The EPL Weekend-Round 6

Rooney's seemingly buried ghosts re-appeared, two closely contested derbies, the Chelsea juggernaut continuing with its march.. another weekend of exciting footballing action.

The Mersey-side derby kicked off the weekend action with both sides desperately in need of good performances. Liverpool have been poor so far this season and this match presented the perfect setting for them to begin their recovery. Everton were surprisingly very poor in the first half even going by their low standards this season. The Toffees have struggled to recapture the level of performance and standards they attained last season. Having held on to their key players in Barkley, Baines and Lukaku, and with reinforcements arriving, top four looked a real prospect this year. On current evidence, that now looks a tall order. Liverpool should have been ahead by halftime but they struggled to create chances despite enjoying majority of possession. In the second half, Gerard, as he has done on numerous occasions, provided the spark for the Reds when he scored with a free-kick after Balotelli had been fouled just outside the area. Tim Howard should have done better though as his shaky start to the season continued. Soon after Balotelli had a decent chance to make the game safe but hit the crossbar when he really should have scored. That miss proved costly as Jagielka scored a screamer right at the death. Overall a draw was a fair result as both teams failed to show inventiveness and hunger for all three points. What was clear though was that both teams need to start producing results. For Liverpool once again there was lack of creativity in the middle of the park until the introduction of Coutinho. Sterling was his usual burst of energy and Tony Hibbert struggled to keep up but Liverpool will need more than that.

Arsenal against Tottenham was also lacklustre in the first half with Spurs content to defend in numbers and invite Arsenal to come to them. Excitement was at a premium to the point where the major talking points of the half were the injuries Arsenal suffered. The Gunners have a well documented history with injuries and that trend is already taking shape again this season.Ramsey and Arteta joined the growing injury list and look set to miss the games against Galatasaray and Chelsea. It sometimes feels like Arsenal enter into matches with two objectives, to win and to avoid injuries. The addition of the former German National Team fitness coach Shad Forsythe doesn't seem to have helped matters. Maybe the only consolation is atleast no defenders were injured. Ozil failed to follow up his good showing against Villa and i still think Arsenal need a classic no.9 forward. Sanchez has got to start the next match.Welbeck was his usual hard work but i'm sure majority of the Arsenal fans would prefer a lazy forward 'a la Berbatov or Nistelrooy whose only contribution would be to score goals. It's like having a 4 wheel vehicle that is so fast on a flat road but struggles on rough terrain. Welbeck ought to thank Oxlade Chamberlain for saving him embarrasement after his miscued shot was fired home by the English-man.  That was after Spurs had taken a shock lead courtesy of a Flamini error. Like i have mentioned before, Arsenal need to convert dominance in games into 3 points.Spurs were very poor offensively and were there for the taking.  Kaboul produced a man of the match performance and thwarted Arsenal on several occasions. And when the Gunners got past Kaboul, Lloris was on hand to produce brilliant saves. The Frenchman made at least two top class saves. On a positive side for Arsenal, Chambers filled in well at right back, and the back four generally looked composed. Next up for Arsenal is Chelsea and that will be massive.

Manchester United got back to winning ways with a hard fought narrow win over West Ham. As they did against Leicester, United raced into a 2-goal lead only to concede and put themselves under pressure. It is testament to United struggles that a seemingly straight forward home match against West Ham can cause so much tension that every United fan was left praying for the final whistle to go. Rooney got himself foolishly sent off and United had to withstand wave after wave of West Ham attack. With better finishing and luck West Ham could easily have nicked a point. As I have said before, De Gea needs to get out of his comfort zone and start producing for United. He was at fault for the West Ham goal and it almost proved a costly error. On a positive note for United, Mcnair making his debut at center half did well and Rafael produced a man of the match performance. Overall it was an important win for United but still a lot needs to be done especially defensively with matches against the big boys looming. Rooney's 3 match suspension offers LVG the chance to experiment in midfield.

Chelsea were once again impressive in their 3-0 demolition of Villa and you begin to wonder who will stop them. The team looks so balanced and almost all the Chelsea players are showing good form. Willian was outstanding and the link up play between Fabregas, Willian, Hazard and Costa was simply brilliant.

Manchester City came out good in a 6 goal thriller as Hull threatened to cause an upset. City needed to keep in touch with Chelsea. When fit Aguero can be some player. City look the most likely challengers to Chelsea at the moment.

