Two derbies. Four teams. Great emotion. Four goals. Four bad outcomes.
Taking away the rivalry in the situation, all four teams involved in the weekend’s two derbies need points in a huge way. It’s easy to say “it’s early” because, really, it’s still September and we’re going to be at this until late May. What that attitude neglects to account for is the importance of the potential six point swing on offer when teams who are competing for the same goal play regardless of when it happens during the season. Matches at the end of the season are only tight and tense if a team fails to do the business early. In these two derby matches, Arsenal, Spurs, Liverpool and Everton all had a chance to make their task in March, April and May easier and all failed to do so.
While none will be happy with a point, Everton likely take the most out of the weekend given the late nature of their equalizer and the realization that maybe they should be playing John Stones rather than the 200 year-old Sylvain Distin in central defense. The Toffees managed to hold an opponent other than West Brom to a single goal which is progress and they kept the Reds from putting any distance between them and the Toffees in the race for a Champions League spot. Liverpool will be just miserable. To drop two points to a stunning goal at the death to hated local rivals AND fail to capitalize on a weekend when Arsenal and Spurs also dropped points is just a disaster. That they couldn’t mount a better attack against a team that has given up more goals than anyone in the league has to be even more worrying than the loss of the two points late.
The questions plaguing the Arsenal vs. Spurs match are so plentiful it probably deserves a column unto itself but I’ll try to sum it up quickly here. How does Wenger rotate Sanchez for a critical match? Going back further into the summer, how is there no better holding midfield option than Arteta/Flamini? How does Mertesacker make that horrible pass to Flamini when Eriksen is bearing down on him? Why would Flamini, after receiving said hospital ball, not just boot the hell out of it? Just a frustrating day to be an Arsenal supporter. However, given that Arsenal tried their hardest to give this one away Spurs will be equally upset at Pochettino not buying a forward and not being able to get his charges into this match. Outside of that horrible mistake, Spurs were dominated and but for Hugo Lloris’ excellent save (not an unreasonable thing to expect) and a resolute performance from Younes Kaboul (pretty unusual really) it would have been a massacre. I can’t say I’d be thrilled about the outcome of this one from either side.
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The Title Race - where we discuss how the aspirants for the title and the four Champions League spots are doing against those two goals.
Chelsea – Yawn, another week another signal that Chelsea are going to run away with this thing. Remember what I said about winning early making the later months not so pressure-packed? I think Jose does.
Manchester City – They are miles better than Hull City and there was no way they were going to lose this one but their, and specifically Eliaquim Mangala’s, loss of focus when up 2-0 certainly doesn’t bode well for them keeping up with Chelsea against actual mid-table and up competition.
The Race For Europe – We can now feel good about breaking out City and Chelsea for the title and monitoring what will surely be a thrilling race for the remaining two Champions League places here.
Liverpool – The good news is that Steven Gerrard is still alive. The bad news is that on a day when Raheem Sterling was muted and Daniel Sturridge still injured Liverpool didn’t have any other answers from among the array of expensive talent they brought in this summer. I’m also nominating Adam Lallana for the not-at-all-coveted Gylfi Sigurdsson award for being great as the focal point of a mid-table team but looking entirely out of place as just another option in a contending side. He still has time to prove me wrong but on the evidence so far I see a £10 million return move to Southampton the summer after next (about the time the Saints sell Dusan Tadic for a huge profit).
Arsenal – Somewhere on the interwebs during the week I saw the words “Why didn’t Wenger buy Joleon Lescott?” as a teaser for an article. It is a fantastic question and raises the complimentary question of why he didn’t buy a similarly workmanlike holding midfielder (we’re presuming that his premium choices just weren’t available either at all or on acceptable terms). What he has done is manage to turn the return of Mathieu Flamini (a great story given his emergency contributions early last season when nothing was expected of him) into a public relations nightmare. Flamini should be the definition of a squad player but he has found himself playing in far too many critical situations. Obviously a William Carvalho or Morgan Schneiderlin would have been ideal over the summer but it certainly seems like Arsenal could have had a Fabien Delph or a Mile Jedinak to plug the hole until they manage to do the deal for a long term solution.
Manchester United – The window dressing of moving within two points of fourth is certainly nice and getting any win was certainly needed. That a win at home against West Ham would be anything other than assumed is still shocking. In the short term, Rooney’s red card was embarrassing but probably not too damaging since they have Juan Mata to fill in at Rooney’s spot (and possibly a better fit in behind Falcao and RvP). In the long term, United are still behind the eight ball because their schedule was always back-loaded. City, Chelsea, Southampton, Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton, and Spurs are all still to come in the first half of the season and while not all of them look great you wouldn’t bet on the current version of United winning too many of those.
