PHOTO CREDIT: Daily Mail

PK’s Premiership/PATRICK KINMARTIN

Life on the Big Four campaign trail continued for Martin O’Neill on Saturday night when another occasion to present the season’s message surfaced.

He walked into the post-match media setup at Villa Park with an artful demeanor as usual, acknowledged the occasion of Manchester United in town with the sense that an increased volumes of media were focused on the podium and then analyzed the 0-0 draw between the two teams from his club’s ambitious new perspective.

“We have now played the top four sides and have lost only once although we were well beaten at Chelsea,” the Aston Villa boss said fairly quickly into his session at the microphone.

“It is exceptionally hard to break into the top four but we are aiming for that sort of thing. The players are improving and have a good confidence about themselves.”

These types of quotes are usually only possible around the league following a scoreless tie when a Big Four member happens to be involved. And the O’Neill-led Villa crusade for Champions League qualification must convince itself such a result against the defending two-time champions in this authentic season is another beacon of strength. Plus, the vibe from last week’s slay of Arsenal at The Emirates Stadium was fresh throughout the area Saturday.

It was not a time to express any frustration that exists about being shut out inside home at Villa Park for the third time this season. That is three times in merely seven home matches — and that now means three times more than last year. See, what many forget about last year’s well-publicized progress for Villa is how, amid it all, they were darn close to enduring the whole way through without being held scoreless at home.

Not until Wigan punctured them for a bizarre 2-0 loss on May 3 — the home finale and Fan Appreciation Day at Villa Park — had the Villans been handed a league shutout in front of their own ticket holders. Only once had the club achieved that feat during a 38-match season, and that came back in 1990.

In the past decade, Villa Park has seen its boys shut out on an array of league occurrences. Successfully turning that tide around last season was yet one more additional reason for the franchise to embrace O’Neill’s presence as the catalyst for its resurgence.

Being offensively unproductive at home has been a grotesque subject Villa had reluctantly digested before O’Neill’s arrival.

During predecessor David O’Leary’s final season in 2005-2006, they barely ended up at an even single goal-per-home match average. The final tally of 20 goals in 19 contests was among the four worst in the league as far as home form was concerned. They were also shut out seven times at Villa Park.

In O’Leary’s first season three years prior, Villa were also shut out seven times at home and finished with 24 goals, placing themselves among the bottom five in the league for home offensive form.

Including O’Neill’s first season in 2006-2007, Villa have been shut out in at least five matches at home in six of the eight full league seasons for this decade. Last season and the 2004-2005 campaign, which was O’Leary’s second year and when Villa were shut out at home only twice, were the two exceptions.

Yet when looking at the actual records of wins, losses and draws, those two seasons for the club don’t even stand out as its best pair of year-long performances at home in the decade’s span.

In 2002-2003, Villa were shut out seven times at home, scored a less than stellar 25 goals there and still ended up with an 11-6-2 mark. With 35 points earned out of a possible 57, that 61-percent fulfillment figure ranks ahead of last season’s 10-6-3 run — 58 percent on the standings points fulfillment scale.

Oddly, those 33 points and 58 percent tally were equaled during the previously mentioned 2003-2004 season that saw Villa land down in the league’s lower reaches for home goals scored. Their record at Villa Park that season was actually 9-4-6 even though they put through just 24 goals.

In both those 33 points/58 percent home seasons, Villa finished sixth overall in the final table. Those six home draws from the final 2004 record line did prove to slow the team a bit more in the overall scheme. Villa had 56 total points in the end whereas as last season 60 was the final number. That showed there was a benefit for having more frequent scoring binges at home (34 goals in the 19 matches.)

Count it as yet another factor in the team’s ardent Champions League push O’Neill will have to monitor closely.

Wrapping up the rest of the Prem weekend…

OWED DRINKS: Manchester City midfielder Stephen Ireland. With a goal and another sterling outing at the helm of the Blue Moon attack in their 3-0 drubbing of Arsenal, the product raised in the club’s farm system deserves some sort of tangible gift since he has lapped all of the new front office’s outrageously-paid recent pickups on the performance track.

OWES DRINKS: All league attacking players. The 15 goals scored over the course of the full 10-match slate were the lowest output of the season, well below the previous mark of 23 produced way back on Aug. 23.

GOAL FULFILLED:.Johan Elmander produced his best — and, it has to be pointed out, still only one of his first — scoring efforts since signing lucratively with Bolton in the offseason when he chested down Jlloyd Samuel’s passes into the box and cracked in a left-foot drive off a full body turn.

LET IT BE: The Mamady Sidibe goal delivering Stoke City its 1-0 win over West Brom was not as rare as much of the postgame press made it out to be; though it was indeed his first goal in a match he also started in this season, the 29-year-old Mali international made 112 starts for the club while down in the Championship the past three seasons, it is just that his mere 19 goals during that span have developed some anonymity.

SAY IT IS SO: That a modern-day Big Four blackout is as easy it looked following the United-Villa draw, City’s 3-0 thump of Arsenal, the Reds’ disappointing 0-0 result at home against Fulham and Chelsea’s scoreless draw with Newcastle at Stamford Bridge. It is the first time in the current 38-match season setup that the league has seen such an accomplishment.

3-POINT FINISH: OK, maybe Newcastle did not have it so easy while holding the Blues scoreless. Chelsea, after all, and mounted 70 percent of offensive possession and outshot the Magpies on goal 9-0. That continues their blistering November pace — during this stretch they have outshot opponents on goal 34-2 in four league matches and just once been forced to settle with less than 60 percent of possession. … There was another illustration about how last year’s top goal scorers are not pushing around defenses now more aware this year during these offensively lifeless matchups. Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres and Roque Santa Cruz all started and collectively played 272 minutes without scoring. The other name on the 2007-2008 top four scoring list, Emmaunuel Adebayor, remains in and out of the Arsenal nucleus with his nagging injury situation.  … Man City have not liked November as much as Chelsea. The takedown of Arsenal was their first win in the three matches to start the month, and now a derby affair with United awaits. Once they get done with their meeting at Everton on Dec. 13, they will have faced three of last season’s top five teams during a four-week span.

PHOTO CREDIT: The Guardian

PK’s Premiership/PATRICK KINMARTIN

There was something compelling about the nearly two dozen fresh-faced under-25 club members at Saturday’s Arsenal-Manchester United clash at the Emirates Stadium.

First off, here was United’s contribution to the group: Anderson (20), Wayne Rooney (23), Cristiano Ronaldo (23), Nani (21), Carlos Tevez (21), Jonnie Evans (20) and Rafael (18).

And then of course there was Arsenal’s: Gael Clichy (23), Bacary Sagna (25), Denilson (20), Cesc Fabregas (21), Samir Nasri (21, pictured above), Theo Walcott (19), Nicklas Bendtner (20), Abou Diaby (22), Alexandre Song (21), Johan Djourou (21), Carlos Vela (19), Lukasz Fabianski (23), Aaron Ramsey (17) and Jack Wilshere (16).

That Arsenal was carrying 14 in the active lineup while United merely had seven was irrelevant. Heck, the fact Arsenal won the darn match 2-1 doesn’t justify printing every name, either.

And by now, it’s too crystal clear and Mr. Obvioso’s edict that the Gunners are the league’s team of the future. It’s been that way three years running — lack of trophies won by Arsene Wenger and co. be damned.

