go, said McLaughlin. Well see how we stand. Mawthooq got his career

A ton of Premier League football and a partridge in a pear tree. In reality, it’s three games in just seven days as the fixtures come fast and furious over the festive season. Christmas provides an appropriate break to reflect upon what’s transpired. My gift for you this holiday season: 12 Premier League thoughts before Christmas. Season’s Greetings. 1) Goal scorers and attacking players largely get the majority of acclaim for top performances. In a season marked by porous defending, it’s worth noting few players have been better than Chelsea’s John Terry. The 34-year-old’s playing future was questioned two years ago, relegated to a reserve role. Jose Mourinho entrusted Terry with the responsibility to lead from back upon the Portuguese return to Stamford Bridge. The importance of the move, symbolic and practical, cannot be understated. The Captain has started every Premier League match this season, scoring his first of the domestic campaign on a vintage Terry powerful header in the 2-0 victory at Stoke City. He has now scored in 15 consecutive seasons. Terry’s defending has been top notch and is still keeping up with the pace of the neck-break speed of the game. He has played every minute (1530) of the season, has won 68 per cent of tackles and 74 per cent of aerial duels while only committing three fouls, and has a 91 per cent pass accuracy. Terry is worthy of being in the mid-season discussion for Player of the Year. 2) Terry doesn’t get all the credit for Chelsea’s top defensive record (13 GAA). While I continue to preach about the importance of consistency across the back line (Terry, Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic have started every match), the midfield presence of Nemanja Matic makes for as good a ‘back three’ as any in European football. Matic basically sits on top of the centre back pairing in defensive positions. The towering presence of the Serbian is as intimidating as it is calming. His composure is top rate, protecting from vulnerability from attack down the middle. It also allows his partner in the pivot, Cesc Fabregas to move forward and get more involved in the attack. Fabregas has a league best 12 assists on the season, four better than anyone else. Matic allows for that to happen. He is third in the league in tackles won (46) and successful passes (931). As long as the trio of Terry, Cahill, and Matic stay in tact, there is little to suggest Chelsea’s shape will bend. And neither will team form. 3) Chelsea are only three points ahead of Manchester City heading into Christmas. Logic suggests the title race is far from settled. History would suggest otherwise. Chelsea have gone on to win the Premier League the last three times when atop the table at Christmas. And manager Jose Mourinho has won the league all seven previous times when leading the league at this stage. Mourinho and Chelsea are methodical in approach. Consistency and buy in to system is what makes them great. It’s just three points, but the gap seems much greater. 4) The performance of the weekend came from the team most desperate. Martin Skrtel’s 97th minute equalizer while bleeding from the head gave Liverpool a well deserved 2-2 draw with Arsenal. If it were not for Fabio Borini’s mindless sending off, Liverpool could very well have pushed on for even more. A draw is a win for Liverpool, who move up to 10th place. The stat sheet for the overall team play in recent weeks has read well. Defensive miscues and inability to score goals have been reason for the steep decline. These areas are in desperate need of improvement. At this point, Brendan Rodgers is grasping at straws. He can turn to the Arsenal match as one to build from. A +20 shot advantage, 64 per cent of possession and consistently superior interplay than the visitors bodes well. Best news for Liverpool is a relatively soft schedule lay ahead. They don’t play a top seven team in the league until January 31st. The next month will determine whether Liverpool has enough to make a push towards European competition, and whether Rodgers stays employed. 5) It has become undeniable Arsenal cannot effectively function without Laurent Koscielny. I’ve been critical about Koscielny’s decision making in previous seasons. But perhaps that has more to do with the average defensive talent around him than anything else. Per Mertesacker has always been a step slow and a notch below what can be considered a solid Premier League defender. The onus on keeping it tidy at the back falls on Koscielny’s shoulders. The Frenchman has only started eight of Arsenal’s 17 matches. The Gunners have picked up 15 points when he starts, conceding just seven goals in those games. Without Koscielny, Arsenal have earned just 12 points and given up 14 goals. Koscielny missed out earlier in the season with tendonitis and now through a muscle injury. Of all the walking wounded at the Emirates, Koscielny’s absence cuts the deepest. 