So the
Premier league is now back with a bang and the what a series of
results we got. One of the better gameweeks in recent memory
(depending on where your allegiances lie) has left the league table
in a more dishevelled state than it's been in a while and, while
we're only five weeks in, we're getting to the point were the league
is starting to convalesce into the state it'll keep for most of the
season. The state of early-season flux is almost over, let's see what
this weekend (and Monday) have taught us:
Everton
Vs Chelsea: The beginning of the end?............
The weekend could hardly have started off with a better fixture. The
last time these two teams met, it resulted in a nine goal thrill ride
of a game. This time was just as thrilling but for the other team.
Everton absolutely dominated a match in which their excellent play is
surely bound to be overshadowed by the paucity of their opponents
play. Chelsea's main problems lay in their defence, midfield and
attack which is a bit of an issue. In fact, were it not for a highly
speculative (yet, well struck) shot from a defensive midfielder, 35
yards out, they would have only managed one shot on target the entire
game. The match did not really get going until the 25th
minute when Stones grossly over-hit a back pass to Howard so badly
many considered it an actual shot. Howard dealt with it but an own
goal for Stones against a team bidding ridiculous sums of money for
him would have been priceless. Everton sparked into life from that
and were one up within a minute. Galloway, in what has become an all
too frequent story for Chelsea, was allowed to skip down the left
flank and slung in a perfect cross for Naismith to head home. The lax
manner in which Galloway was ignored was matched only by the slack
defending for the header for which Begovic could do nothing.
He could do nothing for the second, five minutes later, either, after
repelling two fine attempts from Kone and McCarthy. Lukaku and Kone
one-two'd down the right and fed the ball to Barkley who found
Naismith in acres of space in the centre. He had more than enough
time to tee up the shot into the bottom-left corner. At this point
Chelsea seemed totally lost, Coleman had Costa in his pocket and both
Pedro and Hazard were totally anonymous, it was difficult to spot the
player who would drag them forward when Matic stepped up. Having been
run ragged the whole half, trying to plug up holes in the defense, he
ran forward from midfield and arrowed a magnificent shot into the top
corner. While it could be said that he should've been closed down, it
seems quite harsh considering he was 35 yards out and there was no
danger. In the second half Chelsea applied the pressure and almost
scored and conceded, from Terry and Lukaku respectively, until
Barkley slid a ball through to Naismith whose right-footed shot made
it a perfect Hat-trick for him and a Perfect day for Everton. This
result will, no doubt, buoy the toffee's for their next game at
Swansea and set up Naismith for life. That man will no longer have to
pay for a pint, a pie or pussy in his hometown anymore. Chelsea have
their old familiar whipping boys of Arsenal next and will know that
another insipid display like this will see the Gunners put them to
the sword but that a victory will restore balance to their sinking
ship. And boy, they need it.
Arsenal
Vs Stoke: The walking dead hits the the rocks.......
For
Arsenal this match was crunch-time. A home match (when home form has
been dismal) against one of their “Bogey” teams that's had a very skillful overhaul. It promised to be a rough-and-ready match filled
with ankle-snapping tackles and eked out 1-0 wins. What was delivered
was something completely different as the new-look Stoke were
completely monstered by Arsenal. Or, at least, they really should've
been had Arsenal's old familiar struggles with finishing not returned
(assuming they ever went away to begin with). Telling stat of the
match; Arsenal had 29 shots, 23 inside the area, 12 on target and
only scored fucking twice. Make no mistake, regardless of what he'll
say afterwards, Hughes knows he was lucky to escape without a cricket
score. And, for that, he can only thank whatever god he prays to,
Arsenal's striking coaches and Jack Butland. Maybe he should just
expand his prayers to all three and save himself some time. Arsenal's
profligacy was so bad that, in typical Arsenal fashion, they will
still
have to answer questions about their striker options even after a
match in which both main strikers scored.
