Premier League Boxing Day review: talking points, trends and total football Like in 2010 and 2012, his finest goalscoring seasons, Rooney was the focal point of United's play on Thursday. Though they were not entirely reliant on him, Rooney was the one everybody looked to both on and off the ball. Though he did not have as many touches of the ball or passes as he did against West Ham on Saturday, his contribution was telling in the intensity and urgency he displayed, his all-action performance lifting his team-mates. He dropped deep to create, played on the shoulder of the three central defenders and generally endeavoured to make space for team-mates to run into. He relishes the responsibility, something he hasn't been afforded much of since the arrival of Robin van Persie at Old Trafford. Rooney's best seasons have come after stepping from the shadow of others; in 2010, he was no longer shifted wide to accommodate Cristiano Ronaldo. In 2012, the tactics that revolved around Dimitar Berbatov ended, along with the Bulgarian's regular performances. Of his nine goals this season, six of them have come with Van Persie out of the starting 11. It is not necessarily a positional issue with Rooney - as he showed against Hull, he is content to have Welbeck alongside him, while he essentially played central midfield against West Ham. Instead, it appears psychological: he is somebody who is not burdened by the expectation upon him, but rather seeks to fulfil it. Though Moyes was right to smile after his side's excellent, Rooney-inspired comeback at Hull, his mood may be tempered when he realises the return of the Dutchman will bring him another managerial dilemma early in his United career. Rodgers' words on refereeing shows he is learning When is a defeat not technically a defeat? Answer: when a team go within all the margins - feet and inches specifically - from doing the impossible, and taking a point from Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. Liverpool become the first side in living memory to enter a title race after a defeat, such was their endeavour at Eastlands. Liverpool became the ninth team from nine in the league to fall to City at home, with Manuel Pellegrini's side now assuming the role of the final boss in the world's hardest Beat "Em Up game. Even though Liverpool had them in trouble, they could not level them with the final blow. They were inches from equalising through Raheem Sterling in the second half, but it was an errant flag that would upset Brendan Rodgers most. The decision to call Sterling offside when through on goal is one of the worst this season, given how well-timed his run was and how he was two feet behind the last defender - for Rodgers, the decision to appoint Lee Mason, from Greater Manchester, in a game involving a Manchester club was just as bad. "It surprised me," he said afterwards. Rodgers is learning, just like his Liverpool side. Much like how Sterling becomes better on the ball and Jordan Henderson matures into a fine all-round midfielder, Rodgers is improving as well. Mocked and lambasted for his verbose ways - even by some Liverpool supporters - Rodgers is now considered and economical with his words. These words, though no doubt founded on passion, also shift focus away from the two defensive errors which cost his side the game. Questions were not asked of Martin Skrtel's intent of turning every set-piece into a wrestling match or of Simon Mignolet's goalkeeping error. Instead, the message was clear and succinct: Liverpool would have taken something if not for the referee. Blaming referees is part of the game, a tactic that should be used wisely. Use it too much and the message is muddied, but when used correctly, there is an impact. It is a fine line that Rodgers' mentor, Jose Mourinho, has walked upon throughout this season already. But for Rodgers, usually so kind with his words, this represents a shift. It is his way of proclaiming that his side went to the treacherous Etihad and should have won a point. It tells his players they were good enough to do that; it tells the rest of the league how City can be tackled at home. Though Sergio Aguero was a big loss, this was a City side who have scored six past Arsenal and Tottenham, and fired four past city rivals United. With a 2-1 defeat comes only a two-goal shift in goal difference, something that could be very important by the end of the season. More importantly than that, however, is the belief Liverpool can go close against one of the league's best sides. Though three points would have been welcome for Liverpool, their performance could be worth more than that in the future. This was a heavyweight clash with both throwing haymakers - Liverpool must take heart that nobody expected them to even share the same ring when the season began. Wins for bottom three a triumph for short-termism Dwight Gayle's magnificent goal for Crystal Palace with seconds remaining confirmed a Premier League rarity: three wins for the bottom three, all away from home. Granted, all three come with a caveat. Palace's came against an Aston Villa side that are struggling to score goals, while Fulham's win at Norwich City was founded on two excellent long-range strikes from Pajtim Kasami and Scott Parker. For Sunderland - the most impressive of all three - they were given the opportunity against Everton with the red card of goalkeeper Tim Howard and subsequent penalty. The similarities do not end there. All three clubs had changed manager by the first day of December - two voluntary, while Ian Holloway's departure was probably not too far away regardless - while all three saw these away wins come from their managers' playbooks. It was not Holloway's Palace that beat Villa, but the Palace of Tony Pulis. They won their duels both on the ground and in the air, while sending more passes long than Villa (16.5 per cent); their cross accuracy (30.4 per cent) was also far superior. They were organised and industrious off the ball, repelling what forays forward the home side could muster. It was not Martin Jol's Fulham that beat Norwich, but Rene Meulensteen's. Even in the absence of Dimitar Berbatov, Meulensteen struck the balance between defence and attack well, with Adel Taraabt deployed as the hipster 'false nine', tasked with offering more than just a few flicks out wide. Behind him, Damien Duff, Alex Kacaniklic and Kasami were a three that chose the right time to move forward, knowing when to offer help to those behind against players like Nathan Redmond and Leroy Fer. Parker and Steve Sidwell offered a good balance in midfield; Darren Bent remained on the bench. Indeed, it was certainly not Paolo Di Canio's Sunderland that beat Everton, but Gus Poyet's. Even with a goal, and man, advantage, Poyet proceeded with caution. They remained tight in the centre, with Ki Sung-Yeung and