How do you determine the winners and the losers in a frantic seven day period? Results? Position? Points?
The bigger question however is, who is ready to win the Premier league from a host of teams tipped to do it?
Initially we all said Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. Liverpool showed up to spoil the party but just when we were tipping them to go all the way, Tottenham stopped the groovy train and as the excitement reached frenzied levels, Everton appended itself unto the back of the train.
As of today, with a quarter of the season gone already, less than four wins separate the first sixteen (16) teams in the EPL, yes, just eleven points!
City, Arsenal and Liverpool lead the way with seven dropped points, followed by Chelsea and Tottenham with Everton United and Southampton breathing down their necks. Beware though, the table changes erratically as the displays have been from the top teams; just when you think a team is out of it, they produce another fantastic display that gets you thinking they would be in it and in a paradox, immediately you begin to write off one of the top teams after a disappointing display, they produce a few results with commanding displays that puts them back in the frame for the title.
It’s hard to see who we can crown as champions at this point: a lack of consistency and form, the prospect of new managers and new players trying to blend, the question of tactics, depth of quality and other variables all put a question mark on potential champions.
MANCHESTER CITY
With five games without a win and latest debacle at Southampton, Pep has probably figured out that the EPL is not going to be walk in the park. He keeps tweaking the system – this was one of the problems he had with the established players and ex-internationals Beckenbauer and Hoeness at Bayern – I still don’t understand why he played without wing backs against Southampton. He played more or less a 3-2-2-3 or at times 3-2-5 which Southampton exploited very well with a 4-5-1 breaking out to the wings, forcing Pep’s midfielders and wing strikers to play deep. Well, in Spain you have two big games and “the other games”. In Germany, you have one big game “and the other games” and in “the other games” you know you’ll win and the teams would just defend, so you don’t even bother defending, could Mikel Arteta and co advice Pep that in the EPL, there are “thirty eight games” on cold nights, in the rain, and against the British spirit.
ARSENAL
I think Arsenal just need to have a strong belief in themselves and go all the way, especially after the win over Chelsea, but then again you can’t trust them after watching them lose at home to Liverpool. Let’s not forget that they bagged three points with the hand of god at Burnley and the scores against Watford didn’t reflect the entire game. They have a good squad, but my worry is that once teams sit deep and close up the spaces in the middle of the park, they run out of ideas. Unless the opposition make a silly mistake, it’s 0-0 written all over the game.
LIVERPOOL
Klopp has found a system that works for his team and his team seem to be having a fantastic run of games, already winning at Arsenal and Chelsea, drawing at Tottenham and posting a few good results at home and on the road, notably against Hull City and Leicester. However when you look at the table they have conceded the most goals among the first six teams on the table, only United have conceded more in seventh position – the keeper is new to the EPL so struggling in many areas at the moment and the defence? Hmmm – Still early days but I can’t trust their defence and goalkeeper to see them through at this point.
CHELSEA
Since Mr Conte started playing with six defenders/ defensive players, he seems to have found a way to stop others scoring, yes our system plays six outfield defensive players – thank God Moses is not a natural defender otherwise, we’ll be talking of seven defenders when John Terry comes in for Azpi in the back three and Azpi takes over from Moses – Okay football is about using what you know to get what you want, so Conte is giving us what we want at the momen and he is doing a good job bagging the points. Chelsea have the biggest advantage of the whole lot with no midweek football to play, but the Blues have to race away now while others are engaged in UCL and Thursday league to seize the advantage.
