A great start to the Mailbox week. Keep them coming at theeditor@football365.com
Some kneejerk conclusions from the weekend
1. Can we just hand over the title to Liverpool now?
2. Arsenal’s downhill trajectory has started, surely they are out of the title race right?
3. It was only Everton.
4. Manchester United are still in the title race!
5. Pep Guardiola IS a fraud!
6. Tottenham will yet again finish below Arsenal!
7. Leicester will relegate this season.
Posab (This is a confusing season) Botswana
What now?
Cracking performance by Chelsea and their classy football.
Cracking performance by Liverpool and their classy football.
Cracking performance by Man City and their classy football but well done Boro for holding on.
Arsenal, for the fifth time this season have played poorly but still achieved points.
Tottenham, you can’t capitalise.
ManYoo?
The Premier League is looking very interesting.
Chris, Croydon
Celebrate like a boy…
Amid all the wonderful attacking play, goals, and celebrations in the Liverpool match yesterday, one thing stood out; that sexy beast Emre Can doing an aeroplane celebration like a glorious 10-year-old down the park.
I love seeing players loving the game.
Dom Littleford
Still want to sell Coutinho?
I really hope Oliver Dziggle who said Liverpool should cash in and sell Coutinho watched the match today….
You sir, are mad as a bag of hangers.
Jim Bob, Lfc
Trying not to think it’s our year
Look, Liverpool are really good and that’s really nice. We are entertaining and the football is fun to watch and you can be certain that 1-0 will never be enough because why stay switched on and defend for a full 90 minutes?
That all said, the fact we are top and doing so well makes me nervous. It brings back the memories of 2013/14. I remember feeling similarly at this stage then; I couldn’t believe how well we were doing and felt that if we could just keep it together and stay top through the Christmas fixtures (Man City and Chelsea) then things could really get spicy.
Back then we lost to both I think and went from first on Christmas Eve to fourth on New Years day. It was a tight league and we blazed a pretty nuts trail in the new year whilst everyone else got distracted by the Champions League, FA Cup or just being David Moyes. And then it all went to sh*t.
This time is different; Chelsea have nothing else to focus on and are more resolute than us defensively. Man City have Guardiola who will get this ideas across eventually. Arsene Wenger seems to want it more than ever before – his subs yesterday showed he was willing to roll the dice again. You can’t rule out Spurs either even though they have injury issues right now.
Klopp was right yesterday; being top after 11 games is basically not worth a lot. We had a tough start to the season and did really well and now we have an amazing run of games because a New Year’s Eve showdown __with Man City. If we are still top on January 1st then I might start to get a little carried away again but for now I am just trying to not think about it. Except it’s all I can think about.
Minty, LFC
…One day, when we have a decent defense, we are going to be a decent team.
Barry, Cape Town
Liverpool will be top at Christmas
Whilst the tendency to concede goals will give opposition teams a bit of confidence, the way Liverpool are playing right now is likely to instil a fear factor we saw when Suarez, Sturridge and Sterling were playing together. Watford are no mugs (ask Mourinho), but were powerless to stop the six fluid attacking players.
Much was made of Liverpool’s tough start to the season, but when you look at the fixtures up to Christmas they’ve now got Southampton (A), Sunderland (H), Leeds (Cup (H)), Bournemouth (A), West Ham (H), middlesborough (H), and finally Everton (A). Seven games in seven weeks, and most of the opposition will be gulping watching the Liverpool attacking clips from before the game.
They’ve got into a tremendous position, and barring another Burnley-esque performance there should be a cushion between them and second place at Christmas.
KC (get them in your fantasy teams)
Liverpool: Bloody good
The most impressive thing for me was that Liverpool in the first 20 minutes was that Liverpool were not at their best. Watford set up well and pressed high. Yet, you always knew Liverpool were going to score.
* Mane. Money well spent. Runs so well in between the lines and tracks back consistently. Really will miss him in January. Let’s hope Senegal have a shocker.
* Some guy from Switzerland said Liverpool should sell Coutinho. Rest assured, they won’t. Up there __with Hazard at the moment.