Tottenham Hotspur – Talk about blah, two wins, two draws, two losses and one more goal scored than conceded. Spurs started off the season looking like world-beaters against West Ham and QPR. They have two points in four matches since that point and you’d like to attribute it to the schedule getting tougher but they have dropped a combined five points to Sunderland and West Brom in that span. There is no forward that scares anyone. Christen Eriksen hasn’t been the player that we saw last season yet. Erik Lamela’s revival appears to have been a QPR-induced mirage. With Southampton at the Lane and a trip to the Etihad up next you wouldn’t bet against Spurs being winless in six before Newcastle arrive on October 26th.
Everton – It would probably take a more in-depth viewing of the match from a broader camera angle than is available to the average television viewer to say this with any certainty but it sure seemed like the root of Everton’s issues could be linked to Gareth Barry. In the first half alone, Barry was shown a yellow card, could have been shown a red and conceded a penalty. Oh, and it isn’t like this was all the result of that kinetic Liverpool attack of last season. This was the result of him not being up to the challenge of engaging the 2014-15 version of Liverpool without Daniel Sturridge – you know, the one that only scored once against the Hammers and not at all against Villa. There’s no nice way to say that Barry looked heavy and slow. I can’t say I watched him that closely last season to know that this is a new development or if it was just a long-standing one that Liverpool found a way to exploit but it seems clear why City was willing to let him go for next to nothing. Hopefully, the Toffees aren’t locked into what is likely a very large salary for too long. I’m betting that Ross Barkley can’t get back soon enough for Roberto Martinez.
The Relegation Zone - where we examine events at the other end of the table as established clubs flounder and newly promoted clubs reveal who they are going to be this season.
Crystal Palace – Whether you thought the 2-0 win against Leicester City was convincing or ugly all depends on whether you watched it or not. It certainly looked comfortable on paper but a watching shows that it was really the result of some scrambling on set pieces that came to fruition. There’s nothing wrong with that and Palace certainly needed the points but let’s hold off before we start declaring the Pulis-fueled good times back after two straight wins.
West Brom – Unlike Palace’s win in fits and starts, West Brom was dominant early and often en route to their comprehensive whipping of an even more undermanned than usual Burnley. Missing four first teamers from a thread-bare side, the Clarets were no match for a Baggies team that is finally getting healthy and figuring out who each other are after a massive summer makeover. Saido Berahino is showing signs he may solve the club’s striking woes from within joining Sergio Aguero, Nacer Chadli, and Graziano Pelle on four goals after six matches. We won’t move them out of the relegation battle quite yet with Liverpool and Manchester United looming next but even a point from either of those two matches and you have to feel good about this being a 12th through 15th team for the season as opposed to one that might go down. .
Sunderland – Could they actually finish 0-37-1? They are exactly one away goal vs. QPR from having tied all of their matches so far this season. A home point against Swansea isn’t bad given the Swans early results this season. Has anyone ever stayed up without winning a match all season? It feels like it’s going to be that sort of absurd season for the Black Cats.
QPR – A trip to Southampton isn’t the place we expect the Rs to pick up points but there has to be a point where the media turns on Harry Redknapp, doesn’t there? I know he’s supposed to be everyone’s buddy (in the media) and a “great football man” but he already got them relegated once and spent a ton of money doing so and looks solidly on the same path again this year. Charlie Austin isn’t going to score that sort of goal nearly often enough to keep them from the drop.
Burnley – That the Baggies whipped them with a few starters unavailable just shows how thin this squad is. They’re going down for sure between the lack of goals and the need for everyone to be healthy to play the sort of organized match they played for the first five weeks of the season.
Newcastle – They get a national stage on Monday to see if they can build on their second half comeback against Hull City. I wouldn’t bet on it.
Newcomer of the Year - where we track the progress of players new to the Premier League this season
- Diego Costa – Back among the goals even if reports indicate that he’s not training much at all during the week. Does it matter?
- Cesc Fabregas – A second quiet week in a row but no one else did enough to dislodge Cesc from the two spot on this list.
- Angel di Maria – After two great goals in a row the Argentine was a little less influential this time around.