“So far” the press have not started putting pressure on Conte for his brand of football, even if he is managing to keep Cesc in the dressing room and two of Willian, Pedro and Oscar on the bench. What would happen once other teams source out the weakness in the back three and middle four system? Time would tell……
TOTTENHAM
I am an avid fan of Mauricio Pochettino – he is one of my favourite managers – but I still don’t understand why he doesn’t get it! I saw his team knocked out of the EFL cup yesterday night by Liverpool and I checked the team sheet, noticing yet again that he choose to play a ‘B’ team. There is nothing wrong in blooding in youngsters at any club, but Poch has to understand that his team needs a ‘title to become’
If only Sir Alex Ferguson’s class of ’92 didn’t win a title from the onset? If Jose’s mark 2 at Chelsea didn’t beat Tottenham to the league cup? If Jose’s first team didn’t win that league cup in his first year? If Van Gaal’s Ajax didn’t win anything at home in his first year with them? If Guardiola’s team B and A at Barca didn’t win anything ……
I can go on and on and on, but the boys need belief, they need to know that feeling of winning and it becomes an addiction. That is what is missing in Poch’s team, that is what the boys needed last year to avoid the catastrophic end to the season. Poch, find a way or make one soon enough or the law of diminishing returns might just begin to set in for your players, you also know after some time, players get itchy feet if nothing is happening at home.
EVERTON
A good tactical display at the Etihad and good wins against Sunderland and Middlesborough gave us all the impression that Koeman and his boys were ready to take on the EPL. Bolasie, Gueye, Williams, Stekenleburg and Valencia were strong additions in the summer by Koeman and the tactical discipline with defensive organisation shown by the team gave credence to a matured team not willing to settle for average. Recent defeats at Bournemouth and Burnley with the draw at Palace again puts a question mark on this team as contenders, especially at those venues most teams detest. Sixth on the table is good for now but would they answer the questions when asked by the EPL? We sit and watch.
MANCHESTER UNITED
I keep reading about the tough four fixtures Manchester United have – Liverpool, Fenerbache, Chelsea and Manchester City – tough games? that tells you the story of life at Old Trafford at the moment.
There was a time, some years ago that those fixtures would be tough on the opposition and not Manchester United. The difference? I don’t think any of us observers, pundits, fans and neutrals are naive; this United team is not the same quality as we have known through the years, you wouldn’t look at their team sheet and begin to shiver if you’re the opposition and the reason those games are deemed to be tough for United is because everybody knows that the quality in depth is not there at this moment.
Don’t blame Pogba or Zlatan. When you have a team of quality players like Peter Schmeichel, Teddy Sheringham, David Beckham, Andy Cole, Roy Keane, Gary Neville, Ole Gunnar Soljskaer, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Henning Berg, Dennis Irwin and you add Jaap Staam and Dwight Yorke, you can go on and win the champions league and league treble that year and win the premier league for the next three years by adding a couple of Quality players each year.
When you have a quality team that has Gary Neville, Louis Saha, Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs,Darren Fletcher, Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand and Christiano Ronaldo and you add Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Ed Van DerSar, Ji Sung Park, Ben Foster (2nd keeper) in one transfer window, then add Michael Carrick, Henrik Larsson in the next one, is it any wonder you win the next three premier league titles and another European Cup?
Mourinho has to manage what he has and real managing he is doing, although I think he got it wrong playing Fellaini up the top of a tripod, beside Pogba against Chelsea, but then again the 30 second blunder between Smalling, Blind and DeGea was as comical as it was the killer blow and this group of players never recovered from that, which is again uncharacteristic of Manchester United.
Can you trust this United team to stay with the pack? I’m not sure but what I know is that the guillotine would be flying around in December and June. Jose Mourinho has cleared the deck wherever he has been and with United money he would do it again, but as I said before, except Jose is a magician (I don’t doubt him as he always does the unthinkable) United have to make the champions league their objective for this season, at least that has been Arsenal’s for several years.
ADIEU CARLOS ALBERTO
Let me leave by paying tribute to “The Captain” as was fondly called by team mates and the Brazilian public. Carlos Alberto has died in Rio de Janeiro aged 72.
The final paint on the canvas of the 1970 World Cup was from the boots of Carlos Alberto, a signature goal with several passes from Zagalo’s tactical school (Zagalo’s actually planned the move from the back, telling his players what would happen up until when the ball got to Pele, which was when Alberto would make his run)
That fourth goal was a beauty and none better than “the captain” to end the World Cup and retire the Jules Rimet trophy to Brazil.
Our thoughts are with the family and friends at this time.