The Barclays Premier League comes days after the UEFA Champions League. Usually, the teams that were active during the week sell us a dummy by under performing. It is very unlikely though, that this time they will have an excuse. Chelsea did not raise any sweat in their 4-1 home victory, while Arsenal fielded novices that did not hit a 100% performance level.
Manchester United, however, had to engage an extra gear to get the 3 points though the opposition was never world class. Tottenham Hotspur gave their all against the defending champions and got the result that got us talking. This showed their inexperience, as teams usually go half throttle at that level in order to reserve Premiership fuel levels so that they will win the trip back to Europe the next season.
Manchester City were pathetic losing 1-3 in a shameful match. Liverpool overcome Napoli in a dramatic turn of events, but then, the Europa League is a second tier competition that does not draw 100% performance in technical and tactical terms. New boss, American Liverpool owner John W Henry failed to commit the long term future manager Roy Hodgson although he will be here for now.
He was wary to underline that debt is bad and there is need to stay away from it, hence it would not be wise to borrow to build the new stadium. The whole point is that he promised new talent, without mentioning names and figures, for the coach. It will, however be seen how much their transformation in cash terms translates to the footballing results and the impact it will have in the focus of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard as they look at the long term.
The Liverpool versus Chelsea at Anfield today will show how much progress Liverpool are making, at least to the fans. For me, it will never be a measure of anything. It will be a matter of 3 points and Chelsea have a work ethic no English team can stand against. They do not raise any sweat unnecessarily. They do just enough to get the job done for the day. I am not a big fan of Carlo Ancelotti but then, the players are world class. Liverpool will need the Steven Gerrard of midweek to really have the match give us the vibe, but even then, 4 or 5 Gerrards may not be enough to stop the blue machine.
As of Manchester City, the plough is sinking, in particular for boss Roberto Mancini's the going can not be worse. In their language, his days are numbered, and City lives to fight another day for the championship. For their talent and money, it is a little embarrassing that they fight for a spot with the likes of Tottenham Hotspur. Man City have lost matches with chilling constancy, 3 in a row.
They face their match in West Brom who have lost four matches on the trot. Italian Mancini feels the pressure but then, I guess if he is fired he stands to earn more money and lose all the pressure. More incentive to do less right there. I must say City success is unlikely to make it easier for the billionaire owners who do not take West Brom as a big deal. I guess they are conducting interviews by now and I am keeping my eyes open.
Gareth Bale is as much of a buzz word this week as was 'vuvuzela' during the FIFA World Cup. Since football is never magic, Spurs have their biggest challenge to date and their problems are basically have everything to do with experience. How much to do and not to do after failure or success in Europe is one of the toughest coaching issues to deal with. Having players to focus calls for a high order of mental shaping. Bolton are a team that can tear a team apart if someone sleeps on duty.
It has been obvious how Spurs failed to shake off the European jet-leg and faltered. It would be folly to place your money against a team that has just beat European champions regardless of Tottenham's very bad record at Bolton as they will be looking for a league win they last saw in 1996. Owen Coyle was like a monkey busy stroking Harry Redknapp's scrotum suggesting the Spurs boss should do the England job after Fabio Capello.
Newcastle have Nolan, Andy Carroll and Ameobi to tilt the scale for them when they face Arsenal. They scored tons of goals last week and though Arsenal had a bad European outing, they will remember how much of a drubbing the Gunners gave them. This one will be a very bad draw.
No comments:
Post a Comment