* Karius made some impressive saves throughout. Gutted for him that he conceded.
* Lallana is the unsung hero of the team. Selfless running and a fantastic eye for goal. Best English player in the Premiership at the moment?
* How unlucky was Sturridge to not get a goal? Was desperate for him to score but I’ve no doubt he will start scoring soon.
* Goals from Wijnaldum and Can highlight the high pressure Liverpool put on teams. Milner and Clyne were consistently pressing high and provided a great threat. Clyne is the most consistent player in the team. Always a good 7/8 out of 10.
* Make no mistake about it, thats a big marker set by Liverpool. Watford were in good form and were dismantled by the forward six. Top of the table, having played Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs away and beating Leicester at home and drawing with Utd. Any Liverpool fan has to be happy.
Miguel Sanchez, LFC, Eire (Hazard’s second goal was dirty)
United both winners and losers
Any chance you can put United in the winners and losers this week? My reasons:
Winners
1) We actually won!
2) Pogba and Zlatan delivered the goods.
3) Phil Jones played a whole game without injury (fingers crossed).
4) First half – eight shots, three on target, Swansea limited to one off target effort.
5) Rooney got an assist and could have had another.
Losers
1) We were playing Swansea. Bottom of the table, rotten old Swansea.
2) That second-half performance – one off-target effort to five shots for Swansea including a goal from their only shot on target.
3) Over 60% possession in half without troubling the keeper, is that you Louis?
4) Jose was so bored he resorted to playing on his phone.
5) Zlatan got booked which makes Rooney almost certain to start against Arsenal.
6) Fellaini.
Ashley (serious Klopp envy) Metcalfe
Ted’s Monday Manchester United thoughts
1. So I can’t be accused of being blinkered or biased: Wayne Rooney had a pretty good game yesterday. It wasn’t anywhere near his best, but it was a pretty good 7/10. I don’t know whether it was just the dodgy stream I was watching but he seemed to have an extra bit of pace in him. Fair play to him for just getting on with it as well, despite heavy criticism. If he can keep that level up then I think most people would be satisfied with that.
2. On to Mourinho’s comments on Smalling and Shaw; I don’t want to see any player who is not at or incredibly close to 100% having to play the game. You have a squad of 25 plus unlimited youth players to choose from for just this sort of occasion. If you haven’t got the depth to cover injuries, you’ve not built a suitable squad. Sorry, Jose, you’re wrong on that one.
3. I feared the worst when I saw the defence. A left-back in the middle, right-back on the left and a…whatever Ashley Young is these days. Plus Jones, who hasn’t played for nine months. But they actually did pretty well, Jones especially so. I don’t have an issue with Jones other than his verging on comedic ability to get injured, so it was good to see him play and play well.
4. That said, Swansea were absolutely awful in the first half. By the time they got their act together the game had gone from them. We won’t get away with playing that kind of defence against almost any other side, and especially not against an in-form Arsenal. It really does highlight he paucity of options across the whole defence.
5. It should come as no surprise that the first two goals were scored from attacks in which we got our numbers 8, 9 and 10 in/around the box all at the same time. It’s amazing how much more likely to score you are when your attacking players do so together.
6. I was also pleased with the link-up play between Rooney and Zlatan. They combined well on a few occasions, which is something we’ve not seen between our strikers since the Ronald, Rooney and Tevez partnership.
7. Zlatan, though he did well in scoring, is an idiot. Knowing that the next match is Arsenal, it was so stupid to go and pick up that booking, especially as the game was virtually over at that stage.
8. Finally a contribution from Pogba. A brilliantly taken goal and all-round performance. You could see him growing in confidence as the game went on and in particular towards the end when running the clock down. What a difference a goal makes, eh?
This wasn’t a new dawn or anything, after all we have much tougher games to come and it’s only one win after a dreadful run. But this was definitely the right time to play Swansea. The blueprint for the winning formula is there though, and it appears as some of the players might just be starting to gel and understand what they’re supposed to be doing. Typically, this one good match comes at completely the wrong time for us, with the team not playing for another 12 days, but hopefully we can cling on to some confidence and good feeling until then.
