The debate surrounding Frank Lampard’s “non-celebration” seems to have rightly taken precedence over what can only be described as a dour game of football between the two title favourites, Manchester City and Chelsea on Sunday afternoon. Should Lampard have shown a bit more passion to the fans of the club that pay his wages? Or was he right to show “respect” to the Chelsea fans who still rightly adore his every move? It’s a difficult question, but surely we are now in an age where a player should be able to celebrate a goal properly, regardless of which team he is playing against.
Back to the match, and what did we learn? We learnt that when it suits him, José Mourinho can brilliantly park the bus, despite his loathing of “football” being played that way. For the second season running, City failed to score against Chelsea at home, but on the plus side, they also halted the Blues’ one hundred percent winning start to the campaign. Yet the gap between the two clubs is already five points, and that is surely a worry for Manuel Pellegrini. For Chelsea, they can reflect on a job well done, and another big performance against a top rival – which is still their main strength this campaign.
Queens Park Rangers showed some real spirit and battling qualities, in twice coming from behind to steal a draw with Stoke City, but after a difficult start to the Premier League season, the question remains: are Rangers good enough? Well, the English media will not have it any other way than “Harry’s way”, and if there is one thing for sure, it is that Harry Redknapp will not be hounded out of his job in the same way some other struggling managers are. How grateful Harry must be to Niko Kranjcar, whose superb late free kick saved the day for the R’s on Saturday – in what was certain to be another demoralising defeat prior to his moment of magic. How Mark Hughes must have felt flat at the final whistle. The chance to put one over his former club was there – but to be denied at the death must have been hugely frustrating for the Welshman. It’s been a bit like that for City this year so far; difficult to beat, yet not winning enough games. However, in Peter Crouch, they still possess a dangerous striker capable of finding the back of the net in the top flight – and enough quality throughout the team to be higher than they currently are.
Although it’s great being a Southampton fan right now, the amber lights will be flashing soon for sure. The summer of immense transition will surely, at some point take its toll on the South Coast club, as historically, clubs that have taken this path of sale previously have imploded somewhere down the line, which cannot be unexpected. Leeds United and the old Wimbledon both had huge sell-offs earlier this century, from a point of success, and look at them both now. Yes, there is a case for the improvement of the Saints player-for-player last year, but quickly bedding in a new manager and several new players is never this straightforward, surely? Yet the Saints will be enjoying their prolonged “honeymoon period”, and confidence will of course still be sky high after the battle of the “surprise packages” so far this campaign last Saturday. A 1-0 victory over Swansea City on their own patch is once again a very impressive result in light of the Swans’ own decent start. Garry Monks’ boys have now lost two Premier League games on the spin, which will be of slight concern, as will the manner of star striker, Wilfried Bony’s, red card – a petulant moment that didn’t aid their cause one bit. Bouncing back from the defeats will now be key to Swansea, who certainly have the quality to compete at mid-table point at least.
So, Alan Pardew lives to fight another day at St. James Park, which, realistically, we all knew would be the case, even if Newcastle United had have lost to Hull City last Saturday. The Geordies’ owner, Mike Ashley, has made a huge career for himself of “detachment” at the troubled club – from the life and soul of the very place: the loyal fans. To think that Ashley would concur with local opinion at any time is as ridiculous to say that Pardew will win this season’s Manager of the Year award. So don’t expect Pardew to leave out of good will anytime soon – he has a fat contract and to walk away would be sheer folly on his part. On the field, Papiss Cissé saved the day, and a point, for Newcastle with two late goals. But the real star of the day was City striker Nikica Jelavić, who opened the scoring with an exquisite first time volley on the turn; a goal which also increased the immense animosity in Pardew’s’ direction from the extremely angry natives. When Mohamed Diamé fired in a second goal for the visitors, it was manic, and desperate for the home side. For the Tigers, it was certainly a case of two points dropped – any two goal lead in the elite is a precious commodity – especially for Hull. But on the positive side, at least they didn’t go on to lose under pressure.
Like Match of the Day, there is always one less eventful game of any round of fixtures, and this week it is the goalless clash between Burnley and Sunderland at Turf Moor. Being a newly promoted side, they can relax slightly more, as not so much is expected of The Clarets. But they will need to start hitting the back of the net and making the absolute most of their many chances, if they are to survive this season. It’s as simple as that. They can be difficult to break down – can build a fortress at home – but opponents such as Sunderland are the home games they need to be winning, and not taking this opportunity, after last week’s blank at Crystal Palace will have worried home manager, Sean Dyche. For the Mackems, a bit more would certainly have been expected after five winless games thus far, and Gus Poyet will be looking to address the sluggish start to the season the club are enduring. They certainly have the quality to be doing better – but self-belief and confidence drain the less you win – and to avoid the wrath of the passionate locals, Poyet will need to get some points on the board very soon, or questions over his stewardship will surely be asked.
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