Premier League Winners And Losers: Liverpool And Manchester City Continue To Rise, Arsenal And Chelsea Lose Ground

Hello and welcome to this week’s winners and losers column. This piece looks at the players and managers performances during game week 17. Who are the winners and losers this week? Keep on reading to find out.

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 17

Winners:

Liverpool

Welcome to the Suarez show people. He is simply the best player in the league right now. Credit should be given to the wonderful cast Brendan Rogers has assembled around his star player. So good have Coutinho, Henderson, Joe Allen and Sterling been that Gerrard and Sturridge’s absence from the 1^st team has not been felt. Just in case many are tempted to label Liverpool a one-man team, bear in mind that this team already has 10 different scorers this season-the goals are coming from all over and in as much as Suarez is leading with 19goals, this team has a balance to it, even if their strength in depth is suspect.

The Suarez show goes to the Etihad on the 26^th and then Stamford Bridge 3 days later. After signing a new contract with Liverpool, it seems the Suarez show is here to stay at Anfield for the foreseeable future. After the loss of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid, many wondered who the face of the EPL could be. Whilst Suarez’s past behaviors makes him a difficult player for some to support, his performances this season now place him in the group of elite performers who have scored more goals than they have played.

Manchester United

There was a lot to like about Manchester United’s performance. Welbeck got his first home game in 14 months and other than Buttner’s lapse in concentration that resulted in the Hammers grabbing a consolation goal, United put in a solid performance. Moyes’ team were comfortably in charge during the match and how true has that been this season? The Red Devils are finally looking like capable of beating teams that they are supposed to. It wasn’t an imperious performance but Moyes’ team is rediscovering their consistency.

The title might very well be beyond their grasp but if they can beat the teams many expect them to, they can rally for the magic 52+ points needed to be in the top 4. Talks of a surprise them mounting a surprise title-winning campaign will require this team to make history as no team has ever won the league when they’ve been lower than 6^th in the EPL table going into the Christmas break. If Moyes is to attain cult hero status, winning the league despite currently being 8^th is the right way to go about it.

Manchester City

So the usual failings away from home reared its head at craven cottage. Not only did they concede 2 goals but Vincent Kompany scored the most beautiful own goal this writer has seen for a long time. But credit to the champions elect for going on to win the game by scoring 2 more goals. Their performance at Craven cottage show why they are the leading candidate for the title just ahead of Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal. They can move up a gear on a whim and should have no troubles dispatching the weaker teams in the league give how they demolish the leagues strongest clubs.

Poor Joe Hart must feel like the football gods have a running gag on him this season. His 1st start in 2 months and promptly sees his defense let him down. Reports making the rounds are quoting Pellegrini as saying he will be starting his keeper during their match with Liverpool. If he is to re-claim his starting berth and guarantee that he is England’s undisputed #1 going into the World Cup, he will need a big game performance. His match-up with Suarez will make for an entertaining viewing.

Newcastle

Back to winning ways despite Remy not finding the back of the net to end his goal drought. But the Geordies won the game through a solid performance from Cabaye. Newcastle are now 5^thin the table. Let that sink in. Pardew was one of the managers pundits were predicting will get the sack come Christmas. Yet another case study of why it is pointless to make predictions in football.  

Spurs

A recuperative win for a spurs side that has been anemic in front of goal. Adebayor has justified his selection and his partnership with Soldado looks the most potent attacking option for Tim Sherwood. Whether Adebayor is the permanent solution for Spurs attacking problem will be the decision for the new man in charge, this columnist is unconvinced by his 2-goals salvo despite hurrying to draft him in his fantasy football team for gameweek 19. Adebayor is the ultimate mood player and unless he feels he has a point to prove or feels like playing football, can be quite rubbish up front. Spurs fans should be hoping that he feels how he felt this weekend for the rest of the season. After all, this is a player who has played for Real Madrid, Arsenal and Manchester City. His talent is undeniable.

