Premier League
Table
CHELSEA recovered from their first league defeat at Manchester City by beating Arsenal 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to retain a stranglehold at the top.
A deft flick by Didier Drogba and a thumping free-kick from Alex were enough to give the Blues yet another win over the Gunners.
Carlo Ancelotti's defending champions are four points clear of second-placed City whose form has seen an upturn after a slow start.
City have now won their last three league matches against Wigan Athletic (2-0), Chelsea (1-0) and Newcastle United (2-1).
But, while their third victory in a row over Chelsea came courtesy of a virtuoso Carlos Tevez effort, success over Newcastle owed much more to a baffling refereeing display by Martin Atkinson.
The West Yorkshire official gave City a dubious penalty before turning down a blatant foul on Shola Ameobi which would have given the Magpies a chance of earning a well-deserved 2-2 draw.
Worse still, the incompetent whistler had earlier completely missed Nigel de Jong's brutal foul on Hatem Ben Arfa which left the Frenchman with two broken bones in his left leg.
Perhaps City's status as a top-four contender has brought them a new-found joy with the officials and they currently find themselves in the unusual position of being a point above Manchester United.
But that is more down to the failings of Sir Alex Ferguson's men on the road - a fortunate 0-0 draw at Sunderland made it four draws from their first four away league matches so far.
Arsenal are in fourth on 11 points after that defeat to Chelsea compounded a stunning 3-2 home loss to West Bromwich Albion on the previous weekend.
At one stage, the Baggies were 3-0 up and the victory has capped an impressive start by Roberto di Matteo's men.
West Brom are in sixth, level on points with Arsenal and fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur who came from behind to beat Gerard Houllier's Aston Villa 2-1.
Meanwhile, West Ham United remain bottom of the Premier League but the Hammers - on five points - are now unbeaten in their last three league games, having lost their first four.
Wolverhampton Wanderers are the team sinking fastest, also on five points, having lost their fourth league match in a row on Saturday in going down 2-0 away at Wigan Athletic.
Hugo Rodellega and Jordi Gomez scored the goals to give the Latics a vital win after Wolves thug Karl Henry saw red for another ridiculous challenge on Gomez after just 11 minutes.
But at least the referee spotted it this time and Gomez was able to carry on.
However, the big story at the bottom is at Anfield where Liverpool lost 2-1 to Blackpool to cap a simply atrocious start to Roy Hodgson's reign.
The Reds have won just once in the league all season - an unconvincing 1-0 home win over West Brom - and also went out of the League Cup on penalties to Northampton Town.
Just six points from their first seven matches leaves Liverpool in the bottom three but Everton fans can hardly crow from across Stanley Park.
That is because the Toffees have only just lifted themselves off the bottom by recording their first league win of the season, 2-0 away at Birmingham City.
David Moyes' men also only have six points from seven games but will hope that victory will kick-start their campaign after yet another slow start.
It should perhaps not come as a surprise that Everton finally got off the mark at Birmingham with the Blues having scored just twice in four home matches this season.
Alex McLeish's men look a shadow of the team which finished ninth last season in these early weeks, placed with seven points just behind Chris Hughton's Newcastle on goal difference.
The Championship
Table
QUEENS PARK RANGERS scored a stoppage-time winner at Crystal Palace to retain their six-point cushion at the top over Cardiff City after 10 league games.
Kieron Cadogan looked set to have rescued a point for struggling Palace with an 89th minute equaliser to Adel Taarabt's strike.
But Heidar Helguson replied with an even later goal for Neil Warnock's men who remain unbeaten with eight wins and two draws.
Cardiff City are in second place on 20 points, having recovered from successive away defeats to Leicester City and Ipswich Town by taking seven points out of their last nine.
On-loan Manchester City striker Craig Bellamy scored as Dave Jones' Bluebirds beat Barnsley 2-1 to follow up their hotly-contest 2-1 win against Millwall and 0-0 draw with Palace.
Newly-promoted Norwich City, on 19 points, are a surprise package in third place while Watford, just a point further behind, are another unexpected name in fourth.
Paul Lambert's Norwich capped their fine start by scoring seven goals in a week to beat strugglers Bristol City 3-0 and Leicester 4-3 while Malky Mackay's Watford made it four wins out of five by beating Sheffield United 1-0.
The Canaries' local rivals Ipswich seem to have put last season's nightmare behind them by moving into fifth place after Tommy Smith scored a late-winner for a 2-1 win over Leeds United.