But usually not scripted in this prophesy of all prophesies is how the Red Devils will gradually find themselves among the outmuscled in the wake of the phenix’s arrival. To be frank, it’s hard to fathom.

If any team seems poised with the proper ponies in place to run alongside Wenger’s hurtling youth movement, it is United. That list above is evidence with the heavy hitters Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez leading the way.

So upon initial review, these (sugar)-kicking days on the United ship are to remain unmolested by any potential stormy skies that might lie ahead. Is that wishful thinking, though? Lest we forget, Ronaldo by all accounts has his eye on the Real Madrid move and Tevez is yet to spend more than two seasons with any organization since leaving Boca Juniors in 2004.

Meanwhile, their 21-year-old terror Frazier Campbell is parked in his own space on the Tottenham bench, making it incredibly easy to forget that just three months ago he was viewed as the fourth bearer for the attack for the year to come before Dimitar Berbatov’s arrival.

Arsenal continue to have no such concerns. Not when Nasri, Fabregas, Sagna and Clichy all shined brightly in the win against the United squad that had its full veteran complement, in addition to the  under-25 dynamos.

Imagine how fiercely the Gunners can maybe punish United when Rio Ferdinand grows old enough to creak at a more steady rate in Jamie Carragher fashion and Nemanja Vidic also falls a little further away from defensive grace. Gary Neville likely will not be around then and it’s tough to picture Evans being the supreme lockdown reliability back there.

That can be construed as the familiar rhetoric of United hate, and who in the Red Devils camp manages to be discouraged by forthcoming back line implosion when the franchise has already been said to have the inside track toward signing Greek phenom Kyriakos Papadopoulos and a host of other young defensive treasure?

Arsenal’s nucleus — already firmly settling into place — probably won’t be ready budge in the process. If it entrenches accordingly with Wenger’s vision for long-term dominance, then the Gunners can really put a stranglehold on the rivalry as long as United gets exploited during a transition period.

In that case, a scenario could play out similar to Arsenal’s bullying of United for two years from 1997 to 1999. Neville was in his earlier 20s along with key fellow members of that era’s brat pack — David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt. Teddy Sheringham and Andy Cole were being phased in while the likes of Peter Schmeichel and Gary Pallister were heading the other direction.

Arsenal was bolstered by a group positively solidified by a longtime contingent of teammates in David Seaman, Tony Adams, Nigel Winterburn, Ian Wright and Roy Parlour that had been raised and further enhanced in the Gunners system.

The mismatch in roster cohesion brought about the two-year Arsenal run of just a single loss to United in seven matches (one of the victories came 3-0 in the 1998 Community Shield.) That helped Arsenal get their 1997-1998 title, motivating Sir Alex Ferguson’s brigade to answer with some redemption in the form of the 1998-1999 championship.

For the first time since, the rivalry again has an inferior half with the pedigree to wrestle back championship control — and it’s Arsenal.

Wrapping up the rest of Prem weekend…

OWED DRINKS: Kudos goes to West Brom manager Tony Mowbray for his forthright postgame comments after a 2-0 loss to Liverpool about his team battling relegation — in early November! “If we can stay up,” he said, “and come back next season with some better players, we will be able to improve.”

OWES DRINKS: Manchester City forward Gelson Fernandes for his two-card ejection a mere 26 minutes into the 2-1 Blue Moon loss to Tottenham. Fernandes and manager Mark Hughes can gripe all they want about that second yellow, but his late clip of Luka Modric for the first in the pair was an outright misplay of Modric’s on-ball capabilities.

GOAL FULFILLED: Jack Collison’s contribution for West Ham in their 3-1 loss against Everton at Upton Park. The key here was the back-footed pass by Scott Parker setting it up. Dynamic goals are becoming quite the surprisingly new norm at West Ham, though wins aren’t in the process.

LET IT BE: Portsmouth’s comeback 2-1 win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light brought back memories of Pompey’s road-warrior ways last season. Yet all the victory really did was make their road record this season 2-3-1 and reduce their goal differential to minus-7.

SAY IT IS SO: That Fulham will seize the midfield-ish role Andy Johnson played so magnificently in their 2-1 win over Newcastle. It’s hard to find managers anymore willing to peel back forwards for fear taking away scoring strength, but why hesitate when more use of pressing abilities can be relished lower down field?

3-POINT FINISH: All college students fretting about November midterm work won’t find sympathy from same-aged Aston Villa stars Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Nigel Reo-Coker, not with Arsenal and fuming United next on the schedule following the current two-loss slide. … That Gunners-Villa matchup is the “best” of the next weekends slate following two straight weeks of Big Four showdowns. … Mowbray wasn’t the only boss brandying about doom and gloom on Saturday afternoon. Wigan’s Steve Bruce churned out some blunt perspective following his team’s 0-0 draw against Stoke at the JJB Stadium in which the Lactics pumped out a 27-2 advantage in general shots toward goal. “If we had to play unitil midnight,” he said, “I don’t think we would have scored.”

PK’s Premiership/PATRICK KINMARTIN

Daylight savings time officially ended Sunday morning, but those shiny player checks Newcastle has become accustomed to writing became a thing of the past early last month.

Embattled owner Mike Ashley (pictured above) put his majority share in the club up for sale on the open market, completing his move out from the corner he had been backed into by Magpies Nation. On that front, not much has changed while the wait for the right group of buyers to step forward continues.

There is a reason. Early in September, when the Al Nahyan-led Abu Dhabi team made its overnight swoop of Manchester City, such sweetheart deals done swiftly were imaginable. Now, even though fall is yet to even run its full course, there is suddenly a more pensive quality to the takeover process.

The world’s economic outlook has been registered as bleak. Even those investors holding a reliable hand at the table can’t trust their fortune against the end-game.

“There are still seriously interested parties (in Newcastle),” Keith Harris, the financier of the team’s sale, told The Telegraph last week. “But in a climate like this it is not a simple process to make a big purchase.”

“Everyone has been hurt in the current financial turmoil but for any potential American investors there has been positive news — the dollar has strengthened significantly against the euro and the pound, which would make the club cheaper in dollar terms.”

So Magpies fans should go ahead and cancel all impending fantasies about a City-sized change of hands or Roman Abramovich in shining armor blessing their future. Harris’ words seemed to suggest that the best-case scenario at this point would be for a modest buy more comparable to Randy Lerner’s Aston Villa pickup or the way Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson took over majority share of West Ham.

Both clubs have since become avid consumers, buying playing talent at a fairly eager rate. Neither owner — both have been estimated to have the $1.1 billion-ish tag in overall worth — has hit a home run of the Robinho or Carlos Tevez magnitude, which remain the league’s middle-tier club moves of the century.

This is new territory Newcastle followers might find themselves uncomfortable in.

Their club has been able to exude its historical image of greatness with steamroll signings that masked struggles to produce effectively. See 1996, Alan Shearer, nearly $24 million to set England’s highwater mark. And 2005, Michael Owen, $25 million to break Shearer’s club record with relative ease.

Lest we forget, David Beckham held rather involved negotiations with Freddy Shepherd about continuing that trend — he likely could have vaulted Shearer and Owen in a quick covenant, reported to be $190,000 a week had it been made — before the United States move.

Though exact managerial sums are withheld from view, luring Sam Allardyce away from Bolton and Kevin Keegan out of retirement the past two years alone qualify as two of the more financially demanding quests.