- Alexis Sanchez – I mentioned it above but can anyone explain Wenger’s handling of Sanchez? I’m baffled. Home to Galatasaray is a huge Champions League group stage match but why not rest Sanchez for Villa last weekend and Southampton in mid-week and then play him in the two important matches back-to-back (Spurs and Gala)? Arsenal were a significantly better team going forward the second he stepped on to the pitch on Saturday.
- Graziano Pelle – What a goal that was.
- Dusan Tadic – Another week and another assist.
- Leonardo Ulloa – A quiet weekend drops him behind the Saints winning duo.
- Radamel Falcao – Another assist pushes him up a spot but we’re still waiting for that signature moment to rocket him up this list.
- Gylfi Sigurdsson – Make that three quiet weeks in a row with this one looking all the worse for it coming against Sunderland.
- Danny Welbeck – Bodied off the ball too easily by Younes Kaboul but with few stand-outs this week we’re keeping the list static.
Just Missing Out: Daley Blind, Ander Herrera, Eric Dier, Kieran Trippier, Joseph Schlupp, Fraser Forster, Thibaut Courtois.
Dropping Off: None
The Phantom Point All-Stars – Yes, we’re going to keep tweaking this one until we get it right. We’re going to re-instate the Joel Ward All-Stars (defending phantom statistics – blocks, interceptions and tackles), re-classify the Mido All-Stars (all attacking phantom points – SOTs, corners won, successful crosses) and add an all-around category for players who throw in a little of everything for a massive phantom point weekend.
Joel Ward All-Stars
- James McCarthy – In contrast to Gareth Barry, McCarthy was everywhere with four blocked shots, two interceptions and five tackles while only committing one foul. That’s a stout performance.
- Curtis Davies – An old school Joel Ward All-Star type performance with two blocks, five interceptions and three tackles even if it came while giving up four goals.
- Danny Drinkwater – Another strong performance in a two goal loss, Drinkwater blocked a shot, intercepted three passes and won seven tackles for a solid defensive outing (at least statistically-speaking).
Mido All-Stars
- Raheem Sterling – Across the pitch from McCarthy, Sterling was trying his best to create havoc with two shots on target, three successful crosses, four corners won and he even threw in a tackle and an interception.
- Romelu Lukaku – More from Anfield (apparently “The Home of Phantom Points”) where Lukaku was battered as much as Balotelli (four fouls won) and managed to out-do the Italian by putting three shots on target.
- Stuart Downing – He did his best to pull a Victor Moses with eight (8!) successful crosses and two corners won against Manchester United. It’s a wonder his leg didn’t fall off with all that crossing of the ball.
All-Around All-Stars
- Kieran Gibbs – He’s showing up on this list more often than I would have guessed, this week he chipped in six interceptions and a tackle while winning four corners and producing two successful crosses.
- Mario Balotelli – You get the feeling there was a lot going on at Anfield with Balotelli joining Sterling with two shots on target and two corners won. You also get the sense that Everton’s strategy was to frustrate the Italian hit man when you see that he was fouled five times. That he didn’t retaliate has to count for something, right? He even won three tackles while only committing one foul.
- Dusan Tadic – He did tally an assist on Pelle’s winner but he threw in a bit of everything else as well with two shots on target, two corners won, a successful cross, three tackles, and two passes intercepted. That’s the definition of a two-way performance.
The Fake Narrative of the Week - It is impossible to go a week without encountering a narrative somewhere in the football media that appears to be totally made up for the sake of gaining attention. They usually fall into the categories of made up transfer rumors, hanging on too long to a mental image of who a player was and not who he currently is, or preying on a long-held stereotype based on club, nationality, or position. When I come across them, I’ll let you know and then let you know why I think they’re silly.
It takes new players a long time to get used to a new system/new teammates. We’re all guilty of this one from time-to-time and I’m not saying that there’s no truth to it at all but it seems hugely over-blown. For every Manchester United under Van Gaal (or Moyes) or even the revamped Liverpool line-up you have a completely renovated Southampton under Koeman or a significantly changed Swansea under Gary Monk. The notion that it takes a month or multiple months to learn a new system or acclimate to new teammates is just false. What ISN’T new at Southampton? The manager is new. The goalkeeper is new. Half of the defense is new. The attackers are all new. Just about the only thing that isn’t new is the holding duo of Victor Wanyama and Morgan Schneiderlin. The alternative is that the “it takes time” narrative is correct and Southampton have bought and hired so well that there is still significant upside in this group. It would be sort of fun if that were true but it isn’t. If your team is still struggling to adapt then the chances are that either the new thing (players and/or manager) aren’t as good as you hoped or they aren’t a good fit for each other at all.