Team of the week

Lloris, Ivanovich, Kaboul, Jagielka, Rose, Chamberlain, Sterling, Dorrans, Wilian, Dzeko, Pelle

Player of the week

Younes Kaboul

Have a sporty week ;)

Mark Macheda

The EPL Weekend-Round 5

Another weekend, another round of astonishing football action.

 Let's start with the last fixture of the weekend, Manchester City v Chelsea. Last season i didn't like how Mourinho approached away games against the big teams, and ultimately it cost Chelsea the title. Chelsea were too negative and there were games you felt they would have won had they gone for it especially against Manchester United and Arsenal away. Against City this weekend Mourinho again went defensive. From the onset it was clear he wanted a point. It was an odd choice considering Chelsea have been the team to beat this season. They gave City too much respect. City were the better team up until Zabaleta was sent off. Chelsea then dominated the game for 4 minutes leading up to Schurrle's goal before once again retreating and trying to hold on to their slim advantage. Against the 10 men Chelsea could not hold on and in the end it was Chelsea legend Lampard who broke the Blues hearts with a well taken strike after some good work by Milner. Mourinho will argue that a point away to City-arguably their biggest rivals, is a good point but you just feel the 3 points were there for the taking. Hazard was dangerous every time he ran at the City defence. Mourinho brought old boy Drogba late on and once again his performance was summed up when he sent a good free kick high into the stands. He clearly is past his best and cannot deliver. City played well and it was an improved performance from their recent matches. Kompany was so composed and nullified the Chelsea attack threat. He comfortably controlled Costa and showed why he is the best center half in the EPL. Yaya Toure looked like the player we know he is and controlled midfield well keeping Fabregas and co. quiet. Mangala had a good game and he will only get better. But my player of the match was James Milner who had such an effect on the game both defensively and offensively, his run and cross for Lampard's goal was simply magnificent. It's a wonder City were thinking of selling him in the transfer window. He is an effective utility player able to slot into  any position in defence, midfield and also chip in with assists and the occasional goal.

Arsenal got back to winning ways with a comfortable win at Villa. The game was decided in 6 crazy minutes when Villa totally collapsed. The game was actually balanced until Welbeck's incisive pass set up Ozil for the opener. Wenger had played Ozil in wide positions in earlier games but chose to deploy him behind Welbeck in a more central position and he flourished. Welbeck is starting to enjoy his game and if he can combine his hard work with goals then he will prove a good buy. It was a good weekend for Arsenal as their top four rivals, United, Liverpool, Everton and Spurs all lost. Ramsey didn't have a particularly good game by his high standards but in the end those around him produced the goods. A bonus for Arsenal was that there were no fresh defensive injuries.

Manchester United had a weekend to forget. Nothing in the first half suggested that Leicester would get anything from the game. In fact up until the controversial first penalty for Leicester, United were cruising. The penalty decision was definitely wrong but even so you would expect a United side with such quality to still win such games. Rafael's retaliation was uncalled for and it brought back memories of a Champion's League quarter final match against Bayern a few years when he got himself sent off and allowed Robben to knock out United. From then on, United were shambolic in defence. Louis Van Gaal still has a lot of work to do in defence. To further compound matters, Blacket was sent off and will be suspended, Evans was injured afresh and Jones is still recovering. I wont be surprised if Blind starts at center half next weekend against West Ham. United forward play also went flat with the withdrawal of Di Maria for Mata. LVG obsession with making everybody happy got the best of him as there was absolutely no reason to make that change. United's next game was 7 days away so why the need to rest Di Maria. In deed Mata's error led to the fourth goal. David De Gea has potential to be a great keeper but his below par performances have gone unmentioned so far. You would struggle to remember the last time De Gea made a penalty save or even a game changing save. His reputation was built around him being a shot stopper and his penalty saving heroics. That looks a distant memory now. Maybe it's time he got some competition.