Both
also screwed some unbelievable chances too which is the main cause
for concern. Walcott's first arrived after eight minutes when Alexis
(who was in fine, rampaging form) had a header tipped amazingly onto
the post, the rebound bounced back to Walcott who Fernando Torres'd
it wide despite having the entire fucking goal to aim at. His second
miss was from an absolutely pin-perfect Bellerin cross that Walcott
didn't even have to break stride to meet and, in attempting to glance
it far corner rather than just mill it, fluffed it over. It was
beginning to look like one of those days. The Alexis rampage
continued (he's racked up more shots so far, 28, than the entire
Newcastle team,21) alongside Cazorla and even Koscielny had a go with
a wicked strike. It wasn't until the 31st
minute that the deadlock was broken when Coquelin expertly
dispossessed Joselu and fed Ozil whose glorious over-the-top ball
took out the entire Stoke defense and midfield to land right on
Walcott's foot, he skinned the defender on his shoulder, rounded
Butland and stroked home. Stoke woke up somewhat in the second half
but never ever looked like troubling either Gabriel (who played a
blinder in place of Mertesacker) and Koscielny, let alone Cech.
Giroud came on with 15 minutes left and his first contribution was to
shank horribly wide when put through one-on-one. However his goal was
vintage Giroud as three Stoke players somehow managed to avoid
marking him when Cazorla put in a free kick to the near post and he
headed home. Arsenal now head to Zagreb with belief and a good haul
of points to kick off their league campaign which will continue with
a wounded Chelsea early next week. Stoke, stuck on two points, have a
marauding Leicester next and will need to recover their fighting
spirit to stand any chance.
Palace
Vs Man City: The Money team Rookie ruins the eagles nest..........
City
headed to Selhurst Park knowing exactly what to expect from this
Pardew side, war. With a raft of pacy attacking players and a
mountain of self-belief and support Palace were expected to give City
their toughest test so far. And they did. In a tough, physical match
the stalemate was only broken by an 18 year old who was not expected
to get more than a handful of opportunities this season. Should he
take all of them like he did this one, expect to see Iheanacho line
out in sky blue on the regular. For the first time this season, City
have had to grit their teeth and grind out a victory. Indeed, it
seemed that they were playing for a draw when they brought the
academy graduate on in the 89th
minute. From the off, Palace gave City no respect and pressured them
throughout. With Bolasie, Zaha and Puncheon all flying around the
place, the game seemed to resemble an air show at times. It was quite
interesting to see Gayle and Campbell on the bench however rather
than Bamford. With Gayle was nearly sold off in the summer and Pardew
has openly stating that Campbell is short of fitness, Bamford can
expect far more of a look in this season but, if this is any evidence
of how Pardew sees his team, he'll find gametime hard to come by.
Especially when his teammates are playing like this week in, week
out, even if they lose.
City, on the other hand, will probably rue this bruising encounter
even with the pain-relief of three points and the best season start
in their club history for over a century. With Sterling injured and
their wizard, Silva, absent completely the sight of Aguero hobbling
off after 25 minutes, after a horrendous Dann tackle, could not have
been a happy one. He'll now almost certainly miss the Juventus game.
On a better note De Bruyne had a fine debut and looks to become the
player he always could've been when he clicks into the higher gear
the premier league demands of it's players. In fact he started most
of City's best chances including one which Navas, presented with an
open goal, screwed into the side netting after rounding the keeper.
Bolasie had a header he really should've scored from and match seemed
destined to be a scrappy 0-0 affair when Nasri found some space,
squeezed off a shot that the, up till now, brilliant McCarthy
couldn't hold. Iheadnacho reacted first and toe-poked in from six
yards out. A dream start for a player who doesn't even qualify for
the City Champs league B list. Palace will have to dust themselves
down, take the positives from this performance as they play a
mis-firing Spurs team next. City, after Juventus, will have another
tough match-up with the Hammers looking to claim yet another top tier
scalp.
Norwich
Vs Bournemouth: Case for the defence falls short for Bournemouth.....
Norwich's first home premier league win came courtesy of a dismal
performance by the Bournemouth defence and a fantastic performance by
Hoolihan. It's no secret that Hoolihan is a particular favourite of
Alex Neil's and this MOTM display only added the gloss to that.
Granted, he's not getting any younger at 33 and you have to build the
team around him to get the best out of him but he made the football
today worth watching with a sublime assist for the first goal in the
first half and netting one of his own in the second. By the time
Jarvis netted the third on the 67th minute the Bournemouth
defence was running around in disarray with almost no idea of how to
stem the canary yellow tide coming at them. Norwich's link up play
between their players was great and Remond put in easily his best
match by far today alongside the aforementioned Hoolihan. He'll
savour this performance knowing he'll probably not get too many
opportunities to influence a match to this degree.
