1. West Ham need their double act to stay afloat
West Ham remain in the relegation zone despite taking 4 points from two, on paper, difficult looking fixtures. But if they have any chance at all of escaping it come May, they need to keep Andy Carroll and Kevin Nolan fit and firing together. One of the great enigma partnerships of the Premier League, both players appear lost and confused without the other to feed off. Nolan has done nothing of note for four months (apart from getting sent off, twice) but clearly the sight of his big Geordie buddy did wonders to his confidence. The Carroll knock down, Nolan strike is the trademark Big Sam move and it worked twice here to bury an ailing Swansea. Andy Carroll remains a curious player, injuries have robbed him of some of his best years and he has paid for having the misfortune of being bought for a hugely inflated, Fernando Torres induced, fee. In reality he is a much better player than people give him credit for. He is superb in the air at both ends of the pitch and gets vital assists in the same way that, say Oliver Giroud has been doing for Arsenal this season. In the last four seasons he has scored 27 goals and added a further 18 assists. That doesn’t sound amazing, but when you consider the time he has actually been on the pitch that works out as a goal/assist every 150 minutes. For teams that have struggled during that period, that remains a strong record. Especially when it includes a barren 10 game stretch at Liverpool when he contributed precisely nothing. Take that out and it’s more than a goal a game. Carroll actually got sent off on Saturday, but given the decision bordered on the offensive even the parsimonious FA will surely overturn it. West Ham have a run of winnable fixtures up next and with Carroll, Nolan and the worst celebration now left in the league back together again… the way is surely up.
West Ham remain in the relegation zone despite taking 4 points from two, on paper, difficult looking fixtures. But if they have any chance at all of escaping it come May, they need to keep Andy Carroll and Kevin Nolan fit and firing together. One of the great enigma partnerships of the Premier League, both players appear lost and confused without the other to feed off. Nolan has done nothing of note for four months (apart from getting sent off, twice) but clearly the sight of his big Geordie buddy did wonders to his confidence. The Carroll knock down, Nolan strike is the trademark Big Sam move and it worked twice here to bury an ailing Swansea. Andy Carroll remains a curious player, injuries have robbed him of some of his best years and he has paid for having the misfortune of being bought for a hugely inflated, Fernando Torres induced, fee. In reality he is a much better player than people give him credit for. He is superb in the air at both ends of the pitch and gets vital assists in the same way that, say Oliver Giroud has been doing for Arsenal this season. In the last four seasons he has scored 27 goals and added a further 18 assists. That doesn’t sound amazing, but when you consider the time he has actually been on the pitch that works out as a goal/assist every 150 minutes. For teams that have struggled during that period, that remains a strong record. Especially when it includes a barren 10 game stretch at Liverpool when he contributed precisely nothing. Take that out and it’s more than a goal a game. Carroll actually got sent off on Saturday, but given the decision bordered on the offensive even the parsimonious FA will surely overturn it. West Ham have a run of winnable fixtures up next and with Carroll, Nolan and the worst celebration now left in the league back together again… the way is surely up.
2. Surely, surely Zaha was worth a few games David?
It took around ten minutes for Wilfried Zaha to inspire Cardiff to their first league victory under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The last signing of the Ferguson era lit up the Championship last year and after a promising pre-season, was expected to push Valencia and Nani for regular starts at Old Trafford. That never happened for reasons that aren’t fully clear. Moyes clearly did not trust Zaha, a decision which is impossible to reconcile with the continued trust placed in the likes of Ashley Young and Tom Cleverly, and the genuinely insane decision to reward Nani with a new 5 year contract. It’s becoming too regular to even bother making a point out of a Man Utd loss anymore, but if there’s one thing the team lacks it’s out and out pace. Rooney is niggled by injuries, Van Persie needs the ball to feet and the mercurial Juan Mata couldn’t out run Giggsy. A Zaha in full flight, coming on for the last twenty minutes say, would have least provided Utd with a bit of unpredictably in the final third this season. As it is, Moyes saw him worthy of getting on the pitch twice all season before loaning him to a grateful Cardiff. If he continues to play as well as he did on Saturday it will just be another in a long line of reasons why the current manager of Manchester United looks increasingly ill-suited for the job. The last time somebody uttered the line “I just don’t know what else we can do” after a match his name was Tony fucking Adams. Moyes isn’t just fighting for Man Utd’s future, he is fighting for his own.