Sponsor I’d Like To See - As you can see from the lack of sponsorship for this column or this page, there’s room for some additional corporate involvement here at the Rotoworld.com Premier League page. In a blatant attempt to solicit any sponsors who may be reading, I’m going to start suggesting some sponsors who might want to call the nice people at NBC Sports to find out what it would take to become part of the team.
FIFA 2015– They’re everywhere else on TV and the internet right now so why not us? Why not now?
Random Closing Thoughts - Well, this one’s pretty obvious and it will be how we close out the column each week at least until a better idea comes along.
- My Second Club – How does Leicester City celebrate the huge honor of being named my official second team of the season? They play by far their worst match of the season. Do they want me to start questioning my choice and rethinking Southampton? I’m not going to overreact but after watching Pelle’s goal the thought certainly crossed my mind. I haven’t done anything so rash as to buy any branded merchandise yet so nothing is 100% set in stone yet. Come on you Foxes, don’t let me down.
- This Week’s Good Points: It was a pretty quiet weekend on the “good point” front as the matches mostly went to form. It would be a stretch to call Everton or Spurs picking up a point at teams they expect to finish near in the table a good point. The most surprising result of the weekend (Sunderland holding off Swansea) isn’t THAT big a result given that it happened at the Stadium of Light but we’ll give the Black Cats one good point for that effort.
- The Good Points Table: Leicester City: 8; Crystal Palace 4; Aston Villa 3; Stoke City 3; Sunderland 3; Swansea 3; West Brom 3; West Ham 3; Burnley 2.
- This Week’s Bad Points: Hard to knock anyone here other than maybe the Swans for drawing with Sunderland but that seems overly harsh given that it was an away match so we’re not adding to anyone’s “bad points” total this weekend (unless Stoke loses to Newcastle later today).
- The Bad Points Table: Manchester United: 10; Liverpool 6; Spurs 5; Everton 5; Manchester City 3; Stoke City 3; Arsenal, Villa, Palace, Newcastle, and Southampton all 2.
- Southampton Sustainable? No, I’m not suggesting that the Saints will finish second but it is worth examining whether they have a chance of hanging around a race for fourth where Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs, Manchester United and Everton have all been dropping points like it’s their job. It seems safe to assume that Swansea and Villa will drop back to the middle of the table which puts Southampton five points plus goal differential ahead of United and Spurs, six points up on Liverpool and seven up on Everton. Yes, it’s early but Southampton’s schedule has been harder than United’s for sure although Spurs/Liverpool/Everton could argue that their schedules have been more challenging. It’s not time to declare them “in the race” but it won’t be much longer if they can beat Spurs next and then feast on Sunderland, Stoke, Hull, Leicester and Villa before City, Arsenal and United in three consecutive weeks.
- What did we find out? Not too much really. Arsenal make maddeningly stupid errors but we knew that. Spurs’ attack isn’t good enough but we at the very least suspected that. Liverpool aren’t nearly the attacking force they were last season without Suarez and Sturridge but who would be? Chelsea and Manchester City are very good and it will take a good team playing their best to take points from them but we knew that too. All we really learned is that there is at least some hope that Manchester United won’t be an unmitigated disaster at the back all season.
- Derby Injuries: Neither high profile derby match was particularly vicious but that didn’t stop the participants from dropping like flies. Arsenal appear to have lost Aaron Ramsey for a month and Mikel Arteta for three weeks at a time when the schedule is getting tricky between the Champions League and a trip to Stamford Bridge next weekend. Everton appear to have lost their brittle attacker Kevin Mirallas as they prepare for a trip to Old Trafford next weekend.
- Mirallas: How did Kevin Mirallas not end up at Arsenal? The summer Everton signed him he was rumored to be a target for Arsene Wenger. Having watched the Belgian he would have been a great fit for Arsenal on two fronts, he would have brought pace to the wide areas and he would have been right at home with the “frequently crocked” label that dogs both he and most Arsenal attackers. Maybe he and Theo Walcott could have combined to make one healthy, speedy attacking threat.
- What’s Next? Sunday will be extremely entertaining and insightful next weekend with Manchester United hosting Everton in a match-up of two teams in desperate need of a win to be proud of, Chelsea hosting Arsenal in a match where the Gunners will hope not to be embarrassed on another high profile road trip (even if it’s a short one), and Mauricio Pochettino will face his former club and likely look longingly across the pitch at Morgan Schneiderlin. That’s a great day of Premier League action (on NBC Sports Network!).
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