Sitting on a modest wallet doesn’t seem too hazardous for a club that didn’t finish among the top 10 on consecutive seasons with Shearer aboard until his seventh at St. James’ Park. Furthermore, the Magpies are yet to pull that off with Owen around.

A win over Villa tonight can only get them as high as 14th, though it would also mark their second straight — both without Owen, who is not slated to start, heavily involved.

Those tides flow along with what Harris as the sale’s liason believes will be the next team owner’s landlocked perspective from the get-go as the January transfer window continues its approach.

“If there’s to be a deal done, then a new owner would want to be in position with sufficient time to look at what he’s bought, with his management team, to make decisions on whether or not there should be action in the transfer window in January,” Harris said. “How long would someone like to have a look at it for? Well, you’ve got to think four to five weeks. See the players at home, see them train, see them play away. And then form a view. That takes you through to the latter part of November. You can’t just say, here’s the deal, let’s negotiate a contract. Those things take time.”

Not to mention money, which is suddenly no longer a circus piece for Newcastle to fiddle with.

Wrapping up the rest of the Prem weekend…

OWED DRINKS: Niko Kranjcar, who played his butt off enough to get a goal off the bench for Portsmouth in their 2-1 loss to Wigan. It was the third straight match the Kranjcar wasn’t a part of Pompey’s starting runout and yet the only noise he has generated during that span was the roars from fans after Saturday’s goal, despite the anxiousness to prove he isn’t that heralded bust at Fratton Park.

OWES DRINKS: Robin Van Persie picked up a needless red card that not only affected Arsenal’s chance to overcome a 2-1 deficit, but also left the Gunners without one of the prime big-game weapons for next week’s Manchester United clash.

GOAL FULFILLED: The third score of Chelsea’s 5-0 rout of Sunderland. Though Nicolas Anelka gets credit on the stat sheet, the three-pack of passes through the penalty box from Joe Cole to Frank Lampard to Florent Malouda ran its course in approximately 3.2 seconds to set Anelka up.

LET IT BE: Bolton’s first two-goal performance since opening day on Aug. 16, their 2-0 win over Manchester City on Sunday, featured Ricardo Gardner’s goal that had to be labored for and an own-goal from Richard Dunne. With the great holder Kevin Davies playing up front as a spear-head forward, even the Wanderers are going to have to add some degree of prolific offense come transfer time in January to stay around comfortably.

SAY IT IS SO: That the surprise Arsenal loss will fuel the Gunners like nothing else this season going into the United showdown. There is also the task of Champions League action this week that may temper that spirit, but Arsene Wenger’s squad and its showman capabilities playing with reckless abandon is a welcome thought.

3-POINT FINISH: Wigan’s newfound offensive flair that helped deliver Saturday’s 2-1 takedown of Portsmouth is still taking a while to truly change the level of threat to opposing defenses. The team’s fouls-suffered rate is currently at 12.5 per league match, which is only slightly up from 12.2 last year. … More early intrigue for the Red Devils-Gunners faceoff was generated with Cristiano Ronaldo’s two goals in United’s 5-3 roll over Hull City. The star striker has been dogged by opponents backing into defensive shells, but Hull plays a little closer to Arsenal’s vest and the Gunners will give Ronaldo his best opportunity this season yet to show continued effectiveness in the open field since coming back from that injury. … The attendance for the Newcastle win over longtime nemesis Villa at St. James’ was put at 44,567, or 85 percent filled to capacity. That is alarming locally since the Magpies were a surefire fill before the ownership disarray. Still, on the national level, Bolton are the ones genuinely suffering from live support issues. The Wanderers drew 21,095 in the victory over city, filling merely 73 percent of the Reebok Stadium.

PHOTO CREDIT: Daily Mail

PK’s Premiership/PATRICK KINMARTIN

There is not one of those “if you had to choose one…” mandates for Liverpool between Steven Gerrard or Fernando Torres.

But applying that test to the team’s intentions would bring quite the explicit look into the changing identity of the organization. The general opinion lately (though not the official word from within the franchise) has been that Gerrard’s coat of arms needs some retrofitting. Meanwhile, Torres is the face that comes to mind with the hint that the Reds might finally be worthy of breaching Chelsea-Manchester United’s territory.

This is the hearsay at the moment — and it is taking a siesta while Torres sits out slightly injured and Gerrard is being credited with contributing heavily to the Reds’ adorable 1-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Look out for the divisive idea to return since Torres’ penchant for heroism isn’t bound to disappear overnight. Plus, Gerrard is prone to get caught eating the wrong flavor of ice cream by the local press, which seems like a plausible enough excuse to dismiss him as old news these days.

The easiest case for taking Torres over Gerrard lies in the current status of both careers. Gerrard is closing in on 400 appearances in his 12th season with Liverpool. Such a background exercises feelings that the man has given his best performances to the club by now.

Yet it was only last season the Reds’ captain notched career individual league highs with 11 goals and 11 assists. That total came in a mere 32 starts, 34 appearances overall. And he’s still an endurance machine. Despite the all-out active central midfield role he serves for Liverpool and the near-ridiculous demands of the club’s yearly scheduling commitments, he has still managed to play at least 80 minutes in 87 percent of his league starts the past two seasons.

Gerrard is 28 years old and still performing better consistently with a cleaner bill of health at the same work rate as Owen Hargreaves and Joe Cole, younger midfield peers on the national team.

To what extent Gerrard’s play actually impacts Liverpool’s cause is really where his value shows a tendency to plummet. Over the past four seasons, as his career has elevated into its climax years, the Reds have lost just five times among the 30 league matches Gerrard hasn’t appeared in. Additionally, more than half (16) are wins.

As dynamic and forceful as his pace can be, reality will show that it comes from a location where that style isn’t in high demand. In a sense, Gerrard’s talent overachieves at the spot the same a way a speedy wide receiver can flourish brightly in the quarterback role that is designed to thrive off a limited amount of full-on glare.

Replace Gerrard in the equation with someone unspectacular but also solid and there is still a very fair chance for similar success. For that, Gerrard often gets sniped on critically unless he unleashes something overwhelming for opponents to deal with and it’s utterly commendable he has delivered a sizable amount of those efforts throughout his time in the league.

But it is Torres who has the pedigree to help a squad get rich quick in the match context, and for that matter also over the long term. The juice that the 24-year-old Spanish rocket is able to give at the striker spot maxes out his talents and gives the competition instant headaches.

Altogether, he represents the potion the Liverpool faithful yearned for in the opening years of Rafa Benitez’s tenure. There was no relentlessly fruitful source for goals, specifically at the forward spot.

During the 2004-2005 Champions League title campaign, it was Gerrard and winger Luis Garcia scoring at the highest rate while propping up an offense with contributions not befitting of where they operated on the field. Djibril Cisse had that Torres quality playing up front and simply fizzled countless times out en route to putting in a mere four goals in 16 league appearances.

Benitez had little choice but to go out and experiment with the hippest 6-foot-7 novelty at the time, Peter Crouch, to kickstart some offensive swagger. None was reached and only Gerrard reached double digits in scoring by punching out a mellow 10-goal total.

