It's finally back. Premier League football has returned and on the opening weekend, we had goals, red cards, wins, shock losses and draws. A bird even deposited a rather interesting package in Ashley Young’s mouth. In short we had everything. Here are ten things we learnt this weekend.
Same Old Trafford - David Moyes will be sat somewhere laughing, make no mistake about that. Letting Swansea take three points from the opening home game of the season was not something you suspect would have been on the agenda of Louis van Gaal or his players. Moyes was not the right man for the job but he was a symptom not the cause of the rot at United.
Tall order for Van Gaal – As if he didn’t already know it. Deals must be made and new players have to be bought into the club. If United want to finish in the top four this season, they have to get at least another two players and some would say more than that. On the bright side, Herrera is a class buy and Rooney seems to be vindicating the skipper’s armband.
Brazilian Burn-Out - Teams with players in the latter stages of the World Cup will suffer. Arsene Wenger and Manuel Pellegrini have already had a moan about it and Jose Mourinho has alluded to the fact that Oscar, Hazard et al are not really ready to start the season. RVP’s omission said it all. The big boys will suffer until their star men are match fit.
Sacking Central – Tony Pulis has already ‘mutually consented’ to depart Crystal Palace, but there is one man who has been walking a tightrope all summer and he knows it. Big Sam might not deserve the boot from West Ham, but smart money would go on him getting it at some point this season. An opening day, last gasp defeat won’t have helped his cause.
Time to Sign – Liverpool may be able to get past their feeder team by putting Ricky Lambert on and hoping for the best, but Brendan Rodgers will know that his side simply have to bring in a top class forward to help share the burden. Arsenal also need a couple of players as Manchester United. The opening round of fixtures only served to highlight what we already knew; the summer spending has not ended yet.
Ramtastic - Aaron Ramsey is Arsenal’s star man. Gooners can be over optimistic at the best of times, but you cannot blame them for wondering just what might have happened last season had Aaron Ramsey remained fit. Yet again he was the difference for the Gunners and this season he looks like stepping up from very good, to great.
Quality and Quantity – Strength in depth will win the league. No Negredo, no problem. Half fit Aguero? Not to worry, start with Dzeko and Jovetic and put the Argentine on to get a second goal with a few minutes to go. It was their forwards who won City the title last season and could well be the difference once again. Chelsea without Costa? Even Jose isn’t special enough to sort that problem out.
Points Make Prizes - The big boys won’t have it all their own way this season. Swansea have already shown that and as we learnt last season, this is a topsy-turvy league, where on their day, the side sitting in rock bottom could well take points from those at the top. In turmoil Crystal Palace managed to give Arsenal a run for their money as did a rebuilt Southampton at Anfield. It's all about grinding out wins, sometimes the road to succes ain't a pretty one.
Go with your Hart not your Willy – No, that's not the title of John Terry's book of regrets, although it could be. Aside from Chelsea’s own goalkeeping conundrum, which should be solved tonight, Manchester City also had an interesting choice with who to put between the sticks. For now, Hart has gotten the nod but as with last season, the England international will know that he is replaceable and this time by someone who could dislodge him permanently in Willy Caballero.
SAS MkII – Suarez is gone but Sturridge and Sterling are the ones who are looking to shine for Liverpool this season and if their victory over Southampton is anything to go buy, they will be doing just that. A world class star is still needed at the club but the new SAS have given Rodgers some breathing space.
What did you learn this weekend? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Tall order for Van Gaal – As if he didn’t already know it. Deals must be made and new players have to be bought into the club. If United want to finish in the top four this season, they have to get at least another two players and some would say more than that. On the bright side, Herrera is a class buy and Rooney seems to be vindicating the skipper’s armband.
Brazilian Burn-Out - Teams with players in the latter stages of the World Cup will suffer. Arsene Wenger and Manuel Pellegrini have already had a moan about it and Jose Mourinho has alluded to the fact that Oscar, Hazard et al are not really ready to start the season. RVP’s omission said it all. The big boys will suffer until their star men are match fit.
Sacking Central – Tony Pulis has already ‘mutually consented’ to depart Crystal Palace, but there is one man who has been walking a tightrope all summer and he knows it. Big Sam might not deserve the boot from West Ham, but smart money would go on him getting it at some point this season. An opening day, last gasp defeat won’t have helped his cause.
Time to Sign – Liverpool may be able to get past their feeder team by putting Ricky Lambert on and hoping for the best, but Brendan Rodgers will know that his side simply have to bring in a top class forward to help share the burden. Arsenal also need a couple of players as Manchester United. The opening round of fixtures only served to highlight what we already knew; the summer spending has not ended yet.
Ramtastic - Aaron Ramsey is Arsenal’s star man. Gooners can be over optimistic at the best of times, but you cannot blame them for wondering just what might have happened last season had Aaron Ramsey remained fit. Yet again he was the difference for the Gunners and this season he looks like stepping up from very good, to great.
Quality and Quantity – Strength in depth will win the league. No Negredo, no problem. Half fit Aguero? Not to worry, start with Dzeko and Jovetic and put the Argentine on to get a second goal with a few minutes to go. It was their forwards who won City the title last season and could well be the difference once again. Chelsea without Costa? Even Jose isn’t special enough to sort that problem out.
Points Make Prizes - The big boys won’t have it all their own way this season. Swansea have already shown that and as we learnt last season, this is a topsy-turvy league, where on their day, the side sitting in rock bottom could well take points from those at the top. In turmoil Crystal Palace managed to give Arsenal a run for their money as did a rebuilt Southampton at Anfield. It's all about grinding out wins, sometimes the road to succes ain't a pretty one.
Go with your Hart not your Willy – No, that's not the title of John Terry's book of regrets, although it could be. Aside from Chelsea’s own goalkeeping conundrum, which should be solved tonight, Manchester City also had an interesting choice with who to put between the sticks. For now, Hart has gotten the nod but as with last season, the England international will know that he is replaceable and this time by someone who could dislodge him permanently in Willy Caballero.
SAS MkII – Suarez is gone but Sturridge and Sterling are the ones who are looking to shine for Liverpool this season and if their victory over Southampton is anything to go buy, they will be doing just that. A world class star is still needed at the club but the new SAS have given Rodgers some breathing space.
What did you learn this weekend? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