6) I never thought I’d see the day James Milner would lead a forward line. Milner not only did that, but did it well, moving up into an advanced role in Manchester City’s 3-0 win over Crystal Palace. Manuel Pellegrini out of desperation turned to a Spain-circa-Euro 2012 ‘false nine’, not having a true out-and-out striker available for selection. Although desperation was the motive, the design was impressive. After not registering a shot in the first half, the team grew in fluidity and systematically broke down Palace. Milner would start high, but in fairness, it was the attacking savvy of David Silva and Samir Nasri that provided the threat. Silva and Nasri have so much intelligence in finding space and movement off the ball. The complimentary industry from the wing-backs, particularly Pablo Zabaleta in getting up the field overwhelmed the visitors. City showed they can play with a false nine, if need be. A truer test of the formation will be against better competition. Better teams will punish City with so many players in advanced positions. Boxing Day will prove a more tricky test against West Brom, a team well-versed in dangerous counter-attacking play. 7) Wayne Rooney cannot play central midfield. In an advance midfield role? Absolutely. But not the deep lying position he took up in Manchester United’s 1-1 draw at Aston Villa. Rooney had a game high 107 touches and completed an impressive 94 per cent of passes. He looked good pinging around the ball around with beautifully weighted passes. Yet through it all, Rooney did much of nothing. The passes went nowhere decisive, failing to threaten a five man back line. Even worse, Rooney didn’t get past anyone on the dribble and failed to get up into the play into goal scoring positions. It is an absolute waste of Rooney’s ability as one of the most predatory attacking players in the game. Instead, Rooney completed passes in a pedestrian manner, slowing down the game when United needed to attack with pace. The Rooney experiment in central midfield has to end. United’s top need in the January transfer window is a centre-midfielder who can play alongside Michael Carrick. Daley Blind may be that player, but is unfit. United need better and more. They currently have a void in the most influential position on the pitch. 8) The same match provided a glimpse of what Radamel Falcao can be. Falcao’s headed goal was a bit of class and his emotion indicative of how much a run of good form will mean for him. It was never going to be easy coming back from a torn ACL. Falcao’s early season touch on the ball was heavy; his play hesitant. The goal makes back-to-back tallies in consecutive starts. The Colombian needs a run of starts to find a rhythm. And his teammates need to get him involved. Falcao suffered the same plight as Robin van Persie, with his teammates not finding him with the ball. The running off the ball was good. A striker as such needs touches and needs to be rewarded. The Falcao experiment at Old Trafford is far from over. 9) The Canadian story of the weekend is Canadian defender Doniel Henry set to make a January move to a top four team. Henry has been granted a work permit and will join West Ham United in January. It is a dream move for the former Toronto FC Academy player and a testament to the program he has come out of. The Brampton native, 21, fits the mild of a big, strong and athletic defender manager Sam Allardyce desires. There will certainly be a learning curve, but the future is bright for the defender, especially with Winston Reid out of contract at season’s end. The fast pace game will not faze him as much as the challenge of proper distribution and timing of tackles. Congrats to Doneil for this outstanding achievement. 10) The Tyne-Wear derby was decided by a decision gone-wrong by the losing manager and positive indecision by the winning manager. Late in the match, Newcastle manager Alan Pardew chose to substitute off Cheick Tiote in favour for Papiss Cisse; an aggressive decision taking off a defensive midfielder in preference of a striker in a 0-0 game. All the meanwhile, Sunderland manager Gus Poyet changed his mind based upon Pardew’s gamble, choosing to keep Adam Johnson on the field rather than his initial instinct to take off the player. Newcastle predictably lost their team shape, culminating in Johnson scoring the 90th minute winner. It was these two decisions that settled the match, showing how delicate the line between victory and defeat can be between two rivals with very little to separate the sides. 11) Charlie ‘Automatic’ Austin became the first QPR player to score a Premier League hat-trick since 1993 in a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over West Brom. Austin has been a revelation on the season, scoring or assisting on 65 per cent of QPR’s goals and currently the highest scoring English player (11) in the Premier League. With Austin leading the charge and Harry Redknapp having other creative attacking players in his team, QPR seem to have more than enough quality in attack. Where they desperately need help is on the back-end. The team is horrendous defensively. Robert Green has been the busiest goalkeeper in the league, making the most saves (54) despite conceding a league worst 32 goals as a team. Hopes of survival hinge on bringing in proper defensive replacements in January. 