The solution from there was acquiring Dirk Kuyt from Ajax and some progress was made when the Dutch dynamo recorded 12 goals in 27 matches. Understand, however, Kuyt was said to have the same international mojo contained in Torres and the big-money acquisition couldn’t prevent the Reds from finishing up with a 57-goal total that was the lowest among the Big Four — not to mention 26 goals fewer than Manchester United piled up on their title run.

The positive thing about all this offensive misery was that it gave Benitez the ammunition he needed to justify smashing the savings account for Torres’ $32 million contract signature. With some serious tailsman-ness to their attack, the Reds broke the 60-goal plateau last season. While they had to hustle just to finish fourth in the standings, it’s easy to forget the Reds were unbeaten with a 16-0-2 record in league matches with Torres goals.

His 24 goals on the season made that Kuyt tally of 12 look despicably modest. Granted, the Reds didn’t lose a single match when Torres didn’t appear, but they also picked up four one-goal wins and two draws in matches where he scored. Furthermore, he pressured defenses to the tune of 57 shots on goal and 50 fouls suffered.

Gerrard put 60 shots on goal, giving him an 18-percent success rate with his 11 goals. Torres’ rate checked out at 51 percent. He usually didn’t enjoy the luxury of a dynamic No. 2 forward, which has been acquired this season in the form of Robbie Keane.

Torres has taken full advantage, making good on six shots on goal with his five scores. The pressure really emanates this year for the club’s momentum in the standings to coincide with his individual success. At least now, there is that distinct measure of promise.

Gerrard simply hasn’t been showing the same type of pop. At 24, his role with the team — heralded as it was at that point — wasn’t this integral. Looking into the future of what is a much different era at Liverpool, it may never be for Gerrard.

Wrapping up the rest of Prem weekend…

OWED DRINKS: League legend Alan Shearer, getting credit here and now for resisting the sirens calling him toward the Newcastle head coaching gig relentlessly over the year and a half. With another Newcastle loss Saturday to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, speculation will intensify after last week’s suggestion Shearer has reconsidered his stance but at least he remained apprehensive this long and hasn’t made a Kevin Keegan of himself.

OWES DRINKS: Since he couldn’t deliver the ultimate thrill by singlehandedly turning a 1-1 with home draw with Manchester United into a massive victory, Toffies forward Louis Saha can exhilarate the new fan base this way. By no means was the stalemate at Goodison Park the fault of the former United forward — yet it also wasn’t his doing, either, and Everton desperately need him to be a new offensive spark at the moment.

GOAL FULFILLED: Alfonso Alves’ contribution for Middlesbrough in their 1-1 draw with Blackburn at Ewood Park. Alves netted a big-forward classic in the 74th minute by outmuscling veteran centre-back Andre Ooijer in the first phase and then completing the drill by turning to fire past Paul Robinson.

LET IT BE: In two home setbacks, West Ham fell 2-0 to Arsenal at Upton Park and West Brom 3-0 to Hull City at The Hawthorns. Both scores don’t properly indicate the flow of play — counter-attacking and set pieces paid dividends for the victors — but also give an early warning about the dangers of such losses in a relegation year where the bottom caliber of clubs looks like a rowdy, even bunch.

SAY IT IS SO: That Harry Redknapp’s departure opens the door for Tony Adams to take the reins after his time as a star assistant under the red-headed one. This was the subject of last week’s column. Adams has a royal chance to make a splash as an able-minded manager and also embarrass Redknapp inadvertently if Pompey’s talent takes over, discarding their now former high-profile boss’ work.

3-POINT FINISH: Urgency to get Saha onto center stage for Everton has and will continue to subside considerably with the way Marouane Fellaini continues to roll for the Toffies. His $30 million signing in August was a club record and a surprise for many fans outside of Belgium, where the agile 6-foot-4 workhorse was a dominant force in Standard Liege’s regular charges toward European qualifying. Fellaini scored Saturday against United, his second goal in six league starts. … Redknapp had a viable luxury with an accustomed layout of back-line starters at Fratton Park. As he inherits the madhouse troop of Spurs defenders, it is worth pondering if he will put on the brass underwear and go with a three-man unit on the faith that another insertion from the team’s offensive treasure chest can hold teams off on possession alone. … Kenwyne Jones as a sub made his first appearance of the season in Saturday’s win for Sunderland. With any progress toward regaining the strength that helped him score a team-best seven league goals last season, Jones upon fully recovering from a three-month injury absence has an opportunity to begin working on a potentially zest-filled partnership with Cisse that Black Cat supporters fed up with the team’s literal goal per game average will embrace.

PHOTO CREDIT: Daily Mail

PK’s Premiership/PATRICK KINMARTIN

The front lever on Newcastle’s head coaching application box is still lying flapped open. Frankly, Tottenham’s probably should be. And Fulham’s could fall forward sooner than everyone thinks to watch out for.

In other words, that’s three reasons right there to speculate over Harry Redknapp possibly leaving Portsmouth. Add those to the list of possibilities not limited to the famed successful-yet-slippery manager falling into another aggressive bungs investigation or taking his general expression of disinterest on the bench to the next level by finally calling it quits for good (hey, the man is 61.)

There is another reason to wonder how tenuous the gaffer position at Pompey might be currently. Because for every moment Redknapp grows seemingly more bored and equally cranky over the club’s innate inability to be competitive on par with the league’s top shelf, Tony Adams is budding toward the task of attaining No. 1 status on staff.

Suggesting there is a fragment between the ambitions of Redknapp and Adams would be inaccurate. Their cohesion was evident Saturday when the two could be seen collaborating closely as usual during Portsmouth’s matchup with Aston Villa.

Really, it is that symmetry between Redknapp’s penchant for wearing thin at a consistent rate and Adams appearing more game than ever for the head spot that makes an impending changing of the guard at Fratton Park so believable.

In coaching years, Adams at age 42 is barely a shade older than baby-face bosses Roy Keane (37) and Gareth Southgate (38). The former Arsenal dynamo also is starting to get credit for having breached that line standing between big-money players and the legitimate intentions for pushing reputation aside for the purpose of paying dues in the coaching ranks.

Following his publicized reemergence from the depths of a nasty bout with post-playing career alcoholism, Adams went out and netted his sports science degree at Brunel University. Not long after came his first coaching break afforded the Wycombe Wanderers position in November 2003. It flopped alongside the organization’s relegation to League Two that season and subsequent struggles to battle back up, but Adams’ hat had been fully thrust into the middle of the coaching circle.

What really displayed Adams’ assertiveness down the road aimed at the major opportunities in the Prem was his eagerness to latch onto the vacant junior coaching gig at Feyenoord — a suitable big fish/small pond side on the Dutch scene for the likes of up and coming unprovens of the Adams mold. That role steered Adams to a short spell with Utrecht as a first team trainee coach.

Suddenly, Adams had himself some experience in the pocket to mix in with all the glitter emanating from his playing pedigree. Enter Redknapp.

Adams was hired into the partnership, becoming Harry Houdini’s replacement for outgoing Kevin Bond. That was one of a slew of moves made in the 2006 offseason that made way for Portsmouth to finish ninth in the Premier League — their highest standing since the 1950s — and last spring’s FA Cup title. Adams, for his part, looks like he is getting hip with this newly-powered Pompey stuff.

Beforehand, remember, he was openly dreamy about any potential for working under Arsene Wenger in a connection that might lead to the organization’s throne down the line. A development of that nature would truly cement him a Gunners god.

