The standard of defending appears to have plummeted in the Premiership this season, with even formerly reliable players like Jamie Carragher and Rio Ferdinand adding to the mayhem. The positive side of this has been that we have witnessed many outrageously entertaining matches so far, notably those at Upton Park and Old Trafford last weekend. This season as a whole, there have been 159 goals scored in 56 matches, providing an average of nearly three per game. If only Birmingham would join in the fun, imagine how high that figure could rise. One player whose performances have really surprised me this season is Ben Foster. During his season on loan at Watford, he displayed all the hallmarks of a superb goalkeeper, and fully merited his place in Man.United's starting line-up when Edwin van der Sar picked up a long term injury. This season, though, he has looked completely out of his depth and has been personally responsible for a number of the goals that his side have conceded. In a World Cup year, and with the

Well, so much for the theory that players would return jaded from their international committments around the world. The eight Premiership matches played last Saturday averaged exactly four goals per game and there was no shortage of controversy, spectacular goals and pulsating action. By the time you read this, Emanuel Adebayor may have found out what action the FA intend to take over his puerile and reckless actions against Arsenal on Saturday, and with the top four scheduled to meet this weekend, you can bet that we will witness more of the same, but let's start the preview of the coming weekend's fixtures with the lunchtime kick-off at Turf Moor