No Suarez – No Show For Liverpool, Arsenal Still In The Title Race, Mourinho Playing The Ultimate Mind Games – Premier League Winners And Losers

Hello and welcome to this week’s winners and losers column.This piece looks at the players and managers performances during game week 18 and 19. Keep on reading to find out who has a lot to smile about and who is looking forward for 2014 for a clean start.

As usual, this column is in the spirit of good fun and as usual, your comments and opinions are welcomed.

Winners and Losers for Game Week 18 &19

Winners:

Manchester City

So much for the Luis Suarez show. City were fortunate to have the referee make a bad call to rule Sturridge’s goal as offside but the fact remains, in football you make your own luck and take the chances in front of you. Pellegrini has commented any chance he gets on how taxing the fixtures are as his team have only 1day maximum rest during the holiday fixtures. This column is not impressed as more than most managers in the league, he is capable of rotating his players and not losing the overall quality of his side. Toughen up Pellegrini.

The Blue half of Manchester will be expecting Aguero’s return from injury soon and with the return legs coming up, City better hope their away from begin to mirror their home form. Reason? There are a lot teams whose heaviest defeat this season came at the Etihad stadium and to say they would love to nick a point, if not all 3 points off city when they welcome them to their home stadium is an understatement. Ahh, the primer league. It is the gift that just keeps on giving.

Chelsea

A random thought I’d like to share: Is it possible that with all the tinkering Mourinho has been doing, he might already have his starting 11? Oscar seems to be locked in as does Ramires, Lampard and Hazard. Recent displays suggest that Willianis preferred over Shurrle though the latter is utilized when Mourinho wants a more direct style of attack. Mourinho’s team know how to win games and how to shut opponents down. Only reason Chelsea sit at 3^rd is because during the match against United and Arsenal, he played for a draw. As he recently showed against Liverpool however, his team is a different beast at home and can relentlessly attack if so required.

So imagine if you would that Chelsea win all their home matches against the ‘big guns’ in the league. Tied with City with 3 losses [only Everton have the division’s best of 2 losses], Chelsea are 3^rd despite not playing their best football. Arsenal can get marginally better if they get another quality forward. City need Aguero back to go return to form, but even then, you suspect they have reached their ceiling [and it is a high one]. United have an outside shot if they revamp their midfield but that will be a little too little too late. Chelsea are the only team that can improve significantly with only marginal changes such as starting the same 11 for more than 2 games and getting a forward that is better at running the channels than coming back to collect the ball.

Why this team is not in the title race talk is a mistake most title rivals will come to regret.

Arsenal

Here is what has to be said about Arsenal so far- they have won the games needed to win to be at the top of the table. Yes, Chelsea look more intimidating because they have not even begun to play to their potential and are already in the mix with City the swashbuckling buccaneers of the league and most pundits’ favorite pick to win this season. But it is Wenger’s team that find themselves on top. With no Özil and Ramsey their most influential players thus far, they beat a Newcastle team playing with high levels of confidence and self believe. They may not have beaten City at home and might have drawn with Chelsea but so long as they continue to show the resolve they had against Newcastle, this remains their title to lose.

Now imagine Wenger manages to grab a quality forward in the transfer window. That is all this team is missing, a plan B when the Giroud-led attack fails.

Manchester United

4 wins on the bounce, and unlike their previous 7 game unbeaten run which featured 3 draws, this run has had them take all maximum 3 points. Their last game of the year saw them play a match without Rooney or RVP in the line-up since the start of last season. A full strength United is a top-heavy side but with the defense taking shape as Smallings, Evans and Jones welcome back the experience head of Vidic, the team looks more comfortable dealing with opposition strikers. It helps that De Gea has been a reliable presence in the white posts for them this season.

Welbeck is relishing playing up top and Cleverley has found some form fueled by his desire to earn a starting berth. A top 4 finish remains a realistic target but knowing Moyes and Manchester United, they will be looking to retain their title. Moyes has 3 options:

1. Coach the hell out of this team for a 110% performances from each player. This is perhaps the most unrealistic as only Fergie seems able to achieve that feat.

