Man United and Birmingham play to a 1-1 draw

Manchester United relinquished its two-point lead in the Premier League on Tuesday by conceding a disputed late equalizer in a 1-1 draw at lowly Birmingham.
After seeing crosstown rival Manchester City thrash struggling Aston Villa 4-0 thanks to a hat trick by Mario Balotelli, United required a victory at St. Andrews to ensure it would be clear at the top going into 2011.
Top scorer Dimitar Berbatov's 58th-minute strike broke the deadlock, but Lee Bowyer grabbed a dramatic leveler with a minute left in normal time, bundling home from close range after Birmingham substitute Nikola Zigic appeared to handle a deep cross into the box.
The two Manchester clubs are both on 38 points, although United has two games in hand. Arsenal, which visits Wigan on Wednesday, is third, three points behind having played the same number of games as United.
Tottenham beat Newcastle 2-0 to go provisionally fourth ahead of Chelsea, which hosts Bolton on Wednesday.
As well as the handball appeal against Zigic, United also complained that the Serbia striker fouled Rio Ferdinand as he went up to challenge for Roger Johnson's ball into the box. Bowyer could also have been marginally offside, too, before sliding home his finish from four yards.
"There was a handball, a foul on the center back - if the referee can't see it, what chance have we got?" Ferguson said. "I think it's terribly harsh ... we didn't deserve that."
United was lackluster in the first half at St. Andrews as Birmingham suffocated the visitors with its high-tempo pressing game.
Wayne Rooney, still without a goal in open play this campaign, cut a frustrated figure stuck out on the left wing, and the only real hint of a goal came when Ryan Giggs' misdirected cross was touched on to the post by Birmingham goalkeeper Ben Foster.
The second half was a different story as United looked much more threatening. Three minutes after breaking the deadlock, the in-form Berbatov - who has a league-high 14 goals for the season - dragged a shot against the post from 20 yards.
"We worked really hard but I think we deserved to get a point at the end," said Bowyer, whose side provisionally climbed out of the bottom three. 
Balotelli, who started in place of rested top scorer Carlos Tevez, converted penalties in the eighth and 55th minutes to open and round off the scoring in City's convincing victory at Eastlands.
The Italy striker's other goal came from a tap-in from close range in the 27th minute, after center back Joleon Lescott had made it 2-0 with a fine header from a corner in the 13th.
Reports in the British media suggested Tuesday that Balotelli wants to leave City after failing to settle in Manchester following his 24-million-pound ($37 million) offseason move from European and Italian champion Inter Milan.
The 20-year-old striker has been in and out of City's starting lineup and had only scored twice in the league - both coming at West Bromwich Albion in November - before Villa's welcoming defense arrived at City of Manchester Stadium.
"I think that's normal," City manager Roberto Mancini said, when asked why Balotelli was struggling to adapt. "He is 20, it's his first time away from (Italy) and he's missing his family."
Tottenham had to grind out a win with 10 men for the second time in three days after Younes Kaboul was sent off in the 65th minute for an attempted head-butt on Cheick Tiote.
Aaron Lennon had given Spurs the lead in the 57th, and Gareth Bale eased any nerves by scoring the second with a low shot in the 81st following a rapid counterattack.
Blackpool beat Sunderland 2-0 away, Blackburn won 3-1 at West Brom and Fulham defeated Stoke 2-0 away. Everton drew 1-1 at second-bottom West Ham.
Liverpool hosts Wolves in Wednesday's third match.

Fletcher: United will Kick On

Darren Fletcher is confident Manchester United are in a position to 'kick on' during the second half of the season.
United will be top of the Premier League table at Christmas after local rivals Manchester City lost to Everton on Monday and remain the only unbeaten team in England.
Though the Red Devils' performances have lacked consistency, Fletcher believes the players have been laying the groundwork for the New Year.
The midfielder feels United are improving and is expecting the team to produce their traditional best form during the closing months of the season.
"We will kick on in the New Year," said Fletcher in the Daily Mirror. "We will certainly be physically ready for the challenges ahead.
"The performance of the team and individual performance levels are rising.
"As a general rule it's important you do your base work early on and then kick on after Christmas."

United Battle Rivals for Madrid Rebel

Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City have been alerted to Pepe's contract dispute with Real Madrid.
The Portugal international believes he should be in the club's top wage bracket and the Premier League's big clubs could be about to meet his demands if Real refuse to increase his pay.
The 27-year-old currently earns £6m-a-year at the Bernabeu and has a contract until 2012 Madrid are only willing to offer him £4.5m for the next four years and the player has turned the deal down.
Spanish newspaper ABC claim Manager Jose Mourinho is keen for the player to stay, but the club's bosses are standing firm on their offer which they think is fair in the current financial climate.

