BPL Game Week 2 Review

If this is going to be the how the league is played out over the rest of the season, it is going to be keenly contested on all fronts. Once again, let’s look at the few talking points, team, player and goal of the game week.

Talking Point 1: Slow off the Blocks

­Spurs and Manchester United start off their first two games of the season on uneasy footing as both struggled to find wins, with Spurs even losing to an unfancied Sunderland side. Tottenham possess a team that is always changing every season, and arguably every game. The thing that I find weird is, they are a big club in this league and how big clubs should operate is to play their best formation and tactics and let the opposition alter themselves tactically; but in the case of Martin Jol, he changes his formation and tactics irregardless of the team he faces, giving little chance of allowing his best 11 have game-time together and grow as a team, prolonging that process. Although his approach seems logically sound, it has this precise disadvantage, making Spurs a slow starter as a result. Tactical tweaks are welcomed but drastic changes should be given time to work on the training ground before being applied on an ad-hoc basis.

As for Manchester United, I believe their problem is their lack of variety of options up-front as well as the massive void left by Roy Keane without anyone to fill that leadership role. They have an excellent team on paper, but if their first two games were any indicator, teams are beginning to sit deep and neutralize the pace of the Red Devils. This would not be a problem if they had someone different to mix it up up-front, an example I can think of is what Niclas Bendtner did for Arsenal when they played Villa. Looking at the people who have taken on the captain’s armband since Keano’s departure, the best of the worst were Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand. The former is not exactly first-team quality while the other seems to have distractions outside of the pitch making Sir Alex reluctant to make it permanent. Wayne Rooney has the fire but lacks the experience and mental stability to take on such a task. Sometimes you need that leader-figure on the pitch to rally the team forward and United does not have anyone capable of doing that. They will come through as a formidable team sooner or later, but if they want success on all fronts this season, they will need to sort these problems out.

Talking Point 2: Fan-Tevez-Tic

United once again failed to find the net more times than they invariably would concede and did not win the game, but one consolation is Tevez’s performance that night. Seeing what I saw, he is definitely a better option than Wayne Rooney. He has better ball skills, more awareness and is able to get his teammates involved, while Rooney on the other hand has a habit of barging forward solo and losing the ball after poor touches or being crowded out by defenders. Mind you, Tevez was not even fully fit and with a performance like that makes it even more obvious that he should be penned on that team sheet before Rooney. Sir Alex however has named Rooney in his list of the top five players he ever managed in United and would definitely beg to differ.

Talking Point 3: Sammy-Southgate Trouble

4 games without a win, Sammy is in trouble. It ain’t that bad if you look at it, but the success and expectations his predecessor achieved and left behind leaves him a high benchmark. If he doesn’t bring back results in the next couple of months, he could very well be the first manager to be relieved of his services.

As mentioned in my BPL Preview, Gareth Southgate has to improve if Middlesbrough were to have a decent season and from the looks of it, he doesn’t seem to be cut out for management at such high level yet. Although Mido’s purchase could go a long way in securing his job, he seems to be the competing with Sammy for the uncoveted title of First Manager Sacked. My humble opinion is that Southgate will pip Sammy for the title.

Team of the Week

Everton and Arteta put in an amazing performance to pounce on Spurs’ fragilities and bring back 3 precious points away at White Hart Lane. Moyes has started off well, but it is early days yet with teams still tinkering and getting the formula right. I wouldn’t be surprised if Everton falters as the season progresses, but their performance this week nonetheless wins my Team of the Week.

Player of the Week

It was a close fight between Arteta and Drogba but I figured I would mention Arteta above leave this space for the best forward in the league. Having a hand in Chelsea’s equalizer and scoring the match winner, he starts off this season the same way as he ended the last, to a scoring and winning encounter. He will once again be Chelsea’s best forward and with the likes of Pizarro, and a much to prove Shevchenko in the wings, Chelsea will be deadly this season.

Goal of the Week

Well this time it was between Sunderland’s Michael Chopra’s astounding and important volley against Birmingham, and young Michael Johnson’s sublime finish with the outside of his right boot to maintain Manchester City 100% start to the season. It’s really hard to decide and maybe you should make up your own mind about this one. Both goals are absolutely brilliant and it would be a shame if either were left out from this accolade.