2. Buy-buy-buy. A midfield combination of Giggs/Cleverley/Fletcher/Carrick/Young/Januzaj/Valencia/Nani/Jones/Anderson will NOT intimidate the likes of City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton. Against teams lower than 6^th in the EPL, these players might have the edge on experience and talent. This column hasmentioned how any new midfield signing will face unrealistic pressure to salvage the season. But if a title win is the goal, expect new midfield players.
3. Keep faith in Fellaini. This is the riskiest move but should the Belgian return to his Everton form where he was simply unplayable, his performances will give the United attack a base to attack from. This is not an impossible scenario. The Belgian coach has issued an ultimatum to his players that they need to start games to be in contention. Fellaini is talented enough to not have his debut Manchester season be so unremarkable. I could be falling for wanting the ugly duckling to turn into a beautiful Swan but with the rest of the squad showing their resolve, watch Fellaini feed off the team’s energy and emulate their performance in 2014.

The remainder of the season will help fans and pundits alike get a better assessment of the type of coach Moyes will evolve to be as the United manager.

Honorable Mentions:

Crystal Palace

Up until the game between Manchester City and Crystal City ended, Everton was the only team to hold City to scoring 3 goals at home. Forward steps Tony Pulis and his men to make City work harder than they have all season to secure all 3points at home. A lone goal by Dzeko from a Nevas pass in the 2^nd half was all that separated both teams. Pulis deserves commendation for instructing Joel Ward to man-mark Silva as he was effective in keeping him quiet. Pellegrini in his post-match conference suggested that his side came to play football whiles Crystal Palace came to defend.

It was, in this writer’s humble opinion, a wrongful assessment of the situation. Looking at the caliber of attacking talent City had, it made sense for Pulis to first plan to negate that threat then attempt to find any openings. Plus, this was not a typical parking of the bus display. Crystal Palace has chances that they failed to take themselves and could easily have provided the upset of the season.

It is looking like Pulis’ record of never managed a side into relegation will continue as the Eagles of Crystal Palace have added some tenacity to their play and will most likely be tough opponents for any team in the EPL during the next round of games. Of all the managerial reshuffles, this is the one most likely to pay off.

Hull City Tigers

Yes they lost to a determined Manchester United side in gameweek 18 at the KC stadium but boy did they make up for that loss in gameweek 19 by putting 6 goals past Fulham, ALL IN THE 2^ND HALF. This was this season’s most dominating half performance by any team thus far. Huddlestone’s celebration means he finally gets to have a haircut after grabbing his first goal. His set-piece deliveries and general play must leave many asking why Spurs felt the need to let him go. Granted he wouldn’t have been assured a regular run in the starting 11 based on how he orchestrated Fulham’s demise, perhaps they should have held on longer.

Great performance by Steve Bruces men and the Tigers to end their year with a bang.

Ross Barkley

Other than Adam Lallana over at Southampton, Barkley has been the most exciting young player this season. His drive and passion when playing reminds this column of a young Wayne Rooney and we suspect he secretly wishes football games lasted more than 45min/half. Coach Roberto Martinez has been careful how he uses him so as not to have him burdened with expectations so early in his career but his performances when he has started or been brought on as a sub suggest the Everton coach is doing the youngster a disservice by leaving him out of the starting 11.

The writer admits that he got Barkley for next to nothing for his fantasy team and he has proved to be the sort of differential thatMichu was a couple of seasons ago. With Everton’s defense locked down,expect Barkley to be the engine that drives the Toffees attack in the New Year.

Losers:

Sunderland

Find themselves at the bottom of the league table and that lucky win against Everton did not help much as they failed to keep the momentum and beat Cardiff city to take all 3 points. To be fair, the Black Cats did come from 2 goals down in the 1^st half to equalize and secure an important point in the fight against relegation deep within extra time. The draw will feel like a win for Sunderland and a loss for Cardiff City who just failed to contain a resurgent Sunderland side as the 2^nd half drew to a close. Poyet and his team remain losers despite their heroics because they need more wins and their joint total of 3 wins [tied with West Ham] still makes them prime candidates for relegation. If I were a betting man, in a season where so much is unpredictable, Gus Poyet team going down come the end of this season seems like a sure banker.