Ted, Manchester
Spurs squad still too thin…
So Tottenham remain unbeaten but the number of draws must be frustrating. Whilst they are obviously tough to beat with a high press, organised defence and Dembele and Wanyama basically being a brick wall in midfield, I think ultimately they will fall short of winning the title due to lack of strength in depth in attack. Of course they have been missing their leading goalscorer recently, as any team would, but none of their attack has stepped up sufficiently to fill the void.
Janssen looks like the new Roberto Soldado, Eriksen has not been in form all season, Lamela seems to blow hot and cold and Sissoko is a central midfielder playing out wide, I wouldn’t even count him as an attacker. They clearly rely too heavily on Kane, and unless they can pick up an extra forward in January who can contribute some goals in tight games, I think this lack of squad depth will ultimately be their undoing.
Alan Ewens
All the love for Pedro
I always had a liking for Pedro since Chelsea signed him and badly wanted United not to sign him (despite all mockery by United fans and Pedro haters in general). My reason being Pedro is a gifted winger who makes brilliantly timed runs behind a defense, and a great finisher – qualities he was famous for at Barcelona. Therefore, it was a big surprise when Pedro signed for Jose’s Chelsea where the lead right winger had to be a ‘donkey’ first (exhibit Willian). To enable players like Pedro, there needs a clear system where space is created for off the ball runners by on the ball runners, while protecting the wing he works from.
Conte’s 3-4-3 and the dramatic turnaround has been much debated in positive veins, especially the likes of Luiz (the best Chelsea defender now), Hazard (frighteningly turning into league’s best player, arguably) and Costa (minus antics). However, Pedro’s role in the turnaround which was by chance due to Willian’s personal tragedy has not been much spoken (until now – Ed). I believe that in any zone of a pitch, there needs to be diversity for a team to be complete. Attack is the area where the diversity has to be highest. For a ball-playing winger on one side, there needs to be an inside forward making darting runs off the other side post or between defenders. That added with a world-class striker would make the attack lethal, yet unpredictable. The only time Chelsea had such an attacking trio was under Ancelotti, when Drogba was flanked by a peak Malouda and pacy Anelka. with Hazard (a magician with the ball), Costa (obvious reasons) and Pedro, Chelsea finally have an attack that can be unpredictable, yet score goals. With Willian/Oscar, we become more predictable and rely big time on individual brilliance to score goals (hi Jose). And Willian does everything good other than the final decision-making. He, like Hazard demands the ball a lot making 1 v 1 defending in front of defenders, than run behind them.
This brings me back to Pedro, who is finally reaping rewards for staying put in a team that is employing tactics to match his footballing skills. He may yet become sour (touch wood not), but with Hazard and Costa, he is playing to me, the most under-rated role of an inside forward/winger who is terrorizing defenses unknowingly and creating space and shots for others around. And did I mention again that he is a great finisher? Ask Smalling and Blind. In our games against Leicester, United, Southampton and Everton, Pedro along with 10 other Chelsea players have all raised their game and making it difficult to pick a man of the match. But I want to highlight the role of Pedro, an unassuming player who has behaved impeccably during bad times and passionate towards fans when he scores. Long may this continue.
Interestingly, I’ve also noticed an interesting shift in the division. Chelsea, along with Pool, City, Spurs and perhaps Arsenal are now ‘coached’ by managers who are sophisticated (to various levels) about team structure. The evidence is that these teams have patterns of attacking and defensive play. Unlike say 8-10 years back, when big teams won games by power and individual brilliance, we’re seeing teams play collectively to a set structure and pattern in terms of how they attack. Pep with his obsession towards midfielders and wingers, Klopp with pressing and more importantly usage of space, Poch and his destructive (yet pro-active) football, Arsene and his traditional pass and move football with now Conte’s 3-4-3 are definitely elevating the quality of PL teams towards their European counterparts. Maybe, just maybe if Jose finds the right combination in midfield and drops Zlatan+Rooney in favor of pacy attackers (Rashford/Martial), the set is complete. Good times ahead!
