No team with maximum points over Christmas holidays

Premiership leaders Man. United were the club that won most points over the Christmas holiday period as teams in England again played four games during Yuletide.

No team claimed all points at stake but United won three games and drew another for 10 points to retain their place at the top of the standings.

Other soccer items of interest for December:

• All four English clubs qualify for the knock-out phase of the Champions League, finishing on top of their respective sections.

Last outcomes: Chelsea-Levski Sofia 2-0, Copenhagen-Celtic 3-1, Galatasaray-Liverpool 3-2, Manchester United-Benfica 3-1, FC Porto-Arsenal 0-0.

Celtic also through after finishing second to Manchester United in their group.

• The monthly awards for November went to manager Steve Coppell, of Reading, with Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo taking the prize for players.

• Theo Walcott, of Arsenal, is voted BBC Young Personality of the Year.

• West Ham United sack manager Alan Pardew.

• The four British clubs in the UEFA Cup - Blackburn, Newcastle, Rangers and Tottenham - qualify for the knock-out stage as group winners and without losing a match.

• What a shocker in the League Cup as Premiership side Charlton go down to Wycombe, of League Two, 0-1 at the Valley.

• League Two side Bury are thrown out of the FA Cup for fielding an ineligible player in their 3-1 second-round replay win over Chester on December 12.

Chester have now been reinstated in the FA Cup.

• Liverpool and England midfielder Steven Gerrard is given an MBE in the New Year's honours.

• Defender Moritz Volz scores the Premiership's 15,000th goal with Fulham's first netting in a 2-2 draw at London rivals Chelsea.

Managerial movements

December has been a busy month for coaches as the managerial merry-go-round took a good spin in the English leagues.

The coming and goings of team managers, with their respective dates, read:

Dec. 4 - Phil Parkinson out at Hull City (Championship).

Dec. 7 - Nigel Atkins in at Scunthorpe (League One).

Dec. 11 - Alan Pardew out at West Ham (Premiership).

Dec. 13 - Alan Curbishley in at West Ham.

Dec. 17 - Steve Parkin out at Rochdale (League Two).

Dec. 19 - Alan Pardew in at Charlton (Premiership); Peter Shirtliff out at Mansfield (League Two).

Dec. 20 - John Gorman out at Northampton (League One); Scott Fitzgerald in at Brentford (League One).

Dec. 27 - Billy Dearden in at Mansfield.

Dec. 30 - Simon Davies in at Barnsley (Championship).

Leading marksmen

Premier League

13 - Drogba (Chelsea)
12 - Ronaldo (Man. United)
10 - Doyle (Reading), Van Persie (Arsenal)
9 - Kanu (Portsmouth), McCarthy (Blackburn), Yakubu (Middlesbrough)
The Championship
17 - Earnshaw (Norwich)
16 - Rasiak (Southampton)
13 - Cureton (Colchester), Iwelumo (Colchester), McSheffrey (Birmingham)
12 - Chopra (Cardiff), Kamara (West Brom)
Scottish Premier
14 - Stokes (Falkirk)
13 - Killen (Hibernian)
10 - Boyd (Rangers)
9 - McDonald (Motherwell)

Average attendances
1. Manchester United 75,737
2. Arsenal 60,027
3. Newcastle 49,959
4. Liverpool 43,457
5. Chelsea 41,849
6. Manchester City 39,088
7. Everton 37,045
8. Tottenham 35,603
9. Aston Villa 35,075
10. West Ham 34,621
11. Sheffield United 30,027
12. Middlesbrough 28,034
13. Charlton 25,804
14. Reading 23,912
15. Bolton 23,443
16. Blackburn 21,600
17. Fulham 21,175
18. Portsmouth 19,809
19. Watford 18,985
20. Wigan 17,595

Active scorers
The following list concerns the best ever goal scorers still active in the English Premiership since the inauguration of the championship up to January 7, 2007.
1. Cole (Portsmouth) 187
2. Henry (Arsenal) 171
3. Fowler (Liverpool) 159
4. Sheringham (West Ham) 146
5. Hasselbaink (Charlton) 127
6. Owen (Newcastle) 125
7. Scholes (Man. United) 93
8. Giggs (Man. United) 91
9. Heskey (Wigan) 90
10. Solskjaer (Man. United) 90