For Bournemouth Howe lamented easily his sides worst performance in
the Premier league to date. Watching the match, it was easy to see
where the real weakness resides; The defence. The midfield and
attacking issues look to be fleeting and previous results indicate
that they can score and create when needed (the 4-3 against the
Hammers springs to mind) however it's the defensive frailties that
look like they're getting worse and show no signs of improving. It's
an oft told nice tale that the Bournemouth defence have all been
there since League One and have started every game since. But they're
quality is sorely lacking and they were shown up today. And in terms
of re-enforcements it's not looking much better. Of the four
defenders they brought in, one is out for the season (Mings), one
will be 38 by the end of the year (Distin) and another was an
emergency loan brought due to injuries. This could turn into a real
disaster for Howe if he doesn't play his cards right here. Norwich
go to Liverpool next week and they'll fancy themselves to take some
points more for how well they're playing rather than how badly
Liverpool have been. Bournemouth have the last of their “easy run”
with Sunderland next week and it'll be the last chance to right the
ship before they get into the thick of it.
Watford
Vs Swansea: Swans plucked clean by the Benetton team......
It has to be said that what Flores has done at Watford has been
nothing short of amazing. The initial stories about how he would gel
a squad that, at times, comprised of up to 22 different nationalities
while his own grasp of English could only charitably described as
“tenuous”. That he has them playing an exciting brand of football
whilst giving as good as they're getting is amazing. And to put the
cherry on top today, a win against a team that has soundly beaten Man
United and scared the bejeezus out of Chelsea. If there were any
sense that they did not belong in the top flight, this has pretty
much extinguished that. Or at least dampened it down heavily. Yet the
win was not as clear cut and the joy at the end of this match was
more relief at it ending rather than the relief of a first win.
Swansea will look back on this game and wonder if there was something
in the water. They played lethargically and looked devoid of the
menace that has become their hallmark so far this season. This lack
of conviction was paramount for the goal when Deeney was allowed all
the time in the world to feed a ball through to Ighalo and the lack
of any pressing allowed him to calmly slot past Fabianski. Yet
Watford nearly unravelled themselves minutes later when they down to
ten men after Behrami launched (there's really no other adjective I
could use there) himself into a ludicrous tackle on Ayew and was sent
off for subsequently stamping on him. Yet, such was the lack of any
kind of energy with Swansea, that going down to ten men didn't really
affect the match for either team. Gomis had only one shot the entire
game, a good one it has to be said which was smartly saved by Gomes,
and literally that was it. The Swans have Everton next and this
display will give the Toffees' a big smile,Watford have Newcastle
next for, they will believe, a readily achievable three points.
West
Brom Vs Southampton: Two wrongs don't make a right.......
It
is telling to just how boring this game was that the two major
talking points from it are Berahino playing for a club he said he'd
never play for again (that said, he did a better fucking job than
Lambert) and McManaman's impromptu impression of a dying salmon after
a, admittedly, idiotic Targett tackle that not only missed him but
the ball as well. His resultant dying swan impression did little but
draw laughs and the ire of his own manager in the post-match
interview. Maybe the “talking to” will be to inform him that he
should actually wait for the tackle to hit him before leaping over
the defender like he's been launched from a fucking catapult.
Whatever the view of this result West Brom will be thinking that,
should Berahino not get back to his previous season form, they're
seriously short of ideas up front. Rondon will need at least a season
to bed in and Lambert couldn't have been less of an influence had he
gotten the wrong bus. Both teams were fielding debut Centre-backs
that will have enjoyed this nice, gentle introduction to the premier
league but they both really should've been tested. Brommie were
unable due to the lack of any sort of understanding between their
strikers and Southampton seemed to have forgotten about Pelle he was
that isolated. They'll need to figure out how to get the supply of
ball back up fast as they host Man United next week. West Brom will
need to find the scoring boots as they travel to a dejected Villa
who, they hope, won't have picked themselves up from their last game,
leaving them the opportunity of three easy, much needed points.
Man
United Vs Liverpool: Tactics Rodgers strikes again............