For Spurs, there was plenty to like as it was the first time they have scored more than 2 goals this season. Bentaleb, the youngster brought on for Dembele played reasonably well and Sherwood’s attack minded team managed to grab all 3 points. Now, this way of playing is unsustainable, they need a solid ball winning midfielder and despite Christian Eriksen exceling in a deeper midfield role where he made 5 out of 7 tackles, he is not in the same mold of Sandro. The midfield featured this gameweek is too light and can easily be bulldozed into submission by the top teams in the league.

Another question is if Sherwood is tactically a better coach than the man he is replacing. His comments and statements have been laced with how he is a ‘proper football man’, whatever that means. He seems to want the job and has talked up himself quite well. Spurs fans better hope he can get more out of the expensive Bale replacements Levy & co. brought in. Remember early in the season when Spurs was lauded for spending that Bale-money on 5+ players? Well, it is looking like maybe 2-3 quality, and more important, ready to deliver players would have helped this team better.

Everton

Unbeaten in 10 games. Their only loss this season came at the hands of Manchester City who to be fair, have annihilated everyone at home but Everton were able to hold them to scoring ‘only’ 3 goals. Talk of Champions league football might be premature but if Ross Barkley can score free-kicks like that winner against Swansea without practicing then surely it is just a matter of time right?

Losers:

Sunderland

Simply, they needed a point and Brown’s silly challenge did not help. An experienced defender should not have let his emotions gotten him the way he did. You could argue that it was just a late challenge but he really should have judged the situation better.

That Tyne-Wear derby win seems so long ago doesn’t it? Newcastle, the losers now find themselves 6^th on the table whiles the Blackcats find themselves firmly at the foot of the table. Given that Sunderland has already fired one manager, Poyet is the one shot they’ve got. And this ladies and gentlemen is the pressures of being a manager of a team in the EPL engaged in the relegation dogfight.

Chelsea & Arsenal

To both sets of fans, a draw might be welcomed as it ensures they’ve got 1point in the bank and it represents an important point that keeps their title hope ambitions alive. For this neutral fan, this was an uneventful sendoff into the holiday season as it was only after the 65th min that both teams begun to show some urgency but any just in case I was under any illusions that Chelsea was going all in, the Happy One brought made defensive substitutions to ensure his team did not let in a goal. During the game, I had a chance conversation with an Arsenal fan who groaned every time the ball was played towards Giroud or when he missed chances to put Arsenal ahead. Many Gooners would love for Wenger to get another forward, a much faster one perhaps.

As for Chelsea, Mourinho’s team selection hinted that he wasn’t out looking for a win. His team was solid and though they looked to break on the counter, were perfectly content to have Arsenal dominate possession. Can Chelsea win the league by drawing with the other top 4 teams? The way Mourinho is playing when his team face other title contenders, we will find out the answer to that question come the end of the season.

Cardiff City

Tan is on a quest to be the most unpopular club owner ever. Talks of him giving Mackay an ultimatum is silly and a poor decision if true. For his part, Mackay s responses and actions paint him as a responsible and consummate professional. In his post-match press conference, he suggested that he expected to be sacked after the game. Apparently, the owner changed his mind and Mackay is going to be given the rest of the season to turn the Welsh team’s fortune around. Their next 5 games feature Southampton [H], Sunderland [H], Arsenal [A], Newcastle [A] and West Ham [H]. Sunderland and West Ham look like winnable games and they should be able to make home advantage count to grab a point when they play against Arsenal. The dragons, formally bluebirds, quest to avoid the drop continues but you can bet that the Tan-Mackay saga is far from over.

Southampton

Hooiveld grabbed another own goal against Spurs and with 4 own goals from last season, you can be sure he has a couple more in him. The only bright spot for Pochettino was Lallana. He was magnificent and his play in the 2nd goal ball highlighted his appreciation of space and awareness of the players around him. To be fair, Southampton was perhaps unlucky not to grab a point but with their famed center-back partnership of Lovren & Fonte broken and no Boruc in goal, they look a mess. The rate at which they are letting in goals, they better be able to outscore their opponents and at this stage, that is not happening.

Swansea

Own goal is the leading top goalscorer with 5. I’ll leave that to that sink in.

Thanks for reading and makes sure to check next week for game week 18+19. Best of seasons greeting people!