Manchester United's dead certs, Chelsea and Arsenal prepare for Africa - and Liverpool's Rafa bore

Let's  take a quick look at the action-packed final month of 2007 and what happened over the festive period.

Team of the month – Manchester United
Other than the surprising defeat at West Ham, United have been flying. Carlos Tevez has come into his own and Cristiano Ronaldo continues to be consistent, proving his vital importance to Alex Ferguson’s line-up. Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand are as solid a back line as any in the Premier League and have been instrumental in the team's push to retain the title. Patrice Evra is the most hard-working wing-back at present, and the midfield is working in perfect unison.

Ragged festive season
Players have had to run themselves ragged over the Christmas/New Year period, and the signs are telling. Players are exhausted, top clubs have been dropping points, it has all made for an exciting second half of the season to look forward to.

Players to watch
Dimitar Berbatov – The new and improved Incredible Sulk at Spurs, who managed to score four goals against Reading.recently, even though he was head down and shoulders dropped. Would be a good buy for a bigger club, but not a morale booster. Quite the contrary, though goals seem to lift his spirits.

Roque Santa Cruz – Has filled the goal-scoring gap left by under-performing Benni McCarthy. He is every defender's nightmare.

Cristiano Ronaldo – The boy can’t seem to put a foot wrong. Diving antics aside, still the best player in the Premier League.

Fernando Torres – One of a few positives coming from Anfield. His individual ability to change games has seen his Kop favouritism status grow tremendously. If Rafa goes, will he stay?

Quote of the month
Sir Alex Ferguson’s comment on Old Trafford being “like a funeral”, i.e dead quiet. Home fans are peeved at his outburst, but the natural response would be to make some noise on match day, not in the media as the United supporters spokesperson has done. The funeral quote is nostalgic of Roy Keane’s ''prawn sandwich brigade'' jibe a few years back, but it seems the fans have yet to get the message.

Loudest noise in the league
Still held by Liverpool supporters at 130.7 decibels, though their team have not given them a lot to scream about recently. Rafa Benitez still makes the daily headlines, and rumours of his impending departure don’t seem to go away, even after he categorically stated he is going nowhere.

Club v Country – Country winning
South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira has shown his authority in snatching Steven Pienaar from Everton for the African Nations Cup. David Moyes was in shock when he failed to keep Pienaar to play against Chelsea in the Carling Cup semi-final. But Pienaar had to obey national coach Parreira and has met up with the Bafana squad. Now Cameroon should phone Parreira and ask exactly what it is he said, as Samuel Eto’o has yet to be released by Barcelona.

All in all, it's hotting up in the Premier League, and now is the defining phase. With the African players' exodus soon to be felt, will this January make or break Chelsea and Arsenal? Can Liverpool climb up a notch or two? You never know a good thing until its gone. Now the value of African players will be truly felt.