Chelsea fans, like those elsewhere in AC Milan, F.C Porto and Real Madrid, know when it is time to celebrate when Jose Mourinho is in the house. So the Red Devils can really be forgiven to celebrate this early.
My take is this; All the teams and coaches always revered and feared a JM coached. They feel intimated and inferior. The Man U performance thus far makes all their opponents afraid, and very afraid. This makes United's job half complete.
There is a Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rushford factor. Martial is an evergreen thread and De Gea is solid. If one tries to look at the possible loopholes in that team, it may take you a season to find one. Team spirit and teamwork are matched by a complete and satisfying work ethic from everyone. I feel Ibrahimovic will come in to give more stability to the coach's attacking options.
We predicted a good performance from Arsenal and then a revolt from the Gunners fans. However, we did not anticipate these events to be so close to each other and to come so soon. Arsene Wenger did not convince many in that English Premier League season opener against Leicester City.
The match was easy on the eye by devoid of tactical maturity and class. We were skeptical in joining the celebration party after that match. The latest demolition job by Liverpool proved us right in saying that Arsenal has very good players but the worst ever team in the league.
The players' body language was the easiest book to read. Wenger can not do anything positive to that team at all. High profile players like Mezuit Ozil looked mentally broken. The rest were extremely fragile. Alexis Sanchez, who wanted out did not look the part. Actually, Arsenal should have let him go.
No one can question Arsene's football brain and his stubbornness, but we still believe in miracles and that the man still has a little pride, no matter how small. If we are right, the man will resign next week. And in that case, a strong coach with a high reputation will come and transform dressing room mentality and attitude and maximise that team's potential.
Let assume we are wrong and the Frenchman stays on, what then can save the Gunners? Simple. Sell the entire squad and get young, cheap, naive and easy to manipulate professional who can 'yes Sir' Wenger. Otherwise, Arsenal will be in the relegation battle for the majority of the season.
This story has a flip side. A disappointing Liverpool pulled out a shocker in walloping a hapless Arsenal and suddenly, Jurgen Klopp seems to be the man. Our prediction was that the Reds are a spent force who did not need Coutinho now.
With Barcelona throwing cash like confetti at Liverpool, the Merseyside giants should gladly cash in and bank the money. There is not much need to get into the market for them now. Their followers think there is a need for a centre back and central anchoring midfielder. We have not analysised or seem possible candidates for that matter, so it is a question of the German's taste and so far, we are failing to enter his taste buds.
May we temporarily apologise our questioning of the longevity of his gengen pressing in this season. There is a temptation to say Arsenal were naive in any case, but giving credit where it is due, many duels were won in high pressing areas leading to the goals.
If we take a microscopic look, we would say it is early days. The good thing is that the Sedio Mane instincts look intact as this moment and all hope that his injuries will be minimum. Daniel Sturridge needs to be mentioned as he did what he usually does when he comes in from the bench. And again, he needs a much more injury free season than anyone in the world's five top leagues.
As one of the greatest symphasisers of Tottenham Hotspur, there was not a single attempt to give an excuse for the use of Wembley Stadium. Maybe we should have. White Hart Lane always presented a thread even before the match started. At the current rate, as opposed to the intimidation of the current Manchester United bullishness, Spurs are vulnerable to every Jack and Jill. All teams feel they have a chance against them at Wembley.
Mauricio Poccetthino's boys will be feeling tired soon if the results do not come early enough. We mentioned one serious factor for them on day one. As long as Harry Kane is not finding the net, his frustration will work against the team and his confidence. Delle Ali also needs to have his game a notch up when Kane is firing blanks.
There is no doubt that in Moussa Dembele and Victor Wanyama, they have one of the strongest central midfielders in the world today, but without the crazy scampering on the wings of Danny Rose and Kyle Walker, the load will remain against them after the completion of each swing attack.
Let us see what Manchester City brought to the table so far. I see a better team than last season, but definitely, nothing to make us think they are better than Chelsea and United. Even with their target, Alexis Sanchez, it would be hard to see how the set-up could influence the title in their favour.
Rumour has it that they intended offloading Jesus Navas and a few other players to the Gunners for the South American. Theoretically, the possible combination with Sergio Aguero should be hair-raising but Pep Guardiola can mess up a good stew and turn it into biter medicine at the click of a finger. City is a team that has already hit the ceiling. They may reinvent themselves and get rejuvenated but there is not much excitement in that squad.
Finally, as Chelsea strolled through the park, they picked up easy points. Could it be that all teams will jst bend over for a spanking? Maybe there is so much respect for Antonio Conte, but that easy win versus Everton worked for and against them. The good thing was that they picked up points without hitting top gear, basically on a rest day.
The negative aspect of that situation is a loss of top match fitness. Managing that situation going forward will be critical as to how long The Blues catch up the rest of the league in match fitness. At the beginning of the season, one prefers being stretched to the limit and prevail, and that momentum carries you in buoyant and quiet times in the season.
We are tempted to make more predictions based on tactical analysis of what transpired so far. Indicators prove that our first article on the matter was over 80 % correct up to Match 3. The league may still welcome few great names of the game from other major leagues, and that may change a lot, but frankly, we see no major changes.
Paul Pogba, Marcus Rushford, Martial, Mane, Cesc Fabregas, Ali, Kane, Aguero will determine the destination of the league.
At the bottom, new boys will kiss the league goodbye.
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