Liverpool's performance was abject to say the least. West Ham thoroughly deserved their win and could have won by a bigger margin. The Reds face an uphill task to finish in the top four if the performances this season are anything to go by.  The back line is so porous that every time West Ham came forward you felt they could score. Sorensen for me is not World class. He does not command his area the way Hart or Howard would and his decision coming for crosses is poor. Brendan Rodgers isn't sure whether to play with a back 5 or back 3. Sakho, Skrtel and Lovren are weak. Gerard is still relied upon to provide the midfield spark when it's obvious his best years are behind him. The only players who came out of this match with their reputation intact were Sterling and Balotelli. Liverpool brought in a lot of average players after selling Suarez but now that they are there, Rodgers has to get the best out of them. Service to Balotelli must improve. The number and quality of crosses coming in not good enough. Liverpool need to start improving sooner rather than later.

My Team of the week
Mannone
Reid
Kompany
De Laet
Betrand
Ozil
Di Maria
Milner
Hazard
Vardy
Cisse

Player of the week
Milner

Have a sporty week :)

The EPL Weekend-Round 4

Another high octane football weekend full of goals, debuts, upsets, hat-tricks, records and talking points.

Chelsea once again underlined their title credentials by ending the only other 100% record in the league as they hosted Swansea.

Diego Costa continues to thrive at Stamford Bridge. He poured cold water on doubts about his fitness by once again producing a striking masterclass to score his first (and certainly not his last) hatrick in English football. The Spain international now has 7 goals in his 4 league matches and it remains a mystery why the same success has not been replicated on the international scene with Spain. His understanding with Cesc Fabregas has formed the foundations upon which Chelsea have flourished this season. Fabregas already has 6 assists this season and seems to have reinvented himself  at Chelsea. With Hazard looking like getting back to his pre-World Cup form, Chelsea are looking more dangerous by the day.

Liverpool's indifferent start to the season continued as they lost at home to a battling Aston Villa. A lot was made about Liverpool's signings being a sign that Brendan Rodgers was beefing up the depth of his squad in readiness for Liverpool's participation in the Champions League. In deed that was the thinking behind Rodgers leaving Raheem Sterling on the bench as he kept one eye on the mid-week Champion's league match against Ludogorets. That plan did not work as a combination of Villa determined performance and Liverpool’s lack of creativity going forward ultimately led to a Villa win. Balotelli had another disappointing game as he struggled to create anything. It was one of the days where you thought that a certain Luis Suarez might just have produced one of his famous match-winning performances. Liverpool need Sturridge back and for Coutinho to take some of the creative responsibilities off Sterling's back

Arsenal, like against Everton earlier in the season, produced a performance that left mixed feelings among the fans. Credit to Arsenal, unlike last season they didn't cave in when City took the lead. Wilshere gave a promising display in midfield and you only wonder the type of a player he would be if he did that on a regular basis. Arsenal however relinquished 2 points as they let City equalize in the last 10 minutes. Arsenal need to turn these good positions into maximum points. Against Everton it should have been 3 points and again today against City. More play and incisiveness is needed from Ozil.To rub salt to the wound, Debuchy appears to be out for sometime and the decision to let Jenkinson go might leave Arsenal short in defence. With only Chambers, Mertesacker, Koscielny and Monreal fit, they cannot afford any more injuries at the back. Welbeck made his debut and reaffirmed the view that he works hard for the team but lacks a cutting edge in front of goal when he hit the post early on.

For Manchester City, this was another difficult day. Pellegrini was looking for a response to the Stoke defeat and a draw is not good enough for their lofty ambitions. The energy and dominance of Yaya Toure was missed. City probably had one eye on their mid-week match against Bayern Munich but they need to be wary of letting Chelsea get too far ahead of them. City are yet to really get going this season but soon as their key players come to form and the new signings get used to the system, they will be a force.

Manchester United fans must have felt like they finally woke up from a long nightmare this weekend after having waited for so long to taste victory. They surely must be forgiven for going a little overboard with their celebrations after their win albeit against a poor QPR. When you are used to winning every other day, you sometimes take it for granted. The win and the performance were much needed. For LVG to finally be able to use a majority of his new signings was a welcome boost. Tougher tests await but this is progress in the right direction. LVG started with a back four moving away from his favoured back three, although claiming this was necessitated by injuries rather than a shift from his 3-5-2 system by choice. The players were more comfortable with the system and Di Maria was able to play in his favoured position in the midfield diamond. Blind provided good cover in the holding role and appears destined to hold onto that position even when Carrick comes back from injury.Mata did well at the apex of the diamond.

