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What Did We Learn From This EPL Weekend?

Published by Ian John on December 14, 2010

1. BLACKBURN’S NEW OWNERS ARE AS HEADLESS AS THE CHICKENS THAT MADE THEM RICH
- I’m not a huge fan of how Sam Allardyce sends his teams out to play, but the decision by Blackburn Rovers new owners Venky’s to dispense with his services is utter lunacy. Blackburn are one of the form teams in the Premier League, having won four of their last six games. Allardyce is a manager proven at this level and it is hard to see where Rovers are going to find a replacement even half as good. This could be a decision that proves costly for Rovers in more ways than one.

2. SOME PLAYERS NEED TO WORK ON THEIR PENALTIES
- Wayne Rooney and Didier Drogba were two high profile players to miss crucial penalties at the weekend, Drogba’s more so than Rooney as it cost Chelsea two points in the game with Spurs. Both misses were very weak penalties from players who are struggling to reach the heights that they achieved last season.

3. ARSENAL ARE STILL NOT QUITE THERE…YET
- Monday night saw Manchester United record a 1-0 win over Arsenal at Old Trafford with evidence suggesting that the table-topping Gunners may struggle to stay there long term. It was a better performance by Arsenal against United, certainly than what they have produced in recent times, but they fell short once again. Mind you, having the attacking talents of Fabregas, Van Persie and Walcott only starting on the bench did not help matters. The Gunners are improving and in Szeczecny seem to have found a possible long-term solution to their goalkeeping problems.

4. TITLE RACE OVER?
- Despite not playing to their utter best this season, Manchester United moved to the top of the table with their 1-0 win over Arsenal at the weekend. That puts them two points clear of the chasing pack of Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City with a game in hand at Blackpool to come. Are the three teams chasing them good enough to give United a five point head start heading into January? I fear not.

5. EVERYTHING IS JUST GREAT AT NEWCASTLE NOWADAYS
- So the doom and gloom prophecising came to nought as Newcastle thumped a disappointing Liverpool 3-1 at St James Park. Alan Pardew received a typically mixed reaction at the start of the game, but at the end was probably being anointed as the second coming on Tyneside. Strange that as they are still waiting for the first. A great goal from Andy Carroll for the third though, nice to see him scoring from outside the box with a piledriver of a shot that Wayne Rooney would have been proud of.

6. WORRIES AT GOODISON PARK?
- It wasn’t so long ago that Everton were rejoicing in a Merseyside derby win that took them into mid-table and put Liverpool in the relegation zone. Now, its a different story. The toffeemen could only manage a goalless draw at home to Wigan Athletic at the weekend and their recent form is relegation material. They are too good to go down, that is for certain. But then again, so were Nottingham Forest, Leeds and Southampton a few years back.

7. GOMES IS A LIABILITY
- As sure as eggs are eggs, Heurelho Gomes will cock up big time during the season. This happened on Sunday when the Brazilian keeper fumbled a fiercely hit Drogba shot behind him and into the net. His penalty save late on made up for it, but it was yet another ricket by the Brazilian at a key time. One wonders if Spurs fans have as much trust in their calamity prone keeper as Harry Redknapp seems to.

8. CARLOS TEVEZ: A HUMANITARIAN PLEA, OR A SPOILT BABY?
- So Carlos wants to leave Man City, citing his family being back home in Argentina as the reason. City have rejected his transfer request and rightly so. Tevez wasn’t so concerned when signing a contract that made him one of City’s highest paid players eighteen months ago. On the one hand, it is hard for Tevez to have his family so far apart. On the other, moaning about it now that you’ve earned millions from the deal, is a little shallow. Tevez is now threatening to retire to move home. This could all turn rather ugly. Especially since I believe that if a certain couple of Spanish or Italian clubs came in for the Argentinean star, he may well be persuaded to give life in Europe another try after all.

As the busy Christmas period looms on the horizon, the next few weeks could be crucial in deciding the title, if United start to pull away, then this could well be the time that they look back on as when they won it. It is critical for the chasing pack that they claw back United’s lead before they hit their traditionally strong period of January to April.

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