Man United Top of League for Christmas with Man City Loss

Today Manchester City and Carlos Travez lost 2-1 to a ten man Everton led by US National Team goalkeeper Tim Howard, Manchester City was the only team able to top the Red Devils due to game cancelations this weekend, seeing how they did not do so Manchester United are the top of the Premier League going into Christmas.
This is of course a true present for any Red Devil fan.
Merry Christmas from the Red Devil's Den!

Brazilian Bad Boy Rumored to Old Trafford

Manchester United are ready to make a significant bid to entice Barcelona full back Dani Alves. The Brazilian is yet to agree an extension to his current deal which comes to an end in the summer of 2012 and a lengthy queue is forming of interested parties keen on the 27 year old set piece specialist.
Sir Alex Ferguson is said to be a big admirer of the former Sevilla man and could see him as a very useful addition this his first team plans as it seems that the likes of Rafael have as yet to convince the Old Trafford boss as permanent regular starters. Alves has the added bonus of being able to play in a more advanced role ahead of the full back and is a player who is being monitored by Premier League rivals Chelsea and Man City.
Alves has been a huge success at the Nou Camp but may become a victim of cost cutting measures at the Catalan club who are keen to reign in debt that had been thought to be crippling the La Liga giants. Therefore any excessive demands may be turned down by President Sandro Rosell.
A move for the right sided talent would cost around £22m and would helpfully prove to the likes of Wayne Rooney that the club has the power and intention of landing superstar players and Dani Alves may well be interested in joining his fellow Brazilian international team mates at Man United.

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United Fans Are Fast to Make Trevez Spoof

Man United fans wasted little time in ribbing arch-rivals Manchester City after news that Carlos Tevez demanded a transfer.

The infamous 'Welcome to Manchester' poster, produced by City when Tevez swapped Old Trafford for Eastlands in the summer of 2009, appeared on the internet with Tevez now apparently looking set to bid his adopted home farewell.

Tevez is in limbo at the moment after Manchester City officials have refused to act on his transfer request.

City flatly rejected the Argentine’s demand for a move on Sunday, with Tevez reacting by insisting his mind was made up, citing a breakdown in his relationship with key officials behind the scenes at Eastlands.
There has even been rumours that rich City chief Sheikh Mansour is prepared to let Tevez ' rot in the reserves rather than be sold to a Man City rival'.

Man City overtakes Man United

Today after a 3-1 victory for Manchester City over West Ham United Man City has over took the Red Devils at number two behind Arsenal. Man United are now at 3 but will be able to advance to 2nd or 1rst on Monday's match vs Arsenal.

Fergi Bans players from Wearing Snoods

They are the latest fashion statement to sweep the Premier League but snoods won't be seen at Old Trafford any time soon.
The thick, circular neck-warmers are being increasingly used by players in the England's top league to combat freezing temperatures that have descended on Britain over the last couple of weeks.
Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez is arguably the most well-known snood wearer, while teammate Yaya Toure and Arsenal attackers Marouane Chamakh and Samir Nasri have also been seen donning the accessory in recent matches.
Manchester United's players have reportedly been told by manager Alex Ferguson, however, that snoods will not be tolerated at the club.
Daily newspaper The Sun, in its edition on Friday, quoted Ferguson as saying "real men don't wear things like that," and added he had banned the use of the trendy neck-warmer.
United defender Rio Ferdinand backed those claims up by posting on his Twitter account: "I'm telling u peeps, U won't see a Man Utd player wearing a SNOOD."
More than an item of clothing to insulate the neck during a cold snap, the snood is seen by some as a fashion accessory for the soft footballer.
England cricketer Graeme Swann, currently starring for his country in the Ashes series in Australia, has also had his say on the snood, claiming old-school English defenders would not have been impressed by the craze.
"I wonder what Norman Hunter and Chopper Harris would've made of the snood being adorned by some prem footballers? Broken leg time!" Swann posted on Twitter.
Former Leeds defender Hunter and Ron Harris, a tough-tackling ex-Chelsea defender, were widely regarded as the hardmen of English football in the 1960s and '70s.
The snood, a word originally used to describe both hairnets and a distinctive headband worn by unmarried women in Britain centuries ago, may be relatively modern phenomenon in the English game but they aren't new to international football.
Brazil and Barcelona full back Dani Alves wore one during last year's Confederations Cup in South Africa and former Italy goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca often sported what looked like a snood when turning out for Serie A teams Inter Milan and Bologna.
Until recently, footballers in Britain keen to stay warm during the winter have more commonly worn gloves. Former Liverpool, Newcastle and England midfielder John Barnes was also criticized for wearing tights during matches in the 1980s and '90s.