An Unhappy Week 不幸的一周

It’s business as usual 一切正常，一切照旧 at the top of the Premier¹ League this week, with the ‘big four’ teams all winning their games and maintaining their respective positions in the table.

But if the league table is starting to look a little predictable 可预言的, then events around the game are anything but.

This week has seen a manager quit 离开 his team, fans booing 用嘘声表示不满 their own players off the pitch, and another Premier League club put on the market 出售.

Roy Keane resigned as manager of Sunderland on Thursday, becoming the fifth manager to leave his position this season.

Although there are a number of managers putting themselves forward for the vacant position 空位, replacing Keane will not be easy for the Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn.

"Obviously, to find somebody to fill Roy's shoes… that's going to be a tough one," said Quinn, meaning it will be difficult to find someone to do Keane’s job as well as Keane did it.

Following the departure of their manager, Sunderland were beaten 1-0 by Manchester United on Saturday, and are languishing² 衰退 in the relegation³ zone 降级区 at the bottom of the table.

At the top of the table, Arsenal⁴ fans have been expressing their displeasure 不满 with one of their players by jeering⁵ 嘲笑，嘲弄 his performance in Saturday’s game against Wigan.

Arsenal’s Emmanuel Eboue had a nightmare game. After coming on as a substitute 替补, he made a series of blunders 大错 including tackling 防守 his own team-mate and passing the ball to the opposition⁶.

He was finally taken off to the ironic⁷ cheers 讽刺的欢呼声 and catcalls 不满尖叫声，嘘声of his own team’s fans.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was in an unusually forgiving mood 有心原谅（其队员的表现）, backing Eboue to return to silence his critics 批评家.

"I think he will come back and show how good a player he is. The same fans will applaud 拍手喝彩，称赞 him when he does well," said Wenger.

Fans of Portsmouth, however, may not be so forgiving of their team’s owner, Alexandre Gaydamak, who has put the club up for sale, saying he is too busy with other business commitments to run a football team.

Mr Gaydamak rejected suggestions that he is selling the club due to the global credit crunch⁸ 信用紧缩 and that star players will be sold.

"We are not in financial meltdown 经济崩溃 and it is nonsense to suggest we have to start selling players," said Mr Gaydamak.

It is not clear how much the club is on sale for, but the fact that Newcastle United remains⁹ unsold after six months on the market suggests that the global financial situation is having an impact on British football.