Now, the Redknapp link is playing out in somewhat similar fashion. Keane couldn’t wait around for certain dominoes to fall at Manchester United when Sunderland came calling. Adams is sitting in the same type of boat.

When will it actually set sail? That is for Captain Harry to decide, which explains why the only thing Adams remains intent on doing is hunkering down to stay aboard that faulty deck.

Wrapping up the rest of the Prem weekend…

OWED DRINKS: The slate of match officials undoubtedly thirsty alone from the activity of having to dole out five red cards combined among the 10 matches. No matter how they are performing execution-wise, head referees might already be working harder than ever in recent years just three months into this season.

OWES DRINKS: The 26 field players who participated in the Bolton-Blackburn bore at the Reebok Stadium, because they have to buy something since they pretty much couldn’t pay for a shot on goal if they wanted to in Saturday’s 0-0 draw. When it was over after 90 minutes, just one between both teams had been recorded.

GOAL FULFILLED: Dirk Kuyt’s 85th-minute winner in Liverpool’s 3-2 victory over Wigan at Anfield, which lacked complete flair but underlines the essence of this weekly award taking into account more quintessential aspects of working for goals that have just a smidge more than technical quality.

LET IT BE: Nine teams, or 45 percent of the league, failed to register a goal. Let’s see something similar happen two, maybe three more times before diagnosing as a trend.

SAY IT IS SO: That Carlos Tevez — the only member of Manchester United’s fab four not to score in Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing of West Brom — is starting to feel the snub. Any seeds of discontent planted now might just be capable of producing something magnificent within the league starring Tevez come January when the transfer window reopens.

3-POINT FINISH: In the early, early individual goal standings where most of the names at the top of the list are some of those most familiar suspects, it is Wigan’s Amr Zaki who is the leader with seven while not far behind is Bolton stalwart Kevin Davies. … Obafemi Martins returned from injury after his month away from Newcastle and the Magpies, with their 2-2 draw against Manchester City, remained unbeaten when the Nigerian nemesis is in the startling lineup this season (and 0-4-1 without him.) No irony there. Even if all your favorite TV pundits don’t proclaim the notion, there isn’t a single player more important to his team’s fortunes at the moment. … Hull City boss Phil Brown gave the club’s joyed supporters a stern warning at a booster rally following the 1-0 win over West Ham to keep the club’s rager of a start in an Earthly perspective. Here’s why: After going to West Brom this weekend, the Tigers host Chelsea on Oct. 29, go to Old Trafford three days later, get a brief favorable-matchup reprieve with a home match versus Bolton on Nov. 8 and then host Manchester City before going to Fratton Park to face Portsmouth.

Creighton defender Chris Schuler will join me on the College Tuesday segment of tomorrow’s show to talk about…

*The No. 8 Blue Jays’ strong start to the season other than the Missouri-Kansas City upset

*The team’s bolstered back line with the addition of transfer Akin Akinrinade and freshman goalkeeper Brian Holt

*Saturday’s showdown with No. 12 St. Louis — one of the more under-appreciated rivalries in the country

PHOTO COURTESY: Creighton Athletic Department

PHOTO CREDIT: Guardian

PK’s Premiership/PATRICK KINMARTIN

What the Hull bandwagon needed most was some pizazz. It had plenty else to offer, but still.

Beating now-serious Fulham at home? It was opening week of the season — at that, the promotion season a century in the making. Sometimes, adrenaline counts for more than merely a figment of overzealous pre-match hysteria too easy to embrace.

Beating Newcastle at St. James? Current events have made Magpies monkeys no longer comfortable in their own jungle. Actually, vice-versa. Whatever the case, road teams winning there was hip five years ago.

Draw against Everton? Plus, a draw against Everton where there was a 2-0 lead? Really on to something here, just not something to yet shake a stick at.

The Premiership is built around big-league performers, and most people check for home runs when looking at the back of big-league baseball cards. Hitting it out of the park in this setting doesn’t even guarantee survival from relegation, but it is that oh-so-telling sign about the ability to compete at a higher level.

Six surly matches into their first season on English football’s top tier, Hull delivered that blast Saturday against Arsenal, who mine as well have been Sandy Koufax on the mound considering the circumstances at Emirates Stadium.

There was nothing tricky about the Gunners’ first 11. Robin Van Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor, Theo Walcott, Cesc Fabregas, also status-questionable Gael Clichy … just so you know straight-up.

No “tire” marks, either. With a completely different group than the one that was active in the midweek Carling Cup win against Sheffield United at home, Arsenal were by all indications their spry selves.

More evidence came once the match actually started — the 63-37 advantage over Hull in possession, the 25 shots put forth. Indeed, the inability to translate all that pressure into tangible quality continues to haunt. Among the top five scoring sides in the league, only Liverpool is worse at converting recorded opportunities.

“Human beings are not machines,” Gunners manager Arsene Wenger said. “Perhaps subconsciously we thought we would make it. After we went 1-0 up, we were a bit careless in not pushing on to score the second goal.

“We don’t know how costly it could be but they were committed and it was a good lesson for us. We now know that if our attitude isn’t right, we can lose games … if we had had the same level of concentration as Hull we would have won the game.”

As usual, Wenger had no trouble clearing the smoke to get to the truth of a match, but his comments did seem a little too eager to dismiss Hull from being the enforcer of result.

That’s what the Tigers were, albeit after Arsenal toiled in stages during 0-0 and a little bit also at 1-0. So it was up to Hull to barter a fair exchange: win the last 3/8 of the match convincingly for a victory to signal that Arsenal’s early inability to pounce was taken full advantage of. It’s a fair and perhaps the most commendable way to beat a Big Four opponent.

Both the Tigers’ goals were born out of competent defending. Setting up the first, a series of steals was capped with an aggressive snatch on the right from Paul McShane that led to the passing rotation setting up Marco Geovanni’s lash past Manuel Almunia.

Daniel Cousin’s header for the match-winner in the 66th minute brought on individual acclaim for the weeks to come. Nevertheless, Cousin’s most crucial move came in the sequence that shifted toward the fateful corner kick for Hull.

As Arsenal was already having enough difficulty navigating up field with 10 men back awaiting behind the half-line, Cousin lurked toward the fray from his spot in the pure forward’s realm. Fabregas eyed just enough of Cousin drifting into the scene to thrust a 25-yard pass out to the left, and McShane with a dive was able to close in for the interception.

Possession became Hull’s, and the satisfying triumph as well it urned out in the moments that followed. These types of scenarios may seal the Tigers’ image as being the blue-collar heroes promotion success stories are often forced into being. Then again, watching the goals Geovanni and Cousin netted, not to mention the play of Marlon King when he is at this bursting best, and the label might require more flair.

Their penchant for prevailing often early in the year — officially now a pattern with the Arsenal takedown — has given Hull the privilege to be choosy over such a title.

Wrapping up the rest of the Prem weekend…

OWED DRINKS: Blackburn striker Jason Roberts. Anything for a guy who suddenly again may have to get to re-establishing himself for the umpteenth time as an important force after Paul Ince inexplicably opted to start Matt Derbeyshire in the Newcastle win while waiting until the 84th minute to insert the consistently effective 30-year-old.

OWES DRINKS: West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola, just to show any type of gratitude for not having to worry about his first truly lose-worry challenge on the league schedule as a new manager until Oct. 26 against Arsenal, when the Hammers could imaginably be a clean 4-0 since the regime change.

