PREMIER LEAGUE WRAP-UP AFTER WEEKEND 2

The English and Welsh Premier League is past its second weekend as title co-favourites Manchester City and Chelsea dominate whilst the supposedly revitalised Manchester United continue to falter.

 

D. Ray Morton, 26th August 2014.

Stevan Jovetic put in arguably his finest Premier league performance thus far last night as he scored twice to help Manchester City beat Liverpool 3-1 at the Etihad

The Good

Last night, Manchester City swept aside a defensively frail Liverpool side thanks to a fine brace from in-form Stevan Jovetic and another from substitute Sergio Agüero in an exciting clash at the Etihad. Liverpool scored one of their own through another sub, Rickie Lambert, but it was not enough to claw back against the defending champions. Jovetic's performance was particularly impressive demonstrating the pace and technique he had shown at his former club Fiorentina but was not seen much last campaign as he struggled with injuries. Edin Džeko is another luxurious forward option and with Álvaro Negredo yet to come back, one imagines goals should not be a problem for Manuel Pellegrini's team as the campaign wears on.

Tottenham are sitting pretty on top of the Premier League table thanks to a storming win against Queens Park Rangers at White Hart Lane. Mauricio Pochettino's men strolled to a 4-0 victory against former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp's newly-promoted relegation candidates. The manner of the victory was worth taking note of. Spurs pressed extremely well and managed to keep possession beautifully throughout. This was the brand of football the Tottenham faithful wished for last season but it never materialised under André Villas-Boas or the man who followed him, Tim Sherwood. Érik Lamela impressed again and the club record signing is starting to show signs that he will not continue to be the flop that he was last season. New recruit, Eric Dier looks like an early candidate for signing of the season. Pochettino is developing a collective confidence at Spurs and as long as their players continue to grasp his philosophy, they will push hard for a Champions League spot. 

Tottenham celebrate during their 4-0 thrashing of Queens Park Rangers

Speaking of Champions League spots, we move onto...

The Bad

 

Another disappointing weekend for Manchester United. This was the side that was supposed to pull up its pants this season, attack the top four spots and maybe even make a run for the title. Instead, two weeks in, they look like a shambles. Louis van Gaal's three at the back continues to struggle and their 1-1 away draw to Sunderland was lucky if anything as the Black Cats played the better football. Marcos Rojo and Ángel Di Maria (a reported €80m record signing) are set to come in soon and the other major clubs will get stuck into their European campaigns but big questions are being asked already. Is three at the back the way forward in a league that predominantly features lone striker formations? Will doubts creep in? Will the new players bed in or become expensive failures? Right now it is looking grim. Even if they continue to throw their money around and go after further targets before 1st September, such a rapidly slapped together XI could struggle some more. Luke Shaw, Ander Herrera, Rojo and Di Maria are all fine players but are not the types to run things on their own.

Di Maria in at Manchester United but that is no guarantee of immediate success

We have already mentioned Liverpool but did not mention the signing of Mario Balotelli. At €20m, it represents a potential bargain but the entire deal is somewhat puzzling. AC Milan were very quick to show him the door despite not having that many great strikers at San Siro already. Filippo Inzaghi became disillusioned with his presence and felt he was a poisonous presence in the dressing room. Brendan Rodgers has dealt with some bad boys in the past but "Super Mario" brings that to a whole new level. Even if he behaves himself off the pitch, he can be a right nuisance on the pitch when things do not go his way. Last season at Milan, he tended to sulk and move around very little if he felt the team was not playing well. Such arrogance, laziness, whatever you will call it, could simply not be accepted under the glaring cameras and the loud-mouthed reactions of the Premier League machine. Balotelli brings his best in patches. That is what he has done throughout his whole career. He may score a free-kick or two but do not expect a Luis Suárez replacement.

Adam Lallana, Mario Balotelli and Kenny Dalglish all happy...before Liverpool proceeded to get thumped by Manchester City

Results

Saturday

Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle

Chelsea 2-0 Leicester (D. Costa, E. Hazard)

Crystal Palace 1-3 West Ham (Chamakh; Zaraté, Downing, C. Cole)

Southampton 0-0 West Brom

Swansea 1-0 Burnley (N. Dyer)

Everton 2-2 Arsenal (Coleman, Naismith; Ramsey, Giroud)

Sunday

Hull City 1-1 Stoke City (Jelavic; Shawcross)

Tottenham 4-0 QPR (Chadli 2, Dier, Adebayor)

Sunderland 1-1 Manchester United (Rodwell; Mata)

Monday

Manchester City 3-1 Liverpool (Jovetic 2, Agüero; Lambert)

POCHETTINO'S START AT TOTTENHAM GOES UNDER THE RADAR

Mauricio Pochettino's reign as Tottenham's new manager has been very low key so far. With the club needing to sell in order to buy new talent, much work is needed in the month ahead for them to be a top four-challenging team.

 

D. Ray Morton, 20th July 2014.

Mauricio Pochettino has kept a low profile as Tottenham manager but will need to make strides in the transfer market if they are to challenge for those lucrative Champions League places

When Tim Sherwood's tenure as Tottenham boss ran down towards the end of last season, three candidates emerged to be the club's next permanent manager: Frank de Boer, Louis van Gaal and Mauricio Pochettino. All three were interested in the job at different stages but Daniel Levy and the Tottenham board opted for the latter based on his stellar work at Southampton. De Boer remains at Ajax Amsterdam and Louis van Gaal was handed the Manchester United reins boosted by having a fine World Cup guiding the Dutch national team to bronze medals. Some United fans are even talking about challenging for the Premier League title. One wonders whether such optimism would be at White Hart Lane had van Gaal gone there, keep in mind that Spurs did finish five points ahead of the Red Devils last season.

It is fair to say that Pochettino has operated under the radar so far. His goal is to finish in the top four but he must rebuild a flawed squad and also has a lengthy Europa League campaign ahead of him, something which Manchester United do not need to worry themselves with. To assemble this squad, he needs to sell to buy. Levy will not allow the free spending which backfired for the club last summer after the sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid. Ben Davies, Swansea's capable left-back, will likely be their first signing of the summer for a fee of around €12.75m funded by the sale of Jake Livermore to Hull City for €10m.

Ben Davies (foreground) could be Tottenham's first signing of the summer

The real conundrum is, who to sell and who to keep. Jan Vertonghen, Hugo Lloris and Érik Lamela are their three most in-demand players but the club really need to keep the first two as they are key members of the first-team squad. Lamela is young, Argentine like Pochettino and has potential but had an awful first season at White Hart Lane troubled by injuries and homesickness. The option is there to offload him or try and rekindle the abilities he demonstrated in Italy with Roma. Then there is a list of squad members who can easily be disposed with should Spurs be able to attract buyers: Paulinho, Roberto Soldado, Emmanuel Adebayor, Lewis Holtby, Kyle Naughton, Andros Townsend, Michael Dawson, Gylfi Sigurðsson and Sandro can all leave if suitable offers come in. Getting rid of a good few of those should raise a decent enough kitty to reinvest in the squad.

Some movement in the market is now crucial as desperation can rear its ugly head if business is left too late. No doubt technical director, Franco Baldini, is busy behind the scenes trying to close deals and the sooner they get done, the better. With North London rivals Arsenal having already signed one of the stars of the World Cup in Alexis Sánchez, Tottenham will have make a few moves in order to build a bit of much-needed belief around the club.