Burnley, meanwhile, are in the last playoff place in sixth having settled most comfortably of the three relegated teams as proven by their recent 4-0 annihilation of Hull City.
Reading and Swansea City join Burnley on 16 points having both somewhat recovered from slower-than-ideal starts.
But the slowest start belongs to Bristol City who still seem to be reeling from Steve Coppell's decision to resign after just a single league game.
The Robins, now under Keith Millen, are bottom on six points and recent matches have provided little cheer with just one point and two goals in their last five games.
Second-bottom Crystal Palace are also in a rut with just one league win since the opening day of the season but the performance against QPR suggests the Eagles have enough to get out of trouble.
That should also apply to third-bottom Leicester who sacked Paulo Sousa after the 4-3 loss to Norwich, hard on the heels of a 6-1 collapse at Portsmouth.
The Foxes have now appointed Sven Goran Eriksson as their seventh permanent manager in four-and-a-half years, and the Swede witnessed a much-improved display in a 3-1 home win over Scunthorpe United before signing a two-year deal.
Portsmouth, on nine points, and Preston North End, on 10 points, are both just above the drop zone but they also have reasons to feel optimistic after both enjoyed an upturn in form.
Pompey followed up that 6-1 thumping of Leicester with a vital 3-1 victory over Bristol City and a spirited 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough in which they came back from 2-0 down.
Meanwhile, Preston beat Coventry City 2-1 then hit six past Leeds in a ten-goal thriller at Elland Road.
At one stage, Leeds were 4-1 up but Preston - who themselves suffered an amazing comeback in a 4-3 defeat to local rivals Burnley - will have found it very sweet indeed.
League One
Table
SOUTH coast joy was expected to be the story from League One this season with Southampton installed as odds-on favourites before a ball was kicked.
But, instead, the celebrations are coming from Brighton and Bournemouth after both clubs launched an unexpected bid for promotion.
Gus Poyet's Brighton & Hove Albion are top with 21 points from 10 league games after five wins and two draws from their last seven.
That form has put the Seagulls two points clear of Peterborough United who look a good bet to regain their Championship status after a humbling relegation last season.
Eddie Howe's newly-promoted Bournemouth are a further two points back in third with strong home form the main factor in their elevated position.
The Cherries have beaten Peterborough 5-1, Carlisle United 2-0, and Exeter City and Dagenham & Redbridge 3-0 but have just won once away, and lost 2-0 at local rivals Southampton on Saturday.
The other playoff places are also filled with some unexpected teams as the bigger names once again struggle to impose themselves on this division.
Carlisle United are in fourth place on 16 points, level with Keith Hill's newly-promoted Rochdale in fifth, unbeaten Colchester United in sixth, and Exeter City in seventh.
Charlton Athletic are the only one of the former Premier League teams in the top eight but the Addicks remained outside the playoff places after they lost their most recent league match 2-1 at Brentford.
Sheffield Wednesday's early season form disappeared in a four-match losing run in September but the Owls are back up to 10th after a 2-0 win over Notts County.
Meanwhile, Southampton are slowly recovering from the controversial sacking of Alan Pardew which came immediately after a 4-0 home win over Bristol Rovers.
That result was followed by five matches in a row without a goal in league and cup, four of which were losses.
But the appointment of Nigel Adkins in the St Mary's Stadium hotseat seems to have had a beneficial effect with two wins and two draws lifting the Saints to 15th, just four points short of the playoffs.
Last season's playoff losers Swindon Town - who played a season of Premier League football in 1993-94 - are just a place below Southampton and level points after a winless opening five games.
But, while Southampton and Swindon may only be four points off the playoffs, they are just two points above the bottom four, currently occupied by Tranmere Rovers, Leyton Orient, Brentford and Walsall.
Rovers and Orient struggled throughout most of last season and do not appear to have learned from the experience with just ten points and nine points so far.
Second-bottom Brentford are also on just nine points but the Bees have at least managed to claim the scalps of Everton, Charlton and Sheffield Wednesday in three of their last four home league and cup matches.
Chris Hutchings' Walsall look weak at the bottom on just seven points. The Saddlers must look to end a run which has seen them take just one point from their last 21, or else they could already start to be cut off from safety.
League Two
Table
PORT VALE have made an excellent start to their third attempt at escaping the basement division with 22 points from their first 10 games.
The Valiants remained top despite an unexpected 2-1 defeat to last season's Blue Square playoff winners Oxford United who brought to an end an impressive five-match winning run.
Indeed, Micky Adams' men did not concede a single goal in beating Bradford City, Aldershot Town, Macclesfield Town, Accrington Stanley and Shrewsbury Town before the Oxford slip-up.
