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FREE KICK: F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote that "Destiny is not a matter of chance, but of choice." With 38 continental trophies in his 26-year tenure, Sir Alex Ferguson has firmly established Manchester United as the New York Yankees of British football. Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Joe Dimaggio ultimately exited the stage, and at age 71, the most decorated manager the sport has ever seen has taken his final bow. His departure leaves as many questions as there are answers, but those riddles can be solved at a later date. Let's kick start this thing.

MANCHESTER UNITED vs. SWANSEA CITY: Following an emotional pre-game ceremony before Ferguson stepped on the Old Trafford pitch for the last time, poor Swansea had to feel like the lamb being led into a den of wolves. Unbeknownst to them, there

FREE KICK: This season’s Barclay’s Premier League standings are much like an ocean, in that danger and intrigue can be found near the bottom instead of at the top. Three teams face the Premiership firing line, with Reading and Queens Park Rangers already blindfolded and dangling a cigarette from their lower lip; currently, Wigan is the third team set to be demoted, but Sunderland, Newcastle, and Aston Villa entered the weekend just five points above sea level. For those four “contenders,” it’s time to grab the life preservers and float to shore, because with relegation comes a loss of some 40 million dollars in TV revenue. It’s time to find out which teams sink and which ones swim. Let’s kick start this thing.

MANCHESTER UNITED vs. CHELSEA: The

FREE KICK - It was the story that sports journalists around the world sank their teeth into. Luis Suarez treated Branislav Ivanovic's elbow as if it were a well-done steak. Immediately following the incident Suarez apologized. The outrage decreased to a murmur and the story seemingly floated out to sea. Days later however Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre and manager Brendan Rogers created a mutiny. In their estimation the 10-game penalty was cruel and unusual punishment. I can't understand their protest. This wasn't like trying to get a good night kiss at the end of a first date; it was more like a pinch or grab of a body part. The penalty for that offense requires a swift kick south of the border. The BPL's governing body was the father of the girl.

ARSENAL vs. MANCHESTER UNITED -

MANCHESTER UNITED vs. EVERTON: Man U refused to take their eyes off the prize despite Wednesday's mammoth sized Champions League encounter with Real Madrid on the horizon, and much like a week earlier the Red Devils were more blue-collar than business-like in their approach. After sending a shot foul from the sweet spot just ten minutes into the contest, the caped crusader Robin Van Persie made amends three minutes later when he spotted Ryan Giggs all by his lonesome at the top of the box, and the ancient wonder entered the record books by becoming the first player to record a goal in each of his 21 seasons. For good measure, Giggs also is the third oldest player to score a goal in Premiership history.  RVP then made Everton RIP when he beat Tim Howard with his lethal left boot just

FREE KICK: Vince Lombardi once said that fatigue makes cowards of us all, and you can tag me “Mr. Meek.” The Christmas holiday schedule included five premiership league games and an FA Cup match, and so many games in such little time resulted in Here's The Pitch taking a well-deserved rest. Unlike the players, your humble scribe is refreshed and rarin’ to go, so let’s kick start our first column of 2013.

MANCHESTER UNITED vs. LIVERPOOL: A delicious matchup involving the Yankees and Dodgers of English soccer, and it was one-way traffic in the first 45 with Man U travelling in the express lane. Robin Van Persie would net his league leading 17th goal of the campaign when he one-timed a Patrice Evra centering pass into the right-corner pocket, and Tom Cleverley and

FREE KICK: New York has the Mets and Yankees and Chicago offers the Cubs and White Sox, and both cities share a love of baseball but a hatred of their intra-city rivals. Several cities within the Premiership have ownership of more than one soccer club, but it’s in Manchester where the bad blood would make any street gang green with envy. On Sunday, the BPL’s top two teams settled their beef at City’s Etihad Stadium. Let’s kick start this thing.

MANCHESTER CITY vs. MANCHESTER UNITED: City started the game with guns ablaze but United landed the first bullet when Wayne Rooney wrong-footed Joe Hart from the top of the box. Rooney doubled United's pleasure when he slotted home a cross from Antonio Valencia, but once Roberto Mancini exchanged Carlos Tevez for a pouting

FULHAM vs. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR: Instead of heaping scorn and abuse upon Clint Dempsey, Fulham fans, while vocal, were far from vengeful.  A comatose first 50 minutes suddenly came to life in the 55th when Sandro's piledriver from 40 yards away eluded a flailing Mark Schwarzer. Australia's number one 'keeper should have been able to put up the stop sign, but it went in the books as an E-1, 1-0 Spurs. Jermain Defoe would then net a pair within a five minute stanza, his first coming courtesy of room service delivery from the boot of Glyfi Sigurdsson and the insurance tally coming via a breakaway with Dempsey providing the first aid. Spurs is certainly in a groove, moving up to fourth in the BPL Top 20 charts. After a promising start in which they resembled a Ferrari, Fulham's offense has

FREE KICK - The BPL turned a twin-killing earlier in the week.  However, this double play resulted in the removal of head coaches Roberto DiMatteo from Chelsea, while Mark Hughes was erased from Queens Park Rangers. The Hughes dismissal was to the surprise of absolutely no one. The derriere of many jokes are still without a victory more than two months into the season. DiMatteo brought Champions League glory to Chelsea just four months ago.  This is yet another reminder that owner Roman Abramovich is more impulsive than a shopaholic let loose on Black Friday. Time to kick start this thing.

CHELSEA-MANCHESTER CITY - The most appealing item on the weekend menu should've been sent back to the kitchen.  A pouring rain drenched the pitch and doused both sides of any creative

FREE KICK: As a person, Zlatan Ibrahimovich can be more irritating than a rash, but on the pitch, he’s world-class. Wednesday night “Ibra” took a deserved bow when he scored what has been described as one of the greatest goals ever. Pretty? That it was, but beauty is always in the eyes of the beholder, and since a picture can’t do it justice, just watch it for yourself and decide. Let's kick this thing off BPL style.

ARSENAL vs. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR: The visitors seemingly were on their merry way after Emmanuel Adebayor's rebound goal in the tenth minute. The Togo international gaveth, but he taketh away eight minutes later when his two-footed sliding challenge resulted in a deserved red card. Like a raging bull, the Gunners saw red and went on the attack, scoring