Crouch was brought down by Sylvain Distin and Phillips hit the penalty into the roof of the net It was some consolation, but not much. It is going to be a hard five months for Redknapp no matter whom he buys over the next four weeks.. Middlesbrough put themselves on the map in 2004 with their first silverware in 128 years and their first foray into Europe, but on the opening day of 2005 they were put in their place by a free-flowing Manchester United. The England winger turned exquisitely to elude David Prutton, cut inside another tentative challenge and then hammer a low shot past Niemi from 30 yards.Southampton had a valid goal disallowed for offside after 58 minutes and James made an excellent save from substitute Peter Crouch with 12 minutes to go, but Southampton had to wait until the final seconds before they got any reward. He won a corner, Robbie Fowler took it, Richard Dunne knocked it back from the far post and Bosvelt headed in from five yards.The Southampton defence melted again after 33 minutes when Wright-Phillips, who had earlier tested Antti Niemi with a fierce shot, crossed from the right and Fowler headed powerfully past the goalkeeper.
The visitors were fortunate that Danny Higginbotham had raced behind his goalkeeper to block on the line.David James saved at Neil McCann's feet two minutes later, but that was a temporary aberration in the flow, and Wright-Phillips put City 2-0 ahead with a glorious goal five minutes before half-time. They rallied after the interval, but Manchester City had already secured the points thanks to goals from Paul Bosvelt and the excellent Shaun Wright-Phillips."I knew it was a big ask to keep Southampton up when I came to the club," Redknapp said, "but it's even bigger than I thought it was. We need to bring in five players; on loan, free transfers, wherever we can find them. But we have to stay up."On a day of teeming rain Redknapp's lumbering team - "We desperately need some pace" - were run to distraction by Wright-Phillips, whose low centre of gravity gave him an advantage that he exploited with a goal of such skill and power that the only thing that looked more unstoppable was his soaring worth. "He is our most important player," Kevin Keegan, the City manager, said.
"It used to be others, but now it's him."With the pitch getting more slippy by the minute, it was soon apparent Wright-Phillips's skills would set him apart, and it was the England winger's ability to wrong-foot defenders that led to City's opener after 19 minutes. City place his value at around £25m; yesterday's goal will add a few pounds more. Liverpool hit the panic button, and although Cech conjured heroics to deny a Luis Garcia header and a Gerrard free-kick, Chelsea were not for budging. Indeed, it will take one almighty shove to veer them off the title track now.. Southampton's manager, Harry Redknapp, has made no secret of the fact that he intends to buy in January's transfer window; the question has been to what extent.
The answer, on the evidence of this game, should be half a team It is just which half that is debatable. It is just which half that is debatable. On a ground where the home team would have trouble winning a one-horse race, Southampton slumped to their third defeat in the five matches since he took charge, and have now secured just one victory in their last 19 Premiership matches. That is relegation form and, unless he spends wisely, Redknapp's 25-mile journey along the South Coast is going to force a change in divisions as well as loyalties.Southampton's first-half performance was so poor you wondered whether the £6.5m they are expected to receive for James Beattie would have to be trebled to provide significant improvement. "The same thing happened at Newcastle in the week, when the referee failed to see Ashley Cole's handball in the box for Arsenal,'' he said "That's football. Glen Johnson nodded back Arjen Robben's corner into the path of Cole, whose right-foot drive took a wicked deflection - is there any other kind? - off Jamie Carragher before flashing past Dudek.
These things happen.''They certainly do, as do late winners against the run of play. To be fair to Chelsea they had approached the second half with more adventure, and were threatening to get on top when Cole struck in the 80th minute. The injury to Xabi, that caused us to adjust and alter our shape, and that penalty decision.''While acknowledging that Liverpool had hardly been blessed by fortune and fully warranted a point, Mourinho refused to put the three points down purely to this incident. Alonso will be out for six weeks plus, compounding an injury crisis that makes Mourinho's look trivial, as well as capping a first half that Anfield deserves to remember but one that is probably best forgotten.Djimi Traor?ill certainly be erasing the memory banks of his half-hearted effort after 15 minutes that was easily collected by Cech, when put clean through by Sinama-Pongolle, and although this was their best chance, in terms of possession Liverpool were a distance clear."Sure, it's unfair,'' admitted the Liverpool manager, Rafael Benitez, "because we controlled that first half The two things changed the game for us. He later revealed that he was merely anticipating having to blow up for another infringement, but as Gerrard and his troops surrounded him perhaps they were doing nothing more than advising that he should try concentrating on the here and now rather than clairvoyancy.Injustice filled the old stadium, and the anger brewing was brought to boiling point when it emerged at half-time that the crude challenge by Frank Lampard on Xabi Alonso in the 20th minute had broken the Spanish playmaker's ankle.