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The next preview for this weekend's games will hopefully be in by Saturday afternoon. Till then have a wonderful remainder of the working week. Melvin out...

BPL Game Week 1 Review

What an amazing opening week for the BPL. In my weekly post-mortem, I will once again devote 3-4 themes/incidents of the particular game week that would be called Talking Points. This will be accompanied by a player, team and goal of the week. Well, here goes…

Talking Point 1: Debut Goals

12 out of the 28 goals scored this weekend were goals that came from players who made their league debuts. This could only mean that the purchases made during the summer did improve the league’s attacking flair. Although not every goal was a gem, there were certainly a couple of crackers. The most obvious one would be Olivier Kapo’s scorcher against Chelsea. What a goal that was.

Talking Point 2: Goals Galore?

28 Goals in 10 games. Only one 0-0 draw and that came from the team that scored the most goals last season, Manchester United, despite dominating the match with over 70% possession. If this is a marker for how the entire season will pan out, fans will be in for a goal glut as majority of teams seem more willing to move forward, rather than sit back cautiously. Heck, even Birmingham managed to get two against Chelsea. This could be due to the attacking quality that the league purchased and with the likes of Bojinov, Tevez and Eduardo da Silva yet to feature, there can only be more.

Talking Point 3: No Pushovers

The promoted teams showed they were no pushovers with Sunderland even managing a last minute winner against a weary Tottenham side that is supposed to be challenging for a Champions League place this season. Sunderland looked disciplined and patient without the ball but were admittedly lacking up-front even though they managed a win. Although Birmingham were dominated by Chelsea, they still managed two goals, one of which was down to individual brilliance; imagine if they started playing like a team. Their defense though, looks extremely disorganized and panicky. Derby may lack in quality, but they sure make up for it with spirit, as exemplified by manager Billy Davies. Coming back from a goal down, they clinched a good result with a draw with a Portsmouth side that looked impressive in pre-season.

Talking Point 4: Big 5 Appraisal

Chelsea: Excellent display. Malouda, Pizzaro, Essien and Wright-Phillips had good games and there’s still Alves on the way, Shevchenko, Drogba, Terry unfit. Defense will be more stingy when the full team is fit and back in action. Looks on course for another successful season barring any surprises.

Manchester United: Showed that when opponents sit back and let them attack, they lack ideas. Too reliant on their counter-attacking style of play. Desperately needs fresh options up-front and the injury to Rooney will push the likes of Tevez and Anderson into the fray earlier than planned. Would do much better as the season progresses and the team gets into gear together.

Liverpool: Steven Gerrard is once again their main player and he was involved in every move. New signings Torres and Babel look menacing with their pace, intelligence and skill. Overall, they did not perform as well as the score would suggest as Villa made a good account of themselves in the 2^nd half, but managed to grind out a result. Can only improve from here.

Arsenal: Excellent movement off the ball and work-ethic. Jens Lehmann still proves to be a liability, and the lack of a leading figure up-front meant an attack that lacked direction and finishing. Eduardo could solve that problem, but it is too early to predict. Should have done better against a side like Fulham, but a win is a win.

Tottenham Hotspur: Needs a lot of work on the training ground if they are serious about breaking into the big four. Darren Bent looks like an absolute waste of money, Even Rose Wallace looked more promising than him. Needs King presence in defense badly as Anthony Gardner is not up to the mark. Expect them to come out blazing in their next match.

Team of the Week:

Sunderland. What a way to start off the season. Holding their own against a club that was supposed to have a stroll in the park against them; even managing to snatch a last gasp winner. Credit to Roy Keane for instilling patience, discipline and spirit in a side that lacks quality on paper. If they keep playing the way they did for the rest of the season, he will have more to smile and clap about.

Player of the Week:

It was a close fight between Steven Gerrard and Paul McShane, but the result that Sunderland got and the role he played in that victory left me no choice but to name McShane. Disciplined and strong, he played his role out to perfection as Berbatov was left evidently frustrated. Could be a one off performance from him, but let’s hope he proves us wrong. Smile son, you are on camera!

Goal of the Week:

As a consolation, Stevie G’s extraordinary free-kick that won the game for Liverpool late against Villa comes in as goal of the week.

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It will be a hectic week for me as there are mid-week games as well as games on the coming weekend. Will try to keep up with the action, and pen my thoughts. Till then...