GOAL FULFILLED: Aston Villa front man John Carew’s back heel in the 2-1 win over Sunderland. The 6-foot-4 Norwegian knocker continues to strengthen his cause as the most elegant among the top flight towers.

LET IT BE: The Newcastle nightmare isn’t straight relegation-bound at this stage in October. Points-wise, there is much to be concerned about. In the context of the struggle, however, it has to be kept in mind how much the team’s affinity for applying offensive pressure under the circumstances will be enriched substantially once dynamo Obafemi Martins returns from injury.

SAY IT IS SO: That Portsmouth’s 2-1 defeat of Tottenham is a sign of Redknapp over riches. The effusive Pompey boss might now finally focus on what his depth-filled side does have to offer as opposed to how much they lack in the face of summer spending sprees by Spurs, Manchester City and Fulham. It wasn’t a stark turnaround from last week’s 6-0 loss to City, just a firm signal Portsmouth isn’t close to being lost in the woods.

3-POINT FINISH: Dirk Kuyt is quickly becoming the scene’s true workman. With another active performance for Liverpool in their 2-0 humbling of Everton, Kuyt now has recorded 13 shots, endured four fouls suffered and committed four himself in the three matches since an uneventful outing against Villa on Aug. 31. In that match, he was subbed for in the 70th minute. He has not missed one in the trio of matches since. … The Reds will be City’s second Big Four challenge of the season this Saturday, the first with a fully-acquainted Robinho aboard. That will actually pit the Brazilian extraordinaire against fellow former La Liga star Fernando Torres for the first time since two full seasons ago March 4, 2006. In the two Madrid derbies during the 2006-2007 year, Torres’ last in Spain, Robinho did not appear for Real Madrid. … Don’t be surprised if the league follows a trusty NFL trend by cracking down on players like Adebayor who wear wrist bands or other uniform paraphernalia not consistent with their teams’ kit colors.

PHOTO CREDIT: Scolari (Top, Guardian); Ferguson (Below, BBC)

PK’s Premiership/PATRICK KINMARTIN

In a league that now seemingly revolves around the names of its managers, luster emanating from another Chelsea-Manchester United uber-matchup should have come mostly from the notion of Sir Alex Ferguson taking on Phil Scolari for the first time.

When comprehending the coaching wealth the two towering leadership figures have accumulated in their combined 60 career seasons, thinking about why it took this long for their paths to tangle can strain the brain quite a bit.

Still, with no past to speak of, Ferguson and Scolari hardly put a dent in the hype more fixed around the old familiar themes — in this most recent case, the Champions League rematch angle and all the usual subplots the teams’ superstar playing talent affords.

Then, once Sunday’s smash started to take shape, reasons for the void in managerial excitement became evident. What has made both so easy to fawn over during the course of their illustrious histories was largely missing in the 1-1 draw.

For Scolari, more the star in this case since he is the latest challenger to come into the ring with the longtime proverbial champion Ferguson, there wasn’t the chance to stamp his shining management traits.

A key ingredient helping Scolari endear his ways to England in the early going of his Chelsea stint has been the emergence of Deco as a standout in the stud midfield expected to render him frequently disposable. Deco is the latest restoration project Scolari has been trumpeted for executing.

His largest glories in that regard, of course, include the ignition of Rivaldo and Ronaldo in Brazil’s 2002 World Cup run, not to mention sustaining Luis Figo’s international career while Portugal’s younger generation of promise took flight.

But what could have been Deco’s biggest statement in the Premiership to date fizzed out with his injury in the pregame warmup. That left Michael Ballack — such a key example of everything that ended up flourishing with Avram Grant at the helm last season — to fill the open slot in the famed five-midfielder formation Scolari has long championed.

Scolari was also prevented from getting to sell his brand of forward-thrust football to the grand audience watching. The hallmark of this young, young relationship between him and West London’s powerhouse has been overtly offensive starts to matches. In other words, it hasn’t taken a goal from the competition to bring them out of an early slumber. Famously, that was the knock against the club during Jose Mourinho’s tenure.

Manchester United’s 18th-minute goal from Ji-Sung Park to go up 1-0 took that sense of Scolari sizzle out of the equation. Even if it was under Scolari’s offensive system, Chelsea had to fly into attack mode because of the score line, not to appease their hard-pressed boss.

Ferguson, meanwhile, was taken off his game long before the pre-match handshake with his newest nemesis. Putting the right pieces in place, even if slightly out of position, has been a major strength in this freshest incarnation of his legendary character.

Against Chelsea, there was practically no canvas for the artist to work off of. Nemanja Vidic had to sit with the previous week’s red card, leaving the gaping hole in the middle of the back line that altered the rest of the lineup in several facets.

Jonny Evans, because of his physical stature better-suited to deal with the likes of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, was Vidic’s replacement. With Evans flaunting the inexperience a 20-year-old Big Four newbie brings, Ferguson had to make sure he had controlled cover in the midfield. That prompted possession players Owen Hargreaves and Park to get starts.

Ferguson left himself open to a contained measure of criticism by keeping Carlos Tevez out of the affair, but playing to earn the draw on the heels of the Liverpool loss may shore up hopes for a third straight league title and another Champions League trophy in big fashion. And staying conservative became especially pertinent when Edwin Van der Sar had to leave his post with the injury knock in goal.

To truly see how Ferguson could counter the aggression Scolari brings into title-implication matchups, judgement would be particularly valid if there was the chance to see how the Scot general would integrate a healthy Cristiano Ronaldo and Michael Carrick into a lineup layout similar to the expansive depth Scolari had the fortune to work with Sunday.

United and Chelsea are set to meet again Jan. 9. It took long enough to get the these two titans of their profession into the same match — come three months now, we’ll truly get to see if waiting some more was worth it.

Wrapping up the rest of the Prem weekend…

OWED DRINKS: All the managers with no top-table experience down grinding it out in the Championship. Often dismissed as being there for a reason, perhaps there are loads of credibility without embrace in those spots considering the collective performance that promoted Hull’s Phil Brown and Stoke City’s Tony Pulis have started off with. Both were at it again with the respective draws nicked off of Liverpool and Everton.

OWES DRINKS: Fitness instructors throughout the league. A problem last season is already rearing its head again — two more players, Deco and then Mido in the Middlesbrough-Sunderland match, were ruled out of starts because of injuries in pregame warmups.

GOAL FULFILLED: The second of David Di Michele’s two scores in his West Ham debut that turned out to be a complete drubbing of Newcastle. Di Michele essentially passed the ball to himself within the 18-yard box, left to right, in a great hustle effort rewarded in the back of the net.

LET IT BE: Arsenal remain unchallenged as the standard bearer for what quality offense looks like — that being said, this parade of theirs continues to have a familiar patch of dark clouds lingering overhead. Extending a trend that has dogged the franchise since Thierry Henry’s departure, the Gunners have been able to put home just 32 percent of their shots on goal (11 for 34).

SAY IT IS SO: That Martin Petrov is getting lost in the crazed shuffle at Manchester City. The turn of events may well down the line send the currently injured Petrov, a centering influence for City before their world was rocked by the landmark ownership change, into the hands of a smaller club. The midfielder, normally known for that play of his on the flanks, and his increased presence as an effective central-positioned producer could kickstart the likes of Middlesbrough or Bolton singlehandedly if obtained during the January transfer window.