Aravind, Chelsea fan
Conte the genius and more weekend thoughts
Antonio Conte may be onto something with his 3-4-3 formation. Chelsea look fluid in attack and solid defensively. I hate to admit it coz Antonio is a bit of a c*nt with his sideline shenanigans, but I think he may just have re-invented football. We talk about Pep and his sweeper keeper play it from the back football but the Chelsea manager has also brought a new way of thinking. So Chelsea are top of the Premier League and they will take some stopping. In five league games now, they’ve outscored their opponents 26-0.
When you check out Man City’s league history against Middlesbrough, the Citizens have lost more than they’ve won and maybe that was drilled into the players before the game. The manager must have shown the players that history and it’s what encouraged the players to play their hearts out. History repeated itself and despite dominating the game, the visitors left with a highly deserved point. Also, now isn’t a good time to be facing Middlesbrough.
Sunderland won their first league match with their manager watching high up in the stands. Is anyone else thinking what I’m thinking?
Man United also won away from home in a log time with José Mourinho watching from the stands. But no, the situation doesn’t need to be made permanent. Mourinho was forced to make some changes to the team and I was glad to see Michael Carick in the starting lineup. I wonder why the manager hesitates to play him when he’s clearly one of the midfield generals in that team. Schweini can suck lemons but he’s also another possibility. I’m now waiting for the fawning and idolization over Pogboom’s wonder strike. Yeah, that one was worth a cool £1m. £88m more to go.
The 3-4-3 formation looks potent and I’d like to suggest it to José Mourinho if he doesn’t mind. The only drawback with United playing 3-4-3 would be that we don’t seem to have the personnel to make the system work. Such a system needs pacy wingers and at the moment the only pacy winger we have is Depay who’s in decay. But if van Gaal could play 3-5-2 and make United difficult to beat, Mourinho should try 3-4-3 and make the team difficult to beat but also fluid in attack. The ball is in your court José.
Leicester, Champions of Europe, relegated in 2017. Wanna bet?
Keg Baridi ( . Y . ) Nairobi, Kenya
Peter G’s weekend thoughts
* I enjoy the Premier League as much as anyone anywhere, but Arsenal-Tottenham was the kind of game that makes a lot of people on the continent shake their heads. That was 90 minutes of not quite football. At the bottom of the table, intensity can serve as a decent substitute for skill, but at the top we want more.
* I’d love to say Bob Bradley will make it in the league, but at the moment he’s a long way off. I can understand a relatively cautious 4-4-2 against even a half-strength Manchester United, but to play two big men up front and then try to pass your way through doesn’t make sense. And there’s no excuse at all for staying passive until you’re down 3-0.
* But even experienced coaches can get it wrong against a superior opponent. Walter Mazzarri tried kick and rush at Anfield, but there was too much rush, which meant a three-acre open space in front of the back line. Execution followed. I want to be Roberto Firmino when I grow up.
* Thank you, Daniel Storey, for slamming the pointless shot from long distance. And there’s no need to caution that you’re ‘edging dangerously close to xG chat’. That’s the whole point of the xG stat – it tells you when you’re taking low percentage shots. Only a PFM would ignore that.
* Has a team ever fitted so quickly and brilliantly into a system as Antonio Conte’s Chelsea? We’ve all been raving about Victor Moses; now it’s Pedro’s turn. His runs, technique, and vision make him a natural in the position. If Willian ever sees the line-up again, I’ll be shocked, unless he’s in the Moses spot.
* Was I alone in thinking that signing Victor Anichebe was the last act of a desperate manager? How wrong I was – he was amazing for Sunderland against Bournemouth, and even scored on one of his classic backing-into-the-low-post basketball turns. But how did Bournemouth score only once in that game?
Peter G, Pennsylvania, USA
Ed’s weekend thoughts
* Crystal Palace are f###ed. I know I say this every week, and, you may be surprised to learn, it’s often tongue in cheek. But yeah, serious trouble now.
* Well done to Burnley for their victory. At various points both sides made a reasonable claim for a share of the spoils, if not for a victory, but ultimately Burnley deservedly took all three points.
