Sunday, 1 November 2015

What we learnt from the Premier League

Leicester deserve their status
Leicester City are third in the table, with the leagues highest scoring striker, highest scoring midfielder and a manager who looks to have put any retirement plans on hold for one final crack of the good life. But rest assured, this is not a fluke, a quirk of form or the fixture sheet. Over the past TWENTY games Leicester have won 13, drawn 5 and lost 2. That’s 44 points. Only Arsenal boast better form and it’s hard to make a case for their run stopping when they continue to show such resilience, team spirit and boast two of the league’s best forwards. Oh how Chelsea must crave the energy and the power of Jamie Vardy, the creativity and the trickery of Riyad Mahrez. This run is too long now to be considered a flash in the pan. Leicester play Newcastle and Watford before welcoming the insipid Manchester United to the King Power Stadium. On the evidence of everything we’ve seen this season, they will be favourites to extend their merciless stranglehold on the Champions League placings and condemn the purveyors of anti-football to the mid table purgatory where they belong.

Kone today, here tomorrow
When Arouna Kone took to the field in the first match of the season, he was booed. He proceeded to score one, make one and continued his form into the next game when his combination play with Lukaku was key to a fine away win against Southampton. He may have milled around the edges a little since then, but Roberto Martinez never lost faith in the player he brought with him from Wigan. Back to full fitness for the first time since a career threatening injury, Kone was absolutely unplayable this Sunday. He battered a woeful Sunderland with the sort of performance that Diego Costa used to be famous for, before he became merely famous for kicking, cheating, diving, punching and generally being an all round cunt. Everton tore into Sunderland like a pack of meat starved Lions. So  disinterested in defending, a scoreline of 10-4 from the second half alone could easily have been possible. Lukaku towered, Deulofeu purred, Barkley caressed and loved the football like it was his own newborn baby... but above them all stood Kone. He deserved this... and after the few weeks Everton have had, frankly so did they.

League title? That’s golden, David
Co-Chairman of West Ham, David Sullivan, announced this week without irony that West Ham were now “seriously thinking about the title.” Whilst their early season form has been largely delightful, such a comment was always likely to bite you in the ass and so it proved as the Hammers failed to break down an increasingly more resilient Watford. With more clean sheets than the bottom five combined, Watford look more than equipped to staying up thanks to sound defensive organisation, and the supreme talents of Odion Ighalo up front. The prolific marksman has carried on where we left off in the Championship and now has seven strikes to his name. He shimmers with menace in the box and his partnership with Troy Deeney has more than a whiff of Owen & Heskey about it. West Ham were largely terrible on Saturday. Playing absolutely everything through Payet is all very well when he’s firing, but when he has an off day you need a plan B. And with Andy Carroll already on the pitch... well... let’s just say that it’s not going out on a limb to be able to say, pretty confidently, that West Ham are not going to win the title this year.

Although they still have a better chance than Chelsea granted.

And Liverpool.

Arsenal have to win the title this year
It feels like we’ve said many times over the past decade, if arsenal don’t win the title this year etc etc etc. But at the risk of history repeating itself... if Arsenal don’t win the title this year, they never, ever will again under Wenger and they need to pack their bags and give up the ghost now. Arsenal are the best team in the land this calendar year; they have a woeful record with injuries granted but a deeper squad that anybody else in the league and they aren’t reliant on just one or two people in the way that Manchester City are. Sanchez is their talisman, but Ozil and Santi are now running this team with increasing guile and class. They have a World Class keeper, finally, and the best right back in the division. They have a manager who has finally got his squad to play the sort of football that he craves. Not consistently no... but consistently enough for Arsenal to win this league. Chelsea are gone, finished, more in need of a rebuild than Pompeii. Liverpool are young and raw, United too pragmatic and coasting on the ghosts of past glories. No, the only credible challengers for the title are Manchester City. Who stumbled and stuttered past the leagues worst defence this weekend thanks to a late penalty. City are a decent team, but they are not a great one. And without Silva and Aguero up front they can look very ordinary when they don’t get going. Arsenal HAVE to win the title this year. For the good of football. For the good of sport. For the good of this country.

Okay not that last part.

Louizzzzzzzzzzz van gaal
I could sit here and dissect the philosophy of Louis Van Gaal. But I won’t, I’m better than that... and so instead, please see my list of ten everyday things that are currently MORE interesting than watching Manchester United try and play football.

  1. That moment when you get to the post office just because you need proof of postage for an item you didn’t even mean to fucking order... and there are 85 people ahead of you.
  2. Phoning up your insurance company to be greeted by 25 consecutive voice activated commands that cannot possibly pick up your accent.
  3. Waiting for porn to load. On dial up. On an Amiga.
  4. Listening to Katie Hopkins talk about fat people.
  5. Being trapped in a room with Michael Owen as he talks you through EVERY goal he ever scored. And then recites the Bible.
  6. Reading Fifty Shades of Grey.
  7. Re-watching Lost. Twice.
  8. Witnessing a 2 hour single frame marathon between Peter Ebdon and Alan McManus.
  9. Enjoying the nuances of a chat between two people who are deciding whether to give up gluten or soya.
  10. Being trapped in a bar on the last fucking day on earth with a bunch of people who don’t... fucking... drink.
Team of the Weak

Sunderlands defence.
Chelsea’s midfield.
Wayne Rooney.

What you may have missed
Philippe Coutinho scoring two goals when I benched him, Jack Butland being the man of the match when I benched him, Kolarov missing a penalty, West Brom imploding, Aaron Cresswell helping bundle the ball into his own net, Ross Barkley not getting on the scoresheet, or even an assist in a six goal drubbing, Alexis Sanchez taking the afternoon off, Saido Mane wandering around like a drunk, Ayoze Perez missing 28 chances, Diego Costa being a useless, dirty cunt and Anthony Martial being STUCK OUT ON THE LEFT FUCKING WING FOR NO FUCKING REASON WHATSOEVER LOUIS!!!

But seriously, enough about my fantasy football team. Have a good week.


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