It took around ten minutes for Wilfried Zaha to inspire Cardiff to their first league victory under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The last signing of the Ferguson era lit up the Championship last year and after a promising pre-season, was expected to push Valencia and Nani for regular starts at Old Trafford. That never happened for reasons that aren’t fully clear. Moyes clearly did not trust Zaha, a decision which is impossible to reconcile with the continued trust placed in the likes of Ashley Young and Tom Cleverly, and the genuinely insane decision to reward Nani with a new 5 year contract. It’s becoming too regular to even bother making a point out of a Man Utd loss anymore, but if there’s one thing the team lacks it’s out and out pace. Rooney is niggled by injuries, Van Persie needs the ball to feet and the mercurial Juan Mata couldn’t out run Giggsy. A Zaha in full flight, coming on for the last twenty minutes say, would have least provided Utd with a bit of unpredictably in the final third this season. As it is, Moyes saw him worthy of getting on the pitch twice all season before loaning him to a grateful Cardiff. If he continues to play as well as he did on Saturday it will just be another in a long line of reasons why the current manager of Manchester United looks increasingly ill-suited for the job. The last time somebody uttered the line “I just don’t know what else we can do” after a match his name was Tony fucking Adams. Moyes isn’t just fighting for Man Utd’s future, he is fighting for his own.
3. Fulham are in all sorts of trouble
For every club who change a manager mid-season and watch the team’s form and spirit radically improve (Sunderland/Palace) – there is a club who gambles and fails miserably as they slowly, but surely realise it may not have been the manager who was doing a bad job after all. Martin Jol was trying to put together an expansive, attacking team from a squad historically used to steady, passing football. The problem was he bought players who played pretty football but didn’t know how to run back and tackle. Like, ever. The decision to sack him then was surely taken with a view to bringing in a manager who get the most out of such players, or revert back to the way they’d played in the past under the likes of Mark Hughes and Roy Hodgson. Seemingly not. Fulham brought in Rene Meulensteen who, whilst respected hugely for his work at Man Utd, had never managed in the Premier League and only previous experience involved a largely unsuccessful spell at Brondby. Meulensteen has lost 8 of his 14 matches to date and hasn’t been able to stop the defensive errors that have cost Fulham all season. The Cottagers have conceded 53 goals thus far, a full 12 worse than Cardiff who are next on the list. Their goal difference of minus 31 looks insurmountable and counts for an extra point (or lack of) in a bunched bottom half. There are positives for Fulham in the form of new signing Mitroglou, a prolific striker with Champions League experience and the fact that their next game is a 2014 banker. Manchester United.
For every club who change a manager mid-season and watch the team’s form and spirit radically improve (Sunderland/Palace) – there is a club who gambles and fails miserably as they slowly, but surely realise it may not have been the manager who was doing a bad job after all. Martin Jol was trying to put together an expansive, attacking team from a squad historically used to steady, passing football. The problem was he bought players who played pretty football but didn’t know how to run back and tackle. Like, ever. The decision to sack him then was surely taken with a view to bringing in a manager who get the most out of such players, or revert back to the way they’d played in the past under the likes of Mark Hughes and Roy Hodgson. Seemingly not. Fulham brought in Rene Meulensteen who, whilst respected hugely for his work at Man Utd, had never managed in the Premier League and only previous experience involved a largely unsuccessful spell at Brondby. Meulensteen has lost 8 of his 14 matches to date and hasn’t been able to stop the defensive errors that have cost Fulham all season. The Cottagers have conceded 53 goals thus far, a full 12 worse than Cardiff who are next on the list. Their goal difference of minus 31 looks insurmountable and counts for an extra point (or lack of) in a bunched bottom half. There are positives for Fulham in the form of new signing Mitroglou, a prolific striker with Champions League experience and the fact that their next game is a 2014 banker. Manchester United.
4. Finger waving needs to be outlawed
It is a common bugbear of many armchair supporters to see players calling for cards for their fellow professionals. The act should come with an automatic yellow card and I’m not entirely sure why the policing of the offence by referees appears to be on a random basis. More frustrating to me though, is the tired and often completely inaccurate single finger put up by almost every player having committed a bookable foul. I watched West Brom v Liverpool on Sunday and witnessed four players in a row claim to the referee it was their “first foul” upon receiving a booking. For starters, it wasn’t, but secondly and more importantly, it doesn’t make a difference when the punishment quite clearly fits the crime. The referee got all four of the decisions spot on, one was a badly late tackle and the other three were so cynical they are exactly the sort of offence that “amber” sin bin cards should be introduced for. Liam Ridgewell’s could arguably have been red given Sterling’s pace would almost certainly have carried him to goal, even if he was in his own half when he made the tackle. Yet in that instance his captain felt the need to tell the referee that not only was it his first offence (again, it wasn’t) but to then point out at least six recent examples of fouls that weren’t even remotely comparable by Liverpool players. I’m all for communication between referee and players on the pitch, but you just don’t see every single decision questioned in this way in any other sport. The RESPECT campaign is a joke and the level of dissent filters itself down to every level of football. There is no point changing the rules for referees on the pitch, they have an impossible job. The only way to stop players cheating and trying to con the referee is by retrospective action. It’s just not that hard a concept people.
