1. Is there anybody left who respects Alan Pardew?
You’ve got to hand it to Pardew, he may be the most dislikable manager in the league, but he is certainly unique. His headbutt this weekend was a storyline straight out of the Observers Said & Done; the sort of thing that supposedly happens in the South American little leagues and we laugh about from afar. The fact the headbutt was pretty tame is almost completely irrelevant, there is enough footage to show that it clearly was... a headbutt... and for any manager of a major football team to even consider doing that is extraordinary. Pardew looked genuinely embarrassed post match and after promising to “punish himself” last time he stepped out of line, the mind boggles at what’s in store for him once he gets some alone time. Oddly, the craziest thing about the incident wasn’t the headbutt itself, but the almost complete lack of provocation for doing so. Meyler merely brushed past Pardew trying to get the ball back in a game his team were comfortably losing. The Newcastle managers reaction was akin to me butting somebody who accidentally bumped into me in the street. In that instance, I would probably end up with an assault charge. Clearly Pardew’s act of comedy doesn’t warrant that, Newcastle have already fined him £100,000 and he can expect a similar figure coming from the FA along with a 6 or 7 match ban. His actions of course, took away from what was a superb away performance from his team. Now they will have to cope without him for much of the remainder of the season as they go head to head with Southampton in the battle for 8th that literally nobody cares about.
2. Nasri & City bury their demons
It wasn’t all plain sailing, but come the end of the match Manchester City had won out and banished the memory of their last Wembley visit. For Samir Nasri, who scored the crucial goal, the feeling was particularly pleasing having lost to relegated clubs in his last two cup finals here. City were not at their best but when they possess players who can create something out of nothing almost every match, all is never lost. It’s hard to know where this Ya Ya Toure has been for the past decade. Sure he was asked to play a more defensive role at Barca, but he wasn’t knocking in 30 yard curlers two years ago let alone when he was playing for the best team in Europe. The Ivorian still wanders around like an African Berbatov at times, but it matters little when he can come up with the sort of strike that got his team back in this match and on their way to victory. Many managers have come to these shores and started the trophy cabinet with the League Cup. It is a curiously maligned trophy that now offers far better entertainment than its drawn out (Friday to Monday) FA cousin. Manuel Pellegrini is a likeable manager, when he’s not racially abusing Swedish referees, and this was a strong start to a season which may yet deliver an unlikely treble.
3. Soldado does it the hard way
It had been a long time since Roberto Soldado had scored for Spurs. 8 games to be exact and a whopping 15 since his last league goal from open play. His match winner on Sunday oozed with the class that you’d expect from somebody who cost over £25m. The shame for Spurs fans is that they had seen precious little evidence of that fee to date, beyond an ability to take a cool penalty. Credit then, to the White Hart Lane faithful who sang their strikers name to the rafters both before and after his strike. Soldado received a standing ovation when he left the pitch, an action that was barely deserved on his overall play. But in a time where fans turn on players, managers and owners quicker than ever... this was a welcome and refreshing change to such negativity.
4. You’re only ever as good as your last game...
In contrast to the above of course, this weekend also saw its fair share of outrageous hyperbole and world collapsing pessimism based on a single match. Indeed Manchester City weren’t even afforded that privilege, with pundits and fans alike tearing into them before they came from behind to win the cup. “Completely Leaderless” quipped Mick McCarthy (who would know) moments before their central midfield “leader” bent in a 30 yard wonder strike. This weekend it was the turn of first Wenger and then Chris Hughton to get slammed for having the nerve to lose away from home in the most competitive top flight league in Europe. Arsenal were poor, if unlucky, and Wenger’s serial failure at this stage of the season is probably fair enough to use as the stick to beat him with. But this time last week Norwich were beating Spurs and Hughton was being lauded as the man to turn it around. That claim was just as absurd as any calls to sack him now. The truth, as ever, lying somewhere in between. Norwich have been thumped a couple of times this season but it’s scoring goals not conceding them that has been their undoing and prior to the weekend they had kept four clean sheets in their last six matches. Sacking Hughton now will achieve precisely nothing and despite West Brom seemingly prepared to depart with their manager for the second time this season, the relegation fight is increasingly looking like one team from five to join Fulham and Cardiff.
5. Unless you’re David Moyes
Poor David Moyes. Manchester United didn’t even play this weekend and he still managed to get more articles written about him than Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal. In his defence, replacing Ferguson was always going to a minefield and regardless of how he or anyone else performed, the scrutiny and interest in replacing a manager of such longevity and standing was always going to be hanging over Old Trafford like the Sword of Damocles. But that is pretty much where the defence for him stops. Continued talk of “he inherited a poor squad” and “Ferguson didn’t start his reign well” is both woefully out of context and increasingly more ignorant. Moyes only inherited a poor squad in comparison to Manchester City or the great Utd teams of the last ten years, and was given essentially limitless funds to add to it at will. Which he did, to the tune of over £60m spent on two players who, whilst talented, cannot run. The argument that he “wanted to see what he was working with” before making any decision is ludicrous. He had managed in the same league for ten years? An 8 year old watching match of the day could have told him that Nani & Anderson were shit and that Valencia, Evra, Young & Cleverly clearly needed to be replaced. Ferguson was supremely talented at making players perform beyond their capabilities, but then so are lots of managers. Could anyone have predicted 12 months ago that the best English midfielder in the league would be Adam Lallana? There are lots of damning things you could throw at Moyes but the one that sticks is that he has not improved a single player this season. He’s taken a bit of credit for Wayne Rooney, but all he did was get him on the pitch and play him. Rooney has always been an up and down player and that’s been the case this season as well. His effort and work rate have never been questioned, so crediting Moyes with “turning him around” is a bit like saying well done to an engineer for getting a car with a flat battery started again. Manchester United now have arguably an even bigger decision facing them than they did when Ferguson retired. For the team to be finishing 7th and limping out of all cups in woeful circumstances is simply unforgivable. Huge surgery is required and does anybody now seriously believe that David Moyes is the man to oversee a complete squad overhaul? This is a man who simply cannot instruct the Champions of England to play a pressing game... a passing game... a counter attacking game... a high tempo game... a fast game... or, right now, a fucking winning game. Moyes has failed every single test without fail that has been put in front of him. From the backroom staff, to the transfers, to the style of play, to the media, to the man management, to the results. Utd have West Brom away before a run of home fixtures that takes in Liverpool, Olympiakos and Manchester City. If Moyes loses all three of those matches and still keeps his job, it’s time for us all to pack up and go home.
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