Team of the week 
Speroni, Koscielny, Kompany, Sanchez, Clichy, Blind, Fabregas, Di Maria, Wilshere, Hazard, Costa

Player of the week
Diego Costa

Have a sporty week!
Mark Macheda

POST TRANSFER BLUES

The transfer period is finally closed and when the dust finally settles, verdicts will be passed on who did the best bit of transfer business and like-wise who came up short.
A lot of people seem to think Chelsea came out the window the biggest winners and it is hard to argue with that. Jose Mourinho did his business early on in the window, getting the much needed quality centre forward in Diego Costa, a midfield architect in Cesc Fabregas and Defensive cover in the form of Luis Felipe. Mourinho even had the luxury of bringing in Thibaut Courtois from his hugely successful loan stint at Atletico Madrid and Loic Remy as a striking option. Not bad to have Petr Cech as cover.Chelsea of course also shipped out Ashley Cole, Lampard, David Luiz, Samuel Etoo, Torres and Demba Ba, none of them will be particularly missed. So overall Chelsea do look stronger and it is easy to see why most pundits are tipping them to lift the title. The only weakness i'm seeing is in striking where an injury to the Diego Costa might leave them with the prospect of playing either Drogba(best days behind him certainly) and Remy(not proven at the highest level). Either way, Chelsea will be overwhelming favourites to take the title back to London.
Liverpool have been likened to Spurs who sold Bale for a huge sum of money only to spend it all on a whole bunch of average players. Liverpool's tidy some gotten from the sale of Luis Suarez has been spent on the likes of Divorck Origi, Balotelli, Lambert, Lallana, Can, Markovic, Moreno and Lovren. Their key exits have been Agger and Suarez. Unlike Spurs, Liverpool have more than once shown that they can win without Suarez. What Rodgers has done is to continuously ensure his players do improve under him. A lot of players are looking much better on the ball. Despite the signings, i suspect Sterling will be their key man and if they can somehow get the best out of Balotelli then another top 4 finish is guaranteed.
Manchester City have had a rather quiet transfer window by their standards. Even so they still managed to bring in Sagna, Fernando, Mangala, Caballero and Lampard. They have shipped out Lescott, Garcia, Negredo and Rodwell. Overall Pellegrinho looks to have strengthened although it's difficult to understand why the paid 32M for Mangala who i think should be worth around 12M, Fernando, Sagna and Lampard will most likely spend most of the time warming the bench albeit with attractive bank account balances. All in all City will be a formidable force once again and especially when their key players- Toure, Silva, Aguero, Kompany, Zabaleta hit top form. They are no doubt stronger after the transfer period.
Arsenal despite scepticism by most fans have been quite active in the window. Whether they have emerged stronger though remains to be seen. Debuchy for Sagna is more or less like for like, Chambers is a very good signing and for me the best business they did this summer,more than makes up for Vermaelen in the long term, Ospina provides good cover between the posts, and Sanchez might well prove a smart signing. Welbeck divides opinion but i think the transfer was good business for all the parties involved-Arsenal, Man U and Welbeck. So overall Arsenal are stronger, but probably the dissatisfaction by the fans is due to the knowledge that of their key rivals, those stronger than them last season have strengthened i.e Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool, and those weaker have also strengthened i.e Man U, Spurs and Everton. Wenger did good business but he could have done more.
Manchester United have had a record breaking summer in all aspects. The players to have exited Old Trafford could probably form a squad, Evra, Rio, Vidic, Buttner, Nani, Kagawa, Giggs, Welbeck, Chicharito, Powell. 6 new faces, all likely to be in a starting 11 have come in. Surely United cannot be as bad as they were last season-although Moyes did make a better start. The feeling is that United will get better as the season progresses and players get used to the system. The problem is how far off the top will they be by then. Playing 3 at the back has disorganized United, The defenders don't understand the system, midfielders are less confident when they have a shaky defence behind them. A non-functioning mid means zero supply for the attackers. It is worth noting that LVG has not had the luxury of playing his new signings due to problems with injuries, work permit, fitness etc. That's why United's next match-vs QPR is of extra importance as LVG will be able to play a number of his new signings. It also gives us a chance to see how he solves the Rooney-RVP-Falcao problem. Should United's new signings perform upto 80% of their potential, United will be in the top 4.

Have a sporty week!!
Mark Macheda