* This should have been the perfect opportunity for Alan Pardew’s system; Burnley were always going to sit back and let Palace have the majority of the possession, and look to counter-attack. However, without going too far into game theory, you need to be able to counter a counter-attack. Oh, and not give the ball away cheaply within the first couple of minutes – Burnley’s first goal came from a Crystal Palace corner.
* Andros Townsend has retained his place in the England squad, but he was second fiddle to Wilfried Zaha on Saturday, as he has been for most of the season. Zaha was, as ever, our best player, and his work to beat a defender and put a cross on a plate for Connor Wickham was outstanding. The team looked a whole lot better once Townsend switched to the left – and stopped cutting in from the right onto his left foot every time. I know, who could have predicted he’d do that.
* Redemption of sorts for Christian Benteke, and I’m pleased for him.
* After the game, Pardew said “We’ve made errors for the goals but played well and it frustrates me to say that. It’s daft mistakes which have cost us. I think we got carried away at 2-2 and over committed at a set play and it cost us…We don’t look like a team that has lost four games, it’s been fine margins. We need to cut out these mistakes, and get ourselves to a position where we can see out a game.”
Again, well spotted. If only there was someone whose job was a) to minimise the potential for mistakes, and b) stop the team getting carried away at 2-2 in stoppage time.
Also, it hasn’t been ‘fine margins’: Leicester City took advantage of a poorly organised defence; West Ham United took advantage of a poorly organised defence; Liverpool took advantage of a poorly organised defence; Burnley took advantage of a poorly organised defence. Repeat ad infinitum.
I’m also really struggling with the comment Pardew made about “the Premier League fixture list makes it very difficult; I like to think the fans understand”, as highlighted by Daniel Storey’s article on Saturday night. I don’t speak for every Palace fan, but there are plenty of people who have similar opinions about the situation. We understand that the manager is happier blaming anyone and everything other than himself when things don’t go well. The fixture list is a b!tch though, it’s not like any other team has to play ALL NINETEEN other Premier League sides twice. Jesus of Montreal.
The Evening Standard is also running a quote from Pardew along the lines of “Palace did little wrong outside big mistakes that got punished”. There’s nothing you can say to that other than call him Captain Obvious and wonder again whose job it is to stop the team making big mistakes, some of which were a direct result of the tactical system and direction.
* We have arguably the best group of players that our club has ever had, and yet they are playing some of the worst football in the league. The manager has tried to introduce a new system to the players, and it is this system that is causing problems, because players who have spent a long time on ‘safety first’ teams are now being encouraged to take risks with the ball, particularly in their own half. It is up to the manager to correct this, and I expect Steve Parish will be paying a visit to the training ground this week to see what’s going on.
The only trouble is who could possibly come in to replace Pardew. There is a certain ex-England manager who would certainly galvanise the team defensively, although I’m not sure if he’s the best fit. Other than that, any non-banterous suggestions would be welcome.
* Well done to Daniel Storey on his FSF award nomination. Entirely deserved.
Ed Quoththeraven
Thoughts from an Everton fan
The wife was away this weekend so I managed to watch more football than I usually would. Here’s a few of my thoughts if anyone cares. It may be a tad downbeat as I happen to support Everton.
* It may be disingenuous to pinpoint a 5-0 defeat to the absence of one player, but that game showed how important a signing Idrissa Gueye was. Without him Koeman played a 5-2-3 (5-4-1? 5-2-2-1?) formation that invited pressure on the defense rather than relieve it higher up the pitch. For all the pun potential of his name, Cleverly is just no replacement.
* For all the positive work at Everton this year, I felt a defeat like this was coming. I like Koeman a lot and much of what has been written about the way he’s improved the team I agree with, but the evidence was never as concrete as people seemed to think. Everton were praised for solidity against City but really, they gave away two penalties which (taking nothing away from Stekelenburg) were poorly taken and really could have lost 4 or 5-1. Have also looked generally suspect in several other games. It’ll take a couple of years before Koeman builds a proper solid outfit.
* Speaking of old Maarten, he decided to have an “I was back up keeper at Fulham last year” day on Saturday.
* Chelsea were excellent though. Their attacking play made me watch the whole game through my fingers. I know I’m not alone here but I wasn’t expecting them to be this good this quickly.