3-POINT FINISH: The Arsenal percentage of shots on goal converted is fifth among the top five scoring teams. That list is topped by Aston Villa’s 52 percent (11 for 21), followed by Manchester City’s 48 percent (15 for 31), West Ham’s 46 percent (11 for 24), Chelsea’s 37 percent (10 for 27) and then the Arsenal figure. … Remember, not for a while does judgement day actually loom for City, notorious for dropping off come spring in recent seasons. Their 6-0 thrashing of Portsmouth on Sunday means 14 of the 22 league matches they’ve hit or surpassed the three-goal mark in the last five seasons have come between August and December. … The novelty of defenders under the age of 21 playing esteemed roles on the field just keeps fading. In that club, Evans’ start for United at Stamford Bridge went in the books as merely one of three from the slate of 10 matches. The other two cases came in the same match, the Pompey-City meeting. Micah Richards, not 21 until next summer, was in his usual spot at Blue Moon and Armand Traore, who won’t reach the magic birthday until 2010, picked up his sixth start of the season.

PHOTO CREDIT: Hart (Daily Mail)

PK’s Premiership/PATRICK KINMARTIN

Conceivably, in terms of names and their current status value (”street credit” is what some prefer to call it), Joe Hart on Saturday may have been among the bottom-rated in rankings one through 22 for the starters in the fancy Manchester City-Chelsea affair.

That’s worth pointing out because another poll weighing more the future prospects of each talent would probably place City’s dynamo goalkeeper somewhere near the top. His potential boom has become that immense.

And it’s worth mentioning now because that surge in promise has so much to do with the Abu Dhabi United Group’s uber-purchase of the club that frankly has made this Cit-tember in the Premiership. Robinho got the hero’s welcome, as expected, in the 3-1 loss to the Blues. Well before he even got the chance to slip a jersey on, the Brazilian striker was the face of the new era.

Some pressure has been lifted off Hart’s shoulders as a result, but there really isn’t much room for connotation adverse to gain when the subject of the 21-year-old net-minder’s place in these developments comes up. Like the franchise he is watching emerge from a cocoon, Hart really can only embrace the gold mine rolled right up to the doorstep at this stage in the grand scheme.

For a while there, it looked thinkable that the deceptively long 6-foot-3 shot-block could outgrow his organization. Getting anointed the heir to the starting spot in the England mix will do that to any keeper on a sub-Big Four side. Plus, sometime relatively soon the chord is going to be cut between Edwin Van der Sar and Manchester United. The poaching of Hart down the line in light of that has seemed logical on occasion, though questions about the specific extent of his quality usually surface.

Hence, the roadblock standing between Hart and the chance to take his appeal to stratospheric heights. He was in no position to significantly advance his grade on the dizzying managerial train ride City has rode to a below-average 26-31-19 record (.467 winning percentage) the past two years. Throughout, he was a dead-ringer for saves of the week — a good way to announce yourself as a starlet, but not the currency that will buy you a cup of coffee in the Champions League.

Interest in Hart has basically been centered around the anticipation of his next major step forward. In that regard, he couldn’t even qualify as a poor man’s Iker Casillas. No senior international experience to speak of, no European competitions to shine in, no single-handedly thrusting a ratty roster’s fortunes higher (a la Brad Friedel and Blackburn’s ability to always contend.)

With the arrival of change — while they’re coddling that notion in a presidential election, it is a drink washing down lunch at City — has come Hart’s opportunity. He sits straight in pattern with the apparent nucleus forming around Robinho (24 years old), Jo (21), Micah Richards (20), not to mention the fringe players that include Stephen Ireland (20), Michael Johnson (20) and Gelson Fernandez (22).

Hart’s spot at No. 1 in net should stay stable, even while some more brand flavors are added through Abu Dhabi’s impending dominance in the transfer market. Good, proven goalkeepers are locked in with their teams to the point where the contracts can only be broken with excessive outside bids. Having one in place themselves with Hart, City can focus on increasing their depth with more attacking fervor and sturdier defense on the back line.

The ownership’s sharp commitment to challenge for any and every accolade also puts Hart in position to add the big games to his arsenal. Not that he’s woefully short in that department. It’s almost not possible to find a starting goalie under 27 (Casillas’ age) guiding a worthy Champions League or UEFA Cup contender.

It just goes to serve notice what Hart could be on the cusp of. His rise from Shrewsbury Town to Manchester City was a nice jump, but the real thought he is poised to be a top young gun in the mold of Peter Cech, who also broke right through the young keeper/power club barrier to get where he is at with Chelsea, has brought a catapult into the picture.

In the climate of the collapsing goalkeeper that has engulfed the English national team, maybe Hart will qualify as a savior as well, if it all pans out the way it could. As the wait to see the episode at City unfold begins, what’s clear is that the owners of Hart’s specific destiny literally have arrived.

Wrapping up the rest of the Prem weekend…

OWED DRINKS: The uniform designer for West Ham’s “faceless” jersey worn during Saturday’s match with West Brom in the wake of shirt sponsor XL’s collapse. Though the look had a refreshing working-man feel, the front kept blatantly blank illustrated (no pun intended) how significant these emblems are, which will help give clubs more leverage in this profit-bearing.

OWES DRINKS: All those pundits who jumped right back on the Tottenham bandwagon this preseason. Ignoring the theme that has defined the club’s failure in this disgruntling era — groovy offense masking in no way shape or form goal-mongering defense — they are the ones who continue to mislead and pump hype into the dangerous notion that the back line is an obsolete sect of the winning requirement.

GOAL FULFILLED: George Olofinjana’s heat-sinker right through traffic in the penalty box for Stoke City in their 3-2 loss to Everton. Off the bounce, this would have been a score to embrace, but the fact that Olofinjana took it from a straight volley is where the marvel comes in. It was Wayne Rooney-type, in other words something exquisite we can’t expect from a player of Olofinjana’s offensive caliber.

LET IT BE: Liverpool managed to slay the bear with the takedown of Manchester United. On the great scale, it’s a meek victory for a team that to this day is still hard-pressed to prove they can make run all the way through the long haul.

SAY IT IS SO: That Stoke’s utilization of Rory Delap as a throw-in weapon that once again proved wildly effective Sunday has introduced a whole new aspect offensively to the mainstream football equation. It seems like only a matter of time before services like Delap’s are pursued by bigger clubs looking for that nibble of competitive advantage to push them over the top in prestigious competitions like Champions League.

3-POINT FINISH: Watch for Newcastle to play at an entirely different speed this weekend at West Ham. Teams playing under the guise of intense inter-franchise turmoil usually tend to go one extreme or the other — rally hard or rot amid the pressure. The Magpies looked visibly drained by the bizarre events taking place around St. James’ Park in Saturday’s loss to Hull, where the sense of home field advantage was nonexistent. … Winless Tottenham’s next five games before the North London showdown with Arsenal on Oct. 29 are home to Wigan, at Portsmouth, home to Hull, at Stoke, home to Bolton. Matchup-wise, that’s as generous a game budget as Juande Ramos can ask for. … The Hart-Cech matchup was one of three among the 10 matches featuring two keepers under 29 facing off against each other.