This clash of the old rivals couldn't be anymore a shadow of it's
former event status. This used to be a clash of two titans with teams
that fought viciously for any ground and every goal. This match up,
however, was between two badly put together teams both of whom are
filled with players who fail utterly to live up to their reputations
and paychecks. In United a 250 million spending spree has resulted in
a team that can barely string together a series of passes and is
fielding Fellaini as a “Target man” meaning that hundreds of
millions of pounds worth of skillful ball-playing midfielders have
resorted to “route-one” lumping it up to the big guy tactics. In
Liverpool, there are a number of square pegs trying to fit into the
round holes of the tactics Rodgers has devised and it's not going so
well. Only the genius of Coutinho and the energy of Milner is keeping
it afloat and, even then, just barely. Rodgers insistence on playing
a 4-3-3 when he's only one specialist wide player (Ibe) is just plain
crazy and were they against a better team they could've been stuffed.
Today the two messes met head-to-head and it's clear that, at least,
United are somewhat heading in the right direction (thanks, mostly,
to the return of De Gea). Liverpool were totally anonymous in the
first half and also most of the second. It was only a Benteke
overhead goal that spurred them on until they conceded afterwards. Clyne had a bad game and Skrtel was unable to help him
out and, as a result, United funnelled everything down the left. And
it was from the left that the first goal came. Mata's free-kick was
clever and Blind's shot was good but it all should never had happened
had the defence and midfield done a simple job of marking. The lead
was doubled when Gomez badly mis-timed a slide tackle on Herrera in
the box, who stepped up himself to dispatch the penalty. United were
sitting until Benteke vaulted through the air to slam home the goal
of the game. Briefly Liverpool were purred on until Martial, on in
the 65th minute, received the ball and he ran through the
huge gap between Clyne and Skrtel before finishing past Mignolet and
crowning his arrival in the Premier League. Invariably too much will
be made of him, given his transfer fee, but it was a decent goal and
one that should set him up nicely. United, however, will know that
they were flattered by the scoreline but will point to the few
positives they can garner from this match. A midweek encounter
against PSV should be a handy one in time for their week end match
against Southampton. Liverpool have a, on paper at least, easy run of
games to help cement whatever style Rodgers has going on, it begins
with Norwich.
Sunderland
Vs Spurs: Few questions answered, more questions remain..........
For
Spurs, this was the supposed to be the “easy” three points. Even
before a ball had been kicked this season their re-enforced rearguard
was meant to be waterproof and avoid slip-ups against teams they
should be beating easily. But while they did win, with a clean sheet
to boot, the ease at which Defoe ghosted past their defenders time
and time again should provoke some worried thinking. And if it
doesn't, it fucking should. Defoe, even on his day, is not the
quickest forward the league has ever seen and yet, the lethargy in
the Spurs legs was such that he resembled Usain Bolt at times. Much
of this was down to the quality of the ball he was receiving and had
he found his shooting mojo the scoreline could have been radically
different. He was clearly given a new lease of life playing in a
4-4-1-1 in front of Toivenen and the best chance of the game fell to
him in the first half when he latched onto a sublime through-ball
form Lens (again) which, after he shrugged off the defence fired a
ball past Lloris which cannoned back off the post. He gave
Alderweireld
a torrid time the entire game.
Not
that Sunderland had it all their own way. Spurs had almost 60% of the
possession and seemed to be almost taunting the Sunderland players
with the ball. Yet, when it came to the final third, this sense of
confidence was lacking which was personified with Chadli doing some
nice work on the wings to create a glorious chance for the new boy
Son, only for Son to air kick comically instead. Spurs one ray of
hope was Alli, who was a constant source of menace to the Sunderland
defence. The match seemed destined for a 0-0 result (Spurs first shot
on target was in the 73rd
minute) when Mason and Lamela combined nicely to carve the Sunderland
defence wide open. Mason ran in to chip Pantillimon (no mean feat)
and was caught by the goalkeepers outstretched leg as the ball
bobbled home for the goal and all three points. Should the injury
prove lengthy he may hardly consider it suitable compensation but
Spurs sure will. Their first win couldn't have come at a better time
even if not in the manner they wanted. They'll need the boost for
high-flying palace next week. Sunderland can take many positives from
today, but would've rathered a point at least, and will hopefully
bring this same level of play to a tricky tie against Bournemouth
next.
Leicester Vs Aston Villa: It ain't over till it's over and if
it ain't broke.........
For a manager who refuses to consider anything but survival a goal
Ranieri sure has a funny way of going about it. He's got his team
playing like demon title contenders and the atmosphere at the King
Power couldn't be happier if they started giving out free puppies.
