Newcastle United's 1–2 loss to Stoke City brought the Sixth Round of Premier League matches to a close.
All the matches in the Premier League's Sixth Round had now finished.
In this round, aside from Arsenal's earth-shaking goal fest at home against West Bromwich Albion, the other big clubs had all stumbled.
Chelsea, who had won all five of their opening league matches, were stopped in their tracks by the Blue Moon at the Etihad Stadium. They lost 0–1, suffering their first league defeat of the season.
After holding Arsenal to a draw in the previous round, Sunderland followed it up by drawing 2–2 with Liverpool. The Red Army had failed to win again!
As a result, since the Premier League season had begun, Liverpool had managed just one win, two draws, and three losses, earning only five points.
It was fair to say that the season had only just begun a month ago, yet Liverpool could already brace themselves for another trophyless campaign.
Premier League giants Manchester United had once again been held to a draw at home, this time by Bolton Wanderers.
After six rounds, Manchester United had three wins and three draws, for a total of 12 points.
That was nowhere near good enough for Manchester United under Ferguson!
The three teams who had held United to draws were the Cottagers, Fulham; Toffees Everton; and their opponents this round, Bolton Wanderers.
None of those three teams was a traditional powerhouse. United really shouldn't have dropped points against them.
Even if you set aside Everton, who had been growing more formidable in recent years,
losing points to Fulham and Bolton Wanderers was still unacceptable!
Sir Alex Ferguson's refusal to speak to reporters after the match showed just how rattled he was.
Otherwise, he would surely have seized the