PHOTO CREDIT: Moyes (top, Daily Mail); Redknapp (below, Daily Mirror)

PK’s Premiership/PATRICK KINMARTIN

Other than the reddish hair both their managers have long harvested, Portsmouth and Everton also shared something else wholly visible going into Saturday’s matchup between the two teams at Goodison Park.

Pompey and the Toffies had been hapless in their respective searches for momentum to start a season that is important in the grand schemes for both clubs.

Injured in key areas and uninsured due to an offseason where no contributing acquisitions were brought in, Everton’s term as the premier middle-tier franchise in England has looked dicey since the opening day loss to Blackburn. With Portsmouth, a more formidable looking lineup has been greeted with similar skepticism around the team’s headquarters because depth was lacking in the same fashion.

That twisted the initial appeal of this third-week game pitting the two emerging powers in the league against each other. Instead of a battle for the stature they hungered for in the summer, it turned into a fight for crumbs to eat so hopes for an immediate turnaround can be kept alive.

It was that reason Everton’s 3-0 loss looked devastating, even if there are still 35 games and eight months of league football remaining to sort their mess out.

“We’re probably not ready to win Premier League games at the moment,” a somber David Moyes said after watching his team’s demise from the bench. “We’ve got a lot of young players in the side but it’s not those players who are letting us down.

“There are big players in the team not playing as well as they should be.”

On the other side of the red-headed coaching coin, Harry Redknapp considered the victory big enough to do an about-face from his normal tone about the dismal state of affairs in Pompey’s talent base, promoting his goalkeeper David James in a “different class” than the rest.

“That was a world-class save in the first half to keep us 1-0 up,” Redknapp said, referring to James’ stuff of what looked like a goal on a Mikel Arteta shot at net. “And then to save (a) penalty as well … he’s a fantastic goalkeeper.”

Moyes retreating into a mode of utmost frustration and Redknapp tickling himself into a petty superlative were stark reactions unnecessary given the context of the game. The insecurities both groups were harboring about themselves coming in were premature.

Indeed, Everton may have denied themselves a return to the cusp of Champions League qualification with their stagnant approach to the transfer market. But with Arteta, Yakubu, Phil Neville, Lean Osman, Joleon Lescott, Phil Jagielka and Tim Howard — the nucleus of last season’s lineup that piled up a Moyes era-best 19 wins — /all still around, it’s hard to feel too sorry for the Toffies just yet.

Really, Moyes hit the nail on the head with that last detail of his postgame assessment. It’s not a matter of waiting for new enforcements to come around. It’s a matter of the current ranks that are around to come forward with the push to play at their 2007 level.

Because though Everton didn’t dip into the free agent pool in a big way in the offseason, they also didn’t relinquish much in the process. Injury-riddled Andy Johnson and Lee Carsley, however clutch they prove to be in certain moments, aren’t worth gobs of victories over the course of a season.

Plus, in what is becoming a theme for the organization, there will be the liberation of Tim Cahill from the injured reserve later into the year. That should help ease considerable pressure off Arteta, who has remained perhaps the most underrated force in the league with the Fernando Torres-type capability to singlehandedly put points on the standings board.

Portsmouth, meanwhile, is missing that specific model of game-breaking performer. At the same time, they don’t need one as badly as Everton does at this juncture. From player one to player 11 in their very structured starting lineup, Pompey is arguably as solid as any team outside the Big Four.

Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe have international pedigree up front. Papa Bouba Diop and Lassana Diarra are hardly ever comfortable in the midfield for defenders to deal with, and if Niko Kranjcar can one of these days fully live up to his promise, that unit will rise to a whole new dimension in value.

Glen Johnson and Sylvain Distin are gelling and establishing themselves again as vaunted names among the Prem’s fickle back-line scene. Sol Campbell can remain effective as long as too much pressure isn’t mounted upon his fragile confidence and Redknapp did take some measures to do that for his salty veteran defender with the recruitment of Younas Kaboul from Tottenham to join an area that already is considered a strength with the way Hermann Hreidarsson (also back in the mix) chipped in last year.

Biggest of all, James has upheld his career rebirth in goal. Until the 38-year-old shows signs of a decline back toward the slump that defined his reputation a half-decade ago, things at Fratton Park will always seem steadier than they are.

Like Everton, injury wear and tear, during a year that UEFA Cup play is also on the schedule, may muddy the picture for Pompey in a hurry, hence the worst fears for Redknapp and Moyes about the inability to secure significant help in the offseason.

Some might say their hair is on fire. But that notion, consistent with the perception that an all-out collapse has arrived for the two proud sides, only looks that way on appearance.

Wrapping up the rest of the Prem weekend…

OWED DRINKS: West Ham health enigma Craig Bellamy. The man must be thirsty with yet another rehab grind done and dusted. He gets a goal in his return, so the Hammers are now officially out of the gate in their quest see if getting Bellamy and fellow injury risk Dean Ashton on the same page up front is any easier than trying to collect lightning a bottle.

OWES DRINKS: Drunk Newcastle owner Mike Ashley. Why wouldn’t he after getting caught on camera Saturday at Emirates Stadium unabashedly taking down his own pint while everyone else within camera shot was empty-handed? As it is, he also still needs to be in the habit of winning over his fans with whatever gimmick is next on the list — despite their good start the first two weeks, the Magpies showed in their Arsenal loss that there are far too many uncertainties still dogging them.

GOAL FULFILLED: The Afonso Alves free kick will deservedly top most charts this week, but Emmanuel Eboue’s back heel over to Robin Van Persie in the Gunners’ romp had that aroma of the professional entertainment that Arsenal has by now long trademarked that everyone waits to see .

LET IT BE: Sunderland shouldn’t be dismissed from being an upper 10 contender just because of the embarrassing three-goal letdown Sunday against Manchester City at home. This El-Hadji Diouf-Djibril Cisse partnership has the same boom-or-bust appeal as the Bellamy-Ashton setup and the Black Cats did plenty else in the summer market to hold our attention through the fall.

SAY IT IS SO: That Martin O’Neill and Rafa Benitez are ready drag out their offseason rivalry for years to come. The lukewarm handshake between the Aston Villa boss and his Liverpool adversary following the two teams’ 0-0 draw carries many more compelling themes than just the Gareth Barry standoff. For instance, as O’Neill continues to informally pay homage to the English game with his nationalistic roster, Benitez only further has gone the opposite route by deepening the import flavor.

3-POINT FINISH: As the transfer market officially closes today, it’s worth noting that what was at the beginning the Heineken five-pack of surefire summer moves away — Barry from Villa, Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United, Emmanuel Adebayor from Arsenal, Didier Drogba from Chelsea, Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham — never came dangerously close to panning out. That was way back when there was, oh, about zero credibility in talk the transfer system annually (de)generates. … While all eyes were on Jose Mourinho as he began his Serie A campaign with Inter Milan, it’s another former Premiership boss over yonder who should have everyone captivated. Executing the prototype Tottenham style of attack better than Spurs themselves, Martin Jol has transformed Hamburg into the Bundesliga’s quickest offensive engine. They remained unbeaten with their 4-2 win over Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday and now have eight goals in the three matches to start the season. … With the postponement of Manchester United’s showdown against new and improved Fulham, everyone has to wait it out all the way until Nov. 22 at Anfield to see the Cottagers try to prove last week’s Arsenal win wasn’t some novelty Big Four takedown.