Jack Colback being helped by the deep Steven Fletcher; they stuck to their task out wide, with Fabio Borini and Sebastian Larsson helping their full-backs. There was no hubris for the Uruguayan, but rather acknowledgement that they were away to a very good side who could still hurt them; instead of pushing for a second, they remained disciplined and waited for their moment. Chalk this one up for short-termism. A manager losing their job is never nice but an unfortunate fact of football. All three clubs were proactive in getting these three managers, all who are sufficiently different to those they replaced. But for all the talk of transition and 'bedding in', all three now look comfortable with their new clubs as 2014 approaches, primed for a push at Premier League survival. With just seven points now separating the bottom half, it is something to ponder. With clubs like Aston Villa, Norwich and West Ham retaining their managers in the name of long-termism, it is something for Paul Lambert, Chris Hughton and Sam Allardyce to worry about. Sendings off should make managers see red Oh, to be a Premier League manager, especially when your players decide to inexplicably pick up a red card (or two) with the game still to be won. Stoke City manager Mark Hughes reacted by flinging anything in close proximity onto the St James' Park pitch; Everton's Roberto Martinez was more composed, cranking his neck to one side, his arms folding ever-tighter. Both would have been livid inside, even if their targets differ. The end result remains the same: zero points when it could have easily been three, results that could have put Everton into the top four (above Liverpool) and Stoke comfortably into the top 10 (eight points above the relegation zone). "It went wrong when the referee got involved," said Hughes, whose side were 1-0 up at Newcastle before conceding five. I thought the initial sending off was very, very harsh. The second you would argue is a correct decision - denying a goal scoring opportunity - we would argue against that. For Martinez, the affable Spaniard, there were no complaints towards the officials. It's the law of the game. It's a clear opportunity to score and that's a red card," he conceded. He added: "That's probably something to debate, if that rule could be changed or not - it's a double punishment, losing a player and giving away a penalty - but we've got no complaints about it. We made a wrong decision, and it cost us. The double-or-nothing debate is one that could start now and finish next Christmas. Those who believe a penalty is just punishment will never meet eye-to-eye with those who believe the double whammy of a penalty and a sending off is fair - not even a celebrity-laden Christmas number one, entitled 'do they know it's only football?', could bring a kickabout between the two in No Man's Land. Instead, focus should fall upon the offenders. Though Hughes was unsure of Marc Wilson's red card, the defender did tug back Loic Remy; a baffling, if instinctive movement, with Remy being closed down quickly by Thomas Sorensen in the Stoke goal. Remy would have been expected to score, and probably would, but there was no guarantee. Ki Sung-Yueng's finish was more likely. With Tim Howard rounded, an empty net awaited. But once Everton kicked off, they would have done so with 11 men - given the attacking intent and excellent movement they managed with just 10, the extra man in the box could have been vital for the home side. While Hughes' rancour is reserved for the referee and Martinez looks at the law-makers, there should be acknowledgement of their players making the same mistake so many have made before. Any sort of contact in the box will bring a penalty and - as is the law, rightly or wrongly - a red card. There are other times a red card is acceptable (the last-minute handballs of Uruguay's Luis Suarez and Everton's Phil Neville against Ghana and Liverpool respectively), but there is little necessity in the first half. It may be unfair to expect players to make such split-second decisions and not commit in the box, but then the same should be expected of referees tasked with making the decisions. Sherwood ripping up playbook is fun but unnecessary Not a lot is known about Tottenham Hotspur this season, but one thing is almost guaranteed: they will be a lot of fun to watch under Tim Sherwood. It may not be fun for those at White Hart Lane, granted. The control of Andre Villas-Boas has now been replaced by frenzy; the meticulously-crafted midfield trio of Paulinho, Sandro and Moussa Dembele has been completely obliterated, with Christian Eriksen and Lewis Holtby replacing them in central midfield, the young Dane as the deepest-lying of the two. Against Southampton, Sherwood's 4-4-2 worked with their rapid wing-play exploiting the gaps left behind by the pressing Saints. This was not 4-4-2 in the traditional sense, however; this was 4-4-2 with the midfield four all serving as attacking midfielders. It allowed James Morrison, Zoltan Gera and Morgan Amalfintano to operate in a large space between midfield and defence. It also allowed West Brom to go close to winning the game in an end-to-end contest. Polar opposition is not always good. Villas-Boas left Spurs only six points from the top four and eight behind leaders Arsenal. It was an underachievement given the money they spent (although the money was generated by selling one of the world's best players), but they had not yet plummeted to the depths of Juande Ramos' final days with two points from eight games. When Harry Redknapp took charge, the fact he did everything differently from Ramos was good, necessary, essential. Not so here, and Sherwood must learn that. Some of what Villas-Boas did at Spurs was good - most notably, playing a midfield. Eriksen and Holtby only made three tackles all game (though Holtby played only 63 minutes), while neither managed to win more than half their battles on the ground. And while Eriksen was clearly seen as a deep creative outlet - attempting 15 crosses and 61 passes, more than any other midfielder - he is not best used in such a role. Though he scored a wonderful free-kick to give the home side the lead, he also showed that he isn't a defensive midfielder with his poor tackle two minutes later; the free-kick eventually lead to Jonas Olsson's equaliser. Sherwood's football is good to watch for the neutral observer, mainly because it allows for chances at both ends - though West Brom only managed seven to Spurs' 20, they contributed to an excellent game. There is also something alarmingly endearing about the way Sherwood approaches the game. But they still drew 1-1 at home to a side with a caretaker head coach of their own. Not everything Villas-Boas did was bad - Spurs' new, permanent head coach must tweak the playbook instead of ripping it to shreds.