Fulham

With Fulam finding themselves in the relegation zone, they are finding it difficult to move out. Their 6-0 trashing at the hands of premier-league newcomers Hull City, means that they now have the worst goal difference in the league. Remember how Manchester City won the league by having a better goal difference two seasons ago? Fulham could find themselves relegated because of a similar turn of events. Nothing but wins to push them out of the bottom half of the table will secure their survival because so long as the Cottagers find themselves anywhere between 16^th -20^th on the league table, they remain prime candidates for relegation.

Southampton

One of the concerns about Southampton was that their high-pressing game required the players to be in top physical shape. Nothing against the coach or his tactics but it was asking a lot to expect the players not to be affected by the rigors of the premier league. Unfortunately for Pochettino, he has seen his first choice defense gone out for various injuries and perhaps the injury to their goalkeeper has hurt the team most of all. Lallana and Jay Rodriguez remain bright spots for Southampton and you get the sense that come the New Year when the get their players back from injury, they will make a push for a top 6 position. Will their squad have the strength to fight it out with teams like Newcastle and Everton who have greater squad depth?

This question will be answered soon enough but Southampton’s mini-implosion highlights the gulf in talent between the traditional top 4 and the rest of the league. Yes, many teams this season can field a starting 11 to cause Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United problems, but their bench is woefully inadequate when compared to the more established teams. And it is for this reason that many predict that the old order will be established in the 2^nd half of the season as the quality of squad of the top team begins to show. Pochettino and his team have served up some exciting football and there is no reason for them to not continue doing so.

Swansea

No other team in the league has as many starting 11 players out injured than Swansea. It hasn’t helped that Bony has not exactly set the league ablaze as he did when playing in the Dutch league. Perhaps too soon to write him off as another cautionary example of the difficulty of adjusting to the EPL.  For the Swans, it seems their Europa league conquest has them biting more than they can chew. It’s unfair but to the manager but the decision Laudrup seems to be facing is an unenviable one, if he wants his team to perform better in the league, he might need them out of Europa as the travels and injuries are wearing his squad thin. But he is also chasing European glory and the fans, players and management deserve the opportunity as they worked hard last season to secure a qualification spot.

This writer hopes the like of Michu and co return for the Swans so they can at least compete with their preferred 11. The solution is not as simple as buying in the January transfer window as they have Bony as a constant reminder this season of how long it can take to adapt to begin to contribute [and that is the optimistic outlook].

Un-Honorable Mentions:

Vincent Tan

The Cardiff Dragons owner gallantly soldiers on his quest to become the most disliked person in Wales. Against fans wishes, he changed the clubs traditional blue colors to red and re-named the team the ‘dragons’ as he felt ‘bluebirds’ was not intimidating enough and wouldn’t resonate with Asians. His style of ownership raises an important question: Is a club owner supposed to act as a custodian of the team has bought, protecting it values and upholding its traditions or is he entitled to do whatsoever he wants?

Tan obviously subscribes to the latter and maybe the former is a deluded fans wish to have a gallant knight ride in to rescue their club or inject much needed money but leave everything as it is. With Mackay getting his wish and getting fired, he somehow left with his reputation intact. If anything, we all feel sorry for him having to put up with such an unreasonable owner. But maybe there is a method to Tan’s madness as he was [rightfully] alarmed that despite the investments, Cardiff were perilously close to the relegation zone.

Thankfully for Tan, there are worse teams than his Dragons right now but should any of the bottom 3 find any semblance of form, it is his team that switches spots with them. Maybe Mackay’s request for some transfer funds for players this January was not so unreasonable eh?

Norwich City

Their last 5 games have yielded 1W-2D-2L. It was not so long ago that Chris Hughton was being whispered as one of the 1^st managers to get the sack from their club chairman. 5 managerial reshuffle [read: sacks] afterwards and his team are back to the form that got the gossip started. His one bright spot is that against United and indeed Fulham, they could have easily won and were unlucky to lose bya single goal. The forwards seems to be clicking and finding the back of the net, they just need to score more often and defend better. A simple solution by yours truly but dear readers, this is much easier said than done.

Another betting tip for 2014: Chris Hughton or Big Sam to be fired before the season is over. This writer is on a roll.

Liverpool

They have failed to convince that this team is more than just Suarez especially when he is marked out of games as Chelsea and City proved. Rodgers has his work cut out.

Thanks for reading and makes sure to check next week for game week 20+21.The Premier league just keeps getting better and better!