United make it 19, Fergie and Giggs get a dozen

Well, that's that for the title race. Manchester United saw off Chelsea at Old Trafford to secure a 19th title - barring the most extraordinary collapse in the history of football, if not mankind. At the bottom of the table the death knell is sounding in east London as Wolves' win over West Brom has taken West Ham's fate out of their own hands.

And as ever there was plenty to talk about in the latest round of games.

FERGIE MAKES IT A DOZEN TITLESUnited effectively won a record 19th league title after beating Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday. They still need one more point to officially become champions, but that will be a formality as they round off their season against relegation candidates Blackburn and Blackpool. United manager Alex Ferguson was obviously not fretting as he bowed in homage to the fans inside Old Trafford, showing impressive flexibility for a 69-year-old. He, and winger Ryan Giggs, have now won 12 out of a possible 18 league titles since 1993 - a level of dominance that outdoes even Liverpool in their pomp. Ferguson has now well and truly knocked them off their perch.

ARSENAL CRUMBLE AGAINST STOKEArsenal's season looks like ending with a whimper rather than a bang. In February Arsene Wenger was talking about a quadruple - although he was convincing no-one. On Sunday evening the Frenchman was left to pick through the rubble of another shambolic performance from the Gunners. There is no love lost between Stoke and Arsenal these days but Wenger's men had neither the discipline nor the organisation to overcome the Potters' physical challenge. Some drastic surgery is required at the Emirates this summer.

ARRIVEDERCI, ANCELOTTI?Carlo Ancelotti could be on the way out of Stamford Bridge after the Blues first season without a trophy or a cup-final appearance since 2004. And after the defeat to United he seemed genuinely upset with some of his players, announcing that he would have liked to have made more substitutions at half-time. David Luiz was hauled off at the interval after gifting Javier Hernandez the first goal in the first minute of the game, he also appeared to answer back to Ancelotti when given instructions from the sideline. Jon Obi Mikel was also taken off, but Ancelotti said: "I needed to have more than three substitutions because all the team didn't play in the first half." But the Italian also appeared unconcerned about his future, he said that if he lost his job it "doesn't matter".

UNITED'S STRENGTHS ARE ARSENAL'S WEAKNESSESWhat would Arsene Wenger have been thinking as he watched Manchester United all but seal the title as they overpowered Chelsea? The nature of United's win highlighted all that is wrong with Arsenal. In the summer both teams bought strikers. On Sunday Arsenal's Marouane Chamakh made little or no impact impact when he came off the bench as the Gunners crumbled against Stoke. At Old Trafford United's Javier Hernandez got on the score-sheet after 37 seconds, it was his 20th goal of the season. United's second goal came from Nemanja Vidic, the powerhouse centre back - Arsenal have no-one even approaching his stature at the back.
WEST HAM MUST WIN - AND PRAYWest Ham's chances of Premier League survival surely died on Saturday as first Demba Ba and then Robbie Keane threw away clear-cut chances in front of goal as they hunted for a winner against Blackburn. That, combined with the heroics of Christopher Samba in the Blackburn defence, condemned the Hammers to a 1-1 draw that did them no favours. Things are already out of their hands. If Wolves beat Sunderland next Saturday then West Ham are down. Even if that doesn't happen, the Hammers will still be relegated if they lose to Wigan on Sunday.

WOLVES ARE THE BIG WINNERSAfter draws for West Ham, Wigan and Blackpool on Saturday the big winners of the weekend, in more ways than one, were Wolves, who dismantled their bitter local rivals West Brom, beating them 3-1. The result lifts Mick McCarthy's troops out of the bottom three and leaves them with a good chance of survival. Their last two games are against Sunderland, who are safe, and Blackburn, who are not.

CHARLIE ADAM: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLYCharlie Adam has been at the centre of much of the drama surrounding Blackpool this season and that was the case once again on Saturday as the Seasiders drew with Spurs. The Scot was lucky to stay on the pitch after a brutal tackle on Gareth Bale that saw the Spurs winger stretchered off with a serious ankle injury. Minutes later Blackpool won a penalty when a Adam corner was handled by Michael Dawson. It was Adam who stepped up, only to see Heurelho Gomes make the save. But the Brazilian keeper then went bonkers from the resultant corner (taken by Adam) and gave away another spot kick. Adam had to confront his team mate DJ Campbell over who would take the second penalty, but as captain he pulled rank and stepped up to power the ball home. All in a days work for Adam. ·