12) Forget Charlie Austin. It’s Harry Kane who has grabbed the hearts and minds of the nation. The Spurs forward scored again in a 2-1 win over Burnley, his 14th goal in all competitions. Kane is all the rage; the hype out of control when it comes to his potential to be England’s “next one”. Photoshops and meme’s have surfaced, depicting the 21 year old as Jesus. It’s crazy stuff. Make no mistake, there is a lot to like about Kane. He’s athletic, shifty and crafty from open play in front of goal. But we’ve seen this song and dance before. The English media finds there new sweethearts and grab ahold, lavishing too much praise, too soon on young players. He need look no further than young teammates Andros Townsend and Kyle Walker as potential cautionary tales. Injuries have played a part, but young players as such are propelled into the spotlight and fail to live up to the lofty billing. Spurs supporters need proceed with caution. As does Mauricio Pochettino. Adidas NMD Kengät . -- Mixed martial arts fighter Cristiane Justino Santos has been suspended and fined for testing positive for steroids. Adidas Prophere Ale . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins (5) – He had a brilliant game; it was a huge response for his average games before. http://www.nmdhalvalla.com/adidas-nmd-xr1-halvalla.html . While the pair of Spain internationals return, midfielder Xavi Hernandez will not be included in the squad after failing to recover from a muscle strain to his left leg. Adidas Alphabounce Kengät . Ortiz hit a pair of two-run homers, including his 400th shot in a Red Sox uniform, and drove in a career high-tying six runs to power Boston past the Houston Astros 10-7 on Saturday night. Adidas Kengät Ale . MacLean clocked 8:24.91 seconds, eclipsing the previous mark of 8:27.59 set by Brittany Reimer of Victoria at the 2005 FINA World Championships in Montreal. MacLean and Tabitha Baumann of Ottawa -- second in 8:32.37 -- both went under the qualifying standard to be nominated to the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific teams.Hallandale Beach, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Juan and Bina along with Brother Bobo, both second in their last starts, are among nine 3-year-olds entered in Saturdays $100,000 Mucho Macho Man Stakes at Gulfstream Park. Formerly the Gulfstream Park Derby, the Mucho Macho Man is a mile stakes that begins Gulfstreams stakes series for 3-year-olds leading to the $1 million Florida Derby on March 28. Juan and Bina is the 5-2 second choice in the morning line behind 2-1 favorite Mawthooq with Brother Bobo the 9-2 third pick. The three favorites will break from outside posts 7, 9 and 8, repsectively. Juan and Bina, who will be ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Prado, is coming off a second in the one-mile Smooth Air Stakes on Nov. 29 at Gulfstream Park West, formerly Calder Race Course. Trained by Gustavo Delgado, the colt won his debut effort on Sept. 26 at a mile. Brother Bobo, trained by Jason Servis, was second by a neck at Gulfstream Park West in the six-furlong Buffalo Man Stakes on Nov. 29, just over a month after scoring in his debut start over 5 1/2 furlongs. Gabriel Saez has the mount for the second straight time aboard the chestnut colt. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin will saddle Mawthooq with Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez riding. The chestnut colt, making his third lifetime start, is owned by Shadwell Stable.dddddddddddd Hes had a couple of nice works. Hes a nice colt and ready to go, said McLaughlin. Well see how we stand. Mawthooq got his career underway at Belmont Park on Oct. 11 with a distant second going six furlongs. On Nov. 26 at Aqueduct the colt ran away to win a mile race by 10 1/2 lengths with Cornelio Velasquez riding for the second time. We hooked a very nice colt the first time out who we finished second to, McLaughlin said. The next out he won easy on a wet track, so you never know, but hes a really nice horse. He always trained good. Hes straightforward. He was a little keen early in his last race, but Cornelio (Velasquez) did a nice job trying to slow him down early. Hes done everything right since that race. Ask me April 15th how we like him, but right now we like him a lot. Here is the field for the Mucho Macho Man in post position order: Dekabrist, Oriel Chavez, 30-1; Amis Flatter, Luis Contreras, 15-1; Bluegrass Singer, Javier Castellano, 5-1; A. Rod Again, Julien Leparoux, 6-1; Twotwentyfive A, Jesus Rios, 20-1; Honest, Paco Lopez, 10-1; Juan and Bina, Edgar Prado, 5-2; Brother Bobo, Gabriel Saez, 9-2 and Mawthooq, John Velazquez, 2-1. Post time for the Mucho Macho Man Stakes will be approximately 5:01 p.m. ET. ' ' '