Alex Reid looks at whether the once ever-present appearance of English clubs in the later stages of the Champions League is set to become a thing of the past
Craig Dobson looks at QPR's decision to sack Neil Warnock and replace him with Mark Hughes
Andy Pakes previews this Sunday afternoon clash in the first edition of Game of the Week for 2012
Dave Hughes tells us about his sporting hero, Wes Morgan
Already we have witnessed a startling change in philosophy at Manchester City where Roberto Mancini has admirably let his players off the leash, as well as a Liverpool team playing with more freedom and adventure than under recent managers. Then this week saw Andre Villas-Boas become the latest key figure to reinforce this trend as he boldly underlined his commitment to offensive football at Old Trafford this Sunday.
Rather than adopt the textbook tactic of sitting deep away to Man United, Villas-Boas set out his team press United high up the pitch and commit many numbers when going forward. That they were unsuccessful, with the champions winning 3-1, may reveal a certain amount of naivety on the young manager’s part, though was perhaps a worthwhile endeavour as but for a catalogue of individual errors Chelsea could easily have won this game.
In fact the 3-1 score line tells only little of the astonishing drama of that fixture. Alex Ferguson’s team were 3 up by half-time despite creating no more chances than Chelsea, but the Blues got themselves back in the game immediately at the restart as Fernando Torres finished finely to score his long-awaited first of the season. Shortly after, Rooney was to squander a chance to put United out of reach as he managed remarkably to slip up taking a penalty rewarded in the 56th minute, much the same way as John Terry infamously did in the 2008 Champions League final of the same fixture.
Even more shocking was that miss by Torres. Having scored earlier the Spaniard’s confidence was appearing to return to him, with him even at one point audaciously attempting a bicycle kick. This confidence seemed evident in his smart step-over that allowed him to round the ‘keeper with 7 minutes to play; but just as Torres was faced with an empty net into which he simply needed to pass the ball into, the demons came rushing back and he somehow conspired to shoot wide. The ex-Liverpool star’s mishaps have already featured multiple time in The Yorker’s premier league blog, and for a striker already suffering so much under the burden of his £50 million fee, this will take some recovering from.
Perhaps the match of the weekend though occurred at Ewood Park, where Blackburn edged a 7-goal thriller against Arsenal 4-3. Like Torres, the Gunners had appeared to be putting their problems behind them after a relentless first half saw them 2-1 up. But the 2nd half proved otherwise, as woeful defending at set pieces and two comically calamitous own-goals saw them throw away their lead and leave them hovering just above the relegation zone. Just ahead of them now are Blackburn, whose under-pressure manager Steve Kean must be applauded for the signing of the reliable Yakubu, who scored twice in the victory.
Man City slipped up for the first time in the title race after they let a two-goal lead slip against Fulham. The first half saw Kun Aguero score two more in what looks increasingly likely to become a two horse race between him and Rooney for the Golden Boot, but Fulham impressively came back at City to score twice in 20 minutes. The result further confirmed United as favourites to regain their title, as it is difficult to imagine Ferguson’s side squandering such a comfortable position.
It was a weekend full of surprising score lines, perhaps none more so than Tottenham’s 4-0 thrashing of Liverpool. The Reds endured a disastrous day, as having started out on the back-foot had their problems confounded by the sendings-off of Charlie Adam and Martin Skrtel (both of which, despite manager Daglish’s grumbled hints, were indisputable). Not too much should be read into the score line as it is clear Liverpool can play much better than this, but what does look certain is that Spurs have recovered from their poor start and, with the latest of Harry Redknapp’s savvy signings Adebayor on top form, look set to challenge again for that much converted 4th place.
Another double-take 4-0 result was Sunderland’s 4-0 victory over Stoke. The Potters, usually so strong and organized in defence, were ripped open by the unlikely Sunderland, who one would expect to struggle in front of goal following the departures of Darren Bent, Danny Welbeck and most recently Asamoah Gyan. Fans of fellow Midlands team Aston Villa were also left disgruntled as their team was outplayed and held 1-1 by high-flying Newcastle in a draw that maintained both sides’ unbeaten runs. Meanwhile, Everton find themselves high up in the league too after they came from behind to defeat Wigan 3-1. In spite of their extreme financial constraint, David Moyes has still at his services star performers such as Tim Cahill, Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka, and with new signings Apostolos Vellios and Roysten Drenthe finding the net, may not do as badly as some are predicting.
Attention must also be paid to all the promoted clubs, who on Saturday achieved the rare feat of all winning on the same day. QPR looked class in their 3-0 defeat of a lacklustre Wolverhampton, and with quality midfielders Joey Barton, Adel Taarabt and Shaun Write-Phillips should stay up. Norwich will no doubt find survival more difficult, but battled well to collect their first win of the season over 10-man Bolton.
Most intriguing of all is Swansea’s bid to stay in the league. Manager Brendan Rogers swears to stick by the philosophy of attacking, passing football that won them promotion last season, and after finally sealing their first premiership goal from a Scott Sinclair penalty, went on to show how effective their game can be, going on to put two more past opponents West Brom. Their footballing philosophy is likely to endear themselves to fans, and is typical of the trend thus far exhibited in this season’s premier league.
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