* De Bruyne’s ball for Aguero’s goal was superb. Kid’s got a future…
* City were excellent first half, looked knackered the second. Genuine question of curiosity as I have no investment in either team and one day probably doesn’t make much difference. But why did all other Champions League teams play Sunday but City on Saturday?
* The Boro celebrations were fun. Well done to them.
* Victor Anichebe bailing Moyes out. Great stuff!
* Poor Kevin Wimmer. Not a fun way to spend your first London derby. Though Arsenal could do worse than getting him down to the Emirates to give Giroud some tips. Great header!
* I remember reading a quote someone said about Zidane along the lines of “he plays at such a high level every game that the games he just plays normally everyone thinks he’s played poorly”. I feel the same about Özil. Played normally when everyone wanted him to be outstanding.
* The last 30 minutes of that north London Derby was like watching a Championship game. And not a good Championship game.
* I did chuckle when Kieran Trippier came on and immediately tripped someone.
* Liverpool look scary as hell. They’ll win the league in the next couple of years, if not this year. Klopp’s even making me bloody like them a bit.
* Snodgrass is a funny name isn’t it?
I think that’s it.
Will (yep, definitely it) Wymant, EFC
De Roon, De Roon, De Roon is on fire
If Man City miss out on the title this year by one or two points, the blame will be placed firmly at the feet of one man.. (Nope, not Pep..)
MARTIN DE ROON.
Oh how you doubted him F365. £12 million seems like a bargain to me.
Lee (Liverpool make me giddy), LFC
Surprising moves and Championship signings
Part 1. After reading the gossip about Virgil Van Dijk and a potential move, there was a comment below that I agreed with – why didn’t any other of the ‘bigger’ teams go in for him while he was at Celtic, and clearly a very good defender?? Also involving Celtic, I was very surprised to see Wanyama sign for Southampton as well, when again, I expected him to go to a much ‘bigger team’ (no disrespect to Southampton) given his form while playing at Celtic. Just wondering if anyone else can think of more examples of players with brilliant form that resulted in a move to a team that sort of surprised you? Perhaps, e.g. like Wilshere going to Bournemouth when you would have to assume there were offers from bigger clubs once it was made clear he was available.
Part 2. Having read the story on Championship owners, I think it’s worth highlighting again the business that Newcastle did in the transfer window during the summer. The business is the sort that more of these owners ought to be looking at – take Dwight Gayle: did well previously in the Championship, didn’t cut it in the Premier League – clear idea of where is level is (like Cameron Jerome at Norwich). Daryl Murphy, while he hasn’t been involved much yet, has scored goals time and again at Championship level and will be a useful squad player as the season goes on. Grant Hanley and Diame are both solid signings too for the league we’re in now. While I wouldn’t be drooling over any of these signings if we were still in the Premier League, I was vehemently nodding my head in approval as each of these deals were announced because they were the right signings for the league we would be playing in.
Jon, NUFC, Guangzhou, China
Monday moans
It is Monday morning, I didn’t sleep last night and I have a headache that feels like someone is winding a handheld drill into my head. It is time for my list of the things which annoy me most in football:
1. Commentators who say ‘he is human’ after Lionel Messi misses a chance.
2. Players who run inside the ten-yard markers to stop corners from being taken quickly (the markers are always there, why is this not a yellow card?)
3. ITV commentators who shout players names as they shoot hoping it will become a regularly played clip.
4. Ian Wright.
5. Fans who use stats to show their club is the best in the league when they haven’t won in two months.
6. Talksport commentators who don’t actual commentate on the game (they have a general chat about football and simply note stuff that happens in the match).
7. Awards voted for by fans (MOTD goal of the month is usually won by a player from whatever team played well on Sunday as all their fans are watching MOTD2)
8. People who visit the same site day after day and click on the same stories/ lists and complain that they hate the site and there are too many non-stories/lists.
Micki Attridge
A proud day for Johnny
I can’t believe I’m writing this, but I think I agree with a John Nicholson article…
Evan (watch Black Mirror), AFC, Dublin