, picking his moments and scorching through the defence onto Murphy's bombs; Hangeland and Hughes were impregnable; Damian Duff was a lightning quick winger with dangerous ideas.

Zoltan Gera has scored one goal this season. Okay, 3 if you include the Port Vale Carling Cup massacre.

Last year he scored 7 total. Two years ago it was 3 and a majority of each season's goals were huge.

So, it's worth asking is it the shoes? Those old-school adidas cleats were pretty damn amazing.