But none of the chasing pack took full advantage with the four teams placed between second and fifth - Chesterfield, Rotherham United, Shrewsbury and Bury - all drawing.
Second-placed Chesterfield will be relieved just to get a point from a remarkable 5-5 draw with Crewe Alexandra, having been 4-1 down at half-time.
Two goals each from Jack Lester and Danny Whitaker, and a 25-yard stoppage-time screamer from Craig Clay rescued a draw for the Spireites after the Railwaymen had gone 3-0 up in the first 13 minutes.
Luke Murphy, Lee Bell and Byron Moore gave Crewe the perfect start before Lester headed his first. Tommy Lee then made it 4-1 on 26 minutes before second half goals from Lester and Whitaker's first penalty made it 4-3 with 11 minutes left.
Clayton Donaldson looked to have secured the points once and for all for Crewe by making it 5-3 with 10 minutes remaining but another Whitaker penalty and Clay's fine strike made it 5-5 at the new B2net Stadium.
Amazingly, it was not even the highest-scoring game of the day in League Two. That honour went to the match at the Crown Ground where sixth-placed Accrington Stanley beat Gillingham 7-4.
In a match with nine different scorers, Stanley took a 3-2 lead into half-time before on-loan Norwich striker Cody McDonald made it 3-3.
Stanley then pulled away as Phil Edwards converted two penalties and Terry Gornell made it 6-3.
Then, a third penalty - this time for Gillingham - scored by Ade Akinfenwa made it 6-4 with ten minutes left but James Ryan made it seven with a stoppage time strike and left the Gills without an away win in 17 months.
Accrington lie in sixth place, level on 15 points with seventh-placed Wycombe Wanderers and Torquay United in eighth.
The Chairboys ended a winless of run of six league draws and a defeat since their opening day success by beating Barnet 4-2 and Stevenage 2-0 in the space of three days.
But Torquay are now without a win in six league matches, having led the league at the end of August after winning their opening four.
At least Gulls fans can console themselves that they are not Hereford United supporters.
The Bulls prop up the league, having taken just two points since a win on the opening day of the season. Indeed, Hereford have taken just one point and scored just three goals in their last eight league matches.
Unsurprisingly, former Barnsley boss Simon Davey has got the sack and the task for the incoming man already looks a tough one.
Hereford are already three points adrift of their nearest rivals with a significantly worse goal difference. Surprisingly, those nearest rivals are Bradford and Lincoln City.
Despite average attendances of more than 15,000, the Bantams are second-bottom of the Football League with eight points from ten games, and just one win in their last eight.
Lincoln are in no better shape, also on eight points, and a four-match run without so much as a goal has brought an end to Chris Sutton's time in charge at Sincil Bank.
Barnet, on nine points, are less of a surprise at the bottom but again much better things would have been expected of a trio on 10 points - last season's playoff contenders Morecambe, Liverpool's League Cup conquerors Northampton Town, and relegated Gillingham.
Blue Square Premier
Table
CRAWLEY TOWN retained a three-point lead at the top of the Blue Square Premier after 14 games with a 2-1 win away at Luton Town.
Since taking just one point from their first two games, the Red Devils have won ten and drawn one of their last 12 to gain a commanding early position.
AFC Wimbledon are in second place on 29 points after a 5-2 win away at Mansfield Town who have dropped away to sixth, having led the league three games ago.
Third-placed Fleetwood Town on 26 points continue to defy the doubters, and the Fishermen have now extended their unbeaten run to nine games after a 0-0 draw with Wrexham.
Luton stayed fourth on 24 points despite that defeat to Crawley as fifth-placed Newport County could only draw with Eastbourne Borough while Mansfield in sixth suffered a heavy home defeat to Wimbledon.
At the bottom, Altrincham extended their unbeaten run to four games - but three of these have been draws - and before that, the Robins had taken just one point out of 30. Needless to say, Altrincham remain a long way short of safety on seven points.
Forest Green Rovers are also in trouble after three draws and six defeats in their last nine games has left them on 10 points.
And it has not been a good season in Cambridgeshire with both of the county's sides currently in the bottom four.
Histon suffered an awful run of one win and seven defeats in eight games before a recent upturn of four points from six has put them on 12 points altogether.
But it just gets worse for Cambridge United who lost their fourth straight game 2-0 away at Hayes & Yeading, replacing their hosts in the relegation zone.
Hayes are still just a point and a place outside of the bottom four on 14 points, level with Bath City and Barrow.
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