Monday Back-Pass: Bearded Bombardier, Take Me Away!

Time for our weekly look back at the weekend that was . . .

Toon Revival?

Newcastle grab a late winner through the oft-injured Duff after a magical bit of interplay between the Irishman and his Australian compatriot, Mark Viduka. Dig it up on the YouTubes if the Prem Police haven't confiscated all the evidence.

A question from the peanut gallery: is Joe Kinnear a genius? Remember that obscenity-laden rant against various journalists that kicked off his time at St. James'? What if that was a carefully crafted move to become the focus of all the negative attention surrounding the club so that the players could get on with the business of playing futbol? What are they, unbeaten in six now? Food for thought.


Gallardo Being Nudged Out?

What was behind all this Appiah In - Gallardo Out talk? Was there an approach and the FO went, "hang on, maybe a 28 year-old who can dominate the midfield is better than a 33 year-old who can dominate an operating room", or is this a symptom of some broader movement in the shadows?

Is Gallardo still the centerpiece of the strategy moving forward, or are United looking to cut their losses? Is Gallardo's heart buried in El Monumental? And what does it mean for the team when it looks like they've lost faith in their highest-paid, highest-profile player? Good God, is this starting to look like "DC United Trainwreck, Season 2" to anybody else? Bearded Bombardier, take me away! (please?)


Drawing Room Revisited?

Once again, a Big Four side misses a glorious opportunity to take charge of the Prem as Liverpool can't seal the deal against 10-man Arsenal. Predictably, it wasn't a feast for the eyes either, though both goals, despite coming from lumped balls down the middle, were exquisite strikes.

I'll bet you even money that the ailing Rafa Benitez would have crawled from his sickbed to snatch at a point if you'd offered it to him before the match, because Liverpool hasn't had much success away to Arsenal as of late. Still, after going up a man, he'll be in even more pain this morning, knowing that they failed to pad their slender lead on the table, and might watch it evaporate completely tonight.

Anything else catch your eye this weekend?