One of the hallmarks of this Leicester team, however, isn't a dynamic
pass-and-move style or a attacking zeal bordering on the psychotic,
it's a never-say-die attitude that will see their players run their
hearts out for the full 90 minutes. Most managers are delighted if
they've just two or three players with that kind of attitude to spur
them on. Ranieri has around 15. In Mahrez and Vardy he's two tpyes of
players that can swing matches all on their own, Mahrez in particular
has been a revelation, his form surpassed only by the incredulity
that he cost a mere 400k. Their record so far has been incredible
and they've yet to lose. Although they have Sherwood to thank, above
all others, for that still being true after this game.
As good as Leicester was today they will have to admit that, for 60+
minutes they were completely outclassed by Villa. Tactically Sherwood
was spot-on and made sure that the aforementioned Vardy and Mahrez
were contained and not allowed any space to influence the match and
Leicester appeared sunk after conceding two world-class goals. The
first a wicked curler of a shot from Grealish (what a fucking first
goal to have) occurred after some pinball shit in the Leicester box.
Vardy failed to track back to mark Grealish meaning he had all the
time he needed to set himself up to swerve the ball into the far side
of the net. In the second half Leicester steamed forward with
everything and got caught on the counter beautifully. Agbonglahor
picked the ball up from deep and skinned Bacuna to head towards the
left side of the goal, he cut back intelligently for Gil to bend his
shot just inside the post. After that was when Sherwood made his mark
and not in the way he'd like to. Bringing on Ayew (who lost
possession far too often) and Gestede (who relies on crosses coming
in to be useful) effectively emptied their midfield and reduced them
to nine men at a point when Leicester had thrown caution to the wind
for a goal hunt. Ranieri's own substitutions were targeted solely at
freeing up Mahrez to bomb forward at will and it worked. His corner
led to the first goal when he dipped it over Bacuna for De Laet to
head home over Guzan. On the 82nd Mahrez again (he really was at the
centre of everything, Christ knows how Vardy got MOTM) served a
through-ball to Drinkwater whose low cross was inch-perfect for Vardy
to equalise in between two defenders. And that should have been that,
only for Mahrez again. His cross in the 89th minute was
ideal for Dyer to head over Guzan (and take a punch to the face for
his troubles) for the win. The second half was quite possibly the
best half of football I've seen in years. Villa, as gutted as
Sherwood is and should be, will need to dust themselves down for West
Brom next week when Leicester will float to Stoke to put their marker
down in this league.
West Ham Vs Newcastle: Why is Newcastle?..............
It's
a testament to just how dis-liked (for whatever reason) that Pardew
was at Newcastle that no-one is calling for his return despite the
abject display by Newcastle tonight. Although a few more games like
this and that might change. Newcastle were second and third rate in
every department tonight and the Hammers will scarcely believe their
luck at getting such an easy confidence booster ahead of their clash
next week with Man City. Cisse looked like a Sunday pub league player
sweating out last night's 12 pints, if McClaren doesn't go all out
for Austin in January there needs to be an inquiry and Sissoko
couldn't have looked more uninterested in the game going on around
him had he just left the grounds and gone home. It's telling that the
Newcastle midfield gained a good deal more life when he was subbed
off for Aarons, too bad that was in the 78th
fucking minute. Colback looked limited and it seems as if the “giving
everything for the cause” style of play is starting to wear him
down.
Conversely, on the other side, it seems that Hammers fans are finally
getting what they've been asking for. For all of Big Sam's positives
it clear, after only five games, that Bilic is a far superior manager
at this level. His pursuit of Payet (who was just unstoppable today)
has shown the fans that the fripperies of the Big Sam era (such as
spending 15m million on ,and paying 90k a week to, an absolute donkey
of a player his own medical team refused to sanction) are long gone
and aren't set to return anytime soon. The first goal was a classic
example of the style of football he has instilled in his players, and
I fucking love it. Noble, after expertly winning the ball off
Wijnaldum, exchanged a series of gorgeous passes with Sakho whose
final backheel caught the entire Newcastle defence on the hop and
Noble cut the ball back to Payet who finished brilliantly into the
top corner, leaving Krul no chance. After the goal, West Ham sat back
in pure counter-attack mode and scored the second after a poor
Newcastle free-kick. The ball headed to the half-way line where Moses
controlled it with his head and sped off towards the goal. He left
Haidara on his arse when he cut inside and ripped off a shot which
smashed back out off the crossbar out to Payet who calmly slotted
home for all three points.
Posts
