I suspect there is a difference in what one considers the "Christmas period" here. For me, Christmas period = Boxing Day to first game of January. In that time, we got 3 points out of 9 last season, this time, 7 out of 9. So we did not win ANY games in the last Christmas period. And as for your Anelka comment, well that was utterly retarded, I'm sorry. He's made 2 starts and a sub apperance BECAUSE THAT'S ALL HE'S BEEN HERE TO MAKE! What the hell is your point there? He's scored a goal, provided at least one other than I can remember right now, and provided excellent attacking impetus. Okay, it's too soon to be lauding him as the saviour to all our problems, but he's certainly make an excellent contribution. And further more, as pluto said, whilst the likes of Tal Ben Haim and Pizarro haven't been fantastic, they have still played their part, because instead who would we be playing? Just these player's presence is enough to justify their purchases in times like these, and that is, presumably, down to Mourinho.