It is a common bugbear of many armchair supporters to see players calling for cards for their fellow professionals. The act should come with an automatic yellow card and I’m not entirely sure why the policing of the offence by referees appears to be on a random basis. More frustrating to me though, is the tired and often completely inaccurate single finger put up by almost every player having committed a bookable foul. I watched West Brom v Liverpool on Sunday and witnessed four players in a row claim to the referee it was their “first foul” upon receiving a booking. For starters, it wasn’t, but secondly and more importantly, it doesn’t make a difference when the punishment quite clearly fits the crime. The referee got all four of the decisions spot on, one was a badly late tackle and the other three were so cynical they are exactly the sort of offence that “amber” sin bin cards should be introduced for. Liam Ridgewell’s could arguably have been red given Sterling’s pace would almost certainly have carried him to goal, even if he was in his own half when he made the tackle. Yet in that instance his captain felt the need to tell the referee that not only was it his first offence (again, it wasn’t) but to then point out at least six recent examples of fouls that weren’t even remotely comparable by Liverpool players. I’m all for communication between referee and players on the pitch, but you just don’t see every single decision questioned in this way in any other sport. The RESPECT campaign is a joke and the level of dissent filters itself down to every level of football. There is no point changing the rules for referees on the pitch, they have an impossible job. The only way to stop players cheating and trying to con the referee is by retrospective action. It’s just not that hard a concept people.
5. Manchester City are not the best team in the world.
When Cockney Wideboy Tim Sherwood uttered the words “they’re the best team in the world” last weekend, I expected nobody to take him seriously. Inexplicably, people did. This Monday night, Chelsea came, saw and conquered in a way that was not even remotely justified by a scoreline that simply stated 0:1. Manchester City are the best attacking team in England. That is a statement backed up for actual evidence and statistics. To suggest that they are the best team in the world requires a total ignorance to the fact that they possess just one world class defender. They have a fine central midfield, but absolutely no back up to it whatsoever. And from there one has to consider Barca and Madrid, who just do not suffer concentration lapses with anywhere near the regularity that City do. There is also a little team called Bayern Munich. Who have not lost a meaningful fixture… in… two… years. Giving credit to Chelsea is hard work, but fuck me did they deserve it tonight. This was the sort of performance which you wonder if any manager bar Jose could have coaxed from these players. John Terry and Gary Cahill were so good you forgot they were English. Matic was magnificent in a returning role and Hazard’s every touch, every movement oozed class. 5 or 6 1 would not have flattered Chelsea and this was a performance that shouted title winning from the rafters. There is still a long way to go, not least because Arsenal remain top, but anybody who thinks City are the best team in the world after being taken apart like this needs their head examined. Hell, Ya Ya Toure had to resort to diving by the second half. With three teams competing for the title, three more in the race for fourth and around ten in the battle for relegation… a slow starting season is shaping up to be one of the most exciting in years. Long may it continue.
When Cockney Wideboy Tim Sherwood uttered the words “they’re the best team in the world” last weekend, I expected nobody to take him seriously. Inexplicably, people did. This Monday night, Chelsea came, saw and conquered in a way that was not even remotely justified by a scoreline that simply stated 0:1. Manchester City are the best attacking team in England. That is a statement backed up for actual evidence and statistics. To suggest that they are the best team in the world requires a total ignorance to the fact that they possess just one world class defender. They have a fine central midfield, but absolutely no back up to it whatsoever. And from there one has to consider Barca and Madrid, who just do not suffer concentration lapses with anywhere near the regularity that City do. There is also a little team called Bayern Munich. Who have not lost a meaningful fixture… in… two… years. Giving credit to Chelsea is hard work, but fuck me did they deserve it tonight. This was the sort of performance which you wonder if any manager bar Jose could have coaxed from these players. John Terry and Gary Cahill were so good you forgot they were English. Matic was magnificent in a returning role and Hazard’s every touch, every movement oozed class. 5 or 6 1 would not have flattered Chelsea and this was a performance that shouted title winning from the rafters. There is still a long way to go, not least because Arsenal remain top, but anybody who thinks City are the best team in the world after being taken apart like this needs their head examined. Hell, Ya Ya Toure had to resort to diving by the second half. With three teams competing for the title, three more in the race for fourth and around ten in the battle for relegation… a slow starting season is shaping up